The demise of the in 2010 was sad enough on its own. But as if to twist the knife in the wound, the end of the Viper also meant the end of the Devon GTX.
A project of independent entrepreneur Scott Devon, the GTX gave the Viper a decidedly more upscale fit-and-finish worthy of its superlative performance. It got an entirely fresh body – complete with exotic upwards-swiveling doors and two-tone chrome/matte finish – and a more polished cabin. It was also treated to a boost in output, the Viper’s 8.4-liter V10 producing 650 horsepower in Devon GTX trim. The result didn’t just look sleeker, it also went faster, posting lap records at Willow Springs and Laguna Seca.
Unfortunately the demise of the Viper – not to mention the half-million-dollar asking price – meant that the GTX never really got off the ground. In the end only two examples were made, and now one of them is up for auction by Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, Arizona, this week.
Still titled as a 2008 Dodge Viper, serial #1 – in black and chrome – is being offered without reserve, and would certainly take a place of pride in any collection of rare supercars.
Being in a car crash can be scary enough, but doing it in a convertible at 130 miles per hour is simply terrifying. That’s what the owner of a Shelby Cobra replica went through, however, during a track day at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. As he was ending the front straight of the 2.5-mile course, something suddenly broke in the front suspension or steering. The car skidded on track for approximately 60 feet, then flipped sideways multiple times, flying off the track for more than 500 feet.
Fortunately, the driver of the Cobra came away from the incident unharmed with the exception of minor injuries to his knee and ribs. If you’ve ever wondered why that metal roll hoop is there on the driver’s side of the Cobra, just ask this guy.
Of course, the owner of the Cobra also had a GoPro camera running on his car that day, and it captured the amazing footage throughout the entire crash. The video has now gone up on YouTube, and we’ve posted it for you to see .
recently commandeered California’s Willow Springs raceway to hold a unique racing event that combined driving with cycling. Teaming up with Bike Magazine, Porsche created a duathlon that pitted a few top pedal-powered two wheelers against Flying Lizard wheelman Patrick Long.
All competitors started out on bikes, and then proceeded to pedal through a lap of the track. After that, it was time to hop into a variety of Porsche vehicles and set gasoline-backed lap times. Since Long is a ringer behind the wheel, he was saddled with a loaded down with the rest of the competitors.
The amusing event was captured on film, and we’ll be good car guys here and tell you that the best motoring action happens towards the end of the clip. Click to check it out.
Earlier this year, we headed out to California’s Willow Springs Raceway to see for the very first time. It took just a few minutes for Gittin and his pony car to get acquainted, then it was all sideways action and tire smoke for the next couple of hours.
We weren’t the only ones watching Gittin that day, though. A film crew had their lenses pointed at the RTR-X as well, getting footage for a video about the making of the car. That video, produced by Team Need for Speed, has now been released, and it provides a glimpse into what it took to build the car, along with the people behind the project. There’s also some great footage of Gittin doing his thing in the RTR-X at Willow Springs. To watch the video just and hit play.
Earlier in the week, we got word that . Now, Red Bull has release video of Mr. Cruise’s somewhat less than impossible mission at California’s Willow Springs raceway. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t impressed with the actor’s ability to push the car around the track, since we know Formula 1 cars aren’t the easiest machines to pilot.
Want to know what’s equally impressive? When the Red Bull crew lets Tom take the helm of their helicopter for some stunt flying. Want to see how Cruise handled either vehicle? for the clip.
“I’m not a doctor, but I play one on television.” If that line sounds familiar from old television commercials featuring soap opera stars in white coats, bear in mind that the theme extends far beyond the annals of fake medicine. People get mixed up between actors and the characters they play all the time.
Tom Cruise, for example, has driven all sorts of vehicles on the silver screen, from cars to motorbikes to speed boats, often pulling off scarcely believable stunts and feats in the process. But how much of that comes down to camera trickery and special effects, and how much can be chalked up to actual driving talent?
We got a pretty good answer when Cole Trickle himself set the lap record (however short-lived) on Britain’s Top Gear, but Cruise wasn’t about to stop there. So while David Coulthard and the Red Bull demonstration team were Stateside for a show in Texas, they met the Hollywood mega-star out in Southern California to let him try his hand at driving an Formula One car.
The seven-hour test at Willow Springs started in a road car, where Coulthard and Cruise drove the 2.5-mile track to get a feeling for the layout before the Mission: Impossible star climbed into the F1 car for 24 laps. At the end of the day, Cruise managed a top speed of 181 miles per hour – just four mph off of DC’s trap speed – while scrubbing 11 seconds off his first lap – a marked improvement that left Coulthard impressed at Tom’s skills.
Stay tuned for video footage when it’s released and check out the official snapshots in the gallery for a closer look.
We’ve just returned from flogging the all-new 2012 on the main 2.5-mile road circuit at Willow Springs Motorsports Park in Southern California. This particular is nothing like your great-grandfather’s Willys, your cousin’s lifted CJ or even your little sister’s Liberty.
Lacking anything close to resembling a Trail Rated badge, this lowered, two-and-a-half ton monster packs a massive 6.4-liter Hemi under its hood, 20-inch forged alloys at each corner and an adaptive damping system to keep body movement in check. Even from a distance, it’s hard to miss this four-door’s oversized brakes, cannon exhaust pipes and intimidating body cladding. This Jeep looks mean, sounds aggressive and picks fights with sports cars instead of mountains.
But what is the point of the Grand Cherokee SRT8? Do its owners race it, or is this simply an exercise to antagonize cavalier and drivers? What are the benefits – and drawbacks – to packing 470 horsepower in an SUV? Can this thing even tow?
We found answers to all of those questions and more, during our day on the track and long drive back to Los Angeles.
“Did you know that it was never supposed to be called a Charger?”
The man posing the question is Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of Chrysler’s SRT group. According to Gilles, the modern was styled to have been branded differently, but the suits wanted a sporty full-size four-door. The design team delivered what was asked and the marketers went ahead and applied the name. Much to the chagrin of many a Mopar fanboy on the planet.
Thankfully, our time with the the affable Mr. Gilles wasn’t spent pondering the last generation LX’s branding issues. Or refinement issues. Or interior gaffes. Instead, rounded up its newest factory-fettled performance superstars in Southern California so we could get some quality time with the latest generation of SRT machines, including the .
This updated model provides a welcome change compared to its predecessor. Some may still feel that the last-gen Charger may not have deserved to wear the badge, but Chrysler’s latest is clearly closer to its B-Body brethren. To find out just how close, we strapped in and ran down some of California’s finest roads on our way out to Willow Springs for some track time.
Least Costly TT Gives Entry-Level A Very Positive Meaning
2011 Audi TT 2.0 Quattro Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery
invited us out to a California track a little more than a year ago for some . Fresh out of development, the enthusiast-tuned variant of its ever-stylish coupe was fitted with a turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder sending 340 horsepower to every corner through Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Quick, nimble and offered only with a six-speed manual, the gussied-up two-seater was not only the ultimate expression of the chassis’ capabilities, it was a gift to those with a passion for driving.
Last September, after a successful , Audi decided to bring the TT RS to the States. As word of the announcement spread, we’re guessing that more than a few and owners felt chills go up their spines.
Fourteen months after blasting around Willow Springs Raceway in the talented TT RS, we found a sitting in our driveway. For those unfamiliar with Audi’s lineup, the 2.0T is relegated to the bottom of the pole as the least expensive and least powerful model in the franchise.
So… just how would we swallow the entry-level coupe with the taste of the wondrous TT RS still fresh in our mouths? As it happened, we were pleasantly surprised.
Formula Drift champ Vaughn Gittin Jr. , and since then we’ve been hoping to see the car in action. We’re sure Vaughn’s been itching to get behind the wheel, as well, and he finally got the chance yesterday when he took the RTR-X out to Willow Springs Raceway for its very first test session.
A 1969 isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to drifting, but the RTR-X looked like a natural at getting sideways. Granted, this pony car has very little in common with your everyday 1969 Mustang. Under the hood is a tuned version of the ’s 5.0-liter V8, and the suspension looks more like something out of Formula 1 than from a vintage muscle car. You can read more about all the features of the RTR-X , or check out our photos from the test day in the high-res gallery below.
Cup USA kicked off its 2011 season this weekend at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. The weather was perfect for the season opener, and Jack Fried took the overall and 2-Eleven class victory in a battle that came down to the final lap of the feature race.
Andy Kern took the win in the time attack event with 1:29.473 in another Lotus 2-Eleven, but retired from the feature with mechanical issues. Fried was close behind Kern for second in time attack.
The Lotus Evora Experience kicked off at Willow Springs last weekend as well. The Evora Experience gives 12 VIPs seat time in the Evora, including track sessions. The next round of Lotus Cup USA racing is at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, AZ the weekend of April 9 and 10.
Jay Leno spends time with the 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage – Click above to watch video
The 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage sits up near the top of the ‘ole Autoblog must-drive car list. While we wait for the day that someone hands us a crystal ‘Emotion Control Unit’ to fire one up, we can sit back and live vicariously through Jay Leno. Mr. Leno recently got to spend some time with the British sports coupe and was kind enough to capture his experience on camera.
Leno remarks that the V12 Vantage is “almost the perfect combination of hardcore track sports car and GT car.” To prove that, he turns the camera over to his tame racing driver, Justin Bel,l who brings the car to Willow Springs and puts it through its paces. Check out Jay, Justin and the 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage in the video .
2010 Audi TT RS – Click above for high-res image gallery
There is only one Audi TT RS in the entire United States right now. And here we are, hurling the black coupe down the front straight at Willow Springs Raceway at 132 mph. We’ve been invited out to the sunny California desert on a pristine day to flog the hottest-ever Audi TT back-to-back against its sibling, along with a few stints in the all-new and for good measure.
The TT RS isn’t simply another upgraded model in the automaker’s diversified lineup. The TTS (and the other standard performance models) come from the Audi AG Sport division, while the TT RS was incubated and hatched by Quattro GmbH – the team who brought us the nefarious R8, and RS6. And while we’ve seen the TT on our shores with four- and six-cylinder powerplants, the new five-cylinder engine marks a significant departure for the front-engine coupe and convertible (even as it pays homage to the original 1980s-era Audi Sport Quattro).
So what makes the TT RS special and how does it fit into the current TT lineup? More importantly, how does the enthusiast-tuned package work under demanding track conditions? We intend to find out while answering a very important question for Audi: Should it bring the TT RS to the States?
We’ve been fortunate enough to drive a number of different models now, including a that was just published. Owners of high performance sportscars like the Roadster sometimes like to take their rides to the track for some of the kind of fun you can’t really have when you are constantly on the lookout for hidden constables. While we haven’t had the chance to track a Tesla, one of the favorite cars for such activities is the .
Motor Trend magazine’s Kim Reynolds and Arthur St. Antoine took the latest edition of the Boxster, the new Spyder to Willow Springs along with a 2010 Roadster Sport. It makes for very interesting comparison since the is the most minimalist version of the Porsche and the Tesla has a slightly more upscale interior than its Lotus Elise progenitor.
At nearly twice the price of the German, the Tesla offers tremendous performance but requires more effort to learn its limits in part because of the reduced feedback it offers. Nevertheless, St. Antoine in particular was surprised at how well Tesla’s “science experiment” works. When considered purely from a bang-for-the-buck perspective, the Roadster makes no sense compared to the Porsche, but to be fair, on-track performance has never been the Tesla’s raison d’etre anyhow. .
