By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Even though I don’t think I’ll ever own an SUV, I have to say I love Land Rovers. And if I ever wound up with one of those British beefcakes in my garage, I’d make sure that it got plenty of time to play in the mud. Now, I know there’s no mud in this clip, but I still found the way this baby was able to navigate such a steep incline pretty impressive, and can’t stop thinking about what it must have looked like inside the vehicle during the accent. I guess the driver would have to screw up pretty bad to tumble off the scaffolding, but still, it seems pretty hairy.

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Time now to take a look at the final part of the InterClub Historic Car Race in Tsukuba. The event mixes so many modern and historic cars together it is like no other track-day event in the world. The picture of the Chevron around the first corner at Tsukuba might as well be taken back in the 70′s! I used to see cars like this at hill-climb events in Italy… …it certainly looked the part but wasn’t running very well due to mis-tuned carbs which made it cough and splatter around the circuit. Continue reading at Speedhunters.

By Dino Dalle Carbonare

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

This 1981 ‘Vette caught us totally off guard. After all, the cars of this era were saddled with weak suck small blocks that made 190 hp on their best day. Outwardly, this one appears to be a stocker, but under the hood it’s anything but.

The shocker about this car is the killer small block topped with a Magna-Charger dual blower setup. It’s feeding a built bottom end and the seller claims that the motor makes 750hp. Combine that with the stock wheels and tires, along with the nice but not exceptional black paint and you’ve got a street sweeper.

We’re nervous about the stock IRS with that much mustard up front, but if some level of care were taken on the street and the thing wasn’t subjected to slicks and wanton violence on the strip, it would probably be ok for a few weeks.

It’s equipped with the Doug Nash 4 plus 1 trans, so the overdrive will help some in the gas mileage department but the topper is the early 1980′s high tech digital dash. It’s so tacky that we’re forced to be in love with it. Funny how a motor can change everything. Click here to see the ad and make a bid!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Over the weekend in Greece, Sebastien Loeb lost it during about halfway through the Acropolis Rally and wound up making eight revolutions before coming to a stop.The good news is that Loeb and his driver are both in good shape. Unfortunately, that can’t be said for the pair’s Citroen C4, which is as bashed-up as you’d expect it to be. During interviews following the wreck, the world champion said that he basically came in to the turn too hot and over-corrected, which send the car over the edge of the road and started the tumble. Hopefully he and his team have better luck next time out.

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

When you’re a celebrity, things are different, I guess. If he wasn’t wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns,  something tells me Stallworth would have gotten something closer to the 15-year maximum. Read the whole story over on the Associated Press site.

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

A few weeks ago I went out with the Midnight Mechanics crew to shoot their two Toyotas. The afternoon consisted of a crisp drive to the east coast of QLD, also known as the Gold Coast. A well known hot spot for Australian tourists. We decided to choose more of a natural and calming location, Springbrook Mountain. Springbrook is located about 20minutes inland from the beach pushing a few hundred metres high. For these two JDM vehicles they where both right at home in the mountains, with the lovely sounds of the 4-AG’s running through the hills, it was quite a scene. Continue reading at Speedhunters.

By Casey Dhnaram

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

This is supremely great. Notice that this unfinished design (they’re still finishing it up) allows a Scuderia exhaust (coming soon by ASI) or the traditional side exit exhausts. This is the supreme rear profile of a Ferrari F430.  And while some will criticize the front of the kit and say it is not different enough from the factory bumper, there are certainly differences. The side profile (not shown here) gives a better perspective on ASI’s design differences. One more pic after the jump.

Continue reading "More Pics of ASI’s Ferrari F430" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

This isn’t something anybody likes to report, but during the 97th lap of Sunday’s race at the Autodromo Miguel E. Abed in Pueblo, Mexico, driver Carlos Pardo died from injuries sustained during a vicious crash. After being bumped by another driver, he lost control, ran head-on into an infield barricade, and died 45 minutes later. He was running in front with three laps to go. I didn’t even know about NASCAR Mexico, and while I’m not sure if the series shares safety specs with its American cousin, there are plenty of infields in the States protected by concrete barriers—and not the impact-absorbing SAFER barriers employed at the outside—so it’s not like this couldn’t happen here. Godspeed, Mr. Pardo.

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

Over the weekend, I took in the Rumblers sixth annual Rumble in the Country down in Terryville, Connecticut, both because I needed to restock on hot rod profiles for Hemmings Motor News and because I’d always heard good things about the show, but never been. I did find a couple rods to profile, but seeing this Chevrolet pickup truck made the whole trip worthwhile. The giant two-ton-truck wheels (single in back instead of dual) tucked up into the wheelwells, along with the modest chop, give the truck a huge Tonka toy look, while the dechromed body and flat off-white/white paint scheme appeal to the less-is-more aesthetic. Continue reading at Hemmings.

By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Man this is some good news! Thanks to to a tip from KNN (The Kris News Network) we got ahold of this story that confirms that pony cars are on the way to NASCAR. They’ll hit the Nationwide series first and the story seems to elude to the fact that they will work their way up to the Sprint Cup circuit.

Ford is on board with the Mustang and Chrysler seems to be bringing the Challenger into the mix but Toyota will stick with the Camry and Chevy, it seems for now anyway, to be out of the loop on the whole thing. We’re guessing Congress will now have to approve any such decision as monumental as allowing the Camaro body to be used in NASCAR. Yes, our tongue is in our cheek.

This is great stuff and perhaps a sign that the soundproof windows in the ivory tower down there in Daytona have cracked enough to allow the yearnings from the masses to return to something remotely production looking in. Pony cars beat taxi cabs all day long in our book.

Hopefully they don’t jack around with the bodies too much, there will certainly be some changes, but again, the story seems to imply that there is a definite movement to appease the grumblings of disgruntled fans with this move. Hit the link to read the story from FoxSports.