The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is almost here, and today we get a brief rundown on the extravagant aero pieces, how they work – and an explanation of how they are all very much functional. This car is a pure track weapon, and creates more downforce at speed than any other production car. We can’t wait to get our hands on one.
2017 Ford GT caught testing, and the 3.5L EcoBoost V6 sounds obnoxious (Video)
This video was shot at Calabogie MotorSports Park outside Ottawa, Canada by industry spies.
We have to admit, the EcoBoost 3.5L in the Ford GT sounds a bit more menacing then we originally thought it would. Granted, this is the actual race car that is headed for LeMans next year, but we can’t imagine the production version sounding too much different. Enjoy.
$2,200 Street Race – Nitrous 4th Gen Camaro SS vs Nitrous LSX Swap Mustang Notchback
Check out this grudge match above. We have a LSx-swapped Fox Body Mustang, taking on a late-model Camaro SS on the juice, and this race has $2,200 on the line. The skill of the Mustang driver is impressive, and you can tell this isn’t his first rodeo. Watch him almost lose it and save the car, then get into the throttle and seemingly surge ahead for the win at the finish. Pretty amazing driver.
We don’t officially condone illegal street racing, but the video above is pretty cool. Two, old-school, big-horsepower Muscle cars, head to head. Enjoy.
Watch this 2015 Viper T/A tear it up around Laguna Seca
The new Viper T/A is an amazing car. It’s track performance falls between the GTS model and just-announced ACR Model. The 8.4-liter V-10 throbs out 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft, and the T/A also benefits from a Carbon Fiber Aero package to keep the downforce numbers high.
Watch this 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang POV Hot Lap at Grattan Raceway (Video)
The Mustang GT350R is almost on the streets, and today we get a POV video of the beast hot-lapping at Grattan Raceway. Notice the digital HUD shift light on the windshield. The high-revving 5.2L Flat Plane Crank motor sounds amazing as well.
We’ll take two, in Black please.
How to build a 2,500 HP street motor
Tinman II Kustoms shows off their incredible high-horsepower motor building skills in the video above. The attention to detail is just amazing. The guy is actually hand-straightening pushrods!
Also it should be noted that this ‘street’ car isn’t made for the streets. It just happens to be street legal. We doubt it sees more than a couple of hundred miles a year of street driving. We don’t think the owner is trying to convince anybody that it was a street car.
Update: Supercharged V10’s have been delivered to Chrysler, 770HP Viper coming
Hold on to your butts. A supercharged, V10 Viper is coming to take it’s rightful place as the top dog.
Reports are coming in that new Supercharged V10 engines have been delivered to Chrysler.
Not to be outdone by the 707HP Hellcat, a supercharged V10 Viper will easily surpass the Hellcat’s 707 HP, and will presumably give new Viper owners even more horsepower scalability in regards to aftermarket performance. Can we expect a 750, or 800 HP 2016 Viper? The Viper already has the suspension and handling down. As it stands, the Viper T/A is the fastest production car to ever go around Laguna Seca. That includes the Ferrari 458. The Aventador. The Mp4-12c.
The Viper is definitely a driver’s car, something that is lost on those who call the car overpriced or too expensive. The Viper may be unorthodox in it’s approach to balance and handling, but those who can master this car receive a great reward. Hence, the track record at Laguna Seca
But in regards to straight-line performance, the Viper is outmatched compared to the ZR1 Corvette and Hellcat Challenger. However, it looks as if things are looking up for the king snake.
We are hoping that the new Viper will at least hit the 750HP mark, as anything higher than that will require a strengthened transmission – as proven by the Challenger Hellcat (which uses the Viper transmission).
From Allpar:
“Why not shoot for, say, a stunning 1,000 horsepower, one may ask? Because that would require a new and expensive transmission and differential, more substantial cooling upgrades, much more incoming air, and quite possibly a new body to deal with the added stresses. Cars are systems, and upgrading the engine often requires upgrades to a large number of other components. The engineering and production costs would skyrocket. The Tremec TR-6060 in the Viper can handle, at most, 650 lb-ft of torque — no coincidence that the Hellcat maxes out at that number (which is also roughly the capacity of the ZF eight-speed). Even the Tremec TR-9008 can only handle 664 lb-ft. Tremec does have a “Magnum XL” which is good for 700 lb-ft, but would require changes to work in the Viper.”
Update: Rumor has it that this information about a Supercharged Viper was supposed to be revealed at the HOA homecoming, but Chrysler didn’t want to spoil the Hellcat’s moment in the sun. There is also speculation that SRT will be offer a retrofit Supercharger kit for older Vipers as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLa3l_UX77c?modestbranding=1
Note: we have now had one other source say that supercharged V10 engines have been delivered to Chrysler.
The 2016 GT350 and GT350R comes with a sweet HUD shift light (Update w/ Video)
Ford has released some interesting information today in regards to the new 526-HP Mustang GT350. According to their Press Release (below), the GT350 will be equpped with a convenient Heads-Up Display (HUD) that shows a shift indicator on the front windshield, directly in front of the drivers line of sight. The shift light is also programmable, depending on if you are Track, Tach and Drag Mode. Check out this images and press release below.
Ford’s Press Release
Ford Shelby GT350 Gets Racing-Inspired Customizable Shift Light Indicator to Help Drivers Optimize Track Time
• Shelby GT350® Mustang features Performance Shift Light Indicator display with Track, Tach and Drag mode
• Performance Shift Light Indicator provides the benefits of a shift light while allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the track at all times
• Heads-up shift light was developed by reimagining existing hardware and is standard on all-new Shelby GT350 and Shelby® GT350R
DEARBORN, Mich., July 23, 2015 – When driving the high-revving, 526-horsepower Shelby GT350® Mustang, drivers would do best to keep eyes on the road.
So that’s where Ford put the Performance Shift Light Indicator.
For decades, race drivers have used shift lights that signal the perfect engine speed for the shift point for maximum acceleration and lower lap times during the intensity of on-track driving.
Shift lights allow drivers to concentrate on the road in front of them rather than watching a tachometer. However, most shift lights either obscure the forward field of view or are located low in the instrument cluster where the driver must look down to see it.
The Performance Shift Light Indicator is a heads-up display located in front of the driver. It can be controlled through the driver information center in the gauge cluster, and customers can set shift points, light intensity, select from three different modes, or turn the feature off entirely.
In Tach mode, the amber LEDs light up sequentially from left to right as engine revs build to provide an easily viewable tachometer. Track mode is quite different – when engine revs build, LEDs light up from the outside ends to the center until the shift point is reached, then the whole LED bar flashes.
The third option is Drag mode. Much like Track mode, the customer sets the shift point, but in this configuration the entire LED light bar stays dark, then flashes repeatedly when the engine reaches the preset rpm threshold. “Given the conditions of a drag race, we found drivers wanted maximum simplicity in a performance shift light,” said Mike Makled, electrical engineer for Shelby programs.
Innovation through lateral thinking
Makled is a self-described at-home tinkerer. The 10-year veteran and third-generation Ford employee has been with Ford Performance since 2010. “I like taking things apart, modifying how they work and creating new things,” he says. “It’s a hobby.”
Dreaming up innovative performance features is one of the fun parts of his job, and inspiration struck one day on the road. Makled was driving his Ford Taurus SHO when he came to a quick stop in traffic and the car’s collision warning with brake support system flashed its red LED heads-up display. The system bounces upward projected light against the reflective inner surface of the windshield so the driver can see it as a warning of impending danger. This got him thinking.
“I thought, ‘Wait a minute, why don’t we use that technology for our shift light on the GT350?'” said Makled. “With a few tweaks, it could have a big effect on high-performance driving.”
Over the course of three months, Makled worked with a supplier to build a new prototype with special circuitry, amber LEDs, and software he installed into his own car. When satisfied with the progress, he invited management into the driver’s seat to see what he’d been working on – they loved it, calling it a “brilliant reimagining of existing technology.”
After getting the green light, Makled handed the project over to then-Ford Corporate Graduate Zac Nelson for development and release. Nelson worked with OpenXC to quickly build a working prototype for driver testing and feedback. Makled and Nelson worked closely with the heads-up display supplier on the production-level software and display modes for the new Shelby GT350 and Shelby® GT350R.
The feature has been lauded by Ford testing personnel. “All of our drivers love this feature,” boasts Makled. “They can’t believe how much it reduces the distraction of having to look away to a tach or a shift light in the cluster.”
The Performance Shift Light Indicator is standard on the Shelby GT350 and GT350R. Look for a more advanced HUD display in next year’s GT500.
Watch this new Ferrari 488 GTB hit 341 km/h (212 MPH) on the Autobahn
Check out these guys hitting 341 km/h on the Autobahn in the new Ferrari 488 GTB. What’s cool about this video is that all the cars in the left lane knew how to get the heck out of the way when someone comes up faster behind them. This would never happen in America.
Ferrari has improved the near-perfect 458 Italia in the form of the new 488 GTB. A direct replacement for the outgoing 458, the new 488 GTB adds an entirely new character dimension with the addition of the 488ci twin turbo layout. The new engine is smaller than its 458-predecessor, and its displacement of 488 cubic centimeters per cylinder gives the car its title: 488GTB. Powered by a twin-turbo 3.9L, this new Ferrari cranks out 661-HP at 8,000 RPM – and only has a curb weight of 3,020 lbs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA2GsIIdpis
The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is here, and it’s downright intimidating (Video/Gallery)
The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is finally here. This ACR track weapon is absolutely obnoxious, yet still street legal. Although you still get functioning A/C, the Dodge team has removed most of the carpet padding, reduced the sound system to the bare minimum, removed all of the carpet and trim from the trunk area, and there is zero sound deadening in front of the rear wheel wells. All of this equals a curb weight of just 3,392 lbs.
Oh, and did we mention 645 HP / 600 LB-FT out of the 8.4L V10? Top Speed is drag limited (thanks, massive X-Wing attached to trunklid) to ‘just’ 177 MPH. The ACR also includes 10-way adjustable Bilstein Motorsports shocks, Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, a rear diffuser, and a front splitter. It should also be noted that Dodge claims the DOT-approved Kumho Ecsta V720 tires on the new Viper ACR produce faster lap times than some race-compound tires.
The ACR also produces a staggering 1,228 pounds of downforce at 150 mph. It’s actually safer for you to barrel into turns at a higher speed. Not only will your lap times improve, but the car is much more stable at higher speeds entering/exiting a corner. Because of all the extra downforce, the Viper T/A might actually outrun this ACR model in the straights, but the ACR is in an entirely new dimension in the esses.
This Viper ACR is bred for the track. It’s raw, less-refined – it reminds of us of what the Viper was always intended to be.
Enjoy the video above and the images below.
