One weekend, two Ferrari FXXs Evoluzione

Once in the blue moon we hear about one of the thirty Ferrari FXXs: one recently got sold, one got stuffed into a wall, and another was on TopGear driven by someone who retired but didn’t, claiming to be someone he wasn’t. The truly lucky ones get to see an FXX in person, and if you see one being properly driven on the track, by all means buy a lottery ticket. Imagine my surprise when on the same day I received two emails from two different people, about two different FXXs spotted in North America on the same day.

The Ferrari FXX was a research and development project put on by Ferrari from 2005 to 2009. Where the project brilliantly differed from all other R&D projects was that the development vehicles were leased to a group of hand-picked Ferrari owners for a ridiculous amount of money. The manufacturer would retain the cars but transport them to scheduled track events around the world where the cars would be driven by the testers/owners and the data would be collected.

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The News for September 2nd, 2011

This is the weekly recap of everything in the automotive industry that you should care about without all the fluff. We also throw in our opinion, just because we can. This week it’s a mostly high-octane edition with:

• Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 gets ready to race

• Nissan GT-R GT3 is already racing

• AMG stuffs a giant V8 in the SLK Roadster

• Audi fills us in on three new S-line members

• Toyota updates the best-selling car in America

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24 Hours of Lemons – Boston Tow Party & Overhead-Cam Bake

Last weekend I attended my second 24 Hours LeMons race as a spectator. Not much has changed since the New Hampshire race: fewer cars, higher temperatures, smaller track. I snapped a bunch of pictures, chatted with a few people, and couldn’t help but think… … Continue Reading

British Car Day at Larz Anderson Museum 2011

Another week, another Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation Lawn Event. This week’s theme was British Cars, or British-y if you include the new Mini Cooper and the few models with American iron under their bonnets. Below is a gallery of the dreadful beautiful British machinery, which filled the brisk Brookline air with the scent of burned oil leather.

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2011 Grand Prix of Canada: the awesomely miserable weekend

2011 Grand Prix of Canada: thirty-four passes, six safety car deployments, two lead changes, two-hour suspension, longest F1 race ever, won by a man who had two accidents, a penalty, six pit-stops, and managed to come from last place to take the lead in the final lap. I had room in downtown Montreal Hilton, fantastic Grand Stand 32 seat and… I missed it all.

Months in planning, this was supposed to be a fun three-day weekend with my wife and daughter. They were going to wonder around the city while I was at the track for the practice, qualifying, and the race. We were going to spend the mornings and evenings together, and all that pretty much happened but it almost did not. … Continue Reading

2011 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance: images and image

One of the greatest Concours events on the east coast, the Greenwich Concours d ‘ Elegance, is split into two days: a domestic day on Saturday and European day on Sunday. I only made it to the show on Sunday since it is some distance from my home and because I find the obscure European cars more interesting. Check out the gallery below where I have attempted to capture the most interesting cars.

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LEGO Technic Unimog U400: details and pictures

Unimog is the German do-it-all ultimate utility machine. It is part tractor, part tank, part all-terrain-vehicle, and all awesome, and it has been convincing grown men to become farmers, woodsmen, or outdoorsman for sixty years now. To celebrate this anniversary, LEGO if offering a Technic version of the Unimog U400 in a 1:12 scale.

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The Cars of One Lap of America 2011

The 2011 One Lap of America has commenced. The Redfive Turbo E34 of Justin Kababik and Baer Connard is running strong after a few dramatic mishaps before leaving for Indiana – something about a complete brake failure and an engine rebuild. Expect an update tomorrow but in the mean time you can follow their adventures on their blog and their Facebook Fan page. Today let’s look at the thirty or so (and more coming) pictures of their One Lap competitors and some behind-the-scenes pics.

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Dakar 2011 – Race in Pictures

Each January marks the start of the Dakar Rally desert race. Unlike its name suggests, for the past two years the race has been held in South America in fears of a terrorist attack in the Middle East. That did not seemed to have much impact at all on the race, its participants and the the overall feel of it – it is still the most exciting motorsport race on earth.

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Modern Classic: Saab 900 SPG

Love them or hate them, Saab has been producing Scandinavian turbo sedans, coupes, and convertibles for their loyal niche market since 1978.  As the new year begins, car enthusiasts should take a look back 25 years into automotive history to the year 1985.  This marked the first year the Saab 900 SPG was imported into North America.

The 2- and 4-door Saab 900 hatchbacks were built from 1978 until 1993.  With 908,817 built during a decade and a half, the Saab 900 has become an iconic vehicle.  But there is one Saab 900 that stood out from the pack, despite its subtle differences.  With only 7,600 2-door hatchbacks and convertibles trickled into the USA from 1985- 1991 it is no surprise that the Saab 900 SPG blended in so well with the rest of the 900s.

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Gran Turismo 5 – Full Review

After nearly 6 years of development and roughly 2 years of maddening delays, Polyphony Digital’s Gran Turismo 5 finally hit stores on November 24. Since 1997 Gran Turismo has claimed to be the “Real Driving Simulator” offering an impressive selection of cars and real-world race tracks. With creator Kazunori Yamauchi treating each game as his brain child while leading the development team, they’ve made Gran Turismo one of the most successful and valuable gaming franchises on earth. After GT5’s long-awaited release I spent more time than I should have playing the elusive creation, and I loved every minute of it.  … Continue Reading

The 13th Annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta

The 13^th Annual Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta was held on October 2^nd 2010. This was my first time attending a American Le Mans Series race and my first time at Road Atlanta, but it definitely won’t be my last. The entire event was mind-blowing and the track, which is 2.54 miles long with 12 turns and impressive elevation changes, was amazing.

The race lasts for ten hours or until the race leader completes 1000 miles. Cars compete in different classes: LMP, LMPC – purpose-built race-cars known as the prototypes, and GT, GTC - modified production cars.

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Review: Jaguar XKR Convertible

I don’t believe that cars have genders but this Jaguar XKR is a clear exception. This is a lady, and she is beautiful, confident, athletic, smart, and classy. And she likes to drive fast.

Ironically, I got this Jag after spending a day with three fabulous roadsters and had very low expectations of it. Surely it cannot be as exciting as the unbelievably fun-to-drive Boxster, the angry SL63 or the exotic California, can it?

Yes, it can. Yes, it is.

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Review: 2010 GMC Terrain SLT2

The once mighty General Motors is trying to reinvent itself after a near-collapse. Part of their revival approach is to produce bread & butter cars which sell in large volumes such as pickup trucks, sedans and smaller cross-over utility vehicles which have become modern day stationwagons. I have recently spent a weekend with one of those cross-overs, a mildly equipped GMC Terrain. … Continue Reading

Exotic Car Rally!

You have finally made it. It was a lot of hard work, it was making the right choices, probably being at the right place at the right time and, admit it, luck. You did whatever it took to get here, and finally you have arrived, Mr. Bigshot/CEO/President/Money Launderer/Entrepreneur/Thief/Golden Parachute Recipient/Inventor/Genius/Hedge Fund manager/Ponzi Scheme Person/E-list Actor/Blogger/Lottery Winner/Inventor of TopsyTail/etc, etc. You have your multi-million dollar house, paid off of course, boat, vacations, and all the other good stuff. Now, since everyone at the country club has one, you must get an exotic supercar. Yes, so you get the latest and greatest limited edition Italian with a dozen cylinders and stuff you could not possibly explain to anyone, but it doesn’t matter, because YOU have it and they don’t!

So…, now what?

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