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Rumormill: Fiat Abarth to join World Rally Championship by 2014?

Filed under: Motorsports, Fiat

Abarth Punto S2000

It wasn’t that long ago that things didn’t look so good for the World Rally Championship. Automakers were dropping out of the series like so many flies, while other manufacturers were heading to the rival Intercontinental Rally Challenge. But things have turned around for the WRC.

While Citroën continues to dominate over Ford, Mini has joined the fight, and Volkswagen is on its way in as well. Now word comes in that Fiat could be preparing to take part, as well, with its Abarth performance brand.

Abarth 500 R3T Abarth has been contesting IRC and national rally championships with the Punto S2000 (pictured above) with considerable success, as well as mounting its own rally, touring car and junior formula spec series. But evidently looking for a new challenge, rumor has it that the Scorpion marque will challenge its European rivals on the world rally stage as soon as 2013 or maybe 2014.

If and when it does, the Punto Abarth will likely be adapted to WRC specifications (which now closely mirror the S2000 spec used in the IRC), as opposed to upgrading the 500 R3T (pictured at right) used in some lower-level rally events. We’ll have to wait for official confirmation, but one thing’s for sure: the competition in the WRC is getting fiercer by the day.

Fiat Abarth to join World Rally Championship by 2014? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 May 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hot Wheels world record jump at Indy 500 starting to take shape

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Off-Road

Indianapolis 500 jump

The ramp designed to propel Hot Wheels’ mystery driver to world record glory at the 100th Indianapolis 500 is starting to take shape. The ramp doesn’t look quite like it did in Hot Wheels’ original rendering, but it’s still an enormous and terrifying structure. Don’t believe us? Check out a full gallery of the ramp on the speedway’s Flickr page.

Hot Wheels’ goal is to propel a winged off-road truck 302 feet through the air, which would clinch the world record for distance. The death-defying stunt will kick off the excitement at next weekend’s Indy 500.

Hot Wheels world record jump at Indy 500 starting to take shape originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 22 May 2011 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Baptist minister creates world’s fastest motorcycle hearse

Filed under: Etc., Videos, Motorcycle

Reverend Biddiss on the world's fastest motorcycle hearse

Reverend Biddiss on the world’s fastest motorcycle hearse – Click above to watch video after the jump

The Guinness folks are responsible for sorting out all sorts of life questions. You know, like; which domestic cat has the loudest purr on the planet? Or maybe; what’s the heaviest weight ever lifted by the human tongue? Of course, they’re also responsible for keeping track of all sorts of automotive records, including the one depicted in the video after the jump: the world’s fastest motorcycle hearse. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a chariot of the dead on three wheels, but it is the first model owned and operated by a legitimate man of the cloth.

Reverend Ray Biddiss is the man behind a customized Triumph Rocket III that’s good for a top speed of 114.1 mph. While still technically awaiting confirmation, Biddiss is confident that his £20,000 machine will take the title of world’s fastest motorcycle hearse with ease. Hit the jump to check out a video of his top-speed run.

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Baptist minister creates world’s fastest motorcycle hearse originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 May 2011 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford testing 60 Focus ST models around the world

Filed under: Spy Photos, Performance, Hatchback, Ford

ford focus st mule

Ford Focus ST testing – Click above for high-res image gallery

We’re looking forward to getting our hands on the ST variant of the Ford Focus, and why not? We Americans have had no choice but to sit back and watch while our overseas comrades got to have all the fun behind the wheel of high-performance Focii, which made the hot hatchbacks the forbidden fruit we tend to crave.

Ford promises that the U.S. will finally have a chance at the next-generation ST, which should supply at least 246 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque courtesy an EcoBoost 2.0-liter mill. The only problem is that the high-pot Focus ST is still a year away, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see test mules traveling the highways and test tracks around the world.

Ford tells us they have 60 ST models testing everywhere from California to Germany’s Nürburgring. The testers may look like last-generation ST or more pedestrian current-gen Focus models, but the big wheels, low profile and double exhaust passes will show that the mules are anything but ordinary.

Matthias Tonn, who heads performance engineering at Ford of Europe, says that the testing is needed to make the next ST shine, adding that engineers are “fine-tuning, testing, and fine tuning again many of the small but critical details to make sure it is worthy of the ST badge.”

And just because the ST will be a performance hatch doesn’t mean Ford isn’t keenly focused on fuel economy as well. Tonn says the goal is to produce class-leading fuel economy even with a performance variant. Mixing fuel efficiency and performance is no easy task, but Ford is banking on a thrifty EcoBoost engine and fuel-saving technology like a finely tuned Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) system to do the trick.

While the Focus ST is still a way away from production, Ford provided some “spy photos” of an ST mule during testing in Germany, which you can peruse in our high-res image gallery. Hit the jump to read over the Ford press release.

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Ford testing 60 Focus ST models around the world originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 May 2011 18:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lowered Ram dually is world’s most awesomely inefficient can crusher

Filed under: Truck, Etc., Videos

Coors Light can ready for Ram pickup crushing

Dually owner understands the value in recycling – Click above to watch video after the jump

There are many ways to crush a Coors Light can. One can go with the classic squeeze box, the ogre-brand forehead smash or perhaps you might prefer to let your foot do the stomping. The owner of an air-bag suspension-equipped Dodge Ram HD dually pickup has another option when it comes time to crush cans; flip a switch and let the quad-cab do the recycling.

Click past the jump to watch a very expensive way to earn five cents.

Continue reading Lowered Ram dually is world’s most awesomely inefficient can crusher

Lowered Ram dually is world’s most awesomely inefficient can crusher originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 May 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 World Car Awards: How close it was

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Alfa Romeo

On Thursday the 21^st of April, the seventh annual World Car Awards were given out in a ceremony at the New York International Auto Show that was duly covered by Autoblog.

Full disclosure: I, Matt Davis, European Editor of this online obsession Autoblog, am both a co-founder and co-chair of the World Car Awards, and I intend to shamelessly soapbox herein about the WCAs, at least until the bosses toss me out on the sidewalk.

The WCAs comprise four awards: World Green Car, World Car Design, World Performance Car, and overall World Car of the Year – known as the WCotY. There is no other widely known award even remotely like this, as all four take into account truly global cars from every region of the world. The overall WCotY, in particular, pits cars of every type from every make on the globe, some of which may not be available in the English-speaking world, against one another and, in the end, we 66 international jurors shake out a winner, two runners-up, and the rest.

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2011 World Car Awards: How close it was originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why Cadillac hasn’t found success yet in World Challenge Series, and why it’s not giving up

Filed under: Motorsports, Cadillac

Cadillac CTS-V SCCA race car

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe SCCA race car takes on all comers – Click above for high-res image gallery

The last time Cadillac lined up for the World Challenge Series from 2004 to 2007, it was competing with the CTS-V sedan. As put by an understated Jim Vurpillat, Cadillac’s global head of marketing, “We’ve been here before and had some success.”

The CTS-V Coupe race cars were plucked from the same line as cars headed to dealerships.

By “some success,” he means that the four-door roared off with the championship in its second and fourth years. The team has a steep road to climb if they’re going to relive that kind of winning percentage with its new CTS-V Coupe, but, having watched the package shred the Long Beach circuit last weekend, there’s no doubt they have a car that will be able to do it… eventually.

With just six months to prepare for the racing season, the two CTS-V Coupes piloted by Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim were built at the Lansing, Michigan plant, plucked from the same line as cars headed to dealerships. They were then taken to Pratt & Miller, the same firm that prepped the championship-winning CTS-V sedans, to be overhauled.

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Gallery: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe at the Long Beach World Challenge Series race

Continue reading Why Cadillac hasn’t found success yet in World Challenge Series, and why it’s not giving up

Why Cadillac hasn’t found success yet in World Challenge Series, and why it’s not giving up originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York 2011: Nissan’s Leaf Nismo RC ready to jolt motorsports world?

Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, New York Auto Show, Technology, Hatchback, Nissan, Electric

Nissan Leaf Nismo RC concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Countless auto industry pundits have suggested that there would be no better way to accelerate the development of EV technologies than for someone with the wherewithal to organize a racing series just for electric cars.

Nissan appears to agree with that strategy, having just unveiled its Leaf Nismo RC (Racing Competition) concept here at the New York Auto Show. The juiced-up hatchback has lost a couple of doors and nearly four inches out of its wheelbase in the transition to competition spec, but it’s a whopping 6.7-inches wider and nearly an inch longer – proportions that are exaggerated by its minimal ground clearance of 2.4 inches. With its carbon fiber body shot in special white paint, the Nismo RC ends up looking a bit like a really, really angry vacuum cleaner, and that’s just fine by us. All-in, Nissan says the motorsports special weighs just 2,068 pounds – around 40 percent lighter than your garden-variety Leaf.

The Nismo RC rolls up to the starting line packing 107 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque, and its lithium-ion pack can reach an 80 percent charge state in just 30 minutes. Still, if the Leaf is ever to be raced, we’re thinking that some sort of swappable battery solution will have to be developed; otherwise pit stops are going to be rather leisurely.

Despite its menacing appearance and real racecar engineering, Nissan says its top speed is just 93 mph and its battery would likely only last about 20 minutes in competition. In other words, while this is a promising start, we don’t see the Nismo RC spawning its own race series just yet.

High-res galleries below, official press release after the jump.

Gallery: Nissan Leaf Nismo RC: New York 2011

Gallery: Nissan Leaf Nismo RC

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New York 2011: Nissan’s Leaf Nismo RC ready to jolt motorsports world? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: World Supersport race in Assen sees two red flags, carnage galore

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Motorcycle, Racing

Sam Lowes goes down at Assen

Sam Lowes goes down at Assen. Ouch. – Click above to watch video after the jump

Last weekend’s World Supersport race at Assen was a rough one. Both Sam Lowes and Alexander Lundh took away broken bones after separate incidents that caused marshals to bring out the red flag each time. Lowes highsided his machine while jousting with championship-leader Luca Scassa and eventual race-winner Chaz Davies. Despite the brutality of the crash, Lowes only suffered a broken collar bone and a mild concussion. He’s expected to be back in the saddle for the next series event in Monza.

Lundh, meanwhile, managed to find himself tangled up in an incident only two laps into the first restart of the race. The racer lost control of his machine after Marko Jerman highsided in front of him. Shortly after going down, Lund was hit by a third bike, resulting in a broken wrist. Jerman, meanwhile, escaped with only bumps and bruises.

The two red flags cut the race down to just 16 laps, and the third start allowed Davies to jump out ahead of the pack and maintain his lead. Head over to TwoWheelsBlog for a full rundown of the finishers and hit the jump for a look at some of the carnage.

[Source: TwoWheelsBlog]

Continue reading Video: World Supersport race in Assen sees two red flags, carnage galore

Video: World Supersport race in Assen sees two red flags, carnage galore originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 19 Apr 2011 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lingenfelter at work on new World’s Fastest Camaro [w/video]

Filed under: Aftermarket, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet

Lingenfelter Black Chevrolet Camaro

Lingenfelter Chevrolet Camaro – Click above to watch video after the jump

The best thing about drag racing is that fast is never fast enough. After building a Chevrolet Camaro that comfortably waltzed down the quarter mile in under nine seconds, the crew at Lingenfelter are hell-bent on making the machine do the deed in even less time. As a result, the mad wrenches have worked up a 427-cubic-inch LSX engine with a pair of ported LS3 six-bolt heads. All projections have the mighty beating heart churning out somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,200 horsepower with the locomotive grunt getting channeled to the rear wheels via a TR6060 gearbox.

The company hasn’t taken its new quarter-mile king to the track just yet, but it has been so kind as to slip the internet a peek at the machine on the dyno. According to the video after the jump, what you’re seeing is a wide-open-throttle shift from third to fourth with both stages of nitrous in full glory. We’re nearly positive that eons ago, this is why man tamed fire. Hit the jump to check out the action for yourself.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Continue reading Lingenfelter at work on new World’s Fastest Camaro [w/video]

Lingenfelter at work on new World’s Fastest Camaro [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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