ESPN and Disney are teaming up to bring the action sports excitement of the X-games to the big screen to provide a full 3-D experience. Although the film will feature other athletes like Olympic Snowboarding Gold Medalist Shaun White and skateboarding legends like Bob Burnquist and Danny Way, we here at Top Speed are most excited about the inclusion of Subaru pro driver Travis Pastrana.
Pastrana has made history earning 9 Gold Medals at the X-games. He started out his racing career straddling a two stroke and was the first person to execute a back flip on a motocross bike, an act that jumpstarted the entire freestyle motocross scene. But it doesn’t end there, just last year he did the unthinkable, a double back flip. He also competed in Supermoto, an event that combines off road and track racing and of course Rally behind the wheel of his World Rally Blue WRX.
Everybody’s favorite Group B contender, the Audi Sport Quattro, could be making a comeback in four ringed showrooms as early as 2012. The Audi Quattro, also known as the Ur-Quattro was a milestone of automotive engineering. When others said that 4 wheel drive was too heavy to be competitive Audi laughed. Mating their now infamous quattro all wheel drive system to a turbocharged 5 cylinder engine made them a force to be reckoned with from the European FIA rally stages to the American Pikes Peak Hill Climb, the Quattro dominated them all. So it is no wonder that the Volkswagen brand will bring back the championship winning name.
The new Quattro will be based on the A5 chasis and include a 425 HP turbocharged V6, an R8 inspired front end and thanks to Audi’s aluminum construction the vehicle should weigh in at less than 3000 pounds. Priced at around €70,000 (almost $90,000) the new iteration of the classic Audi is sure to become a collector’s item.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Group B car, or just want to see it in action again, check out the videos after the jump.
Ken Block is an interesting individual. He has already established himself with Subaru as a rally racer. Now he is reinventing himself, and his car, to promote this unique motor sport. Gymkhana is a type of auto cross where participants must drive around cones in a specific pattern as opposed to driving through sets of gates. This time Ken has replaced the cones with some rather large man made obstacles.
Proton’s cars usually don’t get much time on TopSpeed because they have traditionally been, well, boring. But the economy carmaker has always had an ace up its sleeve: it owns Lotus. Now it may be using the British brand to help it dominate the rally car circuit.
It seems there is a perfect storm brewing. Subaru is dropping out of the World Rally Championship, which is leaving a big hole for a new competitor to fill. Proton has already got a racer called the Satria Neo S2000 (based on the Lotus-tuned R3 Satria). What can really bring this all together is the driver, and ex-Subie champion Petter Solberg is rumored to fill that role for Proton.
If Proton were to go through with plans to compete in the WRC, it could possibly finally get the brand some worldwide respect. After all, rallying took Subaru from its “cheap and ugly” days and gave it bedroom poster status.
Chevrolet unveiled today at the Bologna auto show the new Chevrolet Cruze WTCC that will compete in the 2009 World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).
The Cruze WTCC is the result from a team effort of different departments within GM Europe, coordinated by Phillip Zak, Director Exterior Design GM Europe.
The Cruze WTCC is currently under testings and its competition debut is scheduled for 7-8 March 2009 in Curitiba, Brazil.
Sometime life is unfair. Europe will get the the Chevrolet Cruze in 2009. While we’ll be stuck with the Cobalt-only land until 2010, Europeans will take spare Cruzes out on the track. Chevrolet revealed today the Cruze World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) that will compete in the 2009 championship. The car is already being tested and will continue throughout the remainder of the current season and the coming winter.
The Chevrolet Cruze’s first competitive outing will be in Brazil at the opening round of the 2009 WTCC in Curitiba. The Cruze will be the replacement for the Lacetti as GM’s WTCC car.
Ever wonder how long it takes to go from road car to rally car? Over the next few minutes, you’ll see a what it takes and how long it takes to build a champion Subaru rally car.
Mitsubishi unveiled today a new competition car, the Racing Lancer, whose mission will be to target victory on next year’s Dakar which breaks new ground in 2009 with a switch from Africa to South America.
The Racing Lancer is a Super Production Cross-Country Rally car, which has been developed in compliance with the FIA’s Group T1 regulations (modified cross-country rally cars). It also complies with the new rules due to come into force in 2010.
The car will be powered by the 3.0-liter V6 turbocharged diesel engine which the company is currently developing on qualifying rounds of the 2008 Dakar Series and the 2008 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup. The carbon-fibre bodywork of the MRX09 is redolent of the Lancer Sportback, a new sporty hatchback due to be released on the European market this summer. The new car will be equipped with the same 4WD system, drive train, suspension and brakes following their modification in accordance with the new technical regulations and as a function of the characteristics of the diesel turbo powerplant.
Subaru today revealed full details about the 2008 Impreza World Rally Car. It will be powered by a flat four-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 300bhp @ 5500rpm and a peak torque of 650Nm @ 3000rpm. The engine will be mated to a six-speed electro-hydraulic transmission.
The Impreza WRC also features front and rear MacPherson strut suspensions, Bos fully adjustable shock absorbers, AP Racing 310mm ventilated discs and six-pot calipers front and rear. For asphalt use, front brakes are 378mm ventilated discs with six-pot calipers.
With a weight of only 1230kgs, the car includes a LCD color monitor with eight selectable data screens, Kenwood radio equipment. It sits on 15" diameter for gravel, 18” for tarmac wheels and Pirelli tires.
Subaru has finally unveiled the new generation of the Impreza World Rally Car in time to compete at this month’s Acropolis Rally in Greece. Featuring a longer wheelbase, a new rear wing fitted for optimum aerodynamic performance the new vehicle will be driven by Australia’s Chris Atkinson and Norwegian Petter Solberg next week. According to the manufacturer the technical specifications will be announced in Greece on 29 May. Press release after the jump! > More
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