42 competitive stages and 1375 miles and VRPerformance finished its first Targa Newfoundland as overall winners in category 7, second in modern class and third overall. BMW won the manufacturers prize, with the most points scored by teams driving BMWs. The professional team of Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard and Brian O’Kane in a Mitsubishi Evolution IX came in first in modern class (they were in a different category).
It's been far too long since we last spoke. Much has been going on at the shop the last few months, so the time to post simply wasn't there. To kick things off for 2013, we thought we'd take a quick step back and bring everyone up to speed on "Target Targa", our 2012 Targa Newfoundland adventure. And because everyone loves a good video, we'll have a few of those in the next several entries...
Do you remember Speedvision? The SPEED Channel before its NASCAR-ification. Speedvision would run these wonderful old, usually British, films of racing in days gone by. Well, thanks to Youtube, I came across 90 minutes of rally racing awesomeness...
In the pantheon of great automobiles, there is little debate amongst car enthusiasts and historians what is near, if not on, the top: the McLaren F1. Gordon Murray’s masterpiece is still one of the fastest, most exhilarating road cars ever to be produced. Not until the Bugatti Veyron was introduced decades latter were the F1’s numbers matched and surpassed. And by most accounts, those who have driven both still prefer the lither, focused F1 to the more luxurious Veyron.
The F1 was so good and so fast that, as Gordon Murray explains in the first video, the owners demanded a race version. The four part video series after the jump chronicles the F1’s amazing debut at the 24 hours of Le Mans.
The boys and girls (and Jeremy Clarkson) of Top Gear bring you this little ten minute gem of sight, sound and Ford Fiesta. Enjoy after the jump.
Sure, as real automotive enthusiasts we like cars that can stop as well as accelerate and turn corners as if on rails-- all in a nicely balanced package. And it’s not always the fastest car that is our favorite. But sometimes a showing of brute force is just plain old fun. Follow the jump and watch a video by Motor Trend having some straight-line merriment with four of the best performance cars currently offered: Corvette ZR1, Nissan GT-R, Ferrari 599 and Porsche GT2. Who will win, and why? AWD vs. rear engine vs. front engined power, you can make an argument for all 4 cars...
Car and Driver magazine came calling a while back. They were looking for an unadulterated E46 M3 they could test for an article they were planning. And I happen to own one.
The question behind the story is not that unfamiliar to day dreaming car enthusiasts the world over: what cool car can you get for "x" number of dollars? C&D picked $25,000 for their bogey and then came up with a list of eligible used cars by combing through classified ads and price guides. (Video after the jump)
The "Ultimate Driving Machine" tagline is over 30 years old now, and it's safe to say that even non-enthusiasts know exactly what carmaker belongs to that particular phrase. BMW's brand marketing consistency is equaled only by its product consistency. Okay, so that's just a bunch of fancy mumbo jumbo to introduce this latest ad, which we think is pretty cool. Watch it after the jump.
Watch any British car show and you'll see plenty of powerslides-- artful footage of an exotic car speeding tail out around a dank English test track. Unless you’re on a dusty rally stage, sliding around a corner is not the best way to get a good time. But who cares, it looks cool. Follow the jump and learn from 5th Gear's Tiff Needell how to do it right.
As you know we at VRPerformance always preach balanced performance. High horsepower or sticky tires by themselves do not make a great car. It's how all the bits work in concert that separates the merely fast cars from the really great performance cars. And when you think about upgrading your car, it's important that you think about balanced performance-- incremental change to the system instead of lopsided focus on one component or another. Do it right, and you can fetch a new Nürburgring record (video after jump).
A participant in last month's [VRPerformance Open Track Day at Grattan Raceway] just sent us some video (after the jump). If you've never been to Grattan before, the videos give you a good, outside of car, perspective. Check it out.
Speaking of balance (see [Balance entry]) when a driver has a well sorted out car, he can really push it on the track and feel comfortable taking it to its limits. And we have video to prove it after the jump.
When it comes to wrestling a car around a track, nobody seems to do it more effortlessly and competently than Tiff Needell of the British car show, Fifth Gear. In the video following the jump you'll ride along with him in a new 911 GT3 RS as well as a 911 Cup race car.