DTM Driver Andy Priaulx Takes BMW M235i Around Thruxton Racetrack

BMW has managed to create a very attractive package, with its all-new M235i coupe, a car that reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds and promises to be an engaging drive.

Even DTM driver Andy Priaulx seems to have enjoyed his time behind the (racy looking) wheel of the new pinnacle of the 2-Series range, or at least that’s the impression he leaves us with after watching the official promo he was featured in.

The video posted below, will not change our perception of the M235i, for better or worse, because it is not an impartial view. We are pleased, however, to be seeing the car in action, and hearing it at work around the Thruxton racetrack in the UK, even though the engine note sounds a bit flat, and the eight-speed gearbox sometimes seems not to be sure which cog it’s supposed to go for (Priaulx could be using the paddles badly, but that’s next to impossible given his line of work).

As a package, the M235i should be on your radar if you’re looking for a very fast yet still compact coupe, but as with all BMWs, the one you actually want, with all of the goodies selected, will cost a lot of amount of money - it starts at $44,025 in the US.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Watch Red Bull’s F1 Car Do Some Donuts on Top of the Burj Al Arab Hotel

You’re probably aware by now that the FIA doesn’t want championship-winning drivers to show their emotion and thrill spectators. Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel found that out last weekend, when they were slapped with an absurd fine.

Red Bull’s marketing machine didn’t let than event slip unnoticed and decided to show its disapproval by staging a memorable event.

The energy-drink giant took one of its Formula 1 cars and driver David Coulthard to Dubai in order to celebrate winning the 2013 Formula One Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships.

The car was lifted on Burj Al Arab’s helipad, located on the top of the seven star hotel at 210 meters (689 ft) above the sea. David Coulthard’s job was a typical Red Bull adventure: to do some donuts with the 750hp F1 car on the 24-meter wide helipad. You can check out the amazing footage after the break.

By Dan Mihalascu

VIDEO

Ford Stages Fratricidal Race Between 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet and Fiesta ST Rallycross

Ford builds a variety of racing cars, but it’s hard to find two models that are more far apart from each other than the Mustang Cobra Jet and the Fiesta ST global rallycross car (GRC).

While the former is designed to run the quarter-mile as quickly as possible on the drag strip, the other is a nimble little car made for crazy rallycross stages that combine dirt roads with asphalt and various obstacles.

There are more differences: the Cobra Jet is a rear-wheel drive monster powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine fitted with a Ford Racing-built Whipple 2.9L Supercharger, while the Fiesta ST GRC is an all-wheel drive supermini with a 550hp 2.0-liter turbocharged engine mated to an OMSE gearbox with custom ratios.

The two cars were driven at the zMAX Dragway at Charlotte Motor Speedway by drag racing legend Roy Hill and rallycross driver/Top Gear USA presenter Tanner Foust. We won’t disclose the outcome of the race, but we'll tell you that the race wasn't as one-sided as one would have expected.

By Dan Mihalascu

VIDEO

Nitrous-Fueled Corvette C6 Pops at 180MPH

Incorrect engine timing is what caused this nitrous-injected Chevrolet Corvette C6 to catch fire while it was doing 180 mph or 288 km/h driven by its owner Buddy Schulz at the Texas Mile. It wasn’t a heavily modified car, though, but the Stage 2 nitrous shot kit kind of clashed with the smooth running of the LS3 V8, instead of helping it make the claimed 625 hp that it was known to be capable of.

The fire itself isn’t of the extremely spectacular kind, but we bet Mr. Schulz didn’t feel the same way as he was rushing to get the racing harness uncoupled so as to get out of the burning vehicle (while it was still moving).

In the end, he threw himself out, just before the ‘Vette came to a complete stop, but instead of having a negative attitude about it afterward, he was apparently talking about the next engine that he’s going to use for the car. He probably would not have been positive about it if the fire would have spread to the other parts of the body too…

Thankfully, as the YouTube uploader states in one of the comment replies, “most of the car was saved and can be rebuilt.”

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Selfish Cyclist Thinks Rally Stage is All for Himself…

A while ago, we saw a cyclist that didn’t want to share a London street with a supercar, but this is the first time we see a cyclist using a…rally stage while the actual rally is taking place.

It happened in Rome, Italy, over the weekend, during the inaugural edition of the Rally della Capitale. The cyclist entered the closed rally stage and started pedaling, ignoring the crowd’s warnings to clear the road. Not only did he put himself and the spectators in danger, but he also ruined the race for the Fiat Grande Punto S1600, whose driver had to brake hard to wait for the cyclist to clear the road.

One would say that by now he had realized he wasn’t supposed to ride on that road, but he didn’t. After the car passed, he hopped on the saddle again and continued his ride, only to cross paths once again with the Punto. What do you think; was the cyclist simply stupid or defiant at the rally being organized there? Tell us in the comments.

Story References: YouTube via Worldcarfans

By Dan Mihalascu

VIDEO

This 16-Year-Old Girl Runs 1/4 Mile in 11 Seconds!

Alex isn't your (stereo)typical 16 year old American teenager. She's a car gal and an aspiring drag racer who just completed her first 11 second quarter mile pass this year running in a modified 1968 Chevrolet Camaro powered by an LS1 V8 that used to be her mom's.

The crew from 1320Videos who recorded the teen's efforts commented: "Alex is one lucky girl, not only does she have an amazing family that has helped her build this beautiful Camaro, she was able to take a whole week off school to race for 6 days straight across the midwest on Drag Week 2013. Not only is her car beautiful, but it's pretty damn quick too!"

See her running down the drag strip in the video that follows the jump below.

VIDEO

EVO Picks Its Favorite Track Car for 2013

The videos uploaded by EVO, particularly in recent months, have been some of the more enjoyable ones to watch from a sea of clips that the internet has to offer. Now that they have uploaded a twenty three-minute-long video of their attempt to pick out 2013’s best track car, I cleared up twenty-three minutes in which I would do nothing else, in order to watch it.

Part of what made me stay until the end was their (British-biased) selection of candidates for the title: McLaren 12C GT Can-Am, Caterham Seven 620R, Radical RXC, BAC Mono, Litchfield Subaru BRZ Spec S (supercharged from 200 to 280 hp), Mini JCW GP, Ariel Atom 3.5 Supercharged  and Porsche Cayman S.

The track chosen to try out the cars on was Blyton Park, which seems to be placed on very flat ground with no features (it’s marginally better as a setting than Top Gear’s airfield). Still, the typically British overcast day probably made for some nice beauty shots.

I won’t tell you which they chose as their favorite, but I will tell you that it’s not the Porsche – it was severely outnumbered by Brits, and it was much more of a usable road car than pretty much all the other models, except, perhaps the Mini.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Sebastian Vettel Wins 4th F1 Title, Gets Fined €25,000 for Donut Celebrations…

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was crowned Formula 1 World Champion for the fourth consecutive year on Sunday, after winning the Indian Grand Prix. The German has now the same number of titles as Alain Prost and has only two other great drivers to beat: Juan Manuel Fangio (5 titles) and Michael Schumacher (7 titles). The 26-year-old driver is the youngest double, triple and now quadruple world champion.

Although he started the race on pole-position, Vettel quickly dropped to 17th place following an early pitstop to change tires. The German then started to work his way up and by lap 21, he was second, behind Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. On lap 33, Vettel raced in front again and kept the position until the end of the race.

Naturally, after he crossed the finish line he wanted to celebrate so he made some donuts on the front straight during the celebration lap. One would think he would get away with that, even in a politically-correct sport like Formula 1; well, he didn’t.

FIA regulations stipulate that the winning car must go straight to “parc ferme” after the race, and Vettel broke that rule as he stopped the car on the grid after doing the donuts, got out of it and threw his gloves into the grandstand.

The idea behind the rule is to prevent interference with the car - which obviously didn't happen. Nevertheless, FIA officials quickly reached Vettel’s car to “neutralise” it, and Vettel with his team manager were called up by the stewards. They decided to reprimand Vettel and fine the team €25,000 ($34,470).

You can watch Vettel's hoon-style celebration in the video below.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO

One-off 1,000HP Lotec Mercedes-Benz C1000 Supercar Up for Auction

RK Motors Collector Car Auctions (RKMCCA) will offer a unique Lotec Mercedes-Benz supercar at the auction scheduled between October 31 and November 3 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The one-of-a-kind 1995 Lotec Mercedes-Benz C1000 was commissioned by a businessman from the United Arab Emirates.

The man paid $3.5 million to have the world’s fastest street-legal car, so Lotec and Mercedes-Benz designed a vehicle according to his wishes. The C1000 features a 5.6-liter Mercedes-Benz V8 engine twin-turbocharged with Garrett turbos generating 1,000 hp.

The Lotec Mercedes-Benz C1000 sprints from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.8 seconds and allegedly can reach a top speed of 268 mph (431 km/h). For the record, that’s 1 mph (1.6 km/h) faster than the Bugatti Veyron’s top speed. The engine is mated to a Hewland 6-speed transmission.

These figures are in part due to the car’s curb weight of only 2,381 pounds (1,080 kg), as the bodywork is made of carbon fiber. The interior is a combination of red leather and carbon fiber and features two bucket racing style seats with 3-point harnesses, air conditioning, adjustable pedals, adjustable steering column and even a luggage compartment. The odometer reads only 2,576 kilometers (1,600 miles).

The price for one of the rarest supercars in the world? Bidding starts at $1,000,000 (€726,000), with RKMCCA anticipating a sale price of up to $1,300,000 (€943,875).

The auction will also include the 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR roadster we've spotted on eBay earlier this year. The car is one of only six roadsters made and has 71 miles (115 km) on the clock. The auction starting price was not announced, but it's safe to say bidding will start from around $2 million (€1.45 million) - the price advertised on eBay.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

Rally Accident in Hungary Leaves Six Injured, One in Critical Condition

Word of caution: Some readers may find the images in the following video disturbing

A horrible accident that took place on Saturday afternoon (October 19, 2013) during a Hungarian rally in the village of Városlőd when a Volkswagen Golf Mk2 racer lost control of his car and plowed a group of spectators who were watching the vehicles fly by at speed, has left six people injured, one seriously.

According to media reports from Hungary, one elderly victim is in coma having suffered severe abdominal, chest, spine and head injuries.

The Golf was reportedly going around 150km/h (93 mph) when the accident happened, though; this is something that has not been confirmed. Police are still investigating the circumstances of the accident.

We've also attached a video report from the scene of the accident. We'd be much obliged if any of Hungarian readers can translate and share the most important parts of the interview in the comments.

VIDEO

Get Your Very Own Iconic Virginia International Raceway Oak via Cloning

Most racetracks intentionally don’t have trees anywhere in close proximity to the driven tarmac, but the Virginia International Raceway had one, until it fell earlier in the year. Now, the track is a little bit safer since there’s no massive oak to smash into on the inside of the tightening double-apex right-hander, but it’s also a far less evocative place…

The iconic old oak had been there for around 200 years, and the turn seems to have been made in such a way so as to curve exactly around it – it was a feature, and one that made all photos taken with it in the background better. Its loss was such a tragedy, that according to Road&Track, the management came up with the idea of trying to clone the tree, and then sell saplings on to whomever would be interested in having one.

All of the tricky lab work will be done by Virginia Tech’s Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, though, currently it is not a sure thing – the cloning process can fail. We'll have to wait and see if it’s successful so that fans of the track then plant the result wherever they please, so that people two centuries in the future will be able to enjoy the sight of thousands of huge oaks planted randomly across the land.

At the track, the place where the original stood may even be covered with tarmac, as it is widened and upgraded to host the new United Sports Car series. The videos posted below show what the turn was like with the tree and what it's like now.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Nissan's Latest ZEOD RC Racer Gains Turbo Engine [w/Videos]

Following eight months of development, design and construction, Nissan’s radical ZEOD RC electric racecar was unveiled this week at Nismo’s headquarters in Yokohama, Japan.

It’s not the first time the ZEOD RC was showcased, as a prototype version was on display at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours race. However, compared to that initial version, the finished racer features an evolution of the design featuring revamped styling, new cooling inlets and aerodynamic updates.

The big news, however, is that the ZEOD RC won’t be all electric after all, since it will also feature “a small lightweight turbocharged internal combustion engine,” according to the release. No other details were provided regarding the range extender engine. The racecar shares the same battery technology as the Nissan Leaf that allows recharging via regenerative braking.

The Zero Emissions on Demand (ZEOD) racer has been developed to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours race next year and will occupy the “Garage 56” entry for vehicles showcasing new and innovative technology.

The ZEOD RC is a test bed to develop new electric technologies for Nissan’s future LMP1 (Le Mans Prototype Class 1) program and will become the first car to complete an entire race lap of the 8.5-mile (13.7-km) Le Mans circuit on electric power alone. Nissan says the car will reach speed of over 300 km/h (185 mph) and lap the circuit faster than an LM GTE car.

The Nissan ZEOD RC will be on display in the paddock of the Fuji circuit this weekend, where the 6 Hours of Fuji race counting for the FIA World Endurance Championship will be held.

By Dan Mihalascu

PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO

Honda's New 2015 F1 V6 Engine Sounds Like My Milkshake Blender…

In fact, to be frank, everyone I asked said my milkshake blender sounds better than Hondas, better than Hondas (…that's a reference to Kelis' Milkshake song for the uninitiated).

And yes, this author is clearly quite disappointed (and that's probably an understatement) with the sounds recorded from Honda's newly developed 1.6-liter V6 racing engine crafted for use by McLaren in the 2015 Formula 1 season.

"Today Honda has released a recording of its new F1 engine, which was recently fired for the first time," the Japanese automaker said in a short statement that accompanied the video. "The engine is being developed for the 2015 season where Honda will participate under a joint project with McLaren."

Unlike us, Manabu Nishimae, President of Honda Motor Europe, was thrilled with the first sounds of his company's creation: “It is exciting to hear the cry of our new born Formula One engine for the first time," he said. "Our engineers are working hard to develop the engine and we are all looking forward to the start of the 2015 season.”

Hopefully, they can also work on making it sound less like a kitchen appliance…

VIDEO

Rally Car Engine Sound Fest Will Make You Smile!

A ten-minute long video compilation chock-full of modern and classic rally-bred motors backfiring everywhere sounds to us like a valuable montage to us, and another contender for our list of alternatives or ways to increase the effect of coffee in the morning, depending on your stance towards the beverage.

Actually, I think it’s so far the best at ridding you of the dreaded early morning lethargy, as it’s quite in-your-face both in terms of visual action and audio too.

The video was put together by YouTube user NM2255, and it features some of the new and old cars that participated in the Rally Legend 2013 event, in the Republic of San Marino. It features virtually everything from the Citroen Xsara WRC to a Porsche 964 RS Rally Special, and even the monstrous 380 hp MG Metro 6R4 Group B racer that made its debut eighteen months before the class was canceled for good.

You can check it out after the virtual jump, and the complete list of names you’ll going to spot throughout - it's a big list, so there's definitely at least one car you'll really like.

By Andrei Nedelea

List of Cars

Audi Sport Quattro S1 Group B
Lancia Delta Integrale 16V
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 Group N
Skoda Octavia WRC
Peugeot 206 WRC
BMW 320is E36
Subaru Impreza WRC 1999
Lancia Rally 037
Ford Focus WRC 2007
Lancia Delta S4 Group B
Lancia Stratos
Ferrari 308 GTS Rally Special
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 3 Group N
BMW M3 E30 Rally Special
Ford Focus WRC 2003
Porsche 964 RS Rally Special
MG Metro Group B
VW Polo R WRC 2013
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6 Group N
Fiat Punto S1600
Subaru Impreza WRC 2004
Toyota Celica GT Four STI 205
Ford RS200 Group B
Subaru Impreza STi Group N 2010
Skoda Fabia WRC
Renault Clio KIT
Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Group B
Toyota Corolla WRC
Citroen Xsara WRC

VIDEO