By John Coyle

Editor

This afternoon, B-K Motorsports almost caught a big break—almost. During the pre-qualifying afternoon practice session, driver Ben Devlin ran a wicked fast lap which put the team in second overall. Then, just as he finished, the skies opened up and the track was red flagged. Since the officials had earlier said that if it was raining during qualifying, they’d use the fastest practice laps to determine starting position, it looked like B-K was going to begin tomorrow’s race from the front of the grid. But unfortunately, the downpour eventually ceased, and qualifying went on as scheduled. Ultimately, the team qualified ninth, and while nobody appeared particularly pumped about it, it’s a better starting position than they had at Road America, where they had their best finish of the season. While we were waiting for the to see if qualifying would be held, I talked to fellow driver Gerardo Bonilla about Ben’s lap, the conditions of the track and the challenges of racing on a street course. Check it out—and keep your fingers crossed for the BK Motorsports team!

By John Coyle

Editor

When I went to my first American Le Mans race a few weeks back, I was blown away by two things. The first was how incredibly quiet the Audi TDIs are. While I was standing at the sidelines with other spectators at Road America, everyone was talking about how those big diesel V10s are barely audible. They actually sound more like a cartoon spaceship than race cars, and it’s really, really impressive. The other thing that blew me away? How mind-numbingly loud the GT1 Corvettes are. Oh. My. God. I spent years writing about rock music, and I’m probably half deaf, but the ‘Vettes are still loud enough to make me wince when they pass. Every time the drivers let off the throttle, it sounds like a bunch of M-80s fighting in a bag, and it’s beautiful. To see how the two machines compare noise-wise, check out the clip below. You might have to turn the volume up to catch the TDI, but you could probably hear the ‘Vettes even with the sound set on mute. Enjoy.

By John Coyle

Editor

As I mentioned earlier, the Detroit stop of the American Le Mans Series is a street course. So after the drivers finish tearing it up this weekend, the asphalt will go back to hosting regular folks driving at regular speeds. And while road courses are tricky for drivers—they’re generally bumpier and more technical than purpose-built tracks—they also make taking pics of the cars in action a lot more difficult. Now, at most of the tracks I’ve been to, a little bit of hiking will put you into a position where you can get some good shots, but when the circuit is defined by concrete barriers, all the photographers basically wind up pointing their lenses through little gun slits, and getting access to those requires credentials I don’t have. Another thing that’s that’s making this stop a little tricky is the fact that there’s also an IRL race happening this weekend, and as a result, all the pits are crammed so close together that there’s barely any wiggle room between them. Basically, that means getting pit shots involves being smack in the middle of a bunch of dudes trying to wrench on their race car—which isn’t a good place to be. I’ll be posting all the pics I’ve managed to get later, but for now, check out this sweet clip of the American Le Mans cars heading out for afternoon practice and qualifying. There’s so much horsepower here, I’m dizzy!

By John Coyle

Editor

When I left the paddock to go grab some lunch, I saw something that made me glad my stomach was empty—otherwise, I might have barfed. Seriously, is the Heldo ugly or what? Even thought it’s sporting a tube-frame chassis, a 350 horsepower Cadillac Northstar engine and its numbers are fairly impressive—0-60 in 4.2 seconds, 12.2 in the quarter mile, 1.06g skid pad—I just couldn’t get over how hideous this thing was. From the front, it really looks like a bucktoothed person squinting. And it’s not that I don’t like hyper-modern designs either, as there are plenty of space-age cars I find dead sexy. What do you guys think, am I out of my mind, or is this baby just begging for a car cover? Three more pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Heldo? Hell No! It's Way Too Ugly!" »

By John Coyle

Editor

When I left the hotel this morning it was drizzling and muggy, so I had a feeling that Mother Nature was going to play a huge role on how today’s action was going to unfold, and I was right. But while the first practice session was run under dark clouds on a track that was wet and slippery—obviously not the best conditions to for a driver to get a feel for how a car is handling—the B-K Motorsports team had a pretty good run. To be honest, seeing all the machines ripping around in the wet made me a little nervous, because unlike Road America—which has large gravel traps in the corners—the track on Detroit’s Belle Isle is a street course, which means that practically the entire circuit is bordered by burly cement barricades ready to totally lunch the race car. Fortunately, driver Ben Devlin was cool as a cucumber when I talked with him after his laps. Check out his remarks about the run in the video below, and click here for a walk-around video of the B-K Motorsports Lola B07 46 Mazda.

When I saw this Invidia Q300 exhaust over at World One Performance on their 2008 STi project car, I had to love it despite the drain-like exhaust inlet. So what do you think? Yeah or nay? Two more pics after the jump.

Continue reading "Invidia Q300 Exhaust" »

Yesterday in New On The Net, I poked a little fun at TTAC’s whiny diapers, and considering the gentleness of my goading, the results were nothing short of hilarious. Better yet, in the midst of the ensuing brouhaha, TTAC finally got some dealer to take pity on them and hand over the Challenger test car they’d been dreaming of! No need to thank us, guys, just enjoy that car. And try to keep it out of the wall, y’hear? Now, for the ultra-serious business of the news:

• BMW invited some disabled Iraq war vets to rip it up on their test track at the BMW Performance Center. Driving instructors and specially-equipped cars were also provided to get the vets back into driving. Kicking Tires.
• Car & Driver has posted another one of its lists—this time, it’s the top five cars that alleviate pinch at the pump but are still "fun." And as usual, it’s a list designed for rich people. Seriously, if you’re having trouble paying for gas, the best course of action is probably not to buy a new-model-year anything. And what the heck is Corvette doing on this list? Car & Driver. 
• Earlier in the week, a hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian filed a lawsuit against the City of New York for—get this—not taking better care of his Bentley after it was seized for evidence. That is one hard individual. New York Daily News.
• Jalopnik’s running some pics of the 2010 Porsche Panamera with its drawers down. It’s hatchy! Jalopnik.

Geoff was stoked to be able to find a full-time 4wd transfer case with low-range gearing for his burly little GL, especially in Australia, where these boxes are apparently hard to come by. Now this Sube is unstoppable, both on the beach and in the mud. Next up: a snorkel. Check out his page!

From CarDomain Video, here’s a nicely-executed e-brake turn by a ’99 Sentra in the suburbs of Corpus Christi. Now, as a study in contrast and a reminder that you that you probably shouldn’t be practicing your stunt driving on public roads, below is an awkwardly-attempted turn on a too-narrow, gravel-shouldered country road that ends up with the participating Acura in the ditch. Enjoy!

Ok, so maybe this won’t comes as a huge surprise to a lot of people. After all, the Challenger is the hot car right now. But the fact that the SE is only available with an automatic made this one closer than some might have expected. Still, Mopar takes the win in this week’s Showroom Showdown.