The Fruit of Knowledge
Posts tagged motor trend
Rumormill: McLaren pondering Honda-powered 911 killer?
May 21st
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Honda, McLaren
As one of the premier sports cars in the world, the Porsche 911 is always driving around with a target on its rear-engined backside. If a new report is to be believed, the latest automaker with plans to build a 911-fighting sports coupe could be McLaren. Motor Trend is reporting that the recent news that Honda and McLaren are teaming up to build Formula One racecars could bear road-going fruit as well.
According to the article, the unnamed entry-level McLaren coupe may be powered by a Honda-sourced engine, but a detuned version of the 3.8-liter V8 from the MP4-12C is said to be more likely. All in, though, there is no solid information on the car just yet. As a reminder, M/T points out that the last time McLaren partnered up with a mainstream automaker, the world was introduced to the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.
McLaren pondering Honda-powered 911 killer? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 May 2013 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: Motor Trend does the Cuban classic car thing
Apr 25th
As car enthusiasts, we all know the little gem about classic American cars driving around the streets of Cuba, but few of us will ever be able to see these sites first hand. Fortunately, Motor Trend recently spent some time in the land of cigars, mojitos and Yank Tanks to create this incredible mini-documentary about the cars and the country for the latest video in its Epic Drives series.
While the cars look like they came straight out of the 1950s, most of them are powered by modern-ish engines for the sake of fuel economy and ease of repair. An old Pontiac in the video is powered by a four-cylinder diesel sourced from Hyundai-Kia, while a ’53 Oldsmobile has borrowed the engine from a Soviet welder to get it around. Now, this is not your normal Motor Trend video that spends the entire time talking cars, but rather it’s something more along the lines of what you might see on the Travel Channel. It’s definitely worth checking out in the video below. When you’re done, let us know what cool cars you spot running around the streets of Havana in the Comments.
Continue reading Motor Trend does the Cuban classic car thing
Motor Trend does the Cuban classic car thing originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Video: SRT’s Ralph Gilles addresses the infamous Motor Trend Viper vs. ZR1 test
Apr 4th
Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chrysler, Dodge, SRT
In one of the most interesting roundtable discussions we’ve seen in quite some time, the boys from Motor Trend, along with pro racing driver Randy Pobst, sat down with SRT head honcho Ralph Gilles to discuss the 2014 Viper. And the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, naturally. As you may remember, Motor Trend has filmed two videos pitting the latest Viper from SRT against the standard-bearing ZR1, with the Viper losing the first battle but barely eking out a victory with the upgraded TA model in the second.
A few interesting tidbits sneak out regarding the Viper, such as the fact that an ACR model isn’t ready “yet,” as well as the story of how the TA model came into existence after the first test by Motor Trend. Apparently, that test also resulted in a slight softening of the regular Viper’s suspension for production. Interestingly, Gilles doesn’t seem ready to admit defeat even in that first testing session, saying that the Viper used by MT was a pre-production model and that it had been out of alignment – that said, he does offer up an apology of sorts for “throwing gas on the fire” on social networks after the video hit the web.
Moving away from the Viper toward the end of the discussion, Gilles touches on the new Camaro Z28 and mentions that “the Challenger is under the knife as we speak… and we’re going to come with an answer to [the Z28] and an answer for our friends at Ford.” That sounds mighty intriguing… though Gilles also admits that a Cuda isn’t coming “anytime soon,” but that it is “a couple years out” on a different platform than the Challenger. Fortunately, it sounds like the next-generation of the Challenger SRT will make an appearance in New York in 2014.
There are plenty more interesting tidbits in the video, so we suggest you take about 20 minutes of at the end of your day to watch it yourself. Scroll down below to watch it, along with the two MT videos comparing the Viper and ZR1 at Laguna Seca.
Continue reading SRT’s Ralph Gilles addresses the infamous Motor Trend Viper vs. ZR1 test
SRT’s Ralph Gilles addresses the infamous Motor Trend Viper vs. ZR1 test originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Official: Viper TA track-special unveiled to avenge loss to ZR1 [w/video]
Mar 18th
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Videos, SRT
Ready for round two? Friend of Autoblog and Motor Trend personality Jonny Lieberman has helped SRT whip the covers off the new Viper TA (which stands for Time Attack, apparently) by putting professional racecar driver Randy Pobst behind the wheel and pointing him at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with cameras in tow.
What those cameras captured includes plenty of footage of a Crusher Orange SRT Viper TA running amok at The Corkscrew and generally bludgeoning the race track into submission. Updates to the Viper package for TA duty include bigger brakes from Brembo, a Carbon Fiber Aero Package that includes a massive rear wing and a Track Package that boasts better wheels and Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires.
Weight savings are found via a new carbon fiber X-brace underhood along with badges that have been replaced with stickers (seriously). Perhaps most importantly, the TA comes equipped with the two-mode remote reservoir shocks seen on the more expensive GTS. While the GTS offers Street and Track modes, the TA goes a step further with Smooth and Rough settings – no Street mode here.
The result? According to Motor Trend, the TA is the fastest Viper it’s ever tested, reaching 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds and a quarter-mile ET of 11.3 seconds at 129.3 mph. But is the TA good enough to beat the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the car that beat the Viper the last time MT put them together at Laguna Seca? Scroll down below to find out, and join us in waiting for round three, when Chevy releases the next generation of its Corvette for the track.
Continue reading Viper TA track-special unveiled to avenge loss to ZR1 [w/video]
Viper TA track-special unveiled to avenge loss to ZR1 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Rumormill: Chevrolet planning low-cost Corvette under Stingray?
Feb 27th
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, Rumormill
If you’re burnt out on musings about the Chevrolet Corvette, you’ll want to go ahead and skip this post. Motor Trend reports General Motors is hard at work on a low-cost version of the seventh-generation sports car for 2015. Rumored to be called the Corvette Coupe, the car will forgo the Stingray and skip the 450-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 engine in favor of a 5.3-liter V8 with under 400 ponies. If you’re keeping track, that’s a shade of the same engine found behind the headlights of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
The report also suggests the Coupe will receive a number of aesthetic tweaks to separate it from the Stingray, including different front and rear fascias as well as new front fenders and a rear diffuser. Motor Trend says the point of all this is to cut the car’s price tag, which means we may see a Corvette on showroom floors for less than $50,000 if this car comes to fruition.
Chevrolet planning low-cost Corvette under Stingray? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Official: Motor Trend giving away Tesla Model S…. sorta
Feb 27th
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Tesla Motors
Our initial response to Motor Trend saying it was “giving away” a Tesla Model S, was “we’ll take it.” Alas, it’s only a simulated version.
The publication, which last November named the all-electric luxury sedan its Car of the Year, is hooking up with social-networking game Car Town by offering to “give” a (theoretical) Model S to game players who want to win fake races and score fake dates in the process. Hey, the 50 million people who play Car Town on Facebook can’t be wrong. If this sounds like something you’d be into, go here to sign up for the contest.
Meantime, back in the real world, Tesla said last week that the company has ramped up to full production capacity of 400 Model S vehicles a week and delivered about 2,400 Model S vehicles during the fourth quarter. Those sales were about equal with the Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in Hybrid and trailed only the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius Plug-in and Nissan Leaf among US plug-in vehicle sales.
Motor Trend giving away Tesla Model S…. sorta originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Report: Will Fiat cap performance of 2014 SRT Viper ACR out of fear for Ferrari?
Feb 25th
Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Racing, SRT
Motor Trend has got word that an SRT Viper ACR – the acronym for American Club Racing – is headed for a reveal in 2014. However, at the same time as SRT is working to maximize the model’s performance, the report says there’s an internally imposed performance ceiling on at least one aspect of the super coupe that will keep it from being all the Viper it could be.
Having watched other super sports cars go super fast on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires – MT cites the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 as the prime example – SRT is looking to Pirelli for a set of rubber that improves on the Viper’s P-Zero Corsas. Where the Viper ACR will be restrained is its power-to-weight ratio; rumor is that bosses at parent company Fiat have decreed that the Viper cannot outdo the 5.2-pounds-per-horsepower of the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. It’s also rumored that Ferrari doesn’t want the Viper to have more power than the 731 horsepower of the F12, even though SRT has said it would be “relatively easy” to increase output from the current 640 hp.
The last Viper ACR didn’t get more oomph under the hood, so there should be plenty of ways to navigate Ferrari sensitivities. However, the last Viper club racer did offer a Hardcore Package that dropped weight by 40 pounds. If the specific power-to-weight number really is a bright line for the coupe’s development, it will be interesting to see if such a package is offered again and how SRT manages it.
Will Fiat cap performance of 2014 SRT Viper ACR out of fear for Ferrari? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Report: Maserati Ghibli overtakes Levante, headed for Shanghai?
Feb 13th
Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Hatchback, Maserati, Luxury
While earlier reports indicated that the next Maserati product out of the gate would be the Levante SUV, Motor Trend is now reporting that the Audi A7-shaped Ghibli has cut in line. Word is that we may see the new Ghibli as early as the Shanghai Motor Show in April.
Citing unnamed sources, MT predicts that the minds at Maserati now see a more pressing need to fight off the likes of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series than to go after luxury utes. However, if our spy shots of Ghibli prototypes are anything to go on, it’s also likely that the sub-Quattroporte Maser won’t be a traditional sedan. The car above’s long nose, low roof and brief, sloping rear deck all bring to mind Audi’s lovely A7, Meaning the Ghibli may fall into the always murky four-door-coupe/luxury hatchback genre.
Bi-turbocharged iterations of both a V6 and a V8 should make up the early powertrain choices for the Maserati, meaning the top-spec Ghibli should have loads of shove to match its promised good looks.
Maserati Ghibli overtakes Levante, headed for Shanghai? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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