Nissan’s new LMP1 hybrid race car set for the 2015 World Endurance Championship, which includes the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, was revealed during yesterday’s Super Bowl XLIX in which the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–24. The new race car, whose official title is GT-R LM NISMO, was revealed in a...
After months of speculation, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda finally declared that the company will return to the World Rally Championship scene with the Yaris. The announcement was made at a press conference in Tokyo at which the yaris WRC was unveiled to the public in a launch livery.
The World Rally Championship programme will be handles by Toyota Motorsport (TMG) in Cologne, Germany which has already completed the preliminary testing of the Yaris on asphalt and gravel. French rally driver, Eric Camilli who drove a Ford Fiesta R5 in WRC2 at Rally Monte Carlo has been selected as the first member to Toyota's junior driver development scheme.
"Last time we competed was in 1999. That makes me think we are not announcing a return, but perhaps a start. We must begin again from scratch and carefully prepare both team and cars," said Toyoda.
Toyota had a good run in the World Rally Championship right from the 1970s till the time they withdrew in 1999 having secured four drivers' championship wins and three constructors' championships. This was the time when they decided to pull out the WRC campaign and focus on the burgeoning Formula 1 project.
The current Toyota Yaris that is being tested has been constructed as per the current regulation, but changes to it are expected when the updated technical regulations are introduced to WRC in 2017.
Spy shots of the new Chevrolet Spin have just surfaced on the internet having been spotted near General Motors' Halol plant in Gujarat. The Spin is a 7-seater MPV that is already on sale in Indonesia and Philippines and now it seems like General Motors is getting it ready for Indian shores.
Marginally longer than 4 metres in length, the Spin will not be able to make the most of the excise duty benefits and will compete against the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Honda Mobilio. With a length of 4,360mm, the Spin is marginally smaller in length than the Mobilio and longer than the Ertiga. It has a 2,620mm wheelbase and a ground clearance of 157mm.
Under the hood, the Spin will sport a familiar 1.3-litre diesel mill that makes 74PS and 190Nm. It will also be offered in a gasoline variant with a 1.4-litre engine that makes 102 horses and 131Nm. Both these engines will come mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
As far as the design is concerned, the Spin looks pretty much like a stretched out Beat. Up front there is the large honeycomb grille that flaunts the yellow Chevrolet logo. On either side of the grille there are the swept back headlights. Massive wheel arches and a sharp character line add flair to the profile.
While Chevrolet officials have been quiet about the Spin, we expect them to place it above the Enjoy MPV which we believe will be gradually phased out.
Now in its second generation, the 2015 Porsche Cayman is still the entry-level, fixed-roof model in the Porsche lineup, but that will probably never stop certain journalists from wondering if it has become a better car than its big brother, the almighty 911. With the model now also getting a speedier GTS variant, Motor Trend’s Jonny Lieberman set out to find out if the most powerful production Cayman ever is finally posting a real threat to the base 911 Carrera, or if it is simply yet another mid-engine coupe neutered just enough to not step on its big brother’s toes. Spoiler alert - he doesn’t find anything of the kind.
Unveiled in 2014, the GTS is powered by an improved version of the 3.4-liter flat-six found in the regular Cayman S, which develops a reasonable output of 340 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. Those are not exactly massive improvements compared to the 325 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque developed by the Cayman S, but any more than that and the GTS could have easily run circles around the heavier and only slightly more powerful 911 Carrera.
Despite being kept on a tighter leash than it probably deserves – at least in terms of engine power - it seems that the Cayman GTS is truly a fantastic piece of kit and a more than worthy indirect successor to the Cayman R from the first generation. Despite appearing to be fitted with the less-efficient six-speed manual instead of the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch transmission, it managed to outhandle every other Porsche that Motor Trend has ever tested on the figure-eight – minus the hardcore 911 GT3 and 911 Turbo S models, naturally. Even so, in the end there can’t really be a true answer to the question that Lieberman asks in the beginning of the review, as both the Cayman GTS and the base 911 Carrera are awesome sports cars in their own right.
Click past the jump to read more about the Porsche Cayman GTS.
Video: Porsche Cayman GTS Reviewed by Motor Trend originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 1 February 2015 18:00 EST.
Sympathy is not a common trait among racing drivers, no matter the category. Watch a GT race and you’re sure to witness plenty of fender rubbing as those behind the wheel attempt to edge out rivals. Rally pilots will literally roll a car into the undergrowth, get out, tip the thing so the rubber is facing down, and continue on their way.
And as this video clearly demonstrates, drifters are no better. Never mind the twisted suspension or dented bodywork wrought by a crash. Even when a drifter gets it right, it’s not necessarily good news for the machine in question — particularly the engine.
That’s because drifters are usually far too concerned with maintaining a slide to bother with things like bent valves, spun bearings, and shattered pistons. There’s steering angle, weight transfer, and momentum flowing through their brains, not the wrench time required to fix all the nasty results of a pinned right foot.
Thankfully, there are some engines out there that revel in the abuse. One such masochistic powerplant is the Toyota 2JZ, most commonly known as the motive force lurking under the hood of the fourth generation Supra. This overbuilt, 3.0-liter inline-six boasts a reputation for being absolutely bulletproof. Some even claim it’s capable of producing 1,000 horsepower on a stock bottom end.
Hit play to witness evidence of its sturdiness, not to mention a thrilling first-person perspective of a prolonged skid up a Norwegian mountain pass.
Click past the jump to read about the Toyota GT 86.
Video: Toyota GT 86 Drifted On Mountain Pass originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 1 February 2015 12:00 EST.
This sorry sight is the first wrecked 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat that we know of. Yes, it's that same lime green example that ran off a road in Colorado back in December just an hour after it was driven off the dealer lot, and now it's headed for auction so all those mad modders out there, or perhaps an existing Challenger SRT Hellcat owner...
When it comes to classic muscle cars, you have to ask yourself: do you want a numbers-matching ride that’s so valuable you’d be afraid leave your driveway in it, or do you want something that’s a bit of a beater you can drive everyday without living in constant fear of paint chips?
Adam Martin has the latter philosophy. He’s owned this 1968 Chevrolet Camaro, named “Lucy,” for 18 years, and they are the subjects of the latest video from our friends at Petrolicious. Martin has certainly taken care of his Camaro, but you would never call it a trailer queen. And that’s beautiful in its own way.
When he purchased it at the age of 18, it was coated in black primer and had a six-cylinder under the hood. He’s since swapped the six out for a 454 big-block he built himself. The ceramic-coated Hooker headers still wear the same hammer marks from years ago when made some “modifications” to get everything to fit in the engine bay, and the grotto blue paint job still has an imprint of the wire hanger that fell on his car while he was painting it in his garage.
Funny how things that seem infuriating at the time become great stories years later.
When Martin first bought the Camaro, he knew essentially nothing about car repair and restoration, but taught himself more and more over the years. It ended up being his catalyst for eventually attending the automotive restoration program at McPherson College in Kansas.
Cars really can change the course of your life.
Video: 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Review originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 1 February 2015 06:00 EST.
