Sports Car Net http://sportscarnet.com/blog Sportscars, racing and automotive news and discussion Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:01:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 MT: Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laps Laguna Seca http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2011/03/mt-ford-mustang-boss-302-laps-laguna-seca/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2011/03/mt-ford-mustang-boss-302-laps-laguna-seca/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:01:03 +0000 admin http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=86 Are you as impressed as we are?

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2011/03/mt-ford-mustang-boss-302-laps-laguna-seca/feed/ 0 MT: 2011 Mustang GT vs. 2011 BMW M3 http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/10/mt-2011-mustang-gt-vs-2011-bmw-m3/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/10/mt-2011-mustang-gt-vs-2011-bmw-m3/#comments Wed, 13 Oct 2010 17:39:00 +0000 admin http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=82 Motor Trend did an unusual comparison a bit ago. They pitted the new 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 up against the reference for “pony cars”, the 2011 BMW M3. A bit of a “David versus Goliath” if you ask me. Or was it? The Mustang actually handed it to the German in almost every category. And if you ask us, the one category in this head to head is that is not an apples to apples deal is the price. You can literally pick up an extra Mustang for your wife for the cost of one M3!

So really, the test should be the 2011 Mustang Shelby GT500 up against the M3. Or better yet, the Mustang GT against the BMW 330i.

Read the Motor Trend article and let us know what you think.

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/10/mt-2011-mustang-gt-vs-2011-bmw-m3/feed/ 1 First Look: 2011 Ford Shelby GT350 http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/01/first-look-2011-ford-shelby-gt350/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/01/first-look-2011-ford-shelby-gt350/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:59:43 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/01/first-look-2011-ford-shelby-gt350/

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2010/01/first-look-2011-ford-shelby-gt350/feed/ 1 Audi R8 – “An exotic supercar with a race-ready, direct-injected V-10 engine” http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/12/audi-r8-an-exotic-supercar-with-a-race-ready-direct-injected-v-10-engine/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/12/audi-r8-an-exotic-supercar-with-a-race-ready-direct-injected-v-10-engine/#comments Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:22:14 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=78

Drivers who appreciate the incredible experience of piloting the Audi R8 with its optional 525-horsepower V-10 engine that revs to an eardrum-stimulating 8,700 rpm may find themselves seeking an indulgence from the priests of the new green religion.

The new dogma decrees that transportation is a painfully necessary activity that’s required for functional purposes and not for fun. Sort of like the view of sex taken by some of the older churches.

Unreformed sensualists (and those who can afford the $150,200 base price) will enjoy the opportunity to immerse themselves in the R8 and its race-ready direct-injected V-10 engine, however. The notion of an exotic mid-engined supercar from Germany may be surprising to those who associate such things with Italy.

[Read entire article on MSN]

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/12/audi-r8-an-exotic-supercar-with-a-race-ready-direct-injected-v-10-engine/feed/ 1 2010 Shelby Super Snake vs. Nissan GTR Dragrace – Motortrend http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/12/2010-shelby-super-snake-vs-nissan-gtr-dragrace-motortrend/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/12/2010-shelby-super-snake-vs-nissan-gtr-dragrace-motortrend/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:28:34 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=73 We really think this is an apples to oranges kinda situation.  AWD car fitted with ultra-sticky tires vs. a RWD car with standard street tires?  Not to mention if this is a proper drag race, shouldn’t it be on a surface prepped track?  Shouldn’t the driver of the super snake have warmed up the tires?  Hmmph.

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/12/2010-shelby-super-snake-vs-nissan-gtr-dragrace-motortrend/feed/ 1 The Benefits of a Cold Air Intake http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/04/the-benefits-of-a-cold-air-intake/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/04/the-benefits-of-a-cold-air-intake/#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:50:39 +0000 admin http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=71 Benefits of a Cold Air Intake

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/04/the-benefits-of-a-cold-air-intake/feed/ 1 Forumla 1 Driver Makes Reporter Puke! http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/03/forumla-1-driver-makes-reporter-puke/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/03/forumla-1-driver-makes-reporter-puke/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:54:17 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=50

]]> http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/03/forumla-1-driver-makes-reporter-puke/feed/ 0 USF1 to launch Formula1 car in 2010 http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/usf1-to-launch-formula1-car-in-2010/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/usf1-to-launch-formula1-car-in-2010/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:46:51 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=42 usf11Backed by Ken Anderson (acting as Sporting Director) and Peter Windsor (Technical Director), the USF1 team hopes to enter an American-Built Formula One car in the 2010 Grand Prix season. Critics have been quick to point out the difficulty of breaking into the pinnacle of motorsport, but the fledgling team has been planning for several years now and has Bernie Ecclestone’s blessing. They’ve got a lot going for them, as well:

  • The team plans to base its operations out of Charlotte, NC, home to the majority of NASCAR’s garages and a great deal of second-tier fabrication shops. ”Most of the technology in Formula One comes from the United States to begin with,” Anderson said. “The logistics side of it now, less than half the races will be on the (European) continent. The cost of doing business in the United States is significantly cheaper than Europe, and there are a lot of good people here.”
  • Charlotte is also home to the 180mph Windshear Rolling wind tunnel, already in use by several F1 teams and one of the best facilities of its kind in the world. Ken Anderson helped develop the $40M facility and hopes to leverage it to launch a competitive USF1 team.
  • While the global economic downturn has fueled much criticism for the types of budgets on which most F1 teams operate, it may serve to help launch a new team. Many highly skilled engineers and mechanics are seeking employment in this segment and may make it easier for the team to assemble on a tight budget.
  • At the SpeedTV press conference, Peter Windsor maintained that they are “fully funded” and will be ready to enter a car into a Grand Prix next year, in 2010.
  • Driver rumors abound, but team principals all agree that at least one US driver would be strongly considered, with names such as Danicka Patrick, Matt Kenseth, Scott Speed, Juan Pablo Montoya and other successful drivers being mentioned. It is more likely that we’d see some top stars in the Indy series, Formula BMW, Formula 3000 or the AIGP series taking the wheel of the USF1 car in 2010, such as Jonathan Summerton (A1GP) and Richard Antinucci (Indy).
  • The USF1 team does not plan to launch an engine manufacturing effort just yet, probably starting with an engine from Renault or Ferrari in a US built chassis.
    • ]]>     http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/usf1-to-launch-formula1-car-in-2010/feed/ 0     Great Mustang Marketing by Ford http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/great-mustang-marketing-by-ford/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/great-mustang-marketing-by-ford/#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:57:32 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=30 We thought this had to be the most innovative car billboard that we had seen to date.

    It turns out the secret is that the billboard is made out of Lexan, a translucent material that blurs the image of everything behind it, creating the illusion of motion.

    ]]>     http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/great-mustang-marketing-by-ford/feed/ 1     GM High Performance Division is latest victum of Slumping Economy http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/gm-high-performance-division-is-latest-victum-of-slumping-economy/ http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/gm-high-performance-division-is-latest-victum-of-slumping-economy/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:03:46 +0000 danponjican http://sportscarnet.com/blog/?p=28 The inevitable effects of a slumping economy is beginning to hit the streets.  The 70′s and 80′s economic slump still causes sport car enthusiasts the world over to shutter to this day.  190 hp Corvettes, Porsches that barely broke a 14 second quarter mile and a selection that was as pathetic as the medical system in Canada.  Now, perhaps the greatest American made sports car is feeling the effects.  GM’s troubles no longer allow it such luxuries as the ZR1, CTS-V or the rest of the high performance pipeline.

    General Motors has disbanded its High Performance Vehicle Operations unit, which was responsible for creating such vehicles as the Cadillac CTS-V, Corvette ZR1, and Pontiac G8 GXP. GM’s high-performance vehicles will not be discontinued, but future replacements to these cars might never materialize. In other words, when GM’s existing high-performance models reach the end of planned production, they could be gone for good.

    All high-performance vehicles currently under development have been shelved. It is not clear if this includes cars like the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe, which is probably very close to being completed.

    “All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold,” spokesman Vince Muniga told Automotive News. “The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs.”

    Muniga added there are no longer any plans for performance-oriented variants of any upcoming cars.
    General Motors scraps high-performance division

    ]]>     http://sportscarnet.com/blog/2009/02/gm-high-performance-division-is-latest-victum-of-slumping-economy/feed/ 1