Despite the McLaren F1 and McLaren MP4-12C having been built by the same company, the British marque has faced such dramatic changes since the inception of the F1 that one could consider the MP4-12C to have been built by a completely new firm. And it’s little wonder why many would believe that.
With production of the F1 ending in 1998, McLaren stopped producing road cars and instead focused on developing technology for its hugely-successful Formula One team, but over the past few years all of that has changed.
Not only is McLaren’s production facility clean enough to resemble the inside of an expensive hospital but it also features a huge selection of technologically-advanced systems all of which help aid the company to produce the aforementioned MP4-12C. And on top of all that, it’s got a pretty cool name too, being dubbed the ‘McLaren Technology Centre.’
And in the latest episode of Driven on the Drive YouTube network, J.F Musial was privileged enough to get a first-hand tour of the center, after his other recent visit to Pagani’s headquarters in the heart of Italy. In what can only be described as an extremely informative and enjoyable 26-minute video, it looks in detail about what makes this facility as unique as it is as well as some in-depth discussions about the MP4-12C itself.
Well, that’s enough talking for now, so check out the video above and enjoy it!
Forza 4 already has enough Porsche vehicles to make the heads of even its most ardent fans spin in confusion. But even with all the Porsche bombardment, Turn 10 Studios still believes that you can’t have too many of these virtual German prancers in your video game.
So they did something that, if not expected, can be construed as inevitable: release a Porsche Expansion Pack.
Forza 4’s latest downloadable content will include 20 of the most iconic Porsche models to have met the pavement. The pack dropped on the Xbox LIVE network on May 22, 2012 costing 1,600 MS Points for the opportunity to access 30 new cars and 20 new career events, among other new other features.
Of the 30 that will be available in the pack, we’ve singled out a few of our favorite models: the 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, the 1987 Porsche 959, the 2007 Porsche #80 Flying Lizard 911 GT3-RSR, and the 2012 Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
The pack is everything a Porsche fan could possibly ask for in a video game. If you don’t want to take our word for it, take Turn 10 Studios’, who said in a statement that “this is the kind of news that deserves to be shouted from the rooftops: Porsche is returning to Forza Motorsport.”
Head over after the jump to check out the entire list of Porsche models that are part of the Porsche Expansion Pack
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Robert Himler first came to our attention when we brought you the ever-entertaining video of him filming a reaction video of his mom whilst driving his 1250hp twin-turbo Lamborghini Gallardo. Since that time, his YouTube channel has moved onto bigger and better things with his large selection of supercars also featuring heavily in future videos. However, that’s not what you’re here for. You are here to see just how fast this ‘TTG’ is when combined with 110 Octane racing fuel.
Despite owning this incredible supercar for upwards of a year, Himler has never ran it with racing gas before and as all automotive enthusiasts know, this expensive fuel mixture adds significantly to the overall horsepower and torque outputs of cars tuned to run it.
During the time of filming, the car was running at 20PSI of boost and put down an incredible 1,222AWHP on the dyno, significantly more than anything offered by Bugatti and even Hennessey and SSC.
If all of this wasn’t enough, a selection of different camera angles are shown throughout the video and the one at the 4:30 minute mark really caught our attention. If you look closely at the speedometer and the time of the video, you may notice the car accelerates from 50mph to 145mph in less than 7 seconds; a truly incredible feat!
In August 2011, Ken Block and his peeps over at DC Shoes unveiled "Gymkhana 4: The Hollywood Megamercial", the fourth installment of the world famous Gymkhana series.
If you recall, that video was full of everything: drifting, screeching rubber, explosives, and some added special effects mixed into the equation. Fast forward to today and the people behind Gymkhana 4 have decided to release a re-edited version of the video with less of the pyrotechnics and more of Block’s real-life driving.
The result, as you can see with the video, is a "purer" version that doesn’t attempt to enhance the spectacle of Block’s insane drifting talents through explosives and digital effects. This video is more about Block and his trusty Ford Fiesta H.F.H.V plowing through the course in true Gymkhana fashion.
Check out the re-edited version above and the original after the jump. Then tell us which version you like more. On our end, we appreciate the substance of Block’s talents without having to deal with the "infused" style of special effects.
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Most racetracks are constructed so well that they last for decades after use has discontinued and unless they are made into housing developments, they will often stand the test of time and the Autódromo de Sitges-Terramar is no exception to that rule.
Constructed way back in 1922 after just 300 days of work, the Terramar circuit was only used for 3 years before it was abandoned and has never been used since, until now. Professional racing drivers Carlos Sainz and Miguel Molina recently took a Red Bull-sponsored Audi R8 LMS racer to the 60 degree banked circuit to put on what can only be described as a true work of art.
In addition to the eight minute long video accompanying the article, a selection of incredible pictures were also shot during the occasion. Despite the track being broken, bruised, and battered, it would have been an incredible experience for the two-time WRC champion and DTM racers.
A few days ago, there was a pretty cool picture gallery released featuring the Ferrari 599XX Evo at the opening round to the European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli at Monza. Today, Youtube user Shmee150 is offering up an equally cool video shot at the same event.
The stars of his video are a series of 599XX, 599XX Evo, and FXX models presented at the event. It shows behind the scenes shots and shots in and around the paddock before the cars headed out and blasted away. These are coupled with numerous clips of flybys, epic downshifts, the glowing brakes, and plenty of eye candy!
Their next stop was at California’s Laguna Seca circuit, a few miles from the attractions of Monterey, which hosted the third Ferrari Racing Days of the season on May 20, 2012.
Ferrari has unveiled a very impressive tribute video to Mille Miglia 2012 - one of Italy’s most famous road rallies. For Enzo Ferrari this was "the most wonderful race in the world." But the times and the ways change, because the last real Mille Miglia was held in 1957, today it is a historical re-stage. But the ingredients are the same: unique cars, enthusiastic spectators, 1,400 kilometers from North to South and back on the mist beautiful roads in Italy.
As a tribute to this amazing race, Ferrari put 140 models from 1958 until today on an impressive trip from Brescia to Rome and back. The first car starting the race was a 1986 328 GTS (race number 501) and every 20 seconds another car has started the race.
Let us know what do you think about this impressive race.
Tuning firms have always loved customizing Toyota Supra’s from the mid-90’s, and there are literally dozens of Supra’s roaming U.S. streets with in excess of 1,000 horsepower. The silver unit is no exception to that rule, except for the fact that it lives in chilly Sweden.
In a short two and half minute video, producers gathered the insane aforementioned Supra with a group of Supermoto motorcycles and let them loose on some Swedish roads in Västerås, approximately 62 miles from Stockholm.
We’ve seen similar videos on numerous occasions, where high performance sports cars drive and drift around public roads, but this one takes the crown for stupidity. It seems the roads remained open for public use during filming, and drifting a car with as much power as this Supra obviously poses numerous health and safety issues. Combine that with a half a dozen high performance motorcycles, and you seemingly have a recipe for disaster.
Thankfully however, no incidents were reported during filming, but the mysterious appearance of a police car in the closing seconds of the video begs the question as to if the hooligans were fined and reprimanded in any way.
Whatever happened after the director said cut doesn’t really matter, as you can still check out the video above.
If you needed more proof as to how amazing the new generation SRT Viper is, here you go! Youtube user, RealMCR12, caught the Viper on tape outside of a Dodge dealer. Next to its amazing engine rev sound, the Viper was captured doing a few rounds on the road next to the dealership. After the year long Viper hiatus, SRT was able to provide a stunning specimen, allowing the wait to be absolutely worth it.
As a reminder, the SRT Viper is powered by a new 8.4-liter all-aluminum, V-10 overhead-valve engine that delivers a total of 640 HP and 600 lb-ft of torque. The new engine is mated to an improved Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission. Official performance numbers haven’t been provided as of yet, but when the time comes, we’ll be there to report them!
The Hennessey Venom GT has already promised to be one of the craziest, fastest, and most incredible supercars to have ever of come out of such a small production facility in the U.S. for decades. And it’s only been in production for a few months.
Yet, Hennessey has yet to deliver upon any of its promised performance capabilities, but that hasn’t stopped the firm from already developing its first variant of the car, with the Venom GT Spyder, and with deliveries of the exotic car set to begin soon, the tuning firm recently took the car to the dyno and fortunately, The Smoking Tire was there to capture it all.
The particular unit in question is actually the black car recently ordered by Aerosmith rocker, Steven Tyler and is undergoing its final stages of development before being delivered in the following weeks.
As we’re sure you know, the Venom GT is a true, rear-wheel drive, V8 monster and managed to pump out 839 horsepower and 745lb-ft at the rear wheels running on pump gas and only medium boost. It’s currently unclear which performance package Tyler selected for the car as it’s available either in 725HP, 1000HP, or 1200HP options, but based off the results we’d estimate Tyler selected the 1200 horsepower variant, as race gas and full boost could definitely add an extra 300-odd horsepower.
On top of the incredible exhaust note produced by the car, the following video also shows the Venom GT Spyder shooting some incredibly-impressive flames from its rear, demonstrating that it really is a performance car.
