Race cars have all the safety equipment and power required to win races and protect their driver at the same time. Some of them are street legal but most of them are not
Unlike the One Lap of America race, which recently ended, the Houston Half Mile Shootout is a brand new race for 2012. This year it was run in conjunction with the 4th annual Aeros & Autos event at Ellington Airport in Houston, TX.
This race is much like the Texas Mile, as it is purely a top speed-style of race, where your goal is to reach the highest speed within the half-mile-long track. Simple enough, right? Well, driving in excess of 200 mph is never simple, but rules sure are.
This inaugural run includes cars and motorcycles, both street legal and off-road only, which makes for some really intense speeds, but also some utter disappointment. The biggest disappointment that we see is Mario Williams, an NFL Linebacker, running his Aventador down the half-mile track and only hitting 167 mph in the above video. C’mon, man, open her up a little. That’s just getting that $400,000 supercar warmed up.
On top of that, event organizer John Hennessey shows that he is not a football guy, as he calls Mario Williams an “All Pro defensive player from the Houston Texans,” but Williams signed with the Buffalo Bills in March, oops. We have to give Hennessey a pass though, as the video was taken on March 5th and Williams was still a free agent at the time, but he certainly was not a Texan at the time.
Fortunately that was just a warm-up lap, as we saw much more speed as the event went on.
Click past the jump to read more about the event, cool cars and highlights.
Not only does the Nissan DeltaWing prototype resemble something out of batman rather than a racer which will take up a grid position at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, but it may also suggest what the future of racing could look like. Unfortunately for many motoring enthusiasts, that does include the elongated, tapered front end and the aircraft inspired hind quarters.
However, the effectiveness of this design will not be proven until after the Le Mans endurance race and despite the car being largely experimental, the guys over at Top Gear recently teamed up with English car customizer, Andy Saunders, to produce a replica of the DeltaWing concept.
Andy Saunders is no rookie when it comes to producing the weird and wacky, and his very own DeltaWing will be testament to the belief that what’s worth doing, is worth overdoing. In order to create the one-off piece of art, Saunders will search the scrap heap for components which not only resemble certain elements of the original but can also be tweaked to get the look just right.
So far, Saunders has borrowed the wheels from a Ford Mondeo, the rear axle from a Ford Escort, and has combined components from the Fiat 126 and Morris 1000 bonnet to shape the rear deck of the car.
And that list will continue to grow as the rear pod sections will be created from old Mazda MX-5 bumpers, while the “DeltaWing kick-ups on the rear” will be formed around the air intakes of Australia’s last F1 champion, Alan Jones’ 1975 Formula One racer.
It’s currently unclear what engine, drivetrain, and transmission Saunders plans to utilize for the car, but you can be sure of two things: they’ll be recycled and when finished, the Top Gear DeltaWing will be significantly heavier, less powerful, and slower than the real racer.
Nonetheless, we respect Saunders’ ambition and wish him all the best!
Audi just had a successful weekend despite terrible weather clouding the day; the company managed to record its first overall victory in the Nurburgring 24 Hours with the new Audi R8 LMS ultra. The car was driven by German driver quartet Marc Basseng/Christopher Haase/Frank Stippler/Markus Winkelhock, while Christian Abt/Michael Ammermüller/Armin Hahne/Christian Mamerow from Team Mamerow Racing completed the one-two success.
This latest win adds to the overall success acquired by Audi in this particular event. In June 2011, the brand celebrated its tenth victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the R18 TDI LMP sports prototype. In July 2011, the customer racing R8 LMS race car also won the 24 hour classic at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the first time.
"We are absolutely delighted about this long desired victory," explained Dieter Gass, Head of Racing Commitments at Audi Sport. "For three years the Audi R8 LMS was always the best GT3 car at the Nürburgring. Now we have taken overall victory in the fight with seven other brands. Over the last 24 hours nothing whatsoever was handed to us on a plate. Our victorious drivers and teams produced a fantastic, consistent and error free performance. My sincerest congratulations go to our winners. This victory in a race car closely related to the production based car once again proves that Audi Sport customer racing provides its customers with a well refined, versatile and successful race car."
The new car, which we now know as the Monster Sport E-Runner Pikes Peak Special, looks like an actual LMP1 prototype with plenty of GoPro cameras installed on it. The blue LED stripe headlights even add a mix of Batmobile and K.I.T.T from Knight Rider to it.
Having said all of that, the Monster Sport E-Runner Pikes Peak Special means serious business as Tajima is looking to set not only the electric car record, but also best his own record time in the Unlimited class. Tajima, a six-time defending champ in Pikes Peak, will most certainly be one of the top contenders this year, even if he’s going to pilot a new toy that a lot of people know little about.
From what we do know about the car, it looks like it’s been given the full-on carbon fiber treatment, complete with a pod-like driver capsule that’s encased by a full-on roll cage. Those aforementioned LED lights are also an attractive sight as are the matching set of blue rims. Meanwhile, the plethora of vents and scoops on the car’s body clearly suggests that the racer is ready to throw down at Pikes Peak next month.
Different car, same results, right?
With Monster Tajima behind the wheel, we’re not about to doubt that.
With 750 HP under its hood, the Ferrari 599XX Evolution is definitely a car that is noticed on the track. And if you’ve never heard it, here’s your chance to get a peek at what it can do. as well as hear the growl snaking its way out of the exhaust. This video was recently shot at the Monza racetrack and features the Ferrari 599XX EVO Evolution in action with start up, loud accelerations, fast fly bys, and amazing downshifts on the track!
As a reminder, the 599XX Evo is powered by a 6.3L V12 engine with an output of 750 HP at 7000 rpm and 516 lb-ft of torque. It features improved chassis and an amazing exterior package to improve the car’s aerodynamics.
Expect to see more videos like this in the future because the 599XX Evo will be used for the 2012-2013 racing season!
Noted Toyota tuner Gazoo Racing has come out with their latest tuning program for the Toyota GT 86 sports coupe. And no, we’re not all that surprised.
The concept racing sports coupe is called the Sport FR Concept. True to the Japanese tuning firm’s racing intentions, they set up the sports coupe with a slew of racing modifications, highlighted by a GRMN twin charger - it serves as a turbocharger and supercharger in one - that produces 320 horsepower and 310 lb/ft of torque.
In addition to the modified engine, the Sport FR Concept also features a new front and rear fender, a racing rear spoiler, a new GRMN dual exhaust, GRMN brake calipers and brake rotors, and a new set of alloy wheels and tires. For the interior, Gazoo Racing dressed the sports car with a back skin tone interior while also adding a new bucket seats, a four-point seat belt, a roll cage, and additional meters.
Talk about a car that’s itching for some track action, the Toyota GT 86 Sport FR Concept is primed and ready to burn some rubber.
The second model to be displayed by Seat at the 2012 Wörthersee event, next to the Leon Super Copa, is the Ibiza SC Trophy. The SC Trophy is based on the new generation of the standard Ibiza. It is priced at 31,500 Euro (about $40K at the current exchange rates) and has been described as the ideal starting machine for amateur racing drivers.
The new Ibiza SC Trophy is powered by a 1.4 liter TSI engine that delivers a total of 180 HP and is mated to a seven-speed DSG transmission operated from the steering wheel. The engine has been combined with a modified oil sump, a powerful brake system, and racing suspension running on 18-inch wheels housed under noticeably flared wheel arches.
The interior drops all the "unnecessary" elements from the production model and provides only data truly relevant to racing drivers. The interior is painted in a special grey paint finish combined with fluorescent orange on the mirror casings, wheels, and interior roll cage.
The Seat Ibiza SC Trophy can be driven in single-brand race series.
Volkswagen-owned Skoda doesn’t get nearly the credit it deserves. Maybe it’s because under the VW umbrella, there are a lot more high-profile brands to choose from.
Nevertheless, the Czech automaker is still worthy of our attention, now more than ever, actually, considering they’re bringing a pretty radical rally car concept to the 2012 Worthersee show.
The vehicle, called the Citigo Rally Concept, is based on the three-door Citigo hatchback. As a rally designed vehicle, the Citigo Rally Concept comes with its fair share of rally-spec modifications, including a ventilated hood, an aggressive front bumper, extended side skirts, a huge rear spoiler, a center-mounted exhaust system, and last but certainly not least, a new set of 18" wheels with low-profile tires.
Performance modifications are also expected to be part of the Citigo Rally Concept’s overall make-up. Skoda has yet to provide information on what kind of powertrain it’s going to have, but rest assured, we’ll be ready to provide all the necessary updates when the information becomes available.
A lot of high-performance automakers have taken to spec-racing to show off their pride and joy exotics without having to worry about any sort of regulations. Racing series like these allows these exotics to be on their unchained best.
One automaker that has taken this route is Maserati, which is in the process of beginning the third season of the Trofeo World Series. Similar to what sister company Ferrari does on the Challenge Series, the Trofeo World Series features a field of specially prepared versions of the GranTurismo coupe, which has been upgraded with a new aerodynamic bodykit that not only reduces its overall weight, but does so to make it more competitive and race-ready.
According to Maserati, the GranTurismo racers are far better than their 2011 counterparts, having showed its improved performance in test sessions: 2.5 seconds a lap faster than the 2011 models.
All the cars that will compete in the Trofeo World Series have been made track-ready by a dedicated team of technicians, ensuring that all the drivers competing will be racing one a one-spec racing field.
Another new wrinkle for the 2012 Trofeo World Series is the inclusion of new legs in the calendar, including the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California and the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China, among others.
Anybody looking to bring the heat in the Trofeo series will need to pay €110,000 (about $140,117 at the current rates), excluding the race entry and test fees. For the four European stages, the price of admission is €70,000 (About $89,166 at the current rates), excluding fees, while private teams who want to bring their own cars will need to pay €35,000, excluding fees, for the entire championship and €25,000 (about $44,583 at the current rates), excluding fees, for the European legs only.
One Lap America actually has roots dating back to the original Cannonball Sea-to-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, known simply as Cannonball. Many of today’s enthusiasts think that Cannonball was simply a movie or plot, but this was actually a real-life cross-country race that included high speeds on U.S. highways.
The original Cannonball only lasted five runs until its organizer, Brock Yates, decided he had better quit this no-holds-barred race before the authorities decide to close it down. In 1984, the Cannonball returned, but was not about making it across the country as fast as possible, but about making it through a course that went throughout the lower 48 states and ended up with the amount of miles closest to Brock’s estimate.
In the modern era of the One Lap America, the race is now about following the rules of the road, as you drive throughout a predetermined course, and between these leisurely drives, you have track events. The scoring of this event is solely based on the track event results, but you and your co-driver(s) must also survive driving 24 hours on end, stopping only to enjoy a “gourmet” gas station hot dog or two along the way.
This 19-event, eight-day racing series just wrapped up on Saturday and we have your full list of winners in each class and we have also broken down a list of all of the oddest and most awesome cars to grace the 2012 running.
Click past the jump to read about the odd and awesome cars, as well as the winners from each class.
