Posted
Nov 07 2009, 08:14 AM
by
John Brooks
with no comments
The 2009 edition of The Race of Champions has been run..............the winner, as we all know, was the Audi DTM star, Mattias Ekstrom who shaded out Michael Schumacher in the final. But how had this come about? Both men had fought their way through from the groups to emerge unbeaten before facing each other. So while the Swede celebrates let's wind the clock back and see how the cards were dealt. There were four groups, each with four drivers, who would race each other over two full laps of...
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 06:25 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 6 comment(s)
Those of you who are "friends" with me on Facebook will know that last week Speedhunter's editor Riley Vigier and I were crunching to finishing up two videos for the 2009 SEMA Show. You've already seen our tribute to the new Formula D champion Chris Forsberg, and here's our second year end video offering: Falkenhunting 2009. A new Speedhunters film which debuted at Falken's SEMA booth on Tuesday. It covers our season long collaboration with the Team Falken drift family....
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 03:19 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 19 comment(s)
I was browsing one of my favorite forums, ClubRoadster.net the other day when I found a thread about an LS1-powered Mazda Miata drag car out of Mississippi. Now any time you combine a light weight rear-drive car with a powerful V8 the potential for awesomeness arises, but I noticed something about this car that I don't think the builder intended - it's likeliness to sports car-based drag cars of the '60s....
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 01:29 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 23 comment(s)
I'm back home in Los Angeles now, still feeling the pain from three days of traversing the Las Vegas Convention Center, and glad to be done with the crowds and madness of Vegas. Now that I'm settled in at home, it's time to dig in for some more coverage from the show. One trend that's seemed to stand the test of time is pro-touring muscle cars. Even though you can buy brand new retro muscle cars from these days, I guess you can't beat the real thing. The 'Cuda above was one of my favorites. Under the gleaming bodywork is a twin turbo Viper V10....
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 09:13 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 47 comment(s)
I just hope I don't get killed for this... considering the tough crowd in my latest random snap . -Jeroen Willemsen Spotted on Hellaflush
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 08:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 12 comment(s)
This low-riding Porsche 914-6 belongs to Speedhunters.com reader Martin, who sent me this stunning shot of his car. It sounds like quite a beast fitted with a close to 300 HP 3.5L flat-6, replacing the stock 110 HP 2L. On top of all the mechanical modifications, which also include 930 brakes and GT stiffening suspension plates, Martin also fitted the steel GT fender flares and had the rear ones further widened by 1-inch. The car rides on the stock 15-inch Fuchs wheels that sit neatly inside the arches...
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Posted
Nov 06 2009, 03:00 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 14 comment(s)
I spotted this Ings-kitted Lexus LS this last summer at the Okayama round of D1, parked up in the VIP lot. It was probably running a ride-height controller to get the air-suspension to drop to their lowest setting I thought it looked pretty menacing. I think it could have done with more offset to get those 20-inchLS Sport LM VIII to sit a little more flush. Ings Website -Dino Dalle Carbonare
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 09:45 PM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 21 comment(s)
As the sun set early on Tuesday afternoon the Super Class of MSC got down to the final battles. Here are the two Run Free AE86s flying past the apex of the judged corner, Yamashita grabbing second position overall making him the winner of the East-Japan league with 52 points. This is one car I haven't seen before, built by Auto Service Mori, a respected tuning shop well known for building some pretty powerful track cars. I've been meaning to drop by their workshop in Atsugi for some time...
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 04:42 PM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 38 comment(s)
Fall is coming in hard in Holland, leaves are dropping and it seems like the rain never stops. But when it does stop and the leaves are dry you can shoot some incredible pictures. Mike Gilbert thought the same and shot this Audi A6 in this amazing setting. The A6 had a small makeover with a new nose that was taken from a S6 version. I love this shot... The car has been factory fitted with an Oyster gray metallic color. Just to think that at my recent Nürburgring trips you see these cars everywhere...
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 02:30 PM
by
Linhbergh Nguyen
with 11 comment(s)
You guys asked for it, so here it is. There really isn't much else that can be said about this car that already has been said throughout the interwebs. So, head over to the desktops section for a selection of these three wallpapers....
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 03:30 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 17 comment(s)
I thought that for this second post from the MSC final it would be cool to take a walk through the paddock at Mobara's circuit, a great way to get a closer look at some of the cars that compete in this drift championship. There is always a nice mix of cars at MSC, all the way from the pro-looking machinery that competes in the Expert and Super classes like this Sign 141 Silvia all the way to more low-budget projects driven by amateur drifters in the Beginner class. Needless to say they each have...
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 01:45 AM
by
Jeroen Willemsen
with 11 comment(s)
There is just no denying that the VW community have the Stance is Everything theme perfected. Here we have another example that proves that. The BBS LM wheels are a perfect match for this Golf mk4, there is a little bit of tuck but I'm sure it can drive without a hitch. The black accent on the frontbumper is also a cool touch. -Jeroen Willemsen Thanks to Oliver Verheij for the use of this picture.
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 03:40 AM
by
John Brooks
with 16 comment(s)
Yes Roll up, Roll up! It's motorsport's answer to the Circus. Barnum and Bailey on wheels. The 2009 Race of Champions is underway. It shifted venue from dingy North London to The National Stadium, Beijing, better known as "the Bird's Nest" and familiar to all as the home of the 2008 Olympic Games. This amazing facility with a crowd capacity of 80,000 is the largest steel structure on the planet. The Race of Champions has stuck to the traditional format, after a day or two of...
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Posted
Nov 05 2009, 02:10 AM
by
John Brooks
with 5 comment(s)
The picture is worth a thousand words, Mattias Ekstrom has won the Race of Champions for the third time, 2009 joining his successes in 2006 and 2007. In the final he beat Formula One legend Michael Schumacher. Ekstrom and Schumacher had fought their way to the final despatching the likes of Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel along the way. There was a packed crowd at Beijing's "Birds' Nest" stadium despite the wintery conditions. On the night Ekstrom was unstoppable, even by Schumacher...
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Posted
Nov 04 2009, 06:07 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 53 comment(s)
Alright let's jump right into some photographs and impressions from my second day of walking the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2009 SEMA Show.
Up above is something that should excite the traditional "JDM Tuning" fans, a super clean R34 Skyline GT-R found in the Rotora Brakes booth....
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Posted
Nov 04 2009, 02:30 PM
by
Linhbergh Nguyen
with 126 comment(s)
Let's put all the cards on the table: this car is ridiculously stupid. The build quality is shoddy, the care that has been given to this car is questionable, and the ride height is by no means produced by a human with a single ounce of rational thought. Why would you take a prized relic such as this Nissan 240z and completely ruin it, turning it into some pretentious piece of metal that serves no function other than itself? The first thing you notice about this car is the rusted hood and the...
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Posted
Nov 04 2009, 05:50 AM
by
Dino Dalle Carbonare
with 29 comment(s)
I found myself back in Mobara circuit yesterday, on a bitterly cold autumn morning, ready to get another drifting fix at the final round of this year's MSC Challenge. All the regulars we saw at Honjo in August were back, ready to score some final points in a last attempt to climb the point standings. There were also tons of other cool rides participating in the various classes, including a grip event, making it an even a more action packed day out than usual! Despite the chilling wind, the weather...
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Posted
Nov 04 2009, 01:03 AM
by
John Brooks
with 29 comment(s)
The Bird's Nest Stadium, Beijing, is the home of the 2009 Race of Champions. Yesterday there was the traditional opening competition, The Nations' Cup, in which teams of two drivers representing countries or regions slug it out. Almost as traditional was the result...........Germany with Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher teamed up together has now won the competition three times in a row but Team Autosport GB pushed them very hard, Andy Priaulx beating Red Bull's F1 hero Vettel...
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Posted
Nov 04 2009, 12:56 AM
by
Rod Chong
with 15 comment(s)
We just did a premiere of this film to a packed house at the Formula D/Spo Com party in Las Vegas. It's a little tribute to the new Formula Drift 2009 Champion Chris Forsberg. Entitled "Portrait of a Champion" , it's a collaboration with the drifting film-maker of film-makers Will Roegge. ... And i suppose myself and Speedhunters' editor, Riley Vigier also had something to do with this film too.... We hope you like it! I also need to thank Ernie and Tutul from Nos Energy Drink...
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Posted
Nov 03 2009, 07:01 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 40 comment(s)
Ah yes, the chaos of SEMA.
After a an early flight from LAX I rushed to the Las Vegas Convention Center this morning for the first day of the 2009 SEMA Show. Although my legs are already numb from walking so much, I've only been able to get through a small portion of SEMA's exhibit halls.
Here are some highlights and observations from what I've managed to take in so far -...
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