Speed

The Hoonigan crew is very good at justifying seemingly pointless drag races, between two very different machines. We are very glad they do since today we have another epic stand-off between two high-horsepower machines in the “This vs That” series. “This” is a Bentley Continental GT Pikes Peak and “That” is a stock-looking, but highly modified Honda Civic Type R.

When we talk about performance versions of the Honda Civic, we usually mean the Type-R. With that being said, Honda recently teased us with some videos of the current, eleventh generation of the Civic. The eleventh-generation Civic debuted in April, and now we are looking at the Civic Si, which will follow soon. The car was spotted testing around the Thunderhill Raceway, in California, where it would compete in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

In 2012, the Mercedes A-Class finally became what it should have been from the beginning – a proper hatchback. With the W177-generation, the A-Class improved upon the traditional hatchback body type even more and now, a facelift is in the making. The latest spy footage suggests that the mildly hot AMG A35 is out testing and, given the amount of camouflage, the hot hatchback is almost ready for a debut.

Our UK colleagues from Carwow have come up with another interesting drag race. This time, two versions of the Porsche 992 go head to head. You can probably tell, which of the two is going to win since we are talking about a base Porsche 911 Carrera and a 911 GT3. Racetrack performance aside, the question here is how much quicker the GT3 is, and will it be able to justify the enormous price difference?

What has the world come to? Just a decade ago, you wouldn’t think much of pick-up trucks in terms of straight-line acceleration. Sure, we’ve had things like the Ford Lightning or the GMC Syclone, but nowadays, you can buy a pick-up truck with well-over 600 and even 700 horsepower out the box. On today’s drag racing video from Sam CarLegion, we have a RAM 1500 TRX going up against a Ford F-150 Roush. The goal is simple – to find out who’s quicker at the quarter-mile.

While drag races aim to showcase the straight line capabilities of comparable cars, sometimes they just happen for the fun of it. This is exactly the case with this Carwow drag race, as we see a Bentley Continental GT V-8 Convertible and a Ferrari GTC4 going at each other. The simple truth is, our UK colleagues just happened to have the two cars on sight and decided to make the best of it, despite both vehicles being very different.

Ken Block recently made the transition, from Ford to Audi. His relationship with the German premium brand took him to Audi Tradition, in Ingolstadt, Germany. The facility, which comprises of some unassuming, at first glance, buildings, houses the most legendary cars from Audi’s rich motorsport history. The cool part is that all of them get driven every now and then and Ken Block had a go in the rarest and ultimate Audi rally car – the Sport Quattro RS 002.

The YouTube channel Four Eyes is mostly known for the host’s 2007 Ford Mustang GT project car. However, he now has a new project – a 2000 Dodge Viper GTS. The goal is 700 wheel-horsepower without any form of forced induction, but while it’s stock, he decided to see how the 20-year-old snake measures up against some of the Muscle cars currently on sale. Can the old Viper still perform?

The Lotus Exige may have been discontinued in favor of the Evija EV hypercar, but it’s still one of the best platforms for lightweight track weapons. It seems Quentin Boylan from Praetoria, South Africa, has recognized that and built his own extreme version of the British featherweight sports car. A while back, we wrote about another crazy project of his – an AMG V-8 swapped Toyota Hilux.

With the Exige, Quentin took things even further. He took the 6.2-liter V-8 out of a Mercedes SLS AMG and crammed it into the Lotus. The result is pure savagery.

You can find some amazing stuff on bringatrailer.com and this Jaguar XJS is a perfect example. Granted, a 1977 Jaguar XJS probably isn’t your first choice of platform for a performance build, but it shows that even a lazy gran tourer, like this Jaguar, can turn into a proper tire-shredding machine. It’s an ambitious father and son project that’s actually finished (yes, such a thing is possible) and now, it’s for sale.

Supercar Blondie is showing us yet another incredible car – the Ares Design S1. We’ve known about the Italian boutique manufacturer for a while and some of their other projects include the Ares Panther and a two-door conversion for the Bentley Mulsanne. As for the Ares Design S1, clients will be able to get their cars next year, and Supercar Blondie will be the first one to get hers. However, as unique as the S1 is, she has planned something that will make hers one of a kind.

Until about a decade ago, when it came to high-horsepower builds, it was pretty much the Chevrolet LS engines, with the occasional 2JZ or RB26 builds making an appearance. Nowadays, people have started noticing the Viper V-10 as the next platform capable of massive horsepower figures. With this in mind, “That Racing Channel” is giving us an inspiring YouTube video that gives the story behind the “six-second kid” and his 1999 Dodge Viper GTS that makes 3,200 horsepower.

Whether it’s between stock or modified cars, drag racing is always a good way to pit two (or more) machines against each other. It’s even more epic when said machines are some of the biggest rivals in rallying history. Today’s dose of drag racing comes from the YouTube channel Officially Gassed and is between a modified Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and a modified Subaru Impreza WRX STI with about the same power.

When owning a performance car, every bit of horsepower counts. That said, over time, wear and tear takes its toll on performance and some of those horses run away. Of course, it mainly depends on how the engine has been treated, both in terms of driving and maintenance. Mileage also takes its toll on the mechanical components of a car. But just how much power (if any) is lost over time? This “tired” Mustang Shelby GT500 answers that.

The Chevrolet Corvette C8 is one of the most desired sports cars on sale today. So much so that GM is having difficulties keeping up with demand. The C8 is the first mid-engine Corvette to make it to production and, even before the arrival of any performance versions, the new platform has already proven to be very capable. Speaking of performance, ever since YouTuber Emilia Hartford built her own twin-turbo C8 “Vette” – the most powerful one in the world – we knew the race was on. And now, someone else has built an even more powerful one.

A few months ago, we talked about the Singer 911 DLS, which is a 500 horsepower, air-cooled, rear-engine, masterpiece, based on the 964-generation of the Porsche 911. We’ve been hearing about the car since 2018, but it was just a few months ago when the first customer car was finally ready. To say that the 911 DLS is the ultimate interpretation of an air-cooled 911 is a bold statement, which is why Singer decided to take it for a spin at the Nürburgring for some real testing.

Supercar Blondie has made it a habit of giving us the tour on some of the most epic cars and concepts ever created. Lately, this included quite a few legendary classics, and the one Supercar Blondie is showing us this time is arguably the ultimate – a Mercedes 300 SLR of which only two were made. And she even managed to get behind the wheel and drive it.

There’s no denying that we are spoiled for choice when it comes to hot hatchbacks. The Honda Civic Type-R, Hyundai Veloster N, and VW Golf GTIare currently some of the most popular global models out there, but now there’s another one on the way. It seems Toyota Gazoo Racing is not done with launching hot versions of boring cars and a GR Corolla is on the way. However, it’s not going to arrive when initially expected.

Here at TopSpeed, we’ve got a closely guarded secret, but we’ve finally decided to spill the beans. See, for the last 10 years, we’ve been on Santa’s advisory board and are tasked with helping him plan his annual trip around the world. Usually, we advise him of what new vehicles are best for transporting presents and help him plan out his trip. However, this year, he asked us to kick it up a notch and help him design an all-new sleigh that will not only give Rudolph and the rest of the gang a much-needed rest but will also get him around the world in style and luxury. It took us four months just to decided which model to start out with, but in the end, we developed the GTC4Lusso Sleigh 2.0.

Santa is more than happy with the sleigh we’ve come up with, and it’s already been through extensive testing in preparation for the big day. Based on the 2016 Ferrari GTC4Lusso, you know the big man is traveling in luxuriousness, and he can obviously get there quickly too. But, there’s a lot more than what meets the eye. See; this isn’t your everyday GTC4Lusso – this baby is loaded to the gills with the type of magic that only Santa can make possible. So, this thing carries a considerable amount of power over the standard 6.3-liter V-12 and, despite appearing small, has enough cargo room to haul enough presents to hit half of the world in one trip.

But, before I get too far ahead of myself, Santa’s already hard at work navigating his way to the homes of kids all over the world. So, let’s dive on in a take a look at the GTC4Lusso Sleigh 2.0.