A 2012 Corvette ZR1 Tackles The Nürburgring

In 2008, a 2009 Corvette ZR1 lapped the Nürburgring in seven minutes and twenty-six point four seconds. That made the car faster than a 2009 Nissan GT-R and faster than the Porsche Carrera GT, but not as fast as a Ferrari Enzo. Fast forward to 2011, when Chevrolet again sent a ZR1 to Germany for testing. The 2012 ZR1 lapped the ‘Ring in seven minutes and nineteen point six seconds, shaving almost seven seconds off the car’s previous best time. Part of that improvement comes from aero and chassis upgrades for the 2012 model year, but quite a bit of the gain comes from the new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires. Watch the record lap below, and take a look at the lateral G-load of the ZR-1 in corners. The car regularly pulled 1.5 g’s in the corners, and I saw loads as high as 2.0 g in the Carousel. That’s pretty damn impressive from a production car. Read more

Race-prepped Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Makes Debut at Nurburgring

After reviewing the 2011 Lexus CT 200h just last week, I would have never guessed that it had the potential of being an actual race car. But despite my thinking, Toyota-backed Gazoo Racing has transformed the CT into a race-prepped Nürburgring-ready Hybrid.

Read more

G-Power Tunes BMW M3 GTS to 720 Horsepower

The BMW M3 GTS is one of the most touted track-oriented street M3’s to date. With a 4.4-liter V8 producing 450 horsepower, rear roll-cage, lightweight carbon fiber components, it would be safe to say that the M3 GTS is the Porsche GT3 RS equivalent of a new M3. Of course the infamous German tuner G-Power could not leave things in their so-called stock form. They had to pimp it out with one of their blowers. Doing so would give the M3 GTS, already a beast, a total of up to 720 horsepower.

Read more

Video: Nissan Takes You Through the 2012 GT-R

When the new Nissan GT-R was unveiled in 2007, chief engineer Kazutoshi Mizuno promised that the car would never rest on past achievements, and that the GT-R would constantly be improved. His team set the benchmark by lapping the Nürburgring in 7:38.54, besting the previous record for fastest production car held by Porsche. Mizuno was a man of his word, and each production change to the GT-R resulted in subtle improvements to Nürburgring lap times. By 2009, the GT-R was lapping the ‘Ring in 7:26.70, an improvement of nearly twelve seconds in just two years. Read more

Latest 2012 BMW M5 Spy Video Sparking DCT Transmission Rumors

True automotive enthusiasts have probably already guessed that the upcoming 2012 BMW M5 will have a DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) mated to its twin turbo V8 by the way it sounds banging through the gears on previous spy videos. The latest spy video is yet another indication of this very thing. The power output of the 2012 BMW M5 has not been confirmed but is now speculated to be between 585 to 600 horsepower. Rumors have said that the new DCT transmission will have either 7 or 8 forward gears.

Below is the latest spy video of the 2012 BMW M5 during testing. Enjoy!

Read more

Cadillac CTS-V Competition Nurburgring Commercial Video

By now, if you are a true automotive enthusiast, then you already know that the Nurburgring is the benchmark testing grounds for performance cars now days. The latest commercial from the guys at General Motors showcase the new Cadillac CTS-V Sedan on Nurburgring touting its 7:59.32 run and its 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds. That makes the CTS-V the world’s fastest production sedan shattering the “competition”.

Read more

Video: Pagani Zonda R Sets 6:47 Nurburgring Lap Time

A new video documenting the Pagani Zonda R’s 6-minute 47-second Nurburgring lap time has been released. The Zonda R lap time shatters the one set some time ago by the Ferrari 599XX at 6:58. Even though the Zonda R is built off of a street-car design, it is not a street-legal car therefore this will not go down in the record book for fastest production car around the Ring.

Read more

Pagani Zonda R Shatters Ferrari 599XX Nurburgring Record Lap Time

If there was ever a fine line between a street car and a full-on race car then now is the time to question it. In the latest battle to get the best Nurburgring lap time, the Pagani Zonda R beats the Ferrari 599XX’s record lap time of 6:58 and posts a time of 6:47. Both the Ferrari 599XX and Pagani Zonda R are dedicated track vehicles but still classified as production cars. With that said, the Zonda R is now king of being the fastest production-based vehicle around the infamous Nurburgring.

[source: Pistonheads]

Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »