The Joetwint Porsche 996 is scary fast. Twint scored a world record top speed of 231.4 mph in the Texas Mile, and at a recent run the Evolution Motorsports-tuned 911 managed to hit 224.711 mph, but it also had a bit of a spill. Hit the jump to watch video of the massively-boosted 996 take off like a rocket and reach speeds of over 200 mph in a matter seconds. The video would be impressive enough even if it were simply a standard run, but this clip has a bit of a surprise ending.
About 54 seconds in, the incredibly high speeds achieved by the 996 prompted the sunroof to pop right off. That's bad when you're going 85, but when you're cruising at nearly one third the speed of sound, it can be catastrophic. A few seconds after the impromptu top-popping, the 996 gets sideways and ends up taking an unscheduled tiptoe through the weeds. The video is pretty entertaining, but it's also informative. If you're building a world-beating track star capable of speeds of over 200 mph, don't opt for the sunroof.
Following our time visiting this week's Tokyo Motor Show, we had the opportunity to sit down for a small group interview at Honda's world headquarters with freshly-minted CEO Takanobu Ito, who took over the reigns at Honda from Takeo Fukui just this past June. Among the questions posed to Ito-san was "When will Americans see another performance car from Honda?" Honda has a tradition of performance vehicles and motorsports participation that goes back to the earliest days of the company. Ito himself was the chief body engineer on the original NSX and was pivotal in the development of its lightweight aluminum structure and body.
Given his role in one of the more unique aspects of the NSX, it was interesting that Ito acknowledged that he personally made the decision to pull the plug last year on the new car that was being developed as a successor to the NSX. Ito actually sounded as though he was channeling Colin Chapman in explaining the philosophy of using low mass to achieve a good power to weight ratio on the NSX. That approach allowed Honda to create a car that was "easy to drive, good performance and at the same time it enjoyed very good fuel economy."
The Tokyo Motor Show doesn't have as much going on in the way of cars as we'd like, but there are still a few gems among the pack – especially in the area of motorsports. The Japanese are as keen about their sports as they are their motors, and when the two are combined, you get some pretty tasty kit. Examples? Check out the Nissan GT-R Super GT, a rallying Japan Subaru WRX STi, several Moto GP offerings, and a Toyota F1 car. And unlike in the passenger car realm, the Europeans haven't been left out, with the Alpina B6 GT3 and a McLaren Formula One racer making a show of things.
Earlier this week, Brammo's director of product development Brian Wismann along with Dave Schiff of Crispin Porter Bugosky, began a ten-day journey meant to take them to Washington, DC. The trip, which is being chronicled on the site shockingbarack.com, is intended to raise awareness of the company's new electric motorcycle, the Enertia, and electric vehicles in general.
The trek began at Zingerman's deli in downtown Ann Arbor, MI, which just happens to be a a few blocks from this blogger's office. Brian and Dave swung by the office for a visit to show off the bike – which they prefer to call a powercycle – and chat about what it can do. Along the route to the capital, they'll be making plenty of similar stops, partly to demonstrate the bike but mostly out of necessity. While the Enertia is undoubtedly a neat ride, it underscores two of the major problems with EVs. They are expensive ($11,995 for the Enertia) and have limited range. This bike only has a 42-mile range and then takes four hours to charge. That means plenty of short hops to cover the 520 miles to DC. On the plus side, it should only take about $4 worth of juice to make the trip.
The man you see above is Thomas Bangma. Described as a Dutch automotive journalist, and noted on his LinkedIn page as an "Independent Automotive Professional," we can't find much dirt on him -- but if he's getting invited to press events for the Lexus LF-A, he must know a bit about something.
During that aforementioned event, Mr. Bangma gave his opinion on Lexus' glacially developing supercar, and he adds no sugar to the medicine: "The car is the best car I have ever driven in my whole life as an automotive journalist." Well then. What we can definitely say is that as it flies by behind him, it sounds positively murderous. In a good way. Follow the jump for the rest of Bangma's thoughts.
The 2010 Mazda3 made its motorsports debut this past weekend on its home track, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca at the final race of the 2009 SPEED World Challenge season. The car was developed and built by Tri-Point Motorsports, which has been running Mazdas in the series since 2001. The team has raced a trio of Mazda6s for the past few season, even capturing the Touring Car title in 2007 with Jeff Altenburg behind the wheel.
Mazda hasn't released any official details on the car quite yet, but a company representative told us that the race was less about going fast and was more of a "public test" to give the car some much needed track time. In fact, the car was completed just before the race and didn't even get its sponsor decals until the second practice day. Even so, rookie driver Eric Foss managed to qualify in 12th and zoom-zoomed his way to a respectable 11th place in Sunday's race.
As much as we enjoy piloting modern machinery, there's something special about vintage vehicles, and that something is the pure, unvarnished connection between man and machine. But it's not always good. Things get dicey when the driving experience is a little too vintage. Despite our supreme adoration of the racing greats of yesteryear, clawing at the wheel, pulverizing the brake pedal, dumping buckets of sweat onto the leather seat and having our sphincter perform kegels isn't always our preferred flavor of fun. Some days, we're just not that hardcore. So the vintage vehicles we've come to love most aren't genuinely vintage at all – they're classic bodies wrapped around modern mechanicals. The Rizk RA is a prime example, and now there's this: the Superformance GT40 MkI, a car so raw that if it were edible, they'd slap "organic" on it and sell it at Whole Foods.
Alec Issigonis' Mini began production in 1959. By 1960, there were half a dozen works teams entering the car in the Rally Monte Carlo. By 1964, Mini had won with the pilotage of Irishman Paddy Hopkirk, and in 1967, the automaker won again with Rauno Aaltonen at the wheel.
Those two gents got behind the wheel of a modern Mini JCW Cabrio (top down in the snow!) and tackled the Col de Torrini again, in the process sharing a few thoughts on the cars and the racing. We can't say we'd want to be in the back seat, but it's terrific to watch and to remember where Mini and the checkered flag really got to know one another. Follow the jump to see the vid.
It's only been a couple of days since Toyota released initial details and photos of its TF-86 coupe concept scheduled for debut at the upcoming Tokyo show, but we've already been waiting for the other shoe to drop. The project nicknamed "Toyobaru" by the media and fansites is to be a test case for future cooperation between Toyota and Subaru, and the TF-86 is based largely on Scooby mechanicals. A Subaru-branded version of the coupe is expected to follow, and now sketches outlining the design have emerged courtesy of the blokes at Autocar.
Sources indicate, however, that Subaru's executives are far from sold on the project. The Toyota-designed platform may not be able to accommodate all-wheel-drive, a signature Subaru feature. And parent company Fuji Heavy is reportedly hesitant to share its technologies with rival Toyota. However, the counterpoint is that the coupe's inclusion in the company's lineup could attract a new demographic, and that sharing components with Toyota would help mitigate costs and reduce overhead.
While the environmental merits of any 621 horsepower, twelve-cylinder behemoth that's capable of traveling at speeds of up to 204 miles per hour are, at the very least, debatable, Bentley hasn't exactly been shy about touting the green angle of its upcoming 2010 Continental Supersports.
Further straining the gorgeous coupe's eco credibility is word from Green Car Advisor that U.S. laws and "engineering challenges" – including the fitment of hardened valve seats in Bentley's W12 engine – mean that the first 200 Supersports imported to the United States won't actually be flex-fuel capable.
Ah well, somehow we doubt that buyers willing to plonk down the $267,000 it takes to park a twin-turbocharged Continental Supersports in their driveway will be all that concerned with pumping ethanol in the tank.
