That's right, while JDM-land and the US of A have been enjoying the latest instalment in the GT-R story for a while now, their Antipodean friends can now look forward to getting their bronzed Aussie selves into an officially-imported R35 Nissan GT-R. Nissan has announced that the R35 will hit Australian showrooms in April of next year, and that pre-orders for the country's allocation of 200 cars will be taken from October 9 onwards. Aus-delivered cars will largely mimic the spec levels of...
Okay folks, here's a curly one for you all. As its submission to this year's LA Auto Show design challenge, Mitsubishi has entered this, the MMR25 concept race car. Looking more arachnid than automobile, the MMR25 boasts a number of 'innovations' that Mitsubishi claim will be all the rage on the rally stages and racing circuits of the future. Take, for example, those wheels. While each of the four main 'wheels' is fixed to an axle and is roughly circular, they're actually made up of eight...
Yep, you heard me. I used "Civic Hybrid" and "Race Car" in the same sentence. British firm Oaktec has decided to see if the granny-spec Civic has any potential as a racecar and has contracted performance car specialists Lotus Engineering to help transform the humble Honda hybrid into a fire-breathing, electron-guzzling motorsports monster. Lotus has decided to keep the Civic's 1.3-litre petrol motor, CVT gearbox and hybrid drive system largely intact, however electricity generation and...
The Lancer Sportback Ralliart and it's regular, un-Ralliarted brother are still a week away from their official debut at the Paris Motor Show, however that hasn't stopped Mitsubishi from unleashing a slew of images of the attractive and sprightly 5-door ahead of the launch. And thank god they did. Honestly, prior to today I was adamant that if it came down to a battle between the Evolution X and the WRX STI to determine who would occupy a space in my fantasy garage, I would have declared the...
Last week we told you about Mitsubishi UK's Evo X-based touring car contender that was being prepped for the Britcar Championship. Well, it made its racing debut at the Silverstone 24-hour enduro over the weekend, and by all accounts it survived its baptism of fire with flying colours. Final standings put the Evolution X at 25th place outright and fifth in class, not bad considering that the team only managed five laps before the race commenced, with one of those laps seeing the engine bay...
Some sad news today. Hideki Tanabe, proprietor of the world-renowned tuning and parts company Powerhouse Amuse, passed away on September 20 after enduring a long illness, leaving behind his wife, the company he founded and thousands of bereaved fans, friends and acquaintances. Responsible for the incredible R34-based Carbon-R time-attack car and the S2000 GT1 that many of you will remember from Gran Turismo 4, Tanabe-san was also Powerhouse Amuse's resident tuner, parts designer and race...
In extremely belated news (sorry guys, I've been a busy boy lately), Subaru is apparently considering fielding a works team in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. While Subaru's motorsport roots lie firmly in the innumerable gravel-strewn rally stages that snake their way around the globe, recent moves to homogenise rules and regulations between the FIA's WRC and WTCC disciplines have raised the prospect that the Japanese automaker may soon take a tentative step into the realm of an...
Mitsubishi Motors UK has announced that it is in the process of developing a track-ready version of the Lancer Evolution X for entry into the Britcar Championship, with a view to establishing a one-make series for the Evo X in the near future. “We are pleased to be introducing a race-car programme for the Evo X”, said General Manager for Ralliart Paul Brigden. “Mitsubishi UK has not been involved with circuit racing for many years, so this new initiative is a great...
Honda has given the JDM-only Civic Type R a mild refresh for 2009, with a few subtle revisions being made to take the most hardcore small sedan ever created into the new year. Don't get too excited though: the changes are only cosmetic and the power output, suspension setup and trim levels are exactly the same as the outgoing model. Not a bad thing, that's for sure, but a few more horses would've been nice... Still, it's easy to forgive Honda for leaving the mechanical package unchanged when...
After a lacklustre road rally debut at this year's Targa Tasmania, the R35 GT-R has finally scored its first ever outright win in a tarmac rally - and on standard-issue street tyres, no less. 24-year-old Steven Jones was the man behind the tiller of the Fabcar R35 throughout the Quit Targa West, which took place last weekend in Western Australia and encompassed a wide range of challenging tarmac stages. Making victory all the sweeter for Jones was the fact that he also managed to knock...
The automotive Mecca that is the annual SEMA show is getting closer folks, and that means crazy modified rides that bend the definitions of power, style and good taste are not far away. One such car that will be making its public debut at SEMA '08 is the Fox Marketing/Artisan Performance IS-F, which will showcase Artisan's upcoming twin-turbo kit for the 2UR-GSE, as well as a low restriction intake and exhaust system and a set of underdriven pullies. To safeguard against any unwanted...
That's right, while JDM-land and the US of A have been enjoying the latest instalment in the GT-R story for a while now, their Antipodean friends can now look forward to getting their bronzed Aussie selves into an officially-imported R35 Nissan GT-R. Nissan has announced that the R35 will hit Australian showrooms in April of next year, and that pre-orders for the country's allocation of 200 cars will be taken from October 9 onwards. Aus-delivered cars will largely mimic the spec levels of...
Okay folks, here's a curly one for you all. As its submission to this year's LA Auto Show design challenge, Mitsubishi has entered this, the MMR25 concept race car. Looking more arachnid than automobile, the MMR25 boasts a number of 'innovations' that Mitsubishi claim will be all the rage on the rally stages and racing circuits of the future. Take, for example, those wheels. While each of the four main 'wheels' is fixed to an axle and is roughly circular, they're actually made up of eight...
Yep, you heard me. I used "Civic Hybrid" and "Race Car" in the same sentence. British firm Oaktec has decided to see if the granny-spec Civic has any potential as a racecar and has contracted performance car specialists Lotus Engineering to help transform the humble Honda hybrid into a fire-breathing, electron-guzzling motorsports monster. Lotus has decided to keep the Civic's 1.3-litre petrol motor, CVT gearbox and hybrid drive system largely intact, however electricity generation and...
The Lancer Sportback Ralliart and it's regular, un-Ralliarted brother are still a week away from their official debut at the Paris Motor Show, however that hasn't stopped Mitsubishi from unleashing a slew of images of the attractive and sprightly 5-door ahead of the launch. And thank god they did. Honestly, prior to today I was adamant that if it came down to a battle between the Evolution X and the WRX STI to determine who would occupy a space in my fantasy garage, I would have declared the...
Last week we told you about Mitsubishi UK's Evo X-based touring car contender that was being prepped for the Britcar Championship. Well, it made its racing debut at the Silverstone 24-hour enduro over the weekend, and by all accounts it survived its baptism of fire with flying colours. Final standings put the Evolution X at 25th place outright and fifth in class, not bad considering that the team only managed five laps before the race commenced, with one of those laps seeing the engine bay...
Some sad news today. Hideki Tanabe, proprietor of the world-renowned tuning and parts company Powerhouse Amuse, passed away on September 20 after enduring a long illness, leaving behind his wife, the company he founded and thousands of bereaved fans, friends and acquaintances. Responsible for the incredible R34-based Carbon-R time-attack car and the S2000 GT1 that many of you will remember from Gran Turismo 4, Tanabe-san was also Powerhouse Amuse's resident tuner, parts designer and race...
In extremely belated news (sorry guys, I've been a busy boy lately), Subaru is apparently considering fielding a works team in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. While Subaru's motorsport roots lie firmly in the innumerable gravel-strewn rally stages that snake their way around the globe, recent moves to homogenise rules and regulations between the FIA's WRC and WTCC disciplines have raised the prospect that the Japanese automaker may soon take a tentative step into the realm of an...
Mitsubishi Motors UK has announced that it is in the process of developing a track-ready version of the Lancer Evolution X for entry into the Britcar Championship, with a view to establishing a one-make series for the Evo X in the near future. “We are pleased to be introducing a race-car programme for the Evo X”, said General Manager for Ralliart Paul Brigden. “Mitsubishi UK has not been involved with circuit racing for many years, so this new initiative is a great...
Honda has given the JDM-only Civic Type R a mild refresh for 2009, with a few subtle revisions being made to take the most hardcore small sedan ever created into the new year. Don't get too excited though: the changes are only cosmetic and the power output, suspension setup and trim levels are exactly the same as the outgoing model. Not a bad thing, that's for sure, but a few more horses would've been nice... Still, it's easy to forgive Honda for leaving the mechanical package unchanged when...
After a lacklustre road rally debut at this year's Targa Tasmania, the R35 GT-R has finally scored its first ever outright win in a tarmac rally - and on standard-issue street tyres, no less. 24-year-old Steven Jones was the man behind the tiller of the Fabcar R35 throughout the Quit Targa West, which took place last weekend in Western Australia and encompassed a wide range of challenging tarmac stages. Making victory all the sweeter for Jones was the fact that he also managed to knock...
The automotive Mecca that is the annual SEMA show is getting closer folks, and that means crazy modified rides that bend the definitions of power, style and good taste are not far away. One such car that will be making its public debut at SEMA '08 is the Fox Marketing/Artisan Performance IS-F, which will showcase Artisan's upcoming twin-turbo kit for the 2UR-GSE, as well as a low restriction intake and exhaust system and a set of underdriven pullies. To safeguard against any unwanted...