By DriverSide

DriverSide

Looks like General Motors has let a few pre-production Chevrolet Volts escape from the company’s Warren Testing Center. A few of the cars have been spotted scooting around on all-electric power near the facility, representing the closest we’ve come to seeing the real deal in action. GM says the company plans to unleash up to 80 pre-production models to help work out any bugs in the system and prepare for the car’s launch next year. For those of you who are blissfully unaware, the Volt is being hailed as GM’s savior incarnate. The extended-range EV can cruise up to 45 miles on a single charge, plug into a household outlet and pop you in the wallet for $32,500 after a government rebate. Via BackSeatDriver

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

When I was covering American LeMans Series last year, I absolutely loved watching the GT1 and GT2 classes race, and this GT3 clip from Italy makes me miss being at the track. Of course, it’s awesome to see the ‘Vettes, Vipers, Astons and Ferraris on the grid, but I’m particularly stoked to see Lamborghinis being driven in anger. We may never know for sure why Ferruccio never fielded his Raging Bulls, but you have to admit, they look gorgeous in racing livery. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there’s nothing sexier than an exotic car stripped of its niceties and turned into a race machine. Great work on this footage SpeedHunters!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Ok, across the pond, they call them telegraph poles, but no matter what they’re called, I’d think that a high-speed collision with one would render a car inoperable.  But somebody apparently forgot to tell World Rally Championship driver Chris Atkinson that, because even after his Citroen C4 took out a telephone pole during a WRC stage in Ireland, he was able to keep going and manage a 10th place finish. Huh? What the hell do they make telephone poles out of over there? Balsa wood?

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Ok, while I admit this pic is funny, there’s no way in hell I’d let anyone who isn’t toilet trained with 100 yards of my Ferrari. But I guess the rich are different—or at least weren’t present when this shot was taken. As NWSilverado noted, I did have my work cut for me this week, but I didn’t start picking Caption Contest winners because I thought it would be easy. I started picking them because Rob told me to. Anyway, this week’s winner is 1yellowcav, who came up with; “Ferraris are now available with direct methane injection.” Nice work, man! Tune in tomorrow for the next installment of our caffeine-free Caption Contest!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

This is the first shot of the Hennessey’s new baby running, and damn, does it sound mean. Sure, the open headers have something to do with it, but still, damn. I have to wonder how wicked it sounds in person. But while I think the idea of dropping the ZR1′s powerplant into a new Camaro is cool—and I think the guys at Hennessey are wizards—the $109K price tag does give me pause. Seriously, if we’re talking that kind of money, I’d rather have the Corvette. Because while a 705HP Camaro is going to be fast as hell, in my opinion the ZR1 looks cooler, and it’ll definitely get around the track faster. Which would you guys choose?

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, what car was this originally? Rear shot after the jump. Answer at VWVortex

Continue reading "WTF?" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) just announced plans to launch an electric motorcycle racing series next year. Press release after the jump! Via Autoblog Green

Continue reading "What's Next: Electric Motorcycle Racing Series" »

By Ben Schaffer

The Real JDM

I’ve always had a thing for the Ariel Atoms…scratch that, I’ve always had a thing for all light weight driver oriented cars. The Ariel Atom happens to be towards the front half of that list in terms of quality and fun. Yet somehow fun just is never fun enough for some people. 300hp and 1000lbs would be a formula for a heart attack to begin with, but now Ariel is coming out with a version sporting 200 more hp. Over the top? For sure.

They are hard at work building a custom V8 from two Suzuki Hayabusa engine blocks to create enough power needed to permanently reshape your face (no windshield here).

This car will be a pain machine. The expensive kind of pain you’d need to spend $160,000 USD for.

Disclaimer: I have a bit of a thing for Hayabusa modded V8 engines…I’ve already come really close to using one in a project car (until reality struck me). Some day I hope I have the extra money to waste to actually make it happen. Via Autoblog

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

So the inevitable occurred. President Obama signed cash for clunkers – as part of the war spending bill – into law yesterday. It’s now officially called CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which will oversee CARS, is already warning about scams that look like official information sources but which are really just email and phone number harvesters.

I’ll reiterate again: We’re glad SEMA was able to get a 25-year provision inserted into the law; doing so prevents any car older than 1984 from being crushed and thus going through the natural automotive life cycle. But we’re still opposed to this legislation on behalf of all future collectible vehicles and all future vehicle collectors. Continue reading at Hemmings

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Does the name Andy Sapp ring a bell to you? People in the US drift scene will know him for his Atlanta based BMW drift car…. but automotive fans about the world should also note that Andy has recently put together quite a slick looking automotive web project called Motor Mavens. Have a look…. congrats to Andy and his team for the successful launch of the new site! Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Rod Chong