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Posted
Dec 28 2009, 02:17 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 45 comment(s)
For my final review story of the year, I want to share some observations on the general automotive and tuning trends of 2009. The economy might be on it's way out of a giant hole, but people across the world are still finding ways to enjoy cars, and we've seen some bold new ideas popping up because of this.
So, what was big in '09?...
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Posted
Dec 20 2009, 02:12 PM
by
John Brooks
with 14 comment(s)
In 2009 Le Mans Series the prototype numbers held up well, from a high of 32 at Spa to a still respectable 22 at the Algarve. The same could not be said for GT1 which only had two season long entries with a straggler or two joining in along the way. It was a class that should have been culled from the first event. However the new rules for the GT1 World Championship would appear to have breathed life into this category. For Maserati, Ford and Nissan to gain the desired, prized invites to Le Mans...
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Posted
Dec 18 2009, 09:34 PM
by
John Brooks
with 5 comment(s)
2008 had been a great year in the world of endurance and GT racing, factory participation was everywhere, competition was fierce and grid numbers were good. In the back ground however, was the global financial turmoil that was bringing the entire economy of the world to a standstill, particularly in the automotive segment. Programmes that had seemed solid suddenly disappeared as budgets were annihilated and marketing took a back seat to fighting for survival. In Formula One Honda bailed out, subsequently...
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Posted
Dec 10 2009, 11:08 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 5 comment(s)
Now to continue the review of the 2009 Formula Drift season where we left off yesterday.
Following the blazing hot Vegas event, the series headed to the great Pacific Northwest for its annual stop at Evergreen Speedway near Seattle. Under the cool gray skies of Washington it was time to dig in for the home stretch of the season....
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Posted
Dec 09 2009, 02:05 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 10 comment(s)
Any way you slice it, 2009 was a huge year for Formula Drift. Among other things, we saw a new champion, new international flavor on the driver roster, plenty of new cars, a strong showing by grassroots drivers, and some of the most intense competition ever.
Now, let's take a look back at the season that was for America's top drift series....
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Posted
Dec 07 2009, 07:00 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 9 comment(s)
It has been a bit hectic at the office but here is my final part of the Essen Motor Show coverage. I'll start with this Brabus B63S. It dominated the Brabus stand with its grey matte finish. This really was one of my favorite cars of the show. The car started out as Mercedes Benz E 63 AMG, which isn't too shabby I must add. But Brabus found a way to squeeze even more horsepower out of the 6.3 liter V8 and enhanced the exterior with parts that are engineered inside a windtunnel. Most aero...
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Posted
Dec 02 2009, 05:02 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 19 comment(s)
Let's continue my coverage of the Essen Motor Show with my second installment. Looking for Japanese cars on a German car show proved to be difficult. I found two S14s and this was one of them. It features what looks like a URAS bodykit and can be seen in action during the King Of Europe drifting championship. The wheels are made by Alutec, a major sponsor in drifting events throughout Germany, and go by the name Toxic. Another car I was looking for was the new Volkswagen Scirocco. But again I...
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Posted
Dec 01 2009, 08:30 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 25 comment(s)
The Essen Motor Show is in full swing and I was there to capture it all on camera. I noticed that there were less tuners and fewer cars than previous years, but still there were some fine examples to be found. I'll start with showing you the diversity of cars that can be found inside the Messe. Of course there are lots Porsches, this version made by Speedart grabbed my attention with its red accents. This BTR-580 had its premiere on the Essen Motor Show and is based on the 997 Turbo 3.8l. I will...
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Posted
Nov 17 2009, 08:15 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 31 comment(s)
I'm dedicating this second post on the Autumn Drift Matsuri to the first ever "G1-GP," an all-foreigner drift competition that was held at the Nishi (West) course on Sunday afternoon. With so many Aussies over for the event, Andy at Powervehicles.com came up with the idea of holding a little competition, especially seeing the high level of skills these guys had. As soon as he mentioned the idea to Suenaga and Kumakubo they jumped on it and told him not to worry as they would organize...
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Posted
Nov 15 2009, 09:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 47 comment(s)
There is simply nothing like it, the Drift Matsuri is a truly unique event and this third and last one for 2009 has probably been my favorite. With the surrounding mountains around Ebisu Circuit exhibiting the most intense autumn colors drifters were as ever spoilt for choice with 8 tracks at their disposal for the whole weekend. I've selected my favorite shots for this first post, pictures that best summarize what these last two days were like up in the drifter's paradise. The rain didn't...
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Posted
Oct 16 2009, 07:15 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 8 comment(s)
The GP Sports kitted RSP13 from the D1 post seemed to go down well so I just prepared a wallpaper of it. You can grab the widescreen and standard resolution versions over on the desktops section. - Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Oct 15 2009, 04:45 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 17 comment(s)
This past weekend when I was in Fuji Speedway for the D1-GP there was another event back in central Tokyo that I really wanted to check out, the yearly Mille Miglia Japan classic car race. 103 cars set-off from Harajuku, right in front of the Meiji shrine on Saturday afternoon and headed on a 3-day, 1000-mile drive that would take them all the way up to Fukushima-ken and back down towards Tokyo, passing Honda's Twin Ring Motegi race track in Tochigi-ken and the famous Umihotaru Parking Area in...
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Posted
Oct 11 2009, 11:00 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 25 comment(s)
Youichi Imamura must be a very happy chap. He is now the only professional D1 Grand Prix driver to have won two championships, his first one back in 2003 when he was driving the Apex'i FD3S. His celebrations started early during the Best 16 after he beat Daigo Saito in a series of very close runs. He grabbed the 2009 Championship trophy at the end of the day along with a ¥1,000,000 prize. Unlike Round 7 the day before, Sunday was warm, dry and sunny throughout allowing the drivers to go full...
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Posted
Jul 14 2009, 10:37 AM
by
Kevve
with 12 comment(s)
Every July, cars come from all over Europe to MIVW - short for Men in Volkswagen . It's probably Holland's biggest VAG event of the year. For the 2009 iteration, the organizers rented out a huge airport hanger - a pretty cool location! This worked out quite well as the Dutch weather was pretty poor this weekend so we got to check out these cars from the comfort of the great indoors. So in my past two car features, I saw some people were complaining that they are missing the 'Speed'...
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Posted
May 05 2009, 03:45 AM
by
Jonathan Moore
with 11 comment(s)
FIA GT3 is the sportscar category that seemingly laughs in the face of the global recession. Since its launch in 2006, the grids have been packed and the racing has been frantic: not surprising with almost 40 cars on track for most rounds. Whereas the grid of ground-shaking monsters in the current GT1 category has withered (and died completely in North America) due to manufacturer pull-outs and spiralling costs, and GT2 grids have yo-yoed up and down, how's this for the list of manufacturers...
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