This is a video of Mike Ryan racing a Freightliner Century Class ST at the 2003 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb. It’s a single axle truck. The engine is a twin-turbo Mercedes-Benz 501 V6 producing over 1,400hp. Even though the angle makes the course look kinda flat, the truck is gaining over 100 feet in elevation. This video was shot from the spectator’s area Devils Playground at 12,900 feet. (more…)
This is a video of Bruce Canepa racing a 2003 Kenworth T2000 at the 2003 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb. It’s a tandem axle truck with a mid-engine. The engine is a twin-turbo Caterpillar C-16, a straight-six producing over 1,300hp. Even though the angle makes the course look kinda flat, the truck is gaining over 80 feet in elevation. This video was shot from the spectator’s area Devils Playground at 12,900 feet. (more…)
It looks like one of my favorite cars is getting a styling update for the US market. Spanish Autoblog produced these photos of the CCX which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The title of World’s Fastest Car is currently held by the ugly, idiotically expensive Bugatti Veyron. No specs have been released yet, but it is safe to assume: Koenigsegg wants their title back. I’d like to see it with the unique flower petal wheels on the original.
UPDATE: Early info suggests 900hp and a top speed somewhere north of 148.5mph.
UPDATE:It looks like the drivetrain specs will stay the same as the original model. There have been changes made to get it into the US though.
The birdcage concept car originally showed up at the Geneva Motor Show looking impossible to produce. Well, I guess Maserati is as crazy as their concepts look. I’m glad to see this car put into production even if it is a limited run. Risky designs like this keep the car industry fresh and constantly moving; so what if you can’t buy one? Check out more photos of the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. In case you don’t know: Goodwood is a no limits race up and down some rich guy’s driveway.
Jalopnik has a cute little piece of insanity. A Subaru STi-powered ATV is just the ticket for a quick trip straight into a coffin. It would be nice if some one built a kit like this: just bolt in the sti power train and then feel free to construct any sort of body you want. I think we’d end up with some better designs than GM’s skateboard concept.
Jalopnik has the story of an Ultima kit car breaking speed records. They are the first street legal vehicle to go 0-100-0 mph in under 10 seconds. The car used a 685hp small-block chevy to propel it to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds and 100 mph in 5.8 seconds. I first learned of this kit car when someone decided to cram two Hayabusa engines into one. Hit up the company’s main site for videos from the record breaking run.
Well, it seems like Paul W.S. Anderson plans on remaking Death Race 2000. The original Death Race 2000 was a cult classic. Released in 1975, it starred David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. The movie featured a cross-country race that awarded points for killing pedestrians and it’s the inspiration for the videogame Carmageddon. My favorite scene is when a competitor backs over his own pit-crew to take an early lead in the points. What’s Anderson going to do with the franchise? He’s going to Rollerball it. I’ve enjoyed a couple of Anderson’s bad movies (AVP and Resident Evil), and he does seem to get large enough budgets to make a good looking movie. All of that withstanding, this movie is still going to be a pile of shit. It would take a lot of skill to produce a good remake of this movie and even if it did happen we’d still be wondering why they even bothered. I’m dreading the arrival of “heavily armed Escalades” and Anderson’s dialog which has prompted me to yell at the TV on occasion.
Side note: If you enjoy obscure movies, Orgazmo: Special Edition is being released tomorrow.
Nothing really too grabbing here. The Nissan Sport Concept we talked about the other day showed up. Mitsubishi did a version bump on the Evo; we’re up to IX now. With the way car companies have started softening the lines on their cars I’m afraid the Nissan Skyline GT-R is going to be a lump of mush by the time it gets here in ‘07-’08.
Jalopnik covers the unveiling of the new Mustang Cobra (as seen from the cheap seats). I’m guessing it isn’t on the floor yet since everyone is just posting the press photos. Tuningnews.net kindly posted all of them. The design draws a lot from the original GT500 introduced in 1968. This is visible in the slanted grill and ovoid air dam. It also features a lip spoiler and seat covers similar to the ‘68. They chose not to use the giant hood nostrils from the original deciding instead to use the reverse ducts from the stock ‘68. The modern appointments include a supercharged V8 putting out 450+ hp and 18″ wheels on the production car. With a projected release in 2006 this car meshes nicely with the insurance break I’ll be getting when I turn 25. Synergy will be the death of me.
John Z. DeLorean died yesterday of complications from recent stroke. He left GM in 1973 to found the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC). The company released the DMC-12 in 1981. They only produced approx. 8,600 cars before colapsing in 1983 amid scandle. DeLorean was charged for attempting to sell cocaine to save his legitimate buisiness; he was later acquitted. The DMC-12 was a bit of an oddball with its double-y frame, gullwing doors, stainless steel on fiberglass body, and rear mounted Peugeot-Renault-Volvo V6. DeLorean deserves praise for being an entrepreneur in the automotive industry, but with these technical “achievements” I doubt anyone from my generation would know this car if it hadn’t been for Back to the Future.
Eliot Phillips claims to hate people and writing, but somehow succeeds with both. You can catch him as Lead Blogger on the hardware hacking empire: Hack-A-Day.
