Remake Of One Great Sports Car Nipped In The Bud

A lot of very nice cars are out of production now, with their original manufacturers refusing or constrained to produce their modern-day equivalents. Such a case is the iconic Lancia Stratos, the mid-engine quasi-supercar from the 70s which was powered by a V6 sourced from the Dino Ferrari. To enthusiasts everywhere, the name Lancia does not need an introduction, and many have lamented the lack of a successor to the original Stratos, until a few years ago, when a businessman bought the rights to a design from a Lancia enthusiast and constructed a working car based on a Ferrari 430 Scuderia.

Before you turn your nose down at this seemingly amateur attempt, know that the businessman is a major supplier to German car manufacturers and the design house he contacted to do the conversion is Pininfarina, which has been Ferrari's designer for a long, long time. The F430's aluminum chassis was shortened but a rollcage was added. The entire body is done in carbon fiber and despite the additional rollcage, 176 pounds were shaved off the original car's weight. As befits Pininfarina, the car's fit and finish looks like it came from a production line. The interior doesn't show its Ferrari roots, and it is all very sportscar-like. There are cutouts for helmets in the door trim and even the battery is a lightweight lithium ion unit housed in a carbon fiber box.

The Ferrari's dynamic shocks have been retuned to the lighter weight but the carbon-ceramic brakes have been retained. What has been replaced is Ferrari's E-diff for a mechanical and lightweight Drexler unit. The exhaust has also been retuned, to the benefit of the engine, which now produces 533 horsepower. With only 2900 pounds to propel, response is race-carlike. As a comparison, the power to weight ratio is now 5.4 lbs/hp compared to the original F430's 6.1 pounds per horsepower.

Performance calculations predict a 3.1 second 0-60 mph time and the quarter mile in around 11.3 seconds. Even Ferrari's chairman was very impressed with the resulting lightweight car and plans were made to produce a limited run of 25 units at $600,000 each. However, Ferrari subsequently banned Pininfarina from having anything to do with the car and the design house had to accede to the wishes of its longtime partner. So for now, there is no chance yet for a new generation Stratos, but at least, the world has seen what modern design and technology can produce.

Top Gear on the original Stratos

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HSV-010 Racer Is A Winner Out Of The Box

Since the end of production of Honda's world-class NSX, the Japanese company has not had a supercar contender. There is a race car in the form of the HSV-010 but despite its excellent ontrack performance and beautiful shape, there is no confirmation that it will ever see action outside of the racetrack. The HSV-010 is the result of a rules change in Japanese Super GT racing, where Honda have proven themselves to be a consistent winner with its NSX. When the rules were changed to allow only front-engine, rear-drive cars, the dominant NSX automatically became illegal. Honda announced towards the end of 2009 that it would campaingn a car for the 2010 season and despite Super GT requiring that race cars be based on production cars, the use of a production-ready car is technically allowed.

The HSV-010 is based on the development of the replacement for the NSX but is of course modified for racing. As with all race cars nowadays, the body is made from carbon fiber, and as per rules, has the engine mounted up front. The engine is a 90-degree V8 with 32-valve heads helping to produce its 500 horsepower. Engine output goes to a Ricardo 6-Speed sequential with actuation via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. When you hear the engine, it sounds like a Formula car because the engine is reportedly a variant of the powerplant Honda uses in Formula Nippon.

Suspension is via double wishbones front and wear and Alcon brakes are used to haul the car down from speed. The rack and pinion steering system is electrically powered. Using our performance calculations, 0-60 mph is achieved in 2.7 seconds with an expected quarter-mile time of 11 seconds.

Only four teams were supplied with these brand-new race cars and it is notable that in its first season, the HSV-010 was able to achieve a race win and ended up being third in the championship. This is a rare achievement for any race constructor and it speaks highly of the technical skill and racing experience of the constructor and the teams involved.

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Chevy S10 Is Literally A Land Rocket

This vehicle is dubbed the world’s fastest Chevy, but it’s like calling a Formula 1 car a go-kart. Because despite its looks resembling a Chevy S10 truck, it’s doubtful that any major components of that diminutive work vehicle remains, or was there in the first place. For starters, this truck is powered by a Pratt & Whitney J-34. Reportedly found on eBay, this engine was originally installed in a Navy jet where its 12,000 horsepower output was put to good use in aerial maneuvers.

Nowadays, this powerplant is used mainly in airshows where, during its 10-minute appearance, it consumes 60 gallons of jet fuel. The truck itself looks the part of a low flying missile, with its low slung body and huge wing mounted over the rear of the powerplant. The cockpit is squeezed to the left of the engine intake, and the whole powerplant dominates the whole of the truck, starting from the intake in the hood, the combustion chamber where cab is and finally to the bed, where the turbine outlet is located. Beside the outlet are a couple of canisters housing parachutes to help slow the truck down.

Performance calculations peg this truck’s 0-60 mph in under 1.5 seconds, with a top speed of 375 mph. When you see videos of this truck during its airshow appearances, it looks like all show and smoke but watch the video below to see the acceleration this land rocket is capable of.

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Nitrous & Bolt-ons Produce Class Winner

With all the off-the-wall builds and professionally built racers we’ve seen on this blog, featuring a grassroots effort would seem out of place. But it’s the efforts and enthusiasm of individuals like these that keep motorsports alive.As you’ve seen on the picture above, our featured car is a Dodge Magnum SRT8. It’s a daily driven car that’s also sees regular weekend use at the dragstrip. At this point, the car is stock inside and out, except for a few bolt-on mods. Of course, the main ingredient, despite being an original factory install, is a 6.1 liter Hemi which produces 425 horsepower and 420 ft-lb of torque. Starting with the typical cold air intake and a cat-back exhaust, this station wagon is being constantly tinkered with, where it now has a 150-horsepower nitrous shot, from the original 50-hp shot.

In preparation for installing nitrous on the Magnum, the transmission valve body solenoids were upgraded and a driveshaft loop was put in place for safety. An SLP Line Lock was also installed. On the 50-shot nitrous setup, quarter mile times improved by 1.1 seconds. The next modification was a more practical one, that of installing a trailer hitch so that the weekend race team could tow their pit gear with a U-haul.

The installation of the 150-hp nitrous system showed a dyno reading of 548 horsepower at the wheels. The 150 shot is the maximum that can be used on a stock internals Hemi, so 550 horsepower at the wheels is a pretty good number. In fact, the team could not immediately harness that power as the rear axles proved to be a weak point in the drivetrain. Together with replacement axles and an LSD unit, steeper gear ratios were installed. As you can see, the modification bug has hit the owner of this car, Alex, who also drives it down the track.

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Peugeot Class Record To Be Challenged By Toyota Soon

Challenging the Peugeot EX1’s record-breaking track time at the Nurburgring in May of this year, Toyota has announced that it soon aims to top that class record with a car that does 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. With a top speed of 160 mph, it doesn’t seem like a fast enough car, given today’s hypercars. However, when the class record set by the Peugeot EX1 is for electric vehicles, then this is something new.

That alternative powertrains in motorsports will become common in the future is undeniable. The question now is how soon, not if. No details of Toyota’s challenger are yet forthcoming, but Peugeot has made a few details available. First off, the EX1 is actually a concept car that was built in time for last year’s Paris Motor Show. The tub and body panels employ copious amounts of carbon fiber and it has design concepts that will definitely not make it to production.

The drivetrain, however, is interesting, not just because it’s electric but because it uses 2 motors to achieve all-wheel drive, instead of four, as in the Mercedes electric SLS and Porsche hybrid racer. In practice then, it can be a front-wheel or all-wheel drive car. Each motor produces 170 hp and is powered by Li-Ion batteries. Like all electric cars, maximum torque is available (in this case 240 Nm) as soon as throttle is applied and the EX1 has been recorded as capable of more than 1g acceleration. Sprint time to 60 mph is officially 3.5 seconds but Top Gear’s performance calculations have the EX1 doing it in 2.5. Quarter-mile time is 12.67 seconds.

If these figures seem anemic to you, bear in mind that this is a completely electric vehicle, not a hybrid racer like the Porsche that was raced last year and which has been featured in this blog. There are a lot of hurdles to surpass, conceptually and otherwise, as it seems weird to see a car accelerating with no sound and fury at all. But that is one direction for the future and we enthusiasts will have to wrap our minds around that fact.

Source article is here.

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Unlimited Class Hyundai Racer Almost Makes History

Recently, a news article announced the inroads Korean car manufacturers had made into the markets where Japanese makers used to dominate. Of late, Hyundai has also been funding the Millen motorsports team who have built the Veloster rallycross racer and the unlimited-class PM580, which was used to assault Pikes Peak a few weeks back.With the backing of Red Bull, Rhys Millen Racing designed this unlimited class racer with the aim of an outright win and a sub 10-minute time at Pikes Peak, which has stood as a time to beat for decades.

The race car looks more like a Group C endurance racer than one designed to tackle a mixed-surface course. From the pictures, you will see that the racer is truly purpose built, with the packaging just enough to accommodate the engine, transmission, all-wheel drive system and driver. The engine is a turbocharged Hundai V6 bored out to 4.1 liters, and rated at 750 horsepower.

With this in mind, Rhys Millen Racing is fabricating a modern Le Mans style car with a target weight of 1,850 pounds powered by a 4.1-liter Hyundai Lambda turbocharged V6 engine. Performance calculations and testing showed the engine capable of producing 750 horsepower. The entire car weighs in at 1,850 pounds, with the carbon fiber body enclosing high tech systems such as an active rear wing, which lessens its profile to reduce drag in high-speed straights. It also features an active center diff, which allows a torque split of 10 to 100 percent to the front wheels. This system was incorporated to handle the mixed dirt and asphalt surfaces that is present on the Pikes Peak course. Toyo Proxes tires were tasked to maintain the critical grip between the car and the road.

History shows that this car, despite a fast time of 9 seconds over the target 10 minutes, lost out to another specialized racer, that of Millen’s arch-rival Tajima. Coming in second must have been a big disappointment for the team, as this was the last year that the course would have a mixed-surface track. Being fully paved by next year, new setups and higher grip will produce several sub 10-minute times, but they will not stand out as having been made on a mixed-pavement course.

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Weekend Race Toy Restored By Owner After 25 Years

This Escort was the project of two young enthusiasts who met at a company that manufactured gearboxes. Bought as a stripped bodyshell in 1978, it had already seen life as a race car, and it took about two years to complete it. This car was raced for around 8 years, sold, but reacquired by one of the original owners and restored to its former glory in 2010.

Escorts have seen all manner of engine conversions, but this one is unusual in that it features an all-aluminum dry-sumped Rover V8 stroked to 5 liters and fed by a quad Weber carburetion system. 380 horsepower was produced from this setup, and was fed to a Rover five speed, via an AP Racing twin plate clutch and aluminum flywheel. The limited-slip diff was fitted with a 3.75 ratio gearset.

Prepping the bodyshell involved triangulating the front end and installing an FIA-spec rollcage. A one-piece fiberbglass nose, fiberglass door panels, decklid and rear fenders complete the lightening process, together with an aluminum transmission tunnel. All windows except the windshield are Perspex. This resulted in a car that weighet 857 kilograms. Front Leda struts and Spax rear coilovers damping the rear multi-link suspension comprised the handling setup.

Rolling stock is made up of 10X13 front and 12X13 rear wheels, with 11- and 10-inch vented discs respectively. The owner notes that the wheel nuts were tightened to 120 lb-ft. Performance calculations predict a 3.3 second 0-60 time and 11-second quarter miles. Reportedly, this car was able to hit 180 mph at a track in England, so that was pretty fast, and actually quite scary for a bodyshell designed in the, what, 1960s?

At any rate, this car has been resurrected by the original owner, and it must be a rare pleasure indeed to be able to take this car out for a spin and relive those moments of youth 25 years ago.

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