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Formula Drift kicks off the 2011 season in Long Beach

Filed under: Motorsports, Racing

2011 Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach

2011 Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach – Click above for high-res image gallery

A handful of well-known drivers and manufacturer-sponsored cars typically dominate the Formula Drift circuit – Foust, Gittin, Hubinette and Millen. At the opening event in Long Beach this past weekend, though, the big names were noticeably absent from the podium.

Perennial contender Tanner Foust retired from the sport last season to focus on his rally and television careers, Sam Hubinette couldn’t manage to get his new Dodge Challenger to the starting line, and last year’s champion, Vaughn Gittin Jr., failed to qualify for Saturday’s knockout round. Rhys Millen in his newly painted Hyundai Genesis Coupe only managed to make it into the quarter finals.

The eventual podium featured first time winner Justin Pawlak, who drove to victory in Gittin’s hand-me-down Mustang, Matt Powers, another newbie to the podium, and Daijiro Yoshihara, who finished fourth last season. You can read more about the event in the press release after the jump or browse through our photos from the event in the high-res gallery below.

Gallery: 2011 Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach

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Formula Drift kicks off the 2011 season in Long Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lotus Cup USA kicks off at Willow Springs

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Lotus, Racing

2011 Lotus Cup USA

Lotus Cup USA kicked off its 2011 season this weekend at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. The weather was perfect for the season opener, and Jack Fried took the overall and 2-Eleven class victory in a battle that came down to the final lap of the feature race.

Andy Kern took the win in the time attack event with 1:29.473 in another Lotus 2-Eleven, but retired from the feature with mechanical issues. Fried was close behind Kern for second in time attack.

The Lotus Evora Experience kicked off at Willow Springs last weekend as well. The Evora Experience gives 12 VIPs seat time in the Evora, including track sessions. The next round of Lotus Cup USA racing is at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ the weekend of April 9 and 10.

Gallery: Entry-Level Lotus 2-Eleven

[Source: Lotus]

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Lotus Cup USA kicks off at Willow Springs originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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43 Fiestas sweepstakes kicks off with excellent NASCAR vs. Rally footage

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Hatchback, Ford, Racing

43 Fiestas Ken Block vs. A.J. Allmendinger

Ken Block takes on AJ Allmendinger – Click above to watch video after the jump

Ford has officially lit a fire under its 43 Fiestas campaign. As you may recall, the promotion aims to hand out a raft of prizes, from 43 LCD flat-screen TVs to airfare, lodging and tickets to the Ford NASCAR 400 Sprint Cup race for 43 lucky grand-prize winners. Of those souls, one will be awarded a special Ford Fiesta, but should AJ Allmendinger happen to walk away with the checkers, everyone in the grand-prize lot will receive a new Fiesta to call their very own. That’s impressive and all, but not nearly so interesting as the videos after the jump.

You see, to sell the sweepstakes, Ford enlisted the help of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, rally heathen Ken Block and AJ Allmendinger, the current pilot of the #43 NASCAR racer. What happens when the three meet on a track? Let’s just say that while we weren’t entirely surprised by the outcome, we’re wholeheartedly in favor of this type of motorsports crossbreeding in the future.

Now let’s see that 3,000-pound NASCAR bruiser fling itself down a rally stage.

[Source: 43 Fiestas]

Continue reading 43 Fiestas sweepstakes kicks off with excellent NASCAR vs. Rally footage

43 Fiestas sweepstakes kicks off with excellent NASCAR vs. Rally footage originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jaguar XKR175 kicks off the kid brother mantle at Pebble Beach

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Jaguar, Misc. Auto Shows, Luxury

Jaguar XKR175 – Click above for high-res image

Life can’t have been easy for Jaguar in the Ford PAG years. Sure, the automaker had an influx of capital to dedicate to development of new models and the fine-tuning of existing ones. And sure, its notorious reliability and quality levels skyrocketed to a near-acceptable level (which is quite far from where they were). But all the same, it had to live in the shadow of their big brother Aston Martin.

The current Tata era, then, must be a breath of fresh air, with no one impeding Jag’s upwards growth. Exhibit A: the XKR175. Like its continental (and similarly named) counterpart, the XKR 75, it’s been made to celebrate the marque’s 75th anniversary. Of course it’s based on the XKR, a model of unique feline reflexes that was once impeded in its potential by the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, never mind the DB9. But no more – with AML now under separate ownership, the XKR175 demonstrates just what the British GT is capable of.

We’re talking about 510 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque from the supercharged V8. We’re talking about a beefed-up aero kit, bigger wheels and super-sized brakes. We’re talking about an unveiling no less prestigious than the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, so check out the solo image released in the interim and the press release after the jump.

If you like what you see, you’d better call your local dealer now. Because with a limited production run of – you guessed it – 175 examples (15 of which will head north to the land of igloos and maple syrup, the rest to be divided between these United States), you can bet that – even with a $104,500 price tag – demand will outstrip supply. Even Aston Martin will have to stand up and take notice to that.

[Source: Jaguar]

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Jaguar XKR175 kicks off the kid brother mantle at Pebble Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival kicks things off

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Classics, Misc. Auto Shows

Gordon McCall’s Motorworks Revival at The Monterey Jet Center – Click above for high-res image gallery

The annual Monterey classic and exotic car festivities may culminate in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday, but there are literally dozens of events during the week to keep everyone happy. Check out our official Autoblog Monterey Calendar if you doubt us. Our favorite way to kick off the week is always Wednesday night’s McCall’s Motorworks Revival at The Monterey Jet Center. The Jet Center Party, as it’s more informally known, brings together some of the most significant cars from all of the other events, along with many of the celebs and VIPs, lots of fabulous food and beverages, and an awesome assortment of classic warplanes and new jets for sale. It might sound like an odd mix, but it makes for a perfect start to our week in Monterey every year.

While the Lotus booth was truly a worthy centerpiece this year, with its all-new, million-dollar Lotus Exos T125 single-seat racer, Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car, Takuma Sato’s Indy Racing League Lotus Dallara and a production Lotus Evora, there was plenty more to see as usual. Bonham’s brought over several of their top offerings; a few race cars made it over from the track, some vintage Jaguars snuck over from Quail, and Bentley, Jaguar, Audi, Porsche; and several other manufacturers had their usual grand displays. There were even a few oddball, one-off and fledgling builders on hand, like the Singer 911 and Morgan.

Highlights included the Jaguar XJ13 and XK-SS, Audi Sport Quattro and R10, Lola T220, the bare metal Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Maserati A6GCS, Porsche 550 and 917 Spyders and that super rare drag pack Shelby GT350 Mustang. Heck, we even got to hang out with Takuma Sato who said he’s really enjoying his rookie season in IndyCars and that ovals are a real test of your concentration. He also said he loves the way the Lotus Evora Cup GT4 car feels. Real nice guy.

Click below to check out our gallery of photos from Wednesday night’s Jet Center Party.

Gallery: Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival

Jaguar XK-SS Ford GT in Gulf livery Audi R8 2011 Bentley Mulsanne Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Monterey 2010: McCall’s Motorworks Revival kicks things off originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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