Monday, January 11, 2016

First 2016 Camaro SS to Pull 9s Quarter Mile Is High on Nitrous, Breaks Rear



About one month. That's how long it took the 2016 Camaro to grab the kind of aftermarket attention that other cars take one or two years to receive. As a result, GM's muscle car has now descended into the 9s quarter mile area.

As we recently told you, the 2016 Camaro has now covered the three main power adders, since we have an example that's high on nitrous, one that packs a supercharger and a car that has gone down the twin-turbo route.

We're here to focus on the nitrous Camaro SS, a vehicle we've been keeping an eye on ever since it pulled a 10.6s quarter mile in early December 2015.

The machine comes from Oklahoma-based B&R Performance, which has dipped even further into the potential of the 2016 generation's Corvette-borrowed LT1. The massaged slab of GM now packs the 150 shot of nitrous we've already seen, along with a few engine mods - the most important is a custom cam setup.

The Chevy was taken to the drag strip, where, in the name of science, it became the first 2016 Camaro SS to pull a 9s pass. To be more specific, this 2016 Camaro went as quick as 9.83s at 138 mph (158 km/h).

The tuner was determined to extract every bit of performance out of the package, but adding a considerable amount of muscle and pulling torturing launches caused the passenger side axle to break. The Camaro is now getting a fresh set of axles, built by GForce Engineering

The company explains the weather wasn't exactly helpful, either. As a result, they went back to the tuning board, and we expect them to come back with an even faster piece of American metal.

These days, you never know what new Camaro SS project you'll come across when you wake up in the morning, so stay tuned for more on this topic.

Porsche Does 360-Degree Spin in 911 GT3 to Prove a Point



When you buy a 911 GT3, you're basically paying a team of German engineers who are obsessed with precision, receiving a piece of lap time machinery in return. However, those who doubt the GT3 can also serve as an extreme weapon for spinning shenanigans are wrong.

You don't even have to trust us on this one and that's because Zuffenhausen has sent us all a message, in the form of the footage below. The clip shows a GT3 pulling 360-degree stunt on a wet surface.

You can see a Porsche driving instructor (and his entertained passenger smiling under her shades, for that matter) manhandling the machine from start to finish.

Let's talk about what makes spinning or drifting a Porsche such an intense experience

So what makes a Porsche spin so special? The answer lies in the aspect that makes the 911 itself unique and that's the rear-engined layout.

While the stunt mentioned above seems almost natural, you can see the GT3 resisting for a few brief moments, just before the maneuver is completed. Sure, the engine now sits closer to the car than ever before and the GT3's rear axle steering is a blessing, but physics will always be physics.

In fact, much of the thrills you get from using a Porsche for such shenanigans is this attitude of the car. You can feel the 991 generation's technical advances joining forces with the driver in the quest for taming that weight at the back of the car.

We've seen the automaker integrating more and more tire-burning activities in its promotional efforts over the last few years and the reason for that is simple. With drifting and other moves of the sort becoming more and more popular, all Porsche had to do was to step out of its Le Mans-winning driving comfort zone.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Mercedes-Benz Sheds Some Light on the New E-Class with a Headlamps Teaser



With Christmas still a very vivid memory, you’ve probably had enough of flashing LEDs to last until next time Santa will be visiting, so please excuse Mercedes-Benz for finding the worst possible time to show us its new MULTIBEAM LED headlamps.

The lighting technology has moved ahead rapidly. It was only a few years ago that we were very excited about the cornering ability of our xenon lights, and more recently we’ve been given the opportunity to forget about the high beam switch, allowing a computer to take care of that.

Initially, LEDs were used on cars for their exceptional output/energy consumption ratio, but somebody quickly realized that their small size was a great asset too. Unlike before, the headlamp didn’t have to be made up of a single light source for the road lights and one for the high beam - a housing of the same size could host plenty of high-power LEDs, allowing the engineers to use them at will.

We’ve all seen the Tesla Christmas light show, but that’s not what we’re having in mind here. Since the purpose of the headlights is to ensure maximum visibility during nighttime without becoming a nuisance for the other drivers, the idea of the “smart headlamp” came about.

Mercedes-Benz wasn't the first company to use multiple LEDs (or an LED matrix) for creating dark cones that protect the other drivers from glare on a production vehicle, but it quickly made up the lost ground and it now offers a very powerful solution on most of its models. And since it’s Mercedes-Benz, it also got an all-capital letters name: MULTIBEAM LED.

Things escalated quickly, and now the new E-Class has no less than 84 individually controlled high performance LEDs that will light up everything that matters up ahead while also sparing everyone that might be blinded by the strong fascicle of light.

Yeah, it’s not exactly the type of feature that will make you say “shut up and take my money,” but it is impressive when witnessed for the first time, not to mention it’s a very important safety boost. And Mercedes-Benz is also marching on another aspect: design. Doing away with the voluminous bulbs means the designers have a lot more freedom to create beautiful shapes that better reflect the new direction the Stuttgart brand is headed towards. See for yourself in the video below.

Pagani Teases Us Again with an Extreme Version of the Huayra

The folks at Pagani seem to have some big plans for this new year start. Right before the world got ready to celebrate the New Year, the Italian company posted a picture of a unique Huayra model on its official Facebook page.

While the “huayrabc” hashtag that accompanied the car is new and it is not yet known what the “bc” letters stand for, the car itself isn’t that new. This particular hypercar was spied in October 2015, during a stint on the San Marina del Lago racetrack, in Italy.

The circuit hasn’t been chosen by mistake, as it is very close to Pagani’s headquarters, in San Cesaria sul Panaro, where the company founded by Horacio Pagani upgraded their workshop with a new, state-of-the-art factory.

This new establishment is expected to be the birthplace of this ultra-fast version, as well as a roadster edition of Pagani’s latest model.

A badass version of the Huayra is kind of a logical move, as all the 100 examples of the standard car have already been allocated, and rivals such as the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta or the Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce are challenging the vehicle’s hypercar status, so it is time for the Italian company to revitalize the market.

The teased model will only be offered to 20 lucky customers, but you have to know that it isn’t enough to have a couple of million dollars at your disposal, you must also be a Huayra client in order to be eligible for the purchase.

Although it has a massive aero package, this won’t be a track-only dream such as the mighty Zonda R. And to save you from getting your phone out and trying to scan the QR codes that wrap the entire car, we’ll tell you that they only say “to be continued.”

Most likely, the #huayrabc will be revealed at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, this spring.

John Surtees Awarded CBE Honors, Still Not a Knight Despite Being a Living Racing Legend



John Surtees was appointed a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the New Year’s Honours List. Now, aged 81, Surtees is one of the biggest names in last century's road racing scene on both two and four wheels.

A former GP500 rider, Surtees also raced in the 350cc class, and after hanging his motorcycle leathers, he went on to win the Formula 1 championship. Surtees has no less than four 500cc world titles to his name, as he dominated the 6th decade of the 20th century.

John Surtees was crowned a World Champion in the motorcycle Grand Prix in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960, but he also took the 350cc title in '58, '59 and '60. During three years (1958-1960), Surtees authoritatively dominated the two-wheeled racing scene, winning 32 out of the 29 GP rounds, including five of the six GP rounds at the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, in the 350cc and 500cc classes.

The only man in history to have won both the GP and Formula 1 championships

John Surtees, CBE, remains, to date, the only racer to have won both the motorcycle GP and Formula 1 world titles. Judging by how things roll today, it will be still a long time until someone manages to achieve the same performance.

After joining Formula 1 at the beginning of the '60s, John Surtees won the World Championship in 1964 and then ran his own team until 1972. He is also the oldest Formula 1 and motorcycle GP world champion alive, after Jack Brabham died in 2014, and Geoff Duke passed away last year.

Looking back at his legendary achievements in sport, it's still not clear why he wasn't knighted already, as what he has done for the Empire is more than recommendable for such an honor. And not posthumously, as some believed about Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister would be.