RML And Nissan Spawn An Evil Juke

Nissan has built some pretty iconic cars that car nuts love, starting with the 240Z, to the 240RS Group B contender, the Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, to the series of Skylines and now the GT-R. But its latest build, the Juke-R, has the motoring world agog with its insane spec. For how else would you describe shoehorning the R35 GT-R’s drivetrain into one of its smallest production cars, the Juke?

Built in conjunction with RML (which has built works-backed Le Mans and BTCC race cars for Nissan), Nissan and RML engineers fitted a slightly shortened GT-R drivetrain into a Nissan Juke which had its innards literally gutted – the floorpan had to be removed and rebuilt with the twin turbo V6 and AWD 6-speed transaxle drivetrain in position.

The exterior now features huge wheel arches, 20-inch wheels, racy-looking side skirts and a rear wing. Inside, racing buckets, 5-point harnesses and a full cage ensure safety if the driver gets caught out by this wild ride. With this car, you know that that aggressive look has the guts to back it all up. All the electronics that the GT-R carries to control and monitor the engine and drivetrain are also being reinstalled into this monster Juke. With 1700 kilos to propel, this advanced torque-vectoring drivetrain catapults the GT-R to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. Imagine the performance in a car that weighs 450 kilos less. Horsepower calculations indicate that 0-60 can be achieved in just over 2 seconds.

Nissan (make that RML, actually) will build two super Jukes, one left-hand drive, the other right-hand. If Nissan sees that these test vehicles will create as much impact with the rest of the motoring world as it did with the hardcore enthusiasts, then there’s the chance that we’ll see a production version of this insane factory build in the future.

Source for this post here.

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Sleeper Evo Is A Nightmare On The Street

For a car enthusiast, one of the more perverse pleasures one can get is blowing the doors off a sports car, or a car that looks like it just came from a car show. Specially if the car you’re looks like an econobox with nothing more to show than a set of plain alloy wheels. New Zealander Andy Glasgow has such car, although it didn’t leave the factory exactly as an econobox. More like a Lancer Evolution 3, which is hardly a sleeper car, with its factory air dam, side skirts, rear wing and outstanding performance. However, when Andy got his hands on the car, it was in a repossessed state with no engine. Obviously though, such a car has enormous potential, as evidenced by its victories in the WRC events it was entered in.

As you will have seen in the first picture, this Evo 3 doesn’t have its wing anymore although the side skirts and front bumper have been retained. Since the engine was missing when Andy got it, an OEM 4G63 was located and upgraded with a forged reciprocating assembly. But Andy didn’t stop there as the cylinder head has received mods and upgrades as long as your proverbial arm. Even the turbo was upgraded with a Garrett unit. Supporting mods such as an upgraded fuel system and a Link ECU were installed, as well as a coilover suspension, strengthened diff gears and a locking center diff.

At the time it received attention as a magazine-worthy build, this Evo3 had began producing consistent 10-second quarter-mile times. Horsepower calculations estimate power output in the 530-hp range. As you can see, nothing unnecessary has been installed, but cost has been disregarded when it came to performance upgrades. With his goal of building a tough street car that could be used in hillclimbs and at the drag strip, Andy has shown that his ordinary-looking car is a fearsome ride that is too easily dismissed as an ordinary car.

An Evo3 vs Evo8

Source for this post here.

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Offroad Custom Buggy Truly Is A 38 Special

Sometimes, the one-off builds we see are so nice that it seems like a shame to see them get dirty. Well, this rock crawler build, called 38 Special, does get dirty because that’s what it’s supposed to do. The owner of this buggy is an avid off-roader who has owned several other offroad vehicles, but wanted something unique this time around. So he commissioned builder Adam Woodley to create something different.

The inspiration for this buggy is the Chevy 1938 pickup, and it shows in the front end of the buggy. However, the chassis is not some old ladder frame design but a full tube frame. Attached to it are four-link suspensions front and rear, with Fox 16-inch coilovers controlling its movement. This buggy also has hydraulic 4-wheel steering which uses aluminum links and rolls on 39-inch BF Goodrich tires.

Power comes from a Chevy 6-liter V8 with 480 horsepower and 450 plus lb-ft. of torque. If you think this buggy is a rough and tumble affair, know that it’s got a full complement of electronics, such as multiple cameras that feed their input into a single 7" monitor. A Racepack digital gauge cluster displays various screens showing engine rpm, water temperature, oil pressure, battery voltage, oil temperature and fuel pressure. A high-end stereo system has also been installed. And to ensure that the owner’s offroad pursuits don’t leave him thirsty, a custom built-in cooler hold 2 dozen canned drinks.

This buggy has won multiple awards on the car show circuit but rather than keeping it a trailer queen, the owner uses his 38 Special for the purpose it was built for.

Source for this post here.

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Loopy Lupo Is One Man's Incredible Homebrew Masterpiece

With the variety of wild machinery we’ve featured here, you wouldn’t think that a Volkswagen Lupo would be a worthy addition to this blog. But this build is too crazy to not be considered. And if you think this car was built in some high-dollar shop, know that Petar built this car in his garage, on his own.

From the factory, the high performance version of this 975 kilogram city car is fitted with a 1.6 liter 123 horsepower four. Clearly not enough for this builder and for most of us. But the rest of us wouldn’t resort to putting two VR6 204 hp engines on opposite ends of the car and then adding 100-hp nitrous shots - to both engines.

After gutting and then test fitting the engines to the car, Petar set about strengthening the body by adding a rollcage. The rear engine is mounted on a modified Golf subframe and a combination of VW parts are utilized to make a successful conversion. For example, the left front driveshaft is from a Polo Tdi and the right is a shortened Golf Mk4 driveshaft. Golf Mk2 control arms and Golf Mk3 hubs are then used for the OZ Racing wheels to mount onto.

Solid front engine mounts are used, the front engine’s alternator has been removed to create space and twin front radiators are used to cool one engine each. The quality of the fabrication and homebrew engineering is amazing and there are too many other fabrication details to list. Brakes are from a Porsche Cayenne, and KW was quick to provide sponsorship for a set of custom coilovers after seeing this incredible build. Horsepower calculations reveal that this car’s power-to-weight ratio surpasses even those of the most exotic supercars.

It’s very inspiring to see home brew builds like these because it shows that inspiration and creativity go a long way towards having a car no one else in the world has. It helps of course if you have some fabrication and engineering skills, which this builder obviously has in spades.

Build thread can be found here.

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Four-wheel Drive Nissan Patrol Aims For 8-second Run

The owner and builder calls this creation “a little different”. Well, if you section a Nissan Patrol, put in a 1000-plus hp diesel engine and aim for 8-second quarter mile times, it sure will be different. This build has gone through several stages and different engines and before this latest rebuild, this monster Patrol had been doing quarter-mile times in the 12-second region. Before being a drag truck, it was built to be an outback/challenge truck.

Over its various iterations, the bodyshell has been reworked to the point that what remains of the original today is the basic structure of the cab and the frame rails. A rollcage that extends to the front supports now envelopes the vehicle, while the original section which supports the radiator and bumper assembly has been grafted onto the cage.Tubular hoops have been welded to the frame to mount the front coilover suspension while at the rear, a multilink assembly with coilover shock/spring units are used.

But the heart of the beast is a Duramax conversion that has been fitted with twin turbos and air-to-water intercoolers. Horsepower calculations estimate the output of this monster at 1200 hp, which may be just enough to achieve the owner’s goal of an 8 second pass at 150mph. Looking at the quality of the build and the seriousness with which the work is progressing, it looks like the owner’s goal will be met by this outstanding build.

Source for this post here.

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Corvette-inspired Superboat Surpasses Original's Performance

The recent news about the Aston Martin-inspired Voyage luxury boat brought to mind another superboat. The Voyage, the designer admits, is a purely conceptual exercise at this point. However, the ZR48 superboat was built without much fanfare but continues to awe throughout the boating community.Taking after the ZR-1 Corvette, this 48-foot boat has a carbon fiber hull with Corvette styling cues that can be seen in the headlights, tail lights, and marker lights. The entire interior is not only Corvette-inspired but actually outfitted with a dash that contains Corvette gauges, and a ZR1 steering wheel. The shifter linkage controls both engines, which are the heart of this superboat.

At the stern resides two Mercury Racing model 1350 engines, with, you guessed it, 1350 horsepower each, for a total of 2,700 horsepower. This engine is built to order and is a V8 configuration with twin-cam heads and one turbo per bank with a charge cooler. Displacement is 9 liters, with peak hp being achieved at 6,500 rpm. If you need to ask, the retail price for these engines is $200,000 - each.

Horsepower calculations place the top speed of this boat at 180 mph. Evidently, you have to choose the optimum conditions before you run this boat at wide open throttle. But the exhilaration, and acceleration, one must feel when you give the engines free reign must be indescribable.

Inspiration for this post here.

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MkIV Supra Is A Sensation, And With Reason

This car, a JZA80 Supra, is an Internet sensation of sorts because it's been continuously built to the point that it now has the power to out-accelerate a Bugatti Veyron. But owner Jamie didn't at first intend it to be that way. The first iteration of this build started by removing the stock twin turbos from the and installing a single turbo conversion that would net 500-550 horsepower at the wheels. This was achieved without any problems and at that time, the owner has very happy with the performance.

So, together with that significant bump in output, a high performance RPS clutch, Tein coilovers and Brembo 6- and 4-pot brakes were installed. 19-inch wheels on Toyo 295/30/19 make up the rolling stock. To manage the engine, a Solaris S6GP ecu and Dash2 display were also installed. But as with a lot of builds, the upgrade bug kept on biting, to the point that the car now sports a Precision T6765H DBB turbo, Jun 256/256 cams and 1700cc injectors. As of the last published reports, the car now has almost 1300 horsepower. When the car was still under the 700 hp range, horsepower calculations placed its 0-60 times at 2.9 seconds. At this point, with practically double the power, this black stock-looking Supra would be hitting that benchmark in less than 2 seconds, traction permitting. And its 0-200 mph time is 6 seconds faster than a Veyron.

The car has been featured in several magazines and is probably one of the most acclaimed Supra builds anymore. Its combination of supercar-killing performance and subtle looks show that the owner knows how to spend on the important things and restrain himself on mods that don't significantly improve performance.

Inspiration for post here.
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This Senator Isn't A Paunchy But Rather A Punchy Luxury Car

HSV is a hardly a household word, outside of Australia, that is, but down under, it's a highly respected brand in its own right as it produces factory hotrods that offer more than decent performance in unassuming packages. Case in point is this HSV Senator, which in its base form is really a front-engine, rear drive Holden Commodore with a Chevy LS1 engine and a raft of  luxury and performance appointments. Not content with this special treatment, the owner of this Senator asked tuner PowerTorque in Australia to up the ante with further upgrades.

Starting with a C5R engine block, PowerTorque installed a stroker crank with matching rods and pistons, bumping displacement to 7.2 liters. LS6 heads featuring upgraded valves, springs and retainers with Comp cams provide the heavier breathing capacity. Which brings us to the eight 55 mm throttle bodies you will see when you open the hood. This Harrop setup utilizes individual runners and individually-adjustable throttles. The cost-no-object engine setup gives a total output of 500 horsepower.

In keeping with the luxury underpinnings of this car, the owner opted to retain the 4-speed automatic, although a 3000 rpm stall converter was installed and the rest of the drivetrain strengthened for reliability. Alcon 6-pot brakes ensure that this car doesn't smash into unwanted barriers and the suspension is looking at a Bilstein coilover upgrade. Horsepower calculations place this car's power-to-weight ratio as equivalent to a Mercedes CLS55 AMG or an Aston Martin DB9. 0-60 mph time is estimated at 4.4 seconds with a quarter-mile time of around 12 seconds.

HSV vehicles are slowly gaining worldwide recognition as highly affordable performance cars and this particular example, with its BMW M5-slaying performance, is a testament to the platform's possibilities.

Top Gear's review of the HSV VT

Source for this article found here.

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X3 CC Racer Retired After Five Fruitful Years

You know a race has become a major event when major manufacturers begin to enter it for marketing reasons as well as to use it as a proving ground for their components and technologies. Such is the status of the Dakar now that it attracts not just car manufacturers but also motorcycle and truck manufacturers too. Among the many manufacturers that have embraced the Dakar in a big way is BMW, where its bikes and X-class vehicles have proven to be highly competitive with continuous development. One team, X-Raid GmbH, had been campaigning the X5 BMW, with which it won an FIA World Cup title in 2004. However they decided to switch to the X3 CC (for cross-country) beginning in 2005. Powered by an award-winning diesel twin-turbo straight-6 with 3 liters of displacement, the team rebuilt the X3 to stand up to the rigors of a multi-day, multi-stage, thousand mile rallies. The body of the X3 CC racer is full carbon-kevlar composite wrapped around a space-frame chassis with an integrated FIA-spec rollcage. Dual, remote reservoir Reiger shocks on each fully independently suspended corner provide 250 mm (9.8 inches) of travel while 6-pot AP racing brakes ensure more than adequate stopping power.

In marathon rallies, reliability counts for much more than outright horsepower, so output for the 2010 iteration of the races is still near the stock figures, at 310 horsepower. Torque is a high 510 lb-ft., which is very important in for an equipment-laden vehicle stuck in the sand. This power and torque are transmitted to the center diff by a Sadev sequential 6-speed, on to the X-Trac differentials.

As built, the X3 CC racer tips the scales at 1850 kg, with a top speed of more than 180 kph. In a desert, with no markers and in shifting dunes, many would agree that that's fast and dangerous enough. The X3 CC has lived a long and fruitful career for team X-raid and for 2011, X-raid has shifted to the Mini All4 using the same M57TU2D30 engine that has served it so sell in the X3 CC.

Source for this post here. 

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Touring Car BMW Shows Influence Of Class Rules

Most people know that the E36 M3 BMW (1992-1999) has a six-cylinder engine with up to 320 hp, depending on displacement. But during this period, when the E36 was being raced in Group A in the British Touring Car Championship, class rules dictated that racers use a different engine. This is where the unusual S14-powered (from the BMW E30 M3) E36 racers came into being.

It is believed these 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder engines were used because of displacement rules. However, these engines in race trim certainly did not give up anything in terms of horsepower output. Reportedly, the engine in this car could make 360 horsepower, and other S14s could make up to 400, depending on the length of the race the cars would be entered in. These engines have a redline of 10,000 rpm, which seems to be necessary because the motor comes on the cam at 7,200 rpm. Behind the engine sat a Hollinger sequential 6-speed, which cost more than $30,000 new. Once 1st gear was engaged via the clutch, the rest of the shifts, up or down could be done by just pulling or pushing the gear lever.

Apart from the engine, these unusual BTCC E36s also used the rear suspension from the older E30, which was a semi-trailing arm design as opposed to the original multilink layout. Again, class rules dictated this change. As one would expect, brakes were 6-pot fronts and 4-pot rears. A BMW DTM ECU and Astra Tech data system control and log the engine’s behavior. Our horsepower calculator says that with 360 horsepower in a 2300-pound car, the power-to-weight ratio would be equivalent to a Ferrari 550 Maranello or the M5 with the V10 engine. 0-60 mph would be hit in 3.3 seconds.

As has often been said, there are different horses for different courses. These unique BMWs which used components from an older generation were certainly no slouches, as the accompanying video shows.

Inspiration for this post here.

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Boring Ford Sedan One Of The Ultimate Sleepers

Aside from police departments around the country, one other entity which loved the Crown Vic was Bob Bondurant, who loved the cars but not their performance. In 1999, Bob decided to do something about it, by asking well-known Ford tuner Roush, to build a run of cars for the instructors to use in his racing school. Now affectionately known as the Cobra Vics, these cars started life as Ford Police Interceptor Crown Vics in the assembly line but a chosen few, 18 in fact, were diverted to the Roush shops to be converted into Crown Vics with Ford Mustang Cobra drivetrains. Hence, Cobra Vics. Although Roush has close ties to Ford, this conversion was not sanctioned by Ford, but it was not discouraged, at any rate.

The heart of the conversion was replacing the underpowered V8 with the engine from a Ford SVT Cobra, which was a 4.6 liter with overhead cams and four valves per cylinder. Output jumped by 100 hp to 300 and to keep things interesting, the 4-speed auto was replaced with a 5-speed manual with carbon fiber blocker rings. A higher gear ratio and limited slip were fitted to the diff and cooling vents were added. Before you think that this was just a simple swap, Roush considered the use the car would undergo and did a lot more things. Things like relocating the air cleaner, adding an H-pipe to the exhaust, modifying a larger-capacity Lincoln oil pan for enhanced oil volume, adding a windage tray and installing a Cobra engine oil cooler. Since the car was intended for track use, emission controls were removed, and the ECU map was recalibrated to optimize the mods. Eibach springs and custom-calibrated Monroe shocks, Winston cup sway bars and recalibrated alignment settings provide the handling prowess.

The interior received its fair share of mods too, such as Recaro seats, six-point cage and 4-point harnesses. Little things like a dead pedal and a 140 mph speedo from an SVT Cobra show Roush’s attention to detail. There are lots of other details that differentiate this car from a “normal” Police Interceptor Crown Vic and today, these cars are treasured by their new owners, who know that they own one of the ultimate sleeper cars.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4zMTHlrJpM

Inspiration for this post here.

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Old Corolla Shows Money Second Only To TLC

It’s all well and good to see high-dollar professional builds done by a team with a race shop that looks like a lab. But sometimes, those done in a garage or a small unassuming shop can be even more impressive, given that these builds are often built on a limited budget, by one or two guys and in their spare time.

Consider this car’s achievements:

Best of Show at TORC (Toyota Owner’s & Restorer’s Club)

MOON EYES People’s Choice at the same show

Loaned to Toyota USA as part of the company display at the 2007 SEMA

But before you think that this car is just a pretty piece, consider that it has run a 9.6 second quarter mile using a turbocharged Toyota 4-banger. That quarter-mile best is all the more significant, because it used the stock 1969-era chassis with only an NHRA-legal rollcage to stiffen it. AE86 struts, tubular links and a narrowed Toyota minivan diff make up the suspension. Competition Engineering adjustable drag shocks control the suspension’s contortions.

The engine is a Toyota 3T-C, which is a 1.8 liter, hemi-head cam-in-block 4-banger that has been turbocharged and fitted with a nitrous system. All told, the engine produces 537 horsepower - at the wheels. Various transmissions have been run on the car, starting with beefed up Toyota trannies up to a Ford C-4 with a 5,500 rpm stall converter. Looking at the car from medium distance, you would think that it’s just a finely restored 1969 KE15 Toyota Corolla and nothing else. Until you hear the engine start up and see the car slay a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

Source for this post found here.

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Ford A Dominant Player In German Touring Car Series

In the late seventies and early eighties, Ford was a dominant player in the touring car series that preceded today’s German DTM series. The Zakspeed Capri was a special project built for Ford Germany when the Mark III Capri was introduced to the European market. With the closure of Ford’s Competition Department in 1975, it was necessary to contract the racing effort to an outside specialist. With this, the Zakspeed Capri was born. Ford Capris were already being raced by Ford from the early 70s but the dominant cars during this time were the BMW 320s. With Zakspeed entering the picture in the late 70s, the the 320 was rendered practically obsolete.

The Zakspeed Capri was run in Group 5 Division II, which meant a maximum engine capacity of 2000cc. If one were to run a turbo engine, it meant a base engine capacity of 1.4. What Zakspeed chose to do was to destroke a 2-liter Cosworth BDA to 1427cc and boost it with twin KKK turbochargers. Using Garret intercoolers and Bosch fuel injection, performance calculations showed an output of 380 horsepower. However, this initial setup produced teething problems and final variants of the Zakspeed Capri engine used a single, larger KKK turbo that produced 460 horsepower reliably.

Suspension was composed of a strut/wishbone combination front and rear, using titanium springs and Bilstein gas pressure shocks. Brakes were Girling units with two calipers per rotor for the fronts. The body structure was what you’d expect from a race car, which would be a full rollcage with lightweight body panels and floorpan. The engine mounts were set as far back as possible for the best weight distribution. Ready to race, the Zakspeed Capri weighed 790 kg.

The car debut in the middle of the 1978 season, where it achieved a time 25 seconds faster than the previous racing Capris. Entering the 1979 season, the Zakspeed Capri won 8 races, together with the Division II title. It’s unfortunate that Ford does not contest European championships as much as it did in the 80s. The competition would be more lively and the shape of a different car would certainly be welcome, compared to the Audis and Mercedes sedans that dominate DTM today.

Inspiration for this article here.

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