record Archives | Page 4 of 4

Travis Pastrana spotted on Mt. Washington, record attempt in the works?

Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Subaru, Celebrities

Travis Pastrana at Mt. Washington

As if his success in motocross and rally racing weren’t enough, Travis Pastrana may be looking for still bigger mountains to climb. Mainly, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, the tallest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft.

Autoblog reader Andrew Stowell caught up with Pastrana at the famed Mt. Washington Auto Road where the multi-medal X Games winner was reportedly scouting turns, making pace notes and filming some interviews for what should be a new YouTube sensation if he accomplishes this mission.

Travis Pastrana's Subaru WRX at Mt. Washington According to Stowell, Pastrana’s plan is to break the Mt. Washington Auto Road record of six minutes and 42 seconds set in 1998 by Frank Sprongl driving an Audi Quattro (see Sprogl’s run in full after the jump). Pastrana will supposedly be driving his X Games rally WRX STI, though when Stowell caught him he was behind the wheel of a stock WRX for practice.

Astute readers will remember my own tale of tackling the Auto Road this summer in Autoblog’s long-term 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT, which I accomplished in around 25 minutes amidst heavy tourist traffic. The eight-mile road is not for the faint of heart with over 100 turns. True, Pikes Peak is longer at 12.4 miles and turnier with 156 curves, but that famous stretch of Colorado road rises at an average incline of just 7 degrees. The Mt. Washington Auto Road reaches for the skies at a 12-degree angle, and the road is narrower too. So let’s just say it’s no drive in the park.

We’re not exactly sure when Pastrana will possibly attempt a record run, or if in fact that’s what he’s doing there. Subaru of America told us that it’s a Red Bull-sponsored stunt and they’re not involved, and Red Bull Motorsports has yet to respond to our inquiries. Nevertheless, our man on the ground claims the attempt will happen on Thursday. We’ll keep you updated when we find out how he did.

Continue reading Travis Pastrana spotted on Mt. Washington, record attempt in the works?

Travis Pastrana spotted on Mt. Washington, record attempt in the works? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Travis Pastrana spotted on Mt. Washington, record attempt in the works?”

Video: Bad Habits’ monster truck world record practice session doesn’t go as planned

Filed under: Motorsports, Truck, Videos, Off-Road, Racing

Hey ya'll, watch this!

Bad Habits takes a dive – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Few realms of motorsport live the “Go big or go home” mantra to the fullest quite as well as the monster truck world. Aside from one of the largest voiceovers in the industry (“Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!!“), the guys who wrangle the epic horsepower, rear-wheel steering beasts of the Monster Jam circuit also boast some of the biggest egos. You know, the kind of sheer will of character that it takes to look at Bigfoot’s 202-foot, record-setting jump over a jetliner and think, “Nah, I can do better.” Such is the case with Joe Sylvester, the 26-year-old driver of the Bad Habits truck.

Sylvester has got it into his mind that he can embarrass the Bigfoot record, and has set about building a truck and a ramp to do just that. Only thing is, things didn’t go so swell during a practice session this week. After nailing his homemade ramp, the Bad Habits truck promptly began to turn its nose back toward terra firma, and it wasn’t long before the machine evaporated into a cloud of giant tires and red clay. Sylvester was unharmed in the accident and plans to officially attempt to break the record at this weekend’s Cornfield 500 at Columbus, PA’s Miller Farm. If you can’t make it, don’t worry – the folks at DirtVision plan a live webcast of this Sunday’s attempt.

Either way, we wish Sylvester the best of luck. You may want to do the same after hitting the jump and watching his failed practice attempt for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Shawn!

[Sources: YouTube, Cornfield500, DirtVision]

Continue reading Video: Bad Habits’ monster truck world record practice session doesn’t go as planned

Video: Bad Habits’ monster truck world record practice session doesn’t go as planned originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Video: Bad Habits’ monster truck world record practice session doesn’t go as planned”

Ohio State University’s Buckeye Bullet claims another electric speed record

Filed under: Motorsports, Specialty, Electric

2010 Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet – Click above for high-res image gallery

As they have for the past several years, the kids from Ohio State University made the trek out to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah this month to see how fast they could go without emitting any pollutants. The Buckeye Bullet has always been electrically driven, but in past years the juice for the motors was provided by hydrogen fuel cells. In 2009, a fuel cell-powered Bullet set an FIA two-way land speed record of 300.992 miles per hour. This year, OSU has teamed up with Venturi, the Monaco-based maker of very few electric vehicles, and transformed the Buckeye Bullet 2 into a test mule for an all-new 2011 car.

The fuel cells have now been replaced by lithium-ion batteries from A123 Systems and, after several days of aborted runs and wind-storms, the team finally got in two clean passes Monday afternoon. On the first run, the Bullet traversed the flying mile at 286 miles per hour. After repacking the parachute and turning the car around, the students watched as the car sped by in the opposite direction at 297 mph for a two-way average of 291 mph and, yet again, a new battery-powered vehicle record.

Gallery: 2010 OSU Buckeye Bullet

[Source: BangShift]

Ohio State University’s Buckeye Bullet claims another electric speed record originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Ohio State University’s Buckeye Bullet claims another electric speed record”

Suzuki Kizashi topples 200 mph at Bonneville for new Land Speed Record

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Budget, Sedan, Suzuki

2010 Suzuki Kizashi takes Bonneville – Click above to watch video after the jump

The crew from Suzuki and Road & Track officially hold the new Land Speed Record for the Blown Gas Coupe Category. The team wheeled out their modified 2010 Suzuki Kizashi to the Bonneville Salt Flats and managed to average an impressive 203.720 mph across two high-speed runs, besting the previous record by a little less than a second and a half. R&T commissioned legendary engine builder Richard Holdener to rework the engine in the Kizashi before it hit the salt, and as a result, the car wore forged internals and a beefier turbo that shoved a full 16 pounds of boost into the four-cylinder as the Sam Mitani-helmed Suzuki headed down the dry lake bed.

Now that the Kizashi has one record under its belt, Road & Track is planning to try for a second, naturally-aspirated record by unbolting the turbo and going hog wild. Now all we have to wonder is how much it’s going to take to convince Suzuki to offer those slick seam-welded steel wheels as an option on the Kizashi Sport. Hit the jump to take a look at a video of the car during its record-setting run, as well as a press release detailing the occasion.

Gallery: First Drive: 2010 Suzuki Kizashi Sport

Photos by Zach Bowman / Copyright (C)2010 AOL
[Source: Suzuki]

Continue reading Suzuki Kizashi topples 200 mph at Bonneville for new Land Speed Record

Suzuki Kizashi topples 200 mph at Bonneville for new Land Speed Record originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Suzuki Kizashi topples 200 mph at Bonneville for new Land Speed Record”

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s top speed will be 10 mph less than record [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Performance, Bugatti, Racing

World-record breaking Bugatti Veyron Super Sport on the track – Click above for high-res image gallery

Oh what teases those Bugatti folks are. They brought the new Veyron Super Sport to Laguna Seca during classic car week here in Monterey… and did a parade lap at a pace about one-tenth of the car’s record-breaking 268-mile per hour top speed. We never expected it to take to the track in anger, but getting out of first gear would’ve been nice. Despite the slow speeds, we captured a bit of video that we think you might like.

Bugatti also announced a few details about the Super Sport that we hadn’t heard before. First, the SS will account for the final 40 Veyrons built in the car’s 300-unit run. Second, owners of the Super Sport might be saddened to learn that the car is going to be limited to just 258 miles per hour, 10 mph short of the terminal velocity it reached to set the land speed record for a production car back in early July. Bugatti was a bit tight-lipped on why, so we’re speculating it might be the tires. Actually it could be that the gas tank will now empty in 30 seconds while traveling at the car’s top speed, but who knows.

Click through and you’ll be able to see the black-and-orange SS leading the vintage Bugatti Grand Prix grid out of the pits as they form up for their Saturday race. We’ve also put together some still images of the über-Veyron during its visit to the track in the gallery below. Enjoy.

Gallery: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport at Laguna Seca

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

Continue reading Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s top speed will be 10 mph less than record [w/video]

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s top speed will be 10 mph less than record [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s top speed will be 10 mph less than record [w/video]”

Koenigsegg considering a challenge to Veyron SS speed record?

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Luxury, Koenigsegg

Koenigsegg Agera – Click above for high-res image gallery

Few things get the automotive universe fired up quite like a good old-fashioned grudge match, and from the sound of things, we may be on the verge of seeing the battle royale with the cheese of grudge matches. Evidently, Top Gear’s Bill Thomas was strolling around the Koenigsegg factory shortly after Bugatti launched the Veryon Super Sport to 267.81 mph.

At the time, the Bug’s record-breaking drive was still confidential knowledge, but being the kind of bloke we wouldn’t mind buying a beer, Thomas felt the need to share Bugatti’s accomplishment with Koenigsegg boss Christian von Koenigsegg, potentially igniting a powder keg of speed and competition the likes of which the production auto world hasn’t seen in quite some time.

Apparently, upon hearing the news that the Veryon Super Sport was now top dog of the production car world, Koenigsegg immediately began rattling off possible places to do his own high-speed testing with his newest machine, the Agera. That sounds an awful lot like we can expect a new Swedish sports machine to arrive any time to attempt to whisk the title away from the French. And there might even be a little three-way action from America’s Shelby SuperCars. See? Isn’t competition fun?

Gallery: Koenigsegg Agera

[Source: Top Gear]

Koenigsegg considering a challenge to Veyron SS speed record? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Koenigsegg considering a challenge to Veyron SS speed record?”

Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Porsche, Racing

Jeff Zwart’s Porsche 911 GT3 scales Pikes Peak – Click above to watch video after the jump

We’ve seen footage of Jeff Zwart practicing for his recent run up Pikes Peak, now filmmaker Will Roegge has delivered unto us the footage from Zwart’s Time Attack 2WD class record.

Zwart ran his 911 GT3 up 12.42 miles and through 156 turns in just 11:31.095, averaging over 65 miles per hour. But you don’t need us to tell you about it – these things tend to speak for themselves. Follow the jump to watch a record being set.

Gallery: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

[Sources: Will Roegge, YouTube]

Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Video: Jeff Zwart’s Porsche GT3 sets Pikes Peak Time Attack 2WD class record”