Feed aggregator

Someone will definitely soon become the new owner of a 1953 Corvette, set to be auctioned off at no reserve during the Vicari Auction in New Orleans at the Pontchartrain Center on Aug. 24-25. While each of the 300 Corvettes made during the 1953 model year is special, this one has the cherry on top, […]

The post 1953 Corvette VIN 268 to be Offered at No Reserve at Vicari’s New Orleans Sale appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

The Mercedes-AMG GT R is an absolute monster. Developed to dominate the Nurburgring, the GT R’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 cranks out 577 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque, with the dual-clutch transmission sending that power exclusively to the rear wheels. It will also hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and lap the infamous Green Hell in a blistering 7:10.92. So clearly, the next step is for Mercedes to remove the roof.

Yes, you read that correctly. As these spy shots show, Mercedes is about to introduce a convertible version of the GT R. Granted, you can already buy the regular Mercedes-AMG GT and GT C with a soft top, but those cars aren’t nearly as hardcore or track-focused as the GT R.

As our spy photographer points out, though, the idea of a GT R Roadster isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Porsche has a long history of selling quite a few convertibles, including the 911 Turbo S Cabriolet, a $200,000 drop-top that makes 580 hp and launches to 60 mph in less than 3 seconds. Heck, Ferrari even offered a convertible version of the 950-hp LaFerrari. If they can do it, why not Mercedes?

Like many of the prototypes we’ve caught testing recently, the GT R Roadster seen here looks close to production-ready. That means there’s a good chance it will be revealed soon, potentially as early as the Paris motor show later this year.

Photo source: CarPix

The post Spied! Mercedes-AMG GT R Caught Testing as a Convertible appeared first on Motor Trend.

I’ve just sampled an ultra-high-performing part from the Ford Performance Parts catalog, and if it weren’t already sold out I’d be urging you to pick up the phone, dial 800-367-3788 and order up part number M-FP500-FP350S. You would first need to have a pretty high credit limit and a trailer, though, because this part costs $114,990 and must be picked up in person (saving you the destination charge!). This “part” is a turnkey race car known as the Mustang FP350S. It’s Ford’s follow-up to the run of 50 Mustang Boss 302S club-racers built in 2011 and sold for $79,000. The price increase of about $27,000 after inflation didn’t seem to bother the 50 buyers who will be campaigning this FIA-certified racer in the Trans Am series (classes TA3 or TA4) or in NASA or SCCA club racing classes. As we noted at the new Mustang FP350S’ 2016 unveiling, it follows the out-of-production Shelby GT350R-C and slots in below the big-dog ($235,000) Mustang GT4 in the parts catalog (the latter is still orderable).

The FP350S’ body structure was framed on the Mustang line in Flat Rock, Michigan, and shipped in bare metal 7 miles north to Watson Racing. Then one technician lavished a 40-hour work week light-weighting and seam-welding each body, removing unnecessary parts like the rear package shelf. Then a Multimatic-designed, FIA-compliant roll cage was welded in with high-density foam filling the space inside the doors. All of this makes the bodies vastly more rigid, safer, and easier to repair after accidents (because they don’t crumple as much). Then the bodies were returned to Flat Rock for a full factory paint job, including a dip in the electrocoat tank. Once cured, the bodies went back up to Watson, accompanied by a kit of production parts that carry over to the racer (like the upper dash panel, the suspension hubs and knuckles, the main independent rear suspension module, etc.) for final assembly.

Power for the FP350S comes from a 5.2-liter Voodoo engine with a 90-degree (instead of flat) crankshaft. Certain classes require restrictor plates, so Ford just says it makes “well over 500 hp.” A gigantic oil cooler covers about two-thirds of the main radiator, while what used to be the oil cooler now cools the differential gear oil.

Engine torque routes aft through the Shelby GT350’s Tremec 3160 transmission with an integral pump and a Ford Performance short-throw shift kit to a Torsen rear diff running short 3.73:1 gearing. Customers typically put that power to the ground via 305/680-18 Pirelli P Zero slicks or the slightly longer-lasting, easier-to-get Hoosier A7s in a 315/30R18 size wrapped around the wheels of their choice. Ford offers an optional set of forged 11.0 x 18-inch wheels, but the car is delivered on base 19-inch GT350 wheels and 275-width tires. These tires are for transportation only, because of their limited shelf life. The only other available option on the car is the FP350S graphics package shown here.

Suspension upgrades include replacing nearly all the rubber with metal cross-axis bushings and fitting ZF Sachs coil-over shocks that offer two settings each for jounce and rebound. Caster/camber plates use shims in differing sizes that permit precise changes in geometry without the need for an alignment rack, and using coil-over shocks in the rear moves the pickup point outboard considerably for a higher motion ratio that allows greater effective stiffness with lower-rate springs (spring rates are 650 lb/in in front, 600 in the rear). Electric power steering offers low effort for endurance races and higher effort for sprints.

In place of the usual Brembo brakes are AP Racing Radi-CAL six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers biting down on two-piece vented and slotted rotors measuring 14.6 inches in front and 13.4 inches in the rear. Special calipers for endurance racing permit thicker (1.1-inch versus 0.7-inch), longer-lasting brake pads.

Exterior modifications include a hood vent, exterior hood latches, tow rings, an additional carbon-fiber splitter and fence mounted to the already aggressive Shelby splitter, blades to direct air into a pair of 4-inch brake cooling ducts, and a rear wing that’s highly adjustable. Oh, and there’s no door glass. Inside there’s a Motec data acquisition system and digital instrumentation setup that provides multiple screens and stores or transmits GPS lap data. A fire-suppression system is also standard.

After he clambers into the FP350S’ Sparco racing seat (a task made at least slightly easier by the quick-release steering wheel) and fusses with the five-point Sabelt FIA racing harness, Ben Maher confides that this is perhaps his favorite Ford track car—preferable even to the mighty GT. Ben supervises Ford’s driver safety training program, and he’s riding shotgun to ensure I don’t wad up his new favorite toy. We idle out onto the black lake at Ford’s Dearborn proving ground and wait for the engine oil temp light to switch from flashing blue to solid green. When it does, I start a gentle recon lap around the coned and chalk-lined course. A tight hairpin leads onto a straight long enough to reach third gear before bending into a decreasing-radius right-hander followed by a left onto a short slalom that connects to the hairpin.

As a short-waisted 5-foot-10-incher, an ultra-low seating position has me feeling like a cotton-top little old lady in a Grand Marquis. I struggle to see the tops of some of the cones but quickly master the course. It takes a lap or two to warm the tires, during which time the car feels heavily prone to oversteer, especially when bending into the decreaser or powering onto the slalom. As everything comes up to temperature the chassis feels much more neutral. Ben urges me to stay in the throttle later and later on the straight as the slick Hoosiers and giant brake pads combine forces to deliver five-point-harness-straining retardation. With the engine powering half as many Hoosiers, I must exercise far more restraint with the right pedal at all points on this track. “Off-road use only” means there are no fussy sound regulations to worry about, so the noise trumpeting from the straight pipes is glorious—if a shade less malevolent than that produced by the flat-crank Voodoo. No sound insulation also means no heat insulation, and the cockpit warms up in a big hurry. I’d definitely want a cool suit hooked up to one of the unused dash switches.

After my hot laps on the lake, we swap seats and Ben takes me for a drive on the Dearborn PG’s loopy handling circuit, which is filled with jumpable hills that curve at the landing and every conceivable combination of increasing- and decreasing-radius turns. The FP350S sticks like crazy, rewarding Ben’s smooth driving style with small, controllable slip angles. I have difficulty squaring the DNA connection between this car and the Mustang GT Perf Pack 2 I recently sampled. This one operates in a different realm. I have less difficulty understanding Ben’s affinity for the FP350S.

The last of the 50 examples of the FP350 are being delivered at about the time you’re reading this. However, few have been sufficiently prepped, tested, tuned, and raced in earnest, so the car has yet to establish a track record. Tune in to Motor Trend Premium’s coverage of Trans Am racing next year to learn how formidable Ford’s latest hot “part” will be in competition.

The post 2017 Ford Mustang FP350S Race Car Review: Performance (p)Art appeared first on Motor Trend.

Among Mustang owners, few names carry more weight than Carroll Shelby‘s. The legendary racer’s name is synonymous with high-performance Mustangs, and even after his death in 2012, Shelby American continues to sell tuned Mustang GTs. For 2019, that will include a revised Shelby GT and a new GT-H (pictured here).

Officially revealed at the Woodward Dream Cruise, the 2019 Shelby GT gets an upgraded suspension, custom bodywork, a Borla exhaust, unique wheels, and a handful of Shelby accents. Customers have their choice of a coupe or convertible with either a 10-speed automatic or six-speed manual. Thanks to the sports exhaust, the Shelby GT also makes a Bullitt-matching 480 hp. If you want more power, Shelby can add a Ford Performance supercharger that bumps engine output to more than 700 hp.

“We designed a gorgeous car to make any drive an adventure with thrilling performance and dynamic handling,” said Gary Patterson, head of Shelby American, in a release. “The Shelby GT can gobble up miles on a road trip or rip up the corners on the track. It is equally fun cruising to the beach or to the office. Plus, this is the only naturally aspirated V-8 Shelby car that can be optioned in convertible and with an automatic transmission. Enthusiasts will love to drive it all day, every day.”

Shelby will also introduce a Heritage version called the GT-H that’s inspired by the Hertz rental cars Shelby built back in the mid-2000s. The GT-H can be ordered in either black or white and gets gold racing strips. Optional gold wheels are also available. To help separate the GT-H from the regular Shelby GT, it gets a restyled front end, as well as additional suspension upgrades.

The price of the GT-H has yet to be released, but Shelby says the GT starts at $61,345. Adding any of the other custom upgrades or options packages will increase the price from there, but the good news is, the cost of the Mustang GT is already included.

Source: Shelby American

The post 2019 Shelby GT is a Tuned Ford Mustang That Packs up to 700+ HP appeared first on Motor Trend.

Despite its humble beginnings in 1995 as a fundraiser to build a soccer field in Ferndale, Michigan, the Woodward Dream Cruise is now the world’s largest one-day automotive event, according to its organizers. But these days, the classic car celebration on and around Woodward Avenue encompasses more than just the Saturday main event. Woodward has become a week-long affair, with every Detroit automaker organizing cruises and festivities of their own on the days leading up to the actual Dream Cruise. Throughout the week, you’ll see meticulously restored original muscle cars like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Dodge Charger. But you’ll also see plenty of their modern counterparts, along with classic trucks, obscure vintage rides, unique custom creations, and a few builds that will leave you scratching your head.

Check out all the photos from Woodward in the gallery below. Keep checking back through the weekend as we add more photos!

The post Camaros, Mustangs, Mopar, and More: 2018 Woodward Dream Cruise PHOTOS appeared first on Motor Trend.

DETROIT (August 16, 2018) – Virginia International Raceway may be relatively new to Corvette Racing – only six visits there – but the team already has made an impact at the thrilling circuit in southern Virginia. As the program looks for a fourth victory – and third straight overall – this weekend at the Michelin […]

The post Corvette Racing at Virginia International Raceway: By the Numbers appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Bronco. The name gets people excited. And while we await the return of the body-on-frame SUV in 2020, we have learned a few details about another vehicle in the works, the one that has been dubbed the baby Bronco.

The unnamed small off-roader that Ford will add to the lineup by 2020 may have some styling cues to tie it to big brother Bronco (shown in the teaser below) but its bones are very different. It will be a small, car-based crossover, not a truck-based SUV. While Bronco shares underpinnings with the Ford Ranger, the small off-roader will use the same front-wheel-drive unibody architecture as the next-generation Ford Focus, EcoSport, Escape, and even midsize vehicles as Ford changes up its platform strategy.

But it will definitely not just be a capable Focus, said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s executive vice president in charge of product development and purchasing. As an off-roader it must have the right approach, departure, and breakover angles which will determine the proportions. It also must meet durability criteria and have the appropriate tech. That includes the All-Terrain management system from the Explorer, Trail Control from the Ranger, and of course all-wheel drive. “This is not just a dressed-up Focus,” said Thai-Tang. “It is an authentic and capable off-road vehicle.”

Making this possible is Ford’s new approach to product development. The automaker is going from nine global platforms to five flexible architectures with shared modules for chunks of vehicles like a suspension, AWD system, or heating and ventilation unit.

In a product update at an event in conjunction with the Woodward Dream Cruise, Thai-Tang tried to clarify the automaker’s new approach to product development. By having fewer and more flexible architectures that can change their wheelbase as well as track width, they can accommodate a wider range of vehicles without large investment in tearing up a plant to do so.

The other big change is more modules will follow the example of powertrains that are developed with their own budget and a plan of which vehicles they will go into. Ford wants to do the same with its AWD systems, for example, and HVAC, sun roofs, and some suspensions. Making them their own little business entities as opposed to being part of the overall vehicle program also allows a suspension to have a 10-year lifespan before it needs to be updated while an infotainment system might need to be updated after 18 months. Their individual capital and product plans can take these factors into account. The idea is to be able to share 70 percent of the value of the vehicle with other vehicles.

Under CEO Jim Hackett, Ford will have nine all-new nameplates in the next five years; seven are trucks and SUVs including the Ranger, Bronco, and small off-roader. While many cars are disappearing from the lineup, the number of nameplates will expand to 23 from 20 today. Ford has lost some competitive edge with one of the older lineups in the industry but the average age of the portfolio will go from 5.7 years old now to 3.3 years in 2020, Thai-Tang said.

One other change: Ford will be quicker to pull the trigger on vehicles that are not performing in the future. So buy your Ford Flex now…

The post Baby Bronco to Benefit From New Product Development Plan at Ford appeared first on Motor Trend.

Sergio Marchionne told it like it was. Shortly before his death I asked the FCA CEO whether Donald Trump’s trade wars and Britain’s turmoil over Brexit—its departure from the European Union, one of the world’s largest trade blocs—posed a threat to his company’s business. He paused a moment, then powered ahead: “These are strange times,” he agreed. “We have never been here before.”

Indeed. Globalists are out. Economic nationalists are in. It’s a bad time to be running an automaker. With everything from the smallest part to complete vehicles streaming ceaselessly across borders from factories all over the planet, the auto industry is the globalists’ poster child. It generates billions in revenue, employs millions, and offers consumers an unprecedented choice. But not everyone believes that’s a good thing.

“Build them here!” tweeted President Donald Trump as he threatened tariffs on imported cars and castigated Harley-Davidson for plans to move some motorcycle production out of the U.S. to avoid retaliatory taxes from the European Union. “F**k business,” former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reportedly said after BMW warned that, without a guarantee of tariff-free movement of cars and parts across Britain’s border, Brexit would threaten the viability of its U.K. manufacturing operations.

What alarms auto industry executives is these strident voices are not coming from a radical left-wing fringe but from politicians belonging to parties they have long regarded as business-friendly. However, those parties are now in thrall to voters angered by wage stagnation and declines in social services—voters for whom life in the globalized economy has not improved their personal pocketbooks. The awkward problem for the auto industry is those voters have a point.

Research by the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution has revealed that, adjusted for inflation, worker wages in the U.S. have only grown by 10 percent since 1973. Over the same period, the inflation-adjusted price of a base Mustang has increased more than 60 percent. It’s a similar story in Britain, where a base Ford Mondeo costs 50 percent more than the inflation-adjusted price of a 1973 Ford Cortina. Of course, today’s Mustangs and Mondeos are in every way far better cars than their predecessors. But for average wage earners, they’re not as good a deal as they used to be.

Anti-globalization rhetoric is seductive. “All we want to do is be able to sell as many Fords into Germany as they sell BMWs here,” said Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s key trade advisers.

That’s oversimplifying things a bit. Yes, last year BMW sold more vehicles in the U.S. than Ford sold in Germany—305,685 versus 246,589. And Navarro correctly points out that American-made cars shipped to the European Union are taxed at a higher rate than European cars shipped to the U.S. But the auto industry’s globalist business model punctures the economic nationalist argument that fixing the tariff imbalance will create more jobs for highly paid American workers: Apart from the Mustang, none of the 14 other Ford models sold in Germany is actually made in the U.S. (In case you’re wondering, Germans last year bought 5,742 Mustangs, more than anyone else in Europe.)

Today’s globalized auto industry is not a zero-sum game. When Trump blasted European automakers, he ignored the fact that they already employ more than 50,000 American workers who build more than 800,000 vehicles a year—in America. BMW’s largest factory in the world is located in South Carolina, used for vehicles sold in America and exported elsewhere.

When Navarro huffed “smoke and mirrors” after GM boss Mary Barra bluntly warned protectionist tariffs would shrink the company’s U.S. operations, he overlooked the fact that GM now sells more vehicles in China than anywhere else in the world.

Automakers are in for a rough ride as they deal with collateral damage from Trumpism and Brexit. “It’s going to cost us in capital, and we are going to become less efficient as we try and get out of this mess,” Marchionne said.

In short, start saving. Tariffs are a tax, and the cost will be passed on to the consumer. Toyota, for example, has said the price of a typical Camry will jump by about $1,800. Your next new car, truck, or SUV isn’t going to be more affordable. No matter where it’s made.

• ePrix: Racing for the Future
• How Electric Vehicles Will Go Mainstream 
• All Change: Are America’s Automakers Ready?
• End of the Road: Marking the Passing of the Australian Auto Industry
• Electric Warriors: Benz and BMW Take on the Future 

The post Check Engine: A Globalized Industry Collides With National Politics – The Big Picture appeared first on Motor Trend.

If you haven’t heard already, BMW is about to introduce a redesigned 3 Series. Lightly camouflaged prototypes began appearing earlier this year, and it wasn’t long before we got shots of the interior, as well. We even caught a fully electric prototype out testing recently. Now, we have images of another variant—the 3 Series wagon.

As far as styling goes, there isn’t much that’s shocking or unexpected. The five-door 3 Series looks about like you’d expect it to if you’ve already seen previous 2019 prototypes. That means it has lost some of the current car’s sharp angles and now looks a lot like a smaller 5 Series, especially up front. In profile, the long sloping roofline and bulging rear fenders give the 3 Series wagon a sporty look despite its practical nature. Out back, the chrome-tipped dual exhaust continues the theme.

Inside, BMW appears to be less focused on disguising the cabin. Our spy photographer was able to get several shots of the interior, including the center console and the door panel. We don’t expect the cloth door inserts to make it stateside, but with the steering wheel on the left, these photos should give you a pretty good idea of what the next 3 Series will look like on the inside.

Having recently driven a 2019 BMW 330i prototype, we already know the next 3 Series will be lighter and more fun to drive than the outgoing model. But will the five-door version still be offered in the U.S.? Now that the X1 has gone front-wheel drive, we certainly hope so.

Source: CarPix, BMW via YouTube

The post Spied! 2019 BMW 3 Series Wagon Caught Looking Practical appeared first on Motor Trend.