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Despite the unusually warm winter we’re having this year, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have Jessi and Patrick check ice racing off The List. So we sent them to New York to meet our good friend and ice-racing expert, Engadget.com editor-in-chief Tim Stevens, for an inside look at this very special and frigid sport. Thanks to the courtesy of the Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club, they were able to get in and complete their objective before the warm temperatures returned the track back into a lake.

As Tim explains in the episode, the great thing about ice racing is the amount of time you actually spend racing. And with two classes that cover both stock and modified vehicles, anyone can race with whatever they’ve got in their garage. But as Jessi and Patrick learn, racing on ice is easier said than done.

Click here to watch The List #0032: Go Ice Racing.

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Continue reading The List #0032: Go Ice Racing

The List #0032: Go Ice Racing

Last time Roadkill took a trip it inolved a $1,500 budget, a 1972 Pontiac Catalina and a trip from El Paso to Los Angeles. This time their adventures point northward to Alaska, and their chariot will be a clone of the 1968 Ford Ranchero that Hot Rod used to take a class win in the first Baja 1000. It is, naturally, called “Viva Raunchero.”

Ice racing in America’s largest state is the goal. But the real action ends up taking place far away from Arctic latitudes as co-pilots David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan get to enjoy hours of freezing temps when the Ranchero throws repeated tantrums in Vail, Colorado and Utah. You’ll find another lesson in road tripping the Hot Rod way in the video after the jump.

Continue reading Hot Rod tackles the Alaska Highway in 1968 Ford Ranchero Baja 1000 clone

Hot Rod tackles the Alaska Highway in 1968 Ford Ranchero Baja 1000 clone

F1 drivers typically have a shelf life shorter than what you otherwise might call a career. As the constant stream of new, young drivers usurps existing F1 seats, you’re left with a wealth of talent available to contest other forms of motorsport. That’s how you end up with former grand prix pilots in other series like IndyCar, DTM and even ice racing. Then there’s Le Mans.

Every year the most famous of endurance races packs its grid with rejects from the Formula One circus, and 2012 is no exception, particularly with Toyota launching a works effort out of the German facility that used to house its F1 team. Toyota has already confirmed that the first of its TS030 Hybrid LMP1 racers will be driven by former F1 drivers Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima (along with Nicolas Lapierre), and has now announced that Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi are on the roster for the second car.

Davidson is an established F1 test driver, having worked for the team known successively as BAR, Honda, Brawn and Mercedes. He’s also driven a handful of grands prix for Super Aguri and Minardi, and contested Le Mans and related series for Aston Martin Racing and Peugeot Sport, including a win at Sebring.

Buemi drove the last three F1 seasons for Scuderia Toro Rosso until being cut this year. He’ll combine his endurance racing debut with his test driver role at Red Bull Racing.

They’ll be joined by Hiroaki Ishiura, who has driven for Toyota teams in Super GT and the Nürburgring 24 before helping roll out the new TS030. We’ll be watching to see how they do against the returning champions at Audi, but for now you can follow the jump to dive into the full press release and check out the updated image gallery above.

Continue reading Toyota snags Davidson, Buemi to drive TS030 at Le Mans

Toyota snags Davidson, Buemi to drive TS030 at Le Mans

As we head towards the second half of February without having had a real winter here in the Midwest, we’ll admit to being ticked off. Those Blizzaks we bought for our long-term Mini Countryman? We haven’t had much chance to put them to use. Nor have we had any occasion to enjoy the singular pleasure of driving a massively overpowered sports car on an icy road, enjoying every fishtail, opposite-lock correction and powerslide, all while traveling under the legal speed limit, of course.

So what do we do to console ourselves? Watch videos on YouTube like this one, featuring the KTM X-Bow doing a little ice racing with an accompanying motorcycle/quad tandem. We love that this X-Bow’s owner is out getting down and dirty in the cold – and that he’s not willing to pull his buddies on a tube behind his race car.

Click past the jump to watch the video.

Continue reading Who said the KTM X-Bow isn’t good in snow?

Who said the KTM X-Bow isn’t good in snow?

Typically when an automaker makes a new rally car – whether for gravel, sand, snow or ice – it’s based on… well, a car. Usually a hatchback, like the Subaru Impreza, Citroën DS3 or Volkswagen Polo. Lately, some have been going a different route with crossover-based rally cars, but Renault’s latest is neither hatchback nor sedan nor crossover. It’s a minivan.

After contesting the Andros Trophy for two years with a specially-prepared Dacia Duster – which also formed the basis for its Pikes Peak challenger – the French automaker’s Romanian budget brand is returning for a third winter season to the French ice racing series with a new beast based on the Lodgy MPV. The production version of the minivan isn’t set to be unveiled itself until the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The resulting Lodgy Glace (the latter from the French for “ice”) was prepared by independent contractors like Tork Engineering and Sodemo under the watchful eye of Renault Sport Technologies. Its tubular steel frame packs a Nissan-sourced 3.0-liter 24-valve V6 engine mounted amidship and sending 355 horsepower to all four wheels via a SADEV six-speed sequential gearbox.

The season kicks off on December 3 at Val Thorens, where four-time F1 champion Alain Prost and his son Nicolas, together with ice-racing veteran Evens Stievenart, will be taking on all comers. Follow the jump for the full press release and scope out the quarter of high-res images for a closer look at their new ride.

Continue reading Dacia challenging Andros Trophy with new Lodgy MPV ice racer

Dacia challenging Andros Trophy with new Lodgy MPV ice racer

A major manufacturer doesn’t just show up at Le Mans and hope to race right off the bat. Developing a new car is one thing, but running it is another. And for that, Toyota is turning to Oreca.

Oreca is no stranger to Le Mans, as one of the few privateers that’s managed to mount a serious challenge against factory efforts from Audi and Peugeot.

Its services have also been solicited by automakers looking to challenge various racing classes, including development and production of the Dodge Viper Competition Coupe and the successful campaigning of the Mazda 787B at Le Mans in 1991. Oreca also worked with Toyota to prepare of the Corolla that Alain Prost drove in the Andros Trophy ice racing series.

Toyota isn’t looking for help from Oreca to build or develop its new hybrid LMP1 racer – that’s being done in-house. Instead, the automaker is soliciting Oreca’s services to actually field the car at Le Mans and other races in the new FIA World Endurance Championship starting next year. Follow the jump for the official announcement.

Continue reading Toyota teams up with Oreca on new LMP1 entry

Toyota teams up with Oreca on new LMP1 entry

To the casual observer, it might appear that there’s only a handful of racing series in the world. F1, NASCAR, maybe WRC. But the true racing fanatic knows there’s a lot more than that. There are open-wheel series (such as Indy Car) at different levels in countries around the world. There’s motorbike racing, ice racing, truck racing, and, of course, there’s touring cars.

The European equivalent to stock cars, touring cars account for some of the most down-to-the-wire, wheel-to-wheel racing action known to man, from DTM in Germany to V8 Supercars in Australia. But this weekend’s season-opener in the British Touring Car Championship was about as nail-biting as it comes.

The race at Croft Circuit in North Yorkshire this weekend was punctuated by intermittent rain as various drivers in the expanded field opted for different tire choices. Some went for rain tires, some went for slicks, but Mat Jackson, piloting a Ford Focus, put slicks on the driving wheels up front and wets on the rears. After a mid-race accident, the safety car was withdrawn as the track began to dry and Jackson’s gambit paid off as he climbed up the field.

With just a few laps to go, Jackson climbed up to fourth behind Jason Plato (he of Fifth Gear fame) in the Chevy Cruze, Rob Collard in the BMW 3 Series and two-time series champion Matt Neal in the Honda Civic. Jackson picked his way past Plato and then past Collard, but coming down the front straight to the finish line it was as close as it gets: a photo finish of 0.055 seconds. So which Matt took the win? Follow the jump to find out, and in the process witness some of the closest racing action you’ll ever see.

Continue reading BTCC season-opener ends in dramatic 0.055-second photo finish

BTCC season-opener ends in dramatic 0.055-second photo finish

Dacia sends its racing team out in winters to drift across ice and snow for the Andros Trophy. But when the summer rolls around, even the snow on the French Alps begins to thaw. What’s an ice racing team to do? Why, head to Pikes Peak, of course.

The international hill climb event is coming around again next month, and when it does, the likes of Monster Tajima and Rhys Millen will have an interesting new challenger on its hands. And after months of reports and teasers, you’re looking at the finish product.

A joint effort between Dacia, Renaultsport, a number of independent firms and driver Jean-Phillipe Dayraut who brought them all together, the Dacia Duster “No Limit” was built for the Unlimited class at Pikes Peak, where (contrary to just about any other form of motorsport) there are essentially no restrictions placed on a car’s specifications. As a result, the purpose-built racer packs the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from a Nissan GT-R (tuned to 850 horsepower), which is mounted amidships behind the cabin and mated to a six-speed sequential racing gearbox. All of that mechanical chutzpah is kept down by the most aggressive aerodynamics package this side of an F-35 Lightning.

It’s a beast of a car, and we can’t wait to see Dayraut – the reigning three-time Andros Trophy champion – take its wheel at the Peak on June 26. In the meantime, check out the extensive high-res image gallery for a closer look and follow the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Dacia unleashes 850-hp GT-R-powered Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak challenger

Dacia unleashes 850-hp GT-R-powered Duster “No Limit” Pikes Peak challenger

Nissan has yet to figure out exactly where the company will campaign its new Leaf RC racer, but that hasn’t stopped the engineers behind the Japanese automaker’s Nismo effort from getting the machine out on track for a little shake-down action.

With its sexy carbon fiber bodywork, three-door layout and silent electric drivetrain, the car looks plenty sinister in its element. And while the vehicle’s new skin is both longer and wider than the street-going Leaf, the race car uses the same drivetrain as what’s whirring around on public streets right now, though it’s worth noting that everything has been shifted closer to the passenger cell to improve weight balance.

Nissan says that ideally, the company would eventually like to replace traditional ICE racing with EVs and that it would also like to branch out into other forms of motorsports that have never been explored. Those include city races where typical race cars are too loud to compete and indoor events where a zero-emission vehicle could truly shine. Hit the jump to check out the video for yourself.

Continue reading Nissan Leaf Nismo RC gets on-track shakedown

Nissan Leaf Nismo RC gets on-track shakedown

Skiing the French Alps is something you’d likely associate with a luxury lifestyle. Dacia, on the other hand, is a budget brand. In other words, diametric opposites, you might think – until you recall that it’s the Dacia Duster that’s been challenging for France’s Andros Trophy ice racing series at the hands of none other than Alain Prost. Now Renault’s low-cost Romanian subsidiary has announced a new special edition model.

Drawing on its years of partnership with the École de Ski Français (that’s French ski school, for the linguistically unfamiliar), the new limited edition Duster gets a white paint job, special badging, a reinforced aluminum sump guard, a roof rack to accommodate four pairs of skis, and a set of spare wheels pre-fitted with snow tires. Otherwise, the equipment is the same as the Lauréate 4×4 trim level, and it’s powered by a 110-horsepower turbodiesel four.

So who would be interested in buying a limited-edition Dacia? Ski instructors, apparently. The ESF edition Duster is available exclusively to ESF instructors, with a €18,990 sticker price. If that description just happens to fit you, well… do yourself a favor and read the complete press release after the break.

[Source: Dacia]

Continue reading Renault rolls out special Dacia Duster just for French ski instructors

Renault rolls out special Dacia Duster just for French ski instructors

Bentley isn’t the only company that’s been busy on the ice lately. Mazda just wrapped up a four-hour race in Åre, Sweden, that brought 20 MX-5 roadsters out on the open ice for a little fender-to-fender action.

Teams faced temperatures that dipped as low as -24 degrees Fahrenheit and stiff competition from racers from around the world. Spiked tires were standard equipment for all of the vehicles, though it’s worth noting that the talent behind the wheel wasn’t professional by any stretch of the imagination. Mazda invited fans and automotive journalists from a total of 26 countries to participate in the event.

While early on it looked as if a team from Australia would take home the checkered flag, a late-race spin allowed a Russian team to pull ahead and complete the most laps around the three-mile circuit within the four-hour time frame. Hit the jump to check out video from the event as well as the full press blast.

[Source: Mazda]

Continue reading Video: Mazda takes the MX-5 to the ice

Video: Mazda takes the MX-5 to the ice

We know that looks like snow in the picture above, but imagine all that white stuff as the winding circuit that ascends Pikes Peak instead. The legendary (and brutal) Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been dominated by the likes of Suzuki’s Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima in years past, and while Rhys Millen has been eager to win back his daddy’s title, reports indicate that both Tajima and Millen could have a new challenger to deal with this year.

The challenge could come from the Andros Trophy – the French ice racing series that attracts big names from F1 like Alain Prost and Jacques Villeneuve. As much about the drivers as it is about the cars, the Andros Trophy series has been dominated by two names over the past several years: the aforementioned quadruple F1 champion Prost, and Jean-Philippe Dayraut. The former won the trophy in 2007 and 2008, the latter in 2009 and 2010, and the both of them are currently tangling for the 2011 title.

Prost switched from the Toyota Auris in which he won the trophy twice to the specially-prepared Dacia Duster pictured above. Dayraut left his Skoda Fabia to Villeneuve in favor of the BMW 1 Series. If reports prove accurate, however, it could be Dayraut taking the Dacia to Pikes Peak. French reports say Dayraut’s people approached Tork Engineering (the firm that set up Prost’s Duster) to make a Pike’s Peak challenger using the engine from the Nissan GT-R (Dacia is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance) with a projected 850 horsepower and a curb weight under 2,000 lbs.

With those kinds of stats – and that kind of driver – the Dacia hillclimber is shaping up to be a a monster. And Monster Tajima had better take notice.

[Source: Le Blog Auto]

Dacia Duster to tackle Pikes Peak with 850-hp Nissan GT-R engine?

There are any number of racing series around the world that are eager to welcome former F1 drivers onto their grids – and Jacques Villeneuve has tried nearly all of them. Traditional outlets have included DTM and Le Mans, to name just two, but lately retired grand prix drivers have found their groove again in such varied series as NASCAR and the World Rally Championship.

Alain Prost, however, has found satisfaction in his post-F1 career racing in the Andros Trophy. Now the four-time World Champion (the third most successful driver in F1 history behind Fangio and Schumacher) will have some company in the French ice racing series as fellow former champion Jacques Villeneuve hits the frozen grid as well.

The French Canadian driver recently abandoned efforts to get back into F1, and was tipped to focus his energies on making it in NASCAR, but will contest at least four rounds of the Andros Trophy this winter season, driving for recently crowned IRC champions Skoda alongside Olivier Panis. A former Monaco Grand Prix winner, Panis was last teamed with Villeneuve at BAR-Honda in the 2001 and 2002 Formula One World Championships. The pair will debut on ice at the season opener on December 4 at Val Thorens.

[Source: Andros Trophy via Autosport]

Villeneuve heading to France to go ice racing

So far, only three drivers are confirmed for the 2010 Race of Champions, but it’s already shaping up to be one for the history books. Not only is the year-end, cross-discipline event returning to Germany – the country that has held the Nations Cup title the past three years running – but now one of the most successful racing drivers alive will finally, for the first time in his career, be on hand in a bid for top honors.

The driver in question is one Alain Prost, the four-time Formula One world champion. For the past few years since his retirement, Prost has been competing in the Andros Trophy ice racing series, whose title he won two years running. The Andros calendar, says Prost, usually conflicts with the RoC, an event he’s long wished to challenge, but this year there’s no overlap. So at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorg this coming November, the Frenchman will be squaring off (amongst others) against Michael Schumacher, the only living driver ever to win more grands prix and F1 titles than himself. This ought to be good. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Race of Champions]

Continue reading Alain Prost signs on for 2010 Race of Champions

Alain Prost signs on for 2010 Race of Champions

There Will Be Mud: An express course in ice racing with Subaru

We spend a day flogging the WRX and STI around an ice course and come away with a new appreciation for our left foot.

If you’re green, are you more likely to be mean? A new study suggests you are…

A study in Psychological Science contends that eco-conscious consumers have a penchant for overt righteousness and a general feeling of superiority. You don’t say?

Charting the Five-Ohs: Next-gen Cop Car Comparo

With both GM and Ford providing all-new police-specific vehicles next year, we take a look at the old stalwarts and their black-and-white successors.

Also of interest:

• Mazda considers offering diesel CX-7 in the States
• Akio Toyoda sitting out this year’s Nurburgring 24
• Rolls-Royce Phantom to undergo major overhaul in 2016
• Next generation Volkswagen Beetle coming next year
• McLaren could develop racing version of MP4-12C for privateers

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 3.19.10

John Haugland, the man tasked with turning us flacks into ice racers, advised us to do several things the night before our instruction. For whatever reason, being “water positive” stuck with me the most. So before heading to bed I chugged a bottle and a half of water, woke up in the middle of the night, downed the other half and then drank another bottle before heading out to the makeshift circuit. When the time came to man-up in one slightly modified Subaru WRX, I had to liberate some liquid… badly.

Exacerbating my bursting bladder was the near-freezing temps of Park City, Utah, but despite the mid-30s weather and an early morning departure, by the time I rolled up to the staging lights, a fair amount of the course had succumbed to the sun. The result was a circuit comprised of equal parts snow and ice, with a few mud pits thrown in for dramatic measure.

But no matter the state of terra firma, sliding is sliding, grip is grip and opposite lock antics were mine for the taking, so after a quick trip to the port-o-potty I dialed in a few thousand revs, dropped the clutch and sped my way towards the first chicane. It took all of two turns and several muffled orders from Haugland to begin to see the allure of ice racing and understand what our man Tim has been proselytizing in his ongoing series.

My first go-round was suitably slow and occasionally sideways, but for the most part it was an exercise in anticlimactic understeering. And then… epiphany!

Continue reading There Will Be Mud: An express course in ice racing with Subaru

There Will Be Mud: An express course in ice racing with Subaru

THE THAW

You had to know it couldn’t last forever. Most recently our Subaru ice racer was in action way up north in the wilds of Quebec, getting sideways on a frozen circuit. As it turns out, if we wanted to keep on racing we should have stayed up there. This form of motorsport needs frozen lakes and some unfortunately turbulent weather in the northeast over the past month didn’t do the local bodies of water any favors. But, we were able to make it to one final event before the season was put to rest. We have some highlights to share below, including footage of what it looks like to be inside a pirouetting WRX, plus some discussion about how to safely stow your winter racing gear for the summertime off-season.

Continue reading Introduction to Ice Racing: Part 6 [w/video]

Introduction to Ice Racing: Part 6 [w/video]

Imagine, if you will, that every motorsport discipline can be equated to one kind of alcohol or another. Formula One might be champagne. NASCAR, moonshine, or maybe a case of domestic light beer. Andros Trophy ice racing, vodka. (Grey Goose on the rocks, to be precise.) A martini at Le Mans, perhaps. So what kind of booze, then, would you equate with the American Le Mans Series? How about tequila? At least, that’s what Patron would like you to think.

The agave booze brand has been active in the series pretty much since its inception, most notably sponsoring Highcroft Racing’s Acura prototypes. This season the ironically lime-green livery will also be seen in the GT2 category on Extreme Speed’s Ferraris (one of which, incidentally, will be driven by Patron chief Ed Brown) as well as on the Porsches fielded in the GT Challenge category by Alex Job Racing and Velox Motorsports.

The bigger news, however, is that starting this season, Patron will be the series’ title sponsor. Like clothier Izod picked up the naming rights for the IndyCar Series, ALMS will now be dubbed the American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patron. Along with it you can expect more track-side advertising and hospitality. The news you can take to the bank, but the prospect of a complimentary shooter in the paddock you can take with a grain of salt or two.

Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2009 Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Autosport]

American Le Mans Series gets a new Patron

Introduction to Ice Racing: Part 5 [w/video]

We hit up a track day at Mecaglisse to hone our Ice Racing skills and work on our shifting technique with varying degrees of success.

Want a 550-hp AWD Volkswagen Scirocco? Save up $150k and move to Canada

The Scirocco might not be available in North America, but HPA has a work-around involving a set of turbos and a steep price tag.

200-HP Citroen DS3 Racing confirmed for Geneva [w/video]

Citroën’s racing division takes a crack at the all-new DS3 to create a 200-hp hatch with a splash of rally pedigree.

Also of interest:

• Ford to merge U.S. and European performance lines; Focus RS coming to America?
• Report: House subcommittee petitions Toyota for secret documents
• No Laughing (Gas) Matter: Mississippi becomes 39th state to ban nitrous in street cars?
• EYE concept coming to Geneva has Tesla Motors connection
• New Volkswagen CrossPolo to join GTI in Geneva

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 2.19.10