I’ve always thought that the Ford GT (and its forbear, the Ferrari-busting, LeMans-winning GT40) was the ultimate combination of track-punishing power and gorgeous sports car aesthetics. Let not forget that the GT also sounded amazing, thanks to a 5.4L supercharged V8 that churned our 550 horsepower.

Alas, Ford only made about 4000 Ford GTs, but the car does live on as a favorite vehicle for many racing teams. One such team is Matech Competition, a Swiss racing team that is running a heavily modified Ford GT (draped in Darth Vader’s favor color) in the FIA GT1 Championship Race on April 17th, 2010 at the Yas Marina circuit in the United Arab Emirates.

You can read more about this car over at Autoblog, visit the official Matech Competition website, or watch a large version of this sweet-sounding video of the car in action over at YouTube. Don’t know how the Blue Oval does it, but supercharged Ford V8s always sound like music to the ears.
ultimate

Back in August I posted about a new feature at DrivelineBlog.com called Driveline Blog Builds (DLBB). The goal of this new feature series is to highlight one project vehicle a month going forward. I was hoping to launch DLBB in August, so this is a little behind schedule. Someone once said “better late than never,” an aphorism that I’m happy to apply in this case.

Our inaugural DLBB vehicle for October 2009 is a heavily modified 1988 BMW 528e which the owner–who asked that I don’t reveal his real name, so I’ll go with “Bob”–is planning to race in the 2010 Tire Rack One Lap of America. A friend told me about this project, and Bob was kind enough to let me swing by his garage earlier this year to take some pictures and ask some questions about the project.

Bob’s project started with a 1988 BMW 528e in close to new condition he found after a web search a few years ago. “This car sat in a garage in California from 1992 onwards, had a single owner, had full documentation, had only about 50,000 miles, and everything was in great shape.” Bob mentioned that that not having to do bodywork on the vehicle was a bonus for him, as he really wanted to focus more of his time on the powertrain and suspension.

Rather than go with the stock motor, Bob opted for a 3.3L S52 V6 cylinder motor from a 1998 BMW M3 that he balanced, rebuilt with a new valve job, equipped with a T04e-60 turbo, and bolstered with a host of other engine component upgrades. “My goal was to try and keep most of the components from the firewall forward as stock or easily replaceable as possible,” Bob explains. “If I’m running laps in this and something breaks, I want to make sure I can run to the local BMW dealership and have good odds of finding those parts in stock.”

Engine control will likely be handled by an AEM unit from Evosport.com, and the transmission is a e36 ZF 5 speed manual sourced from an M3. The tranny will be mated to a 400hp clutch and an aluminum flywheel. Bob conservatively estimates that the motor will put out 400-420 horsepower at the rear wheels by the time he’s finished, but final numbers may fluctuate between now and when his project finally hits the track.

Some of the more unusual elements of Bob’s project are motor/transmission mounts pulled from a Toyota Supra, and a rack and pion steering setup that proved to be more problematic than Bob anticipated. “I originally tried a rack and pinion unit from a e39 BMW 528i, but that was for a front steer car,” Bob said. “I found a rear steer rack online that only cost me about $300 that should work fine.”

Bob is still hoping to run the car in the 2010 Tire Rack One Lap of America, and plans to downplay all the significant enhancements he’s made to the vehicle. In a forum post on MyE28.com — a popular online hangout for BMW E-series buffs — Bob outlined his strategy:

I want this car to be a sleeper. No spoilers, stripes, wings, in fact I have a set of 16″ factory steel wheels which I will have widened to 8″ and will run BMW hub caps and beauty rings. I want to see the face of the Porsche GT3 or new M3 driver when the old euro taxi goes flying by.

I hope you’ll join me in wishing Bob the best of luck with One Lap of America exploits, and we’ll keep tabs on his progress. If you know of a vehicle worthy of being featured as a monthly Driveline Blog Build, drop me an email at jeff@drivelineblog.com.

Season 13 of Top Gear returned to BBC Two last month, and episode 106 hit the airwaves (and YouTube) a few days ago. Despite being chock full of excellent content (Jeremy Clarkson gives his thoughts on the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black), the highlight of the episode was undoubtedly Captain Slow (James May) visiting California to take a drive with rally/stunt driver Ken Block.

What ensues is arguably one of the best Top Gear segments ever, with May taken on an eye-popping, white-knuckle ride with Block (and his 380hp Subaru Impreza STI rally car) around, across, through, and then out into the wide open spaces around Inyokern airport in California. Former motocross champion Ricky Carmichael also makes a cameo, but the real stars here are behind the camera: the Top Gear film crew should be given a boot full of awards for their efforts here. Fantastic stuff.

We just received word that Mitsubishi has inked a deal with Jim Russell Racing Drivers School to launch a new driver training course that will feature a number of specially-prepared Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions. Dubbed The Jim Russell Lancer Evolution Experience, this new program will premiere on Saturday, July 11th at the Mitsubishi Owners Day (MOD) event held at Mitsubishi’s campus in Cypress, CA.

Here’s more from the Mitsubishi press release about the new driving program and the MOD event festivities:

The Jim Russell Lancer Evolution Experience program will offer a full day of instruction that begins in the classroom and continues on the exciting track as drivers get behind the wheel of the latest Lancer Evolution. The curriculum will focus on improving a driver’s technique, speed and car control skills at Infineon Raceway, one of the most challenging race tracks in North America.

“Deciding to work with Mitsubishi Motors for The Lancer Evolution program was an easy choice,” said Chip Pankow, president of Jim Russell Racing Drivers School. “We have been using the 4G63 engines in our Lola-built school cars and found them to be exceptionally reliable. The launch of The Jim Russell Lancer Evolution Experience strengthens our position as the leader in delivering new concepts and deliverables for automotive manufacturers seeking to broaden their customer base.”

Those in attendance at M.O.D. will witness the reveal of two of the cars to be used in the Jim Russell Lancer Evolution Experience, as well as the single-seat, open-wheel FJR-50, Formula 3 derived race car, which is designed by Lola Cars International Ltd. and powered by the venerable Mitsubishi 4G63. More than 1,500 owners and enthusiasts from around the country are expected to attend this year’s M.O.D. which will showcase everything from Starions and 3000GTs to Eclipses and Lancer Evolutions.

In addition, all Mitsubishi owners will be eligible to participate in a drawing for a number of highly coveted prizes from participating vendors. The grand prize at the 2009 M.O.D. drawing will be the very first seat in the Jim Russell Lancer Evolution Experience at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., worth $1,000.

(Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

^{photo: © Calvin Cheng}

A nice comparison article over at Wheel Talk pits a C6 Z51 Corvette against a Porsche Cayman S. The comparison is written by Calvin Cheng, and does an admirable job of summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of both vehicles in a location that they were cleary optimized for: the racetrack.

Here’s an excerpt:

One thing that struck me was how much the engine sticks out more in the Corvette. While the Cayman’s engine has a glorious sounding note at idle, it fades into being a supporting cast, albeit a significant one, when the driving gets underway. With the Corvette, you are always conscious of the engine. It is the heart and soul of the car. That’s the quintessential muscle car experience.

The author provides lots of in-depth opinion and information about his track experience with both vehicles on the track. The post was dated late last year, but it’s well-worth a look — be sure to check out the author’s earlier post also, which includes lap times and additional photos.

(Source: Wheel Talk) [- Jeff James]

Although he finished second in round 2 of the drifting Formula D racing event — held last weekend (May 13-14) at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. — driver Samuel Hubinette has managed to stay atop the overall Formula D driver standings for the year. (You’ll have to take our word for it, though, as the official point standing page over at the Formula D website wasn’t updated yet when we posted.)

The next stop for the Formula D racing series is June 8-10 at Soldier Field in Chi-town. Hubinette stuck with racing a Dodge Viper drift car in Atlanta, but could he switch to the new Charger SRT8 drifter for the Chicago race?  Team MOPAR has been beavering away over the last few months preparing Hubinette’s new Charger SRT8 drift car for the competition, so we may see the Crazy Swede behind the wheel of the blue hemi-powered Charger soon.

In the interim you can check out a short Windows media clip of Hubinette punishing an apparently stock SRT8 (with accompanying soundtrack by Rammstein). – [Jeff James]

A few weeks ago, auto enthusiast site Auto Extremist posted an item that claimed to have inside information that one of the Big Three domestic automakers was considering the possibility of pulling out of NASCAR.

According to the post, said automaker was considering redirecting the massive fundage supporting their current NASCAR efforts — estimated at somewhere around 9 figures — to support production-vehicle based racing series, technical efforts (such as developing engines for IndyCar) and to make a concerted effort to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, arguably the world’s most famous motorsports event. The author of the post has reportedly endured a substantial amount of email abuse since the story broke, but — in the author’s defense — rumblings of diminishing support for NASCAR among the Big Three have been felt for the last few years.

[Follow "Read the rest of this entry" link for full post text.]

Some quick Google research reveals a USA Today story by Chris Jenkins (dated May 11th, 2005) that alluded to those concerns, especially with Ford and GM having recent (and sizeable) financial troubles.

One of the great arguments for automakers to get involved in motorsports is the old “Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday” adage — that success in auto racing translates into foot traffic at the local dealer. While one can argue that the success of the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo/Subaru Impreza WRX (World Rally Racing) and the Corvette C6 (American LeMans Series, 24-Hours of LeMans) in their respective racing series has undoubtedly helped sales, NASCAR vehicles have little in common with their real-world namesakes.

The Ford Fusion is a mild-mannered FWD sedan with an available 4- or 6-cylinder engine, while the NASCAR variant is a spec-built, tube-framed vehicle with rollbars, a 700hp pushrod V8 and RWD. About the only thing that resembles the real-world Fusion is the faux headlight and grill decals that are affixed to the shell of the vehicle.

The success of such RWD sedans as the Chrysler 300 and the new Dodge Charger may signal Detroit’s return to vehicles that resemble their NASCAR counterparts more closely, but only time will tell. Keep checking DrivelineBlog for updates on this story. – [Jeff James]

BBC Sport is reporting that Renault Formula 1 team boss Flavio Bratore — shown here with Schumacher in a photo sourced from the BBC Sport news story — has indicated a strong interest in signing Michael Schumacher at the end of his contract with Ferrari. Fernando Alonso will be leaving the Renault team the year, which is no doubt fueling speculation concerning Schumi’s future among the Formula 1 community.

Check out the original BBC Sport article here for more info. – [Jeff James]

We’re big fans of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) here at DLB, with yours truly having fond memories of a rainy day in July 2004 feeling the concussive, ground-trembling blat of C5R Corvettes as they blasted around the confines of Lime Rock Park. Other folks must have had similarly positive experiences, with ALMS claiming today in Acura’s news release that:

“The America Le Mans Series is one of the fastest-growing racing series in the U.S., with a rapidly growing fan base attending the events and watching on television. Five of the 10 races in 2006 will be broadcast by CBS, with the remaining five events and Le Mans telecast on the cable/satellite SPEED network, including a prime-time season finale at Laguna Seca.”

We’re happy to see the series add yet another high-profile auto manufacturer, with Acura announcing today that they’ll be joining the series in the LMP2 class — initially using Honda engines and a Lola/Courage chassis — beginning wih the 55th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring in March of 2007. Acura has even higher hopes for the series in the years that follow, additionally stating in their release that their plans include “….development of an Acura LMP1 chassis and engine package to compete in the American Le Mans Series, and earn an invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.”

Stuart Waterman over at Autoblog has a nice write-up on the announcement (along with more photos like these), or you can scope out the ALMS or Honda/Acura sites for additional info as well. – [Jeff James]