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Ferrari officially launches Virtual Racing Academy

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Technology, Ferrari, Toys/Games, Racing

Ferrari Virtual Academy

Ferrari Virtual Racing Academy – Click above for high-res image gallery

Earlier this month, we mentioned that Ferrari was getting ready to release an online simulator. It’s time for Scuderia fans to brush up on their virtual F1 skills, because the Ferrari Virtual Academy is now available for download. The racing sim took 12,000 hours to develop and utilized the input of Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella.

The first course available for purchase is the Fiorano circuit. It costs €14.90 (about $18.97 USD) and allows players from around the globe to compete against each other in Ferrari F10 Formula One race cars. Lap times are already up on the Ferrari Virtual Academy website and the competition will continue to heat up as more tracks are released. Next up is Mugello, and then players will get their shot at taming the Nürburgring. The two extra tracks will run €9.90 (about $12.60 USD) each, with all three tracks painstakingly reproduced down to the tiniest details.

All drivers will be able to record and post their lap times as part of an international competition and each week, Ferrari will send out prizes for the top times. At the end of the competition, the five fastest drivers will win a trip to Maranello and take part in a Ferrari Driver Academy course.

Time to stretch those gaming thumbs and take on the world.

Gallery: Ferrari Virtual Academy

Ferrari Virtual Academy

[Source: Ferrari]

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Ferrari officially launches Virtual Racing Academy originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Citroën reportedly readying hot hybrid DS4 Racing model

Filed under: Hybrid, Performance, Europe, Crossover, Hatchback, Citroën

Citroën DS4 – Click above for high-res image gallery

If you’re still scratching your head trying to figure out what to make of the new Citroën DS4, get ready to be even more confused. Emerging reports from across the pond indicate that the French automaker is preparing a performance version of the premium hatchback/crossover/whats-it in the same vein as the DS3 Racing… only taller. And with a few more doors.

Presumed to be called the DS4 Racing, the high-performance version of the vehicle slated to debut in Paris later this month, will ostensibly target the bigger hot hatches already on the market, like the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Renaultsport Megane 250.

Performance-oriented trim inside and out – from the two-tone aero kit and upsized wheels to the racing buckets and flat-bottomed steering wheel – will give the DS4 Racing an aggressive attitude, but the real party trick will be sitting under the hood. Citroën is reportedly working on adapting the HYbrid4 through-the-road all-wheel drive system to couple the 200-horsepower 1.6-liter turbo four from the Peugeot RCZ with an electric boost.

With the DS4 still to be publicly unveiled and the DS3 Racing just hitting the market now, sources don’t expect the DS4 Racing to arrive before 2013.

Gallery: Citroen DS4

[Source: Auto Express]

Citroën reportedly readying hot hybrid DS4 Racing model originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Audi channels ’50s street racing scene for A1 photo shoot?

Filed under: Europe, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Hatchback, Audi

Audi A1 meets classic American cars and a blonde bombshell

Audi A1 meets ’50s cool – Click above to watch video after the jump

We’ll be honest: we have no idea what’s going on in the video after the jump. Near as we can tell, Audi wanted to work up a photo shoot for its new A1 subcompact, so the company dialed up two members of the band Tokio Hotel, packed a warehouse with 22 pieces of classic iron and went to town. Yeah, we don’t quite get it ourselves. There’s a ’50s drag-race flavor about the whole affair thanks to a tatted-up blonde bombshell playing flag girl, which only furthers our befuddlement.

At least the song isn’t half bad.

It’s true that the Audi A1 is a pretty cool piece of machinery. And, yes, we dig on pre-’60s hardware as much as the next auto-obsessed site, but the two aren’t quite the same kind of awesome. Maybe Audi is looking to flex the customizable side of the A1, or maybe the ad department was just looking for an excuse to meet a couple of members of Tokio Hotel. Who knows? Hit the jump to try to solve this mystery for yourself.

Gallery: 2011 Audi A1

[Source: Audi via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Audi channels ’50s street racing scene for A1 photo shoot?

Video: Audi channels ’50s street racing scene for A1 photo shoot? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Lexus to build GT racing version of LFA, GT1 or GT2?

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Lexus, Racing

Lexus LFA race edition

Lexus LFA race edition – Click above for high-res image gallery

Motor Trend is reporting that Toyota’s may be getting back into motorsports big-time with a GT entry based on the Lexus LFA. According to the report, Lexus would enter the FIA GT1 championship to take on the Nissan GT-R. This seems like a move downmarket for the $375,000 Lexus sports car from a marketing standpoint. GT1 is also a faltering race class that’s being eliminated under the new 2011 Le Mans rules.

If Toyota wants to race the LFA, it would make more sense to head to Le Mans where it can take on Ferraris, Aston Martins and Porsches in the GT2 class. The LFA race edition (above) that’s already been developed and run in the last two 24 hour races at the Nürburgring would already be close to GT2 specification and could be ready for the 2011 race season.

Gallery: 2010 Lexus LFA racer

[Source: Motor Trend]

Rumormill: Lexus to build GT racing version of LFA, GT1 or GT2? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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eBay Find of the Day: Gulf Racing DeLorean is a very bad idea

Filed under: Classics, Coupe, Auctions, Specialty, Design/Style

Gulf liveried DeLorean – Click above for high-res image gallery

Don’t get us wrong. We love ourselves some DeLorean, and we’d argue there may not be a more iconic motorsports paint scheme in history than the classic Gulf Racing livery. But sometimes, two rights make one horrible wrong. Such is the case with today’s eBay Find of the Day.

Call us purists if you must, but DeLoreans should all be left in their bare unfinished stainless steel suit. And so it’s a rather good thing that this otherwise fine example of the breed isn’t actually painted at all – the horrid coating you see in the images below is actually a vinyl wrap. Thank God for small miracles.

Looking past the unfortunate wrap, what we have here appears to be a very nice gullwinged coupe with under 10,000 miles. It’s got the preferred five-speed manual transmission, has been updated with an Eibach suspension kit and it’s been otherwise completely refurbished by the experts at DeLorean Motor Company.

At the time of this writing, the top bid sits at just over $15K and there’s five days left. Happy bidding (and happy removal of its vinyl wrap…)!

Gallery: Gulf liveried DeLorean

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: Gulf Racing DeLorean is a very bad idea originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Corvette Racing Series Episode 8: Cascade engineering

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology, Videos, Chevrolet, Racing

Click above to view the video after the jump

Episode eight of the Corvette Racing series is up and this installment delves into what the team calls “cascade engineering.” It covers some of the same ground we discussed back in March when we toured the Pratt & Miller race shop where the C6.Rs are built and prepared.

The race team works very closely with the production engineering team, using most of the same computer aided engineering tools, and the lessons learned from the 10 years of the race program have been fed back into street car program. Proof? The face of the C6 with its flush headlamps and wider grille opening for better breathing were all inspired by the race car. Similarly, the track-bound coupes now use a 5.5-liter version of the LS7 V8 from the production Z06. Because of the limited in-season testing available to American Le Mans Series teams, the Corvette Racing crew relies on tools like computational fluid dynamics to improve the car from race to race, which you learn more about in the video after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

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Video: Corvette Racing Series Episode 8: Cascade engineering originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Team Need for Speed racing team adds Time Attack 1,100-HP Scion TC

Filed under: Motorsports, Scion, Racing

Chris Rado’s Time Attack Scion AWD – Click above for high-res image gallery

Chris Rado has added another car to Team Need for Speed: an 1,100-horsepower all-wheel drive Scion TC taking aim at the Time Attack series. It’s taken a few years to take the idea from concept to reality, and pictures of the build make it clear why. The zebra-marked tC with gold-plated bulkhead and hood-exit exhaust made its debut last weekend at Road Atlanta, and for some reason – maybe the snowplow? – we wouldn’t be surprised to see it on a mountain in Colorado someday. Have a closer look at it in the gallery of high-res photos below.

Gallery: Team Need for Speed Time Attack Scion

[Source: Speedhunters via Designlenta]

Team Need for Speed racing team adds Time Attack 1,100-HP Scion TC originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Reverse-engineered Wipeout racing videogame is silly brilliance

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Videos, Toys/Games, Humor

Click above to watch the video after the jump

Leave it to the Germans to turn a real-life radio control car, a video camera with a wireless transmitter and an arcade box into the best 3D rendition of the old Playstation game Wipeout we’ve ever seen. If designer Malte Jehmlich and friends would have stopped after designing a massive multi-level carboard track for their remote control cars, we would have thought it was pretty cool. But the innovative crew attached a plate to their 1/28 scale car and mounted a video camera with a wireless transmitter that sends a video signal to an arcade racing cabinet to make this a truly multi-dimensional video game. The racing cabinet is equipped with a steering wheel and a monitor that displays the r/c car’s progress in real time. The whole project took them two months to put together.

Jehmlich and his friends are currently working on integrating force feedback and power-ups using sensors built into the track. Very cool, indeed. Hit the jump to watch video of the Great Room-sized arcade game in action. We’re thinking that we’d want one of these in the basement, but we’re not sure if our wives would approve.

[Source: Vimeo via Engadget]

Continue reading Video: Reverse-engineered Wipeout racing videogame is silly brilliance

Video: Reverse-engineered Wipeout racing videogame is silly brilliance originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maker Faire Detroit 2010: Power Racing Series, as grassroots as it gets [w/Video]

Power Racing Series – Click above for high-res image gallery

One of the highlights of this weekend’s Detroit Maker Faire was the Michigan premiere of a new grassroots racing event: the Power Racing Series. The brainchild of Jim Burke, the Power Racing Series is like LeMons in that the machines have budgets limited to just $500 not including safety equipment. Unlike LeMons, the Power Racing Series vehicles are based on Fisher-Price Power Wheels or Little Tykes toys that have been modded to support the mass of adult drivers and larger 12-volt lead-acid car batteries.

This weekend’s competition features three individual events including a drag race, a 15-lap road race and a one-hour enduro on Sunday afternoon. The drag race was won by Royce Pipkins, president of the Milwaukee Maker Space, in his Grave Digger. When the 15-lap event began on Saturday afternoon, the #3 car built by the crew at the I3 Detroit hacker space clearly had more speed than any other vehicle. Unfortunately, about halfway through the race, the car ground to a halt. A key connecting the rear wheel to the axle had sheared the soft metal of the axle. The crew repeatedly tried pounding in new keys, but the car would only run another lap or two before running into trouble. Ultimately Pipkins had the durability and speed to finish 15 green-flag laps before anyone else. Look for the Power Racing Series at a parking lot near you soon.

Update: On Sunday afternoon, the Power Racers went back to the track for the one hour enduro and the extra distance took its toll on the field. Royce Pipkins and his Grave Digger pulled into the pits after 35 minutes with two burned out motors.The i3 Detroit also came at about 40 minutes and had to do some rewiring to bypass a failed motor controller. Meanwhile the OmniCorp Detroit team motored on to complete the most laps. The I3 Detroit machine ran third on the track but accumulated enough Moxie Points from the crowd to finish first overall and capture the 2010 Power Racing Series championship. Check out some video highlights after the jump.

Gallery: Maker Faire Detroit 2010: Power Racing Series

Continue reading Maker Faire Detroit 2010: Power Racing Series, as grassroots as it gets [w/Video]

Maker Faire Detroit 2010: Power Racing Series, as grassroots as it gets [w/Video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pontiac Sunbird racing lobster boat warps our fragile little minds

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Convertible, Etc., Pontiac, Humor, Off-Road, Racing

It’s been said that any time two individuals are headed to the same location at the same time, a race is likely to ensue. If you need proof, look no further than Maine’s lobster boat races. What began as a friendly tradition among returning fisherman has evolved into the NASCAR of the seas – where high-dollar fiberglass drag boats reign supreme and the little guys are left to try to hold their own on sea-borne Pontiac Sunbird convertibles. Or something. You see, in New Harbor, Maine, one man has established himself as the force to be reckoned with. Lobster man Galen Alley decided to plop a hefty supercharged V8 into the back of a 2,000-pound fiberglass craft once upon a time and has been grand poobah of lobster waters ever since.

That just doesn’t quite sit well with Stevie Johnson – a boat builder who has vowed to knock Alley off of his high horse, so to speak. Since showmanship is next to godliness in these lobster boat races, Johnson snapped up a cabin cruiser, cut the craft down to its hull and bolted a Pontiac Sunbird Convertible to the deck. How’d he fare? After doing demonstration passes for the crowd all day, Johnson forgot to top off the tanks on his craft and ran out of fuel before crossing the finish line. He says he’ll be back next year, possibly with an ocean-going Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal via Jalopnik]

Pontiac Sunbird racing lobster boat warps our fragile little minds originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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