Will Fiat cap performance of 2014 SRT Viper ACR out of fear for Ferrari? [UPDATE]

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.

UPDATE: SRT boss Ralph Gilles has poo-pooed these reports, saying that the whole thing stemmed from a "joke I made at the [New York Auto Show] Viper reveal ... that apparently took a life of its own," and tweeted that "Ferrari plays in a totally different market."

NISMO confirms hotter GT-R, return to Le Mans and more performance models [w/videos]

Nissan has made three announcements, all of which intend to sharpen the global significance and sales of its NISMO performance arm. Calling it "a new era for NISMO as its global performance car and motorsports brand," Carlos Ghosn cut the ribbon on the new, larger, nicer NISMO headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. For the first time since the division was founded in 1984, all of its employees are located in one place that was dubbed "a hothouse of passion and performance." Sign us up.

There, the team will start overhauling Nissan's entire range with NISMO models. The Juke NISMO is right around the corner for the US market, the second generation of the 370Z NISMO is coming for 2014, the first GT-R NISMO is being developed, and after that will come "a range of affordable performance Nissan models from small cars to flagship sports cars" a new model every year. The expanded product line will mean that markets that haven't had access to NISMO's works will finally be able to buy them.

The last big news is that from now on NISMO will manage every one of Nissan's global motorsports programs, and its largest initiative will be prepping an entry for Le Mans in 2014. While Nissan has left the DeltaWing project, it hasn't walked away from experimental racers: the brand aims to have "a pioneering Nissan race car showcasing electric technology" ready in 15 months that shows "a new approach to innovation and excitement."

You can find out more about all the news in the three press releases and two videos below.

Will Fiat cap performance of 2014 SRT Viper ACR out of fear for Ferrari?

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.

Race Recap: 2013 Daytona 500 runs 200 laps, six of them count [spoilers]

It's been a huge month, leading up to the Super Bowl of NASCAR, the Daytona 500. This is the first year of the new Car of Tomorrow, the "Gen Six" car, and all of the drivers have been trying to figure out its intricacies. The Ford Fusion and Chevrolet NASCAR SS has joined the field and its street-legal equivalent, the SS, was introduced. A huge wreck in the Nationwide Series race the day before the Daytona 500 tore a car in half, tore a hole in the fence, sent car parts flying into the crowd and injured some 33 spectators.

And then, of course, making just her 11th Sprint Cup Series start, there was Danica Patrick on pole position. She'd lead the way for the 43 cars on the grid to start the 200 laps of the 2.5-mile oval called the Daytona International Speedway, with its five-story-high turns banked at 31 degrees and the 3,000-foot front stretch banked at 18 degrees.

Perhaps all that excitement is why James Franco, the honorary race starter there to promote Disney's new film, Oz the Great and Powerful, yelled "Drivers, and Danica, start your engines!" to begin the 65th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship...

Watch the Australian GT Championship take on Bathurst

The Australian GT Championship is one of the more entertaining race series going. Racers compete head to head in hardware plucked from our supercar dreams. Drivers campaign bruisers like the Ferrari 458 Italia, Porsche 911 GT3-R, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Audi R8 and even the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Ginetta G55. There are few other places where you can see so many excellent vehicles go fender to fender. This year, the series got started at the infamous Bathurst circuit. If you want a better picture of what the Australian GT Championship has to offer, look no further than the video below.

The first round saw Shane Van Gisbergen and Klark Quinn in their Porsche 911 GT3-R take the checkered flag followed by a four-man team in the No. 88 Ferrari 458 Italia GT4. The series heads to the Adelaide Street circuit for qualifying on February 28, with the main event going down on March 2. In the interim, feel free to check out the clip below for a better idea of what the action is all about.

Erebus Motorsport Mercedes E-Class V8 Supercar completes the field [w/videos]

Ford, Holden and Nissan introduced their V8 Supercar challengers a while back. Erebus Motorport, whose racing program got the green light not even 120 days ago, has finally shown off the Mercedes-Benz E-Class racer that will complete this year's field of entries. The first AMG race car ever to be built outside of Germany, it's an Australian-built tube-frame chassis specced to the series' Car of Tomorrow rules, fitted with body panels that channel the E63 AMG.

Supported by AMG Customer Motorsport, the 5.0-liter engine is provided by HWA in Germany, the racing arm of AMG. Regulations dictate that it have roughly 650 horsepower, a redline between 7,000 and 7,500 rpm and a torque curve that matches the parity baseline set for all cars.

Lee Holdsworth, Tim Slade and Maro Engel will drive the three team cars, each with different sponsors. Their first showing will be at the Clipsal 500 on March 3 in Adelaide, here in the US we'll get to see them in May at the Circuit of the Americas. Check out the videos below of the Erebus car starting up at its launch, and footage of all of this year's cars doing pre-season testing on track together.

Wiesmann teases Geneva-bound GT MF4-CS

German sportscar maker Wiesmann has announced it's bringing the GT MF4-CS to say "Tag" to the world at the Geneva Motor Show. The last two characters in that letterlicious name stand for "Club Sport," making this the stripped-down track-day version of the Wiesmann GT MF4-S that being the Sport version of the plain-old GT MF4.

Now that we're clear on that, let's also be clear that we know nothing more about it. Its base vehicle, the 3,014-pound GT MF4-S, uses a V8 with 420 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque and takes 4.4 seconds to get to 62 miles per hour from a standstill. It offers the choice of a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and it has a locking rear diff.

The Club Sport treatment should make things go faster in more ways than one, since Wiesmann says there will only be 25 made. We'll be on the floor in Geneva to take a look at one of them, there's a three-sentence press release below to entertain you in the meantime.

Toyota updates Le Mans-ready TS030 hybrid for 2013 season [w/video]

Toyota has polished up its TS030 hybrid Le Mans race car for the 2013 season. Once again, the machine uses a 530-horsepower 3.4-liter naturally aspirated V8 paired with a capacitor-based hybrid system with an additional 300 horsepower on hand. This year, engineers have tweaked the drivetrain to deliver more power and efficiency while bolstering reliability. The chassis has received a few updates of its own, though Toyota is keeping those changes under wraps for the time being. Fans can expect to see a new aerodynamic package at work on the prototype, and the chassis will conform to new regulations that increase the minimum weight of LMP1 cars by 33 pounds.

Last year, the TS030 won three events over six races, but ran into a number of issues during the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. The No. 8 Toyota suffered a spectacle of a crash that saw driver Anthony Davidson hospitalized with two fractured vertebra. And while the No. 7 car briefly held the lead over rival Audi, trouble in the pits and engine failure eventually saw that car sidelined as well.

This year, the No. 7 TS030 will be piloted by Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima while the No. 8 machine will fall to the hands of Anthonay Davidson, Stephane Sarrazin and Sebastien Buemi. You can view the full press release below as well as a quick video on the 2014 TS030.

Williams FW35 revealed in Barcelona [w/video]

The last Formula One car to be revealed for the 2013 season, the Williams FW35, is here. Unveiled at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona before the second pre-season test, the FW35 is like every other car on the grid an evolution of last year's car. Both team drivers Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas have said the car is a big step up from last year in overall driveability and "rear-end cornering grip."

The back of the Williams is most like that of the Ferrari F138 chassis, but perhaps even more compact. The aero fin extends well back from the engine cover but the engine cover ends well ahead of the rear differential, making for a truly wasp-ish profile. That major focus of work on the car has been the incorporation and refinement of the Coanda-channel exhaust. Williams said it was hesitant to introduce it last year because of the loss in power that results, but the solution they've come up with has limited the power reduction while maintaining aero benefits. The only problem now is that the FIA has told the team, and Caterham, that their solutions might not be legal they can run the exhaust in testing, but come Australia it might be declared out of bounds.

You can see the FW35 in action and listen to the team discuss its development in the video below.

Ford debuts Fusion NASCAR racer that edges closer to stock [w/video]

The sixth-generation NASCAR Sprint Cup racecar, which will make its competition debut at the 2013 Daytona 500 this weekend, marks the closest thing to a "stock car" that the sport has seen in more than 20 years. No longer using just stickers to distinguish the different brands, the image above shows the lengths NASCAR and automakers went in order to create a racecar design that more closely resembles the individual cars they represent.

Ford, one of the more open and vocal OEMs regarding the Gen6 car's development, is giving us a closer look at its racing version of the Fusion with a pretty revealing side-by-side comparison with last years' racer (click above for an expanded view). Aside from the more realistic front end and production-like body lines, the overall shape, dimensions and proportions have also been designed to give the racecar a more stock appearance. Most of the new racer was designed by the Ford Design Center, which the automaker says was the first time it has been so involved in the design process since the 1960s. Of course, one area the Sprint Cup Fusion really differs from the production Fusion is its Ford Racing 5.8-liter V8 producing around 850 hp. Can you say Fusion SVT?

Scroll down for a quick video from Ford Racing showing a production Fusion morph into a Cup car.

Chevy might've pulled out of NASCAR if it weren't for new Gen 6 car

We've been on the fence with NASCAR for some time now. On one hand, it's some of the closest racing anywhere in motorsports, with actual passing and door-handle-to-door-handle action as a matter of course. But on the other, it's become template racing a personality-driven sport more about the drivers than any sort of loyalty to a particular automaker. The Car Of Tomorrow format really rammed that message home, with a racecar's identity coming down to little more than headlamp stickers slapped on the nose. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but we've wondered for some time what's in it for the automakers, who pay big money to stay in a series that has had little increasingly little do with street car sales, let alone innovation.

Apparently General Motors was beginning to wonder the same thing. In a new ESPN report, Rick Hendrick, team owner of Hendrick Motorsports, suggests that GM would have seriously considered leaving NASCAR if it wasn't for the move away from the COT to the new Gen 6 racer. According to Hendrick, GM North America boss Mark Reuss spearheaded the charge away from the 2007 COT and toward a racecar with clearer automaker ties cars like the new Chevrolet SS racer shown above. Learn more about the fight for a closer-to-production look in the ESPN story at the link.

Now, if we could just get more rear-wheel drive V8 coupes into showrooms....

This is the BMW Z4 GTE that will wear the Roundel in ALMS

The Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway are a month of racing and reveals, with the season's metal going for the flag at races like the Rolex 24 at Daytona and other cars being introduced to the public. In the latter category is the BMW Z4 GTE (click the image above to enlarge) joining the American Le Mans Series GT class this year with BMW Team RLL (Rahal, Letterman and Lanigan). This machine replaces the M3 GT that completed four years of service and won the class title in 2010 and 2011. Naturally, the team is tempering expectations for the Z4 GTE by repeating the fact that it sees this season as a development year.

BMW Team RLL drivers for its two cars will be Bill Auberlen and series rookie Maxime Martin in the No. 55, aided by Jrg Mller for the endurance races at Sebring and Road Atlanta. The No. 56 car gets Dirk Mller on a full-time basis, Joey Hand when he's not competing in the DTM series, and John Edwards when Hand isn't available. Uwe Alzen will help out with driving duties in the No. 56 at endurance races.

Want to know more? Scroll down below for the complete press release.

Porsche acquires ANDIAL, will integrate with in-house motorsports

Porsche has purchased longtime motorsports and tuning house ANDIAL.

The Fountain Valley, California-based tuning house ANDIAL has been around since 1975, when it was formed by the Arnold Wagner, Dieter Inzenhofer and Alwin Springer (the company got its name by combining two letters from each of their names). The three men met while working in a Porsche dealership in Southern California and then left to start a business that would put Porsches in victory lane all over the country.

Porsches prepared by ANDIAL won IMSA GT and Supercar Series championships, the SCCA World Challenge, four Pikes Peak class titles and the 24 Hours of Daytona six times. Alwin Springer left the company in 1997 to run Porsche Motorsport North America until 2004 and remains a consultant with PMNA, Wagner passed away in 2011 and Inzenhofer plans to retire this year. ANDIAL is still a going concern, Inzenhofer presiding over a scaled-down engine parts and restoration business. But Inzenhofer is retiring at month's end, making it a good time for Porsche to step in and take over the company's operations.

PMNA hasn't decided yet how it will use the ANDIAL name, but racing fans will be glad to know it still lives. The press release below has a few more details on the transaction.

Holden's new Commodore ready to go racing in V8 Supercars [w/video]

This is the new Holden Commodore dressed up for duty as a V8 Supercar. Revealed two days after the VF sedan broke cover, the Holden Racing Team unleashed the racing version on Facebook and YouTube (click the image above to enlarge). This one does away with the black and gold introductory livery but keeps the Holden lions.

And get ready for this weekend, when the standard Commodore sedan not the Calais trim gets revealed, as well as the Chevrolet SS and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class V8 Supercar from Erebus. While you wait, check out the video below to see the Commodore V8SC on the track.

Force India reveals VJM06 at Silverstone [w/video]

Echoing words spoken at launches of the Formula One cars for Ferrari and McLaren, Sahara Force India F1 technical director Andrew Green said that it's what's under the skin of the VJM06 that marks the car's changes. The team began working on the car in the middle of last year and cut development on last year's car, which could have played a part in its inability to overtake Sauber for sixth with the emphasis on simulations and computational fluid design.

An evolution of the VJM05, Green said the engineering team was pushed out of its comfort zone to get everything out of every part in the car. The "rear suspension, front suspension and aerodynamics have all been pushed hard," and there was plenty of work put into making the car easier to drive. The modesty panel over the stepped nose has made it easier to look at.

For now, Paul di Resta will be the only one driving it instead of being joined by a teammate or reserve driver, he rolled the sheet back with the help of deputy team principal Bob Fernley. Fernley said a driver would be named by the second pre-season test. The video below has the sights and sounds of the VJM06 in wet action at Silverstone.

SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return

We were on hand last year when the 2013 SRT Viper made its racing debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the American Le Mans Series, but now Chrysler has accepted the invitation to run two Vipers at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Viper has a brief but successful history at Le Mans, finishing in the top two spots of its class for three consecutive years (1998-2000), and it will look for more of the same success when it returns to action in the LM GTE Pro class.

Chrysler said that the two cars entered into the 24-hour race would be driven by Marc Goossens, Tommy Kendall, Kuno Wittmer, Dominik Farnbacher and Jonathan Bomarito, but it also promised "additional team announcements" at a later date. In addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Viper GTS-R will also be running a full season of ALMS, which kicks off next month at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Chrysler released a press release for the Viper's return to Le Mans, which we've posted below.

Sauber's C32 Formula One car rolls out

Sauber Motorsports F1 has launched the most radical of this season's Formula One cars to date, its C32 getting a partially stepped nose, exceptionally narrow sidepods and a wasp-waisted rear end. Lotus F1's technical director said he expected other teams to stick with the stepped nose, but everyone else so far has opted for a vanity panel; only Sauber has even come close to keeping the step, with the step being visible from the front but the profile view being a smooth line to the cockpit.

The sidepods and pull-rod rear suspension are completely new, Sauber's chief designer focused on getting the slimmest and most aerodynamic rear end possible. The radiator placement is brand new, and the Coanda exhaust design and placement of the exhaust outlets are different compared to the C31.

The team scored fifth in last year's championship but team principal Monisha Kaltenborn isn't making any predictions for this year's performance. Understandable since this is her first full year at the helm, and with two new drivers, one of them a rookie. But the C32 is derived from the C31, which was believed to have great balance, treated its tires well, delivered four podiums and got the team to within 16 points of the much better funded Mercedes F1 team. If their innovations work, it could be another good season for the Swiss team. You can watch the car revealed at its Hinwil headquarters in the video below.

Infiniti-Red Bull Racing will seek a fourth title with the RB9 [w/video]

This is the car and the team that everyone wants to dethrone. The stability of this year's regulations means that the Infiniti Red Bull RB9 is a seriously honed RB8; however, that's a situation probably no other team would complain about seeing that the RB8 recovered from early stumbles and reliability issues last year to carry Sebastian Vettel to a third consecutive driver's title and the team to a third consecutive constructor's trophy.

The most noteworthy revisions to the car are the partial vanity panel that omits the driver cooling slot, the even narrower rear end a feature of just about every car launched so far and purple sidepods to showcase new title sponsor Infiniti. Adrian Newey, perhaps the most feared designer on the pit lane, said the nose and front wing could be changed relatively easily throughout the season, but he wanted to make sure to get the middle of the car everything from the sidepods, back as good as possible since they're more difficult to re-engineer. His track record leads us to believe he did just that.

Below are two videos, one of the making of the RB9, the other the launch at team headquarters in Milton Keynes.

Toyota GT86 GT4 racer is ready for UK competition

It's about time we saw someone cook up a legitimate race version of the delectable Toyota GT86, and now it looks as if GPRM has done just that. The Buckingham-based race engineering team has built the creation you see here, complete with a turbocharged 2.0-liter, direct-injection four-cylinder boxer cooked up by Nicholson McLaren Engines. The team says the new mill delivers between 360 and 400 horsepower to the rear wheels depending on final testing, which is a sight bit more than the 197 horses the naturally aspirated stock mill offers.

The car will compete in GT4 events, including the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Technically, the GPRM effort isn't factory backed, but the team says the effort "has the blessing of Toyota Great Britain." How could it not? You can check out the brief press release below below, and be sure to take a closer look at the machine in our gallery.

Mercedes-Petronas AMG W04 launched to little fanfare, lots of pressure [w/video]

No indoor cocktail hour for the launch of the W04, the newest chassis built by the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team. Instead, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton spent a morning in photo and video sessions at the track in Jerez, Spain then paused a moment to introduce the car. The team will want the W04 to demonstrate the World Championship credentials of the team personnel and one of the team drivers, instead of the mostly humble performances we've seen over the past three years.

The W04 has been fitted with a new five-element front wing, pushrod front and pull-rod rear suspension, a second-generation Coanda exhaust and an "aggressively packaged" rear end. A small vanity panel, la Infiniti Red Bull's RB9, covers the stepped nose.

Team principal Ross Brawn has called it "a clear step forward in design and detail sophistication," but as much as we truly respect Brawn's abilities and achievements, we heard him say similar things about the updated W03 last year before almost every race weekend from about mid-season. We really hope he's right this time, and so does the team's newest driver, Lewis Hamilton. We'll do our best to ignore the parallels of the Mercedes F1 team having signed a sponsorship deal with Blackberry, another company trying to find its way back to the top and still struggling, and just point you to the video below of the W04 in action.

Caterham's new era begins and ends with the CT03 [w/videos]

Team founder Tony Fernandes stepped out of the head role at Caterham F1, relinquishing it to new team principal Cyril Abiteboul toward the end of last season. The first car Abiteboul will have complete charge of is the CT03, an unabashed, lighter-green evolution of last year's CT02, introduced in Jerez, Spain. Unlike the other team cars unveiled so far, Caterham has said that the CT03 will race in Melbourne as it's been presented, the first upgrade package for the wings and rear diffuser coming "soon after" the season begins. As it is, the car has resculpted sidepods and "major changes" to the engine cover, diffuser and cooling exits.

The team has been intentionally restrained in its approach to this year, Abiteboul saying he expects the performance of the CT03 to allow the team to consolidate its position in the standings, which was tenth last year, at the same time as it gets an early start on the sea-change 2014 car. We hope the diversion of resources doesn't lead to a throwaway season; when even leading teams like Ferrari and Mercedes AMG Petronas have had to spend more than a year reorganizing their structures to accommodate designing two cars at once, we don't know how Caterham plans to move up without devoting complete attention on this year.

And if you're wondering why this car is called the CT03 when last year's car was the CT01, it's because the road car project Caterham is working on with Renault is called the CT02. The videos and press release below will explain more.

Scuderia Toro Rosso wants to jump three places with the STR8 [w/video]

Toro Rosso's STR8 Formula One car has gone backward in order to go forward. The team had been trying to optimize a 'double floor' sidepod design for the last couple of seasons but never got it where they wanted it the team finished eighth in the Constructor's Championship in 2011, ninth in 2012. Chief Designer Luca Furbatto went back to a more traditional sidepod design with the STR8, and additionally worked on areas of weight distribution, redesigning the rear end to be more compact, developing a more aerodynamic rear suspension that provided more setup options and providing a season-long development track for the aero department. He said the only carryover part from the STR7 is the steering wheel.

The new approach is part of a complete revamp of the team itself, said to be about half the size of a top team: STR poached James Key, ex-technical director at Sauber, late last year, has restructured its aerodynamics division, added a vehicle performance department and worked to strengthen the communication between its base in Faenza, Italy and its aero personnel in the UK. The team wants to finish sixth in the Constructor's Championship this year, and that would mean getting ahead of all of the other midfield teams in Williams, Sahara Force India and Sauber.

The first video below sums up the launch of the car, the second goes into detail about how the STR8 is going to do what it does.

Ford reveals Fiesta ST race car, points at road ahead for bigger things in Global RallyCross

The 2014 Ford Fiesta ST doesn't go on sale until this summer, but fans of Global RallyCross will be able to catch the car in action before then. Announced ahead of the Chicago Auto Show, the Fiesta ST will be the car run by Ford GRC teams this season, and the model on display in Chicago will be the racecar built by Swedish tuner OlsbergsMSE driven by Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan. Ken Block and his newly renamed Hoonigan Racing Division will also be competing in the Fiesta ST.

The 2013 GRC season has not been announced yet, but the venues will also include the summer X Games events in Brazil, Spain, Germany and, of course, Los Angeles. Ford announced that it will be the sole automotive sponsor of this year's summer X Games, and it will be looking to bring home a gold medal this year after Block placed silver last year.

In other Ken Block- and Ford-related news, another Chicago debut will be a tuned Focus ST called the TrackSTer project. Built in cooperation with Block, Ford and automotive tuner fifteen52, the TrackSTer will get plenty of styling, performance and handling upgrades. Some of the add-ons include a performance exhaust and short-throw shifter from Ford Racing, a rebuilt engine, upgraded components such as the limited-slip differential, intercooler, engine controller and clutch as well as upgraded brakes.

Scroll down for press releases on both the GRC Fiesta ST and the TrackSTer project.

Marussia launches KERS-equipped MR02

This is the penultimate car launch of the 2013 season, the Marussia MR02. The fourth car built by the team that was known as Virgin in its first two Formula One seasons is said to be a "comprehensive evolution" of last year's car. Produced under the eye of Pat Symonds, he of The Renault Affair at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, the chassis is a product of CFD and wind tunnel work through a technical partnership with McLaren, and its Cosworth engine is aided by a two-year-old Kinetic Energy Recovery System purchased from Williams. It's the first time the team has used KERS on one of its cars.

Out back is a Coanda exhaust, otherwise there's nothing exotic about a car just looking to score the team's first Constructor's points. With no major change in regulations, the car probably won't have the usual early-season opportunities to take advantage of big-team misfortunes, but the MR01 was quite a reliable runner, so the addition of KERS could make the difference this year between one point and none among the backmarkers.

Opel Adam looking to get dirty with friends

If there's a single phrase in the automotive lexicon that makes us want to obliterate our delicate middle ear organs with a pickaxe, it's "lifestyle car." Opel has taken the unfortunate step of dropping the company's Adam into that phylum, which is a shame since the little runabout looks downright dashing in rally guise. Opel has just announced that it will show off its new FIA R2-spec Adam at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show next month. Expect to see the little competitor go through homologation and final development early this year, with privateer teams able to purchase their own shortly thereafter.

With a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that provides 185 horsepower and 140 pound feet of torque in rally spec, the Adam should be reasonably quick. A five-speed sequential transmission and limited slip differential put that muscle down, and four-piston Brembo front brakes help bring the party to a stop. The driver also gets the luxury of a hydraulic handbrake and the cabin is fitted with Sparco competition seats, an LCD gear indicator and a MONIT trip computer. Check out the full press release below for more information.

Opel is also set to show off its Adam ROCKS Concept. The design study is an "urban mini-crossover" that's both wider and taller than the current production Adam. Check out out in the associated gallery, and be sure to take a peek at the quick press release.

McLaren previews P1's digital dashboard

Although we're clear on what the McLaren P1 is packing outside, we still have no idea what's happening in the cockpit. McLaren has given us a teaser with a short clip of the reconfiguring, digital dash gauge.

From the 47-second video it appears that in one setup there's a 9,000-rpm redline, with a gear indicator and "Manual" identifier to the right. Or if you're feeling racy you can have the gear indicator in the center and a row of green, red and blue lights, Formula One-style that replaces the tach display above, the speedometer then relegated to the corner. The gauge can also show an image of the car and the rear wing deploying.

Have a watch in the video below.

GRID 2 teaches us how to overtake at Brands Hatch

Motoring journalist Chris Harris may be less than understated in most of his video reporting, but if this new promotional video for Codemasters' upcoming racer Grid 2 is any indication, he can take direction. Intended to remind us of just how true-to-life the new racing title will be, Harris spends the video chasing McLaren test driver Matt Jackson in the MP4-12C supercar, in real life, on the UK's Brands Hatch circuit. Then, using some practice sessions with Grid 2 and a very expensive looking simulator, attempts to clean up his actual lap and pass the pro.

We'll leave it to you to watch the video and see how it all turns out. For the record though, we couldn't be any more excited about driving the new Grid game for ourselves, when it hits store shelves on May 28.

Ford Fiesta ST GRC Racecar is hungry for podiums in 2013

As we reported earlier, the Chicago showing of this plucky Ford Fiesta ST GRC racer points to bigger and brighter days for Global RallyCross. For the upcoming season, you can expect to see Ken Block and Tanner Foust both driving the Ford racecar, and if last season's results are any indication, you can anticipate quite a few podium appearances, as well.

The Fiesta seen here was built by the Swedes at OlsbergsMSE, and will be driven in anger by Foust in 2013. Modifications are, as you'd expect, extensive, and include an engine, exhaust and braking upgrades, a racing style short-throw shifter and a limited-slip differential. As you can see, the car has been fully stripped out and caged for maximum speed and safety, too.

Refresh your memories with the details of the car, in the press releases below. And if you head out to the Chicago Auto Show this year, don't forget to drop by the Ford stand to have a look.

Watch this time-lapse build of the Chevy SS for NASCAR

There's only about a week left until we get our first look at the production version of the 2014 Chevrolet SS sedan, but Chevrolet NASCAR teams have been looking at the race version of the car all winter. Autoweek has posted a really neat time-lapse video showing just a portion of what it takes to build one of NASCAR's new Gen6 stock cars.

Though the video is quite brief, it does show almost the entire build process starting with just the car's nose, and it gives us a good look at how integral the template is to the final product. As a bonus, Hendrick Motorsports also provided some videos showing two of its teams performing pit stop tests over the winter. The second video shows some of the more detailed aspects of the racecar's rear end, including the stock-looking trunk cutout and a newly mandated rear bumper extension that will be used on super speedways like Daytona and Talladega.

To see what Team Chevy has been up to all off-season, check out all three videos posted after the jump.

Le Mans-raced 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM headed to auction

Vintage Ferrari models show up on the auction circuit all the time, but few can match this particular '53 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione in terms of historical significance. Not only did the machine compete in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans, but this particular model managed to finish in second place before being disqualified for taking on extra brake fluid during a stop. More importantly, a total of three Formula One world champions have driven this car in competition at events like the Spa 24 Hours, Pescara 12 Hours and the Circuit of Guadeloupe.

The coolest part for us? Umberto Maglioli managed to set a public road stage record with this machine during the Carrera Panamericana by averaging 138 miles per hour over 223 miles. The effort was good enough to land the team a sixth place finish overall, and the record still stands to this day for any road stage anywhere. The 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione is up for auction in restored condition at the RM Auction event in Paris this week Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Cernobbio, Italy on May 25. Check out the full press release below for more information.

DeltaWing coming back with major updates, enclosed cockpit

The development of the DeltaWing is making a break and taking a left turn, with a report on Speed revealing that almost none of the partners who helped make the car possible are involved in its racing plans for 2013. That includes Ben Bowlby, the man who dreamed it up, Dan Gurney's All American Racers, Highcroft Racing and Nissan all of them have apparently stepped away. The only potential supplier left is Michelin, and it's only potential because Michelin hasn't commented on the matter.

Don Panoz remains, and there's a lot of work going into the three races planned for the DeltaWing this year. A new 1.9-liter race engine with a billet block, direct injection and twin turbos, based off two different Mazda engines, is reportedly being built for the program. Lighter than the Nissan engine formerly used and running on the dyno now, output is at 345 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, meaning it is also more powerful than the Nissan engine.

Its first outing will be at the 12 Hours of Sebring next month, where it will move up to the P1 category. After that, the radical racer will be enclosed Bowlby originally envisioned a coupe and it is expected to race at Laguna Seca on May 11 and at Baltimore on August 31. Assuming the racing and performance targets are met, plans are to bring the coupe version of the DeltaWing to market.

Race Recap: 2013 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race a feast of water, wrecks and yellow flags

For the last two years, Audi has won what's called "The ultimate Aussie endurance race," the Bathurst 12-Hour event at Mt. Panorama, reverentially known as "The Mountain." It did so with factory-backed versions of the R8 LMS Ultra and factory-backed drivers sent over for the sole purpose of taking the checkered flag at the 3.861-mile course and then taking the silverware back to Ingolstadt.

Erebus Motorsport, owned by property developer Betty Klimenko, is 18 months old. You've read about Erebus in news about the V8 Supercar season, the team engaging in some international intrigue so it could run Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs against Holden, Ford and Nissan which also in the series. It took second in last year's Bathurt 12-hour race, and Klimenko said that this year they'd win it.

They'd have to get past Phoenix Motorsport, the Audi team that's taken two wins on the trot. Phoenix had different drivers this year, but the team still had race-winning experience and there were six other R8 LMS Ultras in the field with customer racing support, and we're still talking about Audi, a juggernaut going up against a team that, were it human, would barely be old enough to talk.

It was a crazy day on the mountain that would decide the day.

Race Recap: 2013 Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12-Hour race a feast of water, wrecks and yellow flags

For the last two years, Audi has won what's called "The ultimate Aussie endurance race," the Bathurst 12-Hour event at Mt. Panorama, reverentially known as "The Mountain." It did so with factory-backed versions of the R8 LMS Ultra and factory-backed drivers sent over for the sole purpose of taking the checkered flag at the 3.861-mile course and then taking the silverware back to Ingolstadt.

Erebus Motorsport, owned by property developer Betty Klimenko, is 18 months old. You've read about Erebus in news about the V8 Supercar season, the team engaging in some international intrigue so it could run Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs against Holden, Ford and Nissan which also in the series. It took second in last year's Bathurt 12-hour race, and Klimenko said that this year they'd win it.

They'd have to get past Phoenix Motorsport, the Audi team that's taken two wins on the trot. Phoenix had different drivers this year, but the team still had race-winning experience and there were six other R8 LMS Ultras in the field with customer racing support, and we're still talking about Audi, a juggernaut going up against a team that, were it human, would barely be old enough to talk.

It was a crazy day on the mountain that would decide the day.

Nissan unveils Altima-based V8 Supercars [w/videos]

Good as it is, when we think about the Nissan Altima, the words "V8" or "supercar" are not in our vernacular, but Nissan Motorsports is looking to change all that. After unveiling the race version of its Altima sedan intended for the Australian V8 Supercars series back in October, the four race teams and their cars were revealed yesterday ahead of a preseason test session this weekend.

Two of the Altima racecars will be sponsored by Jack Daniels while the other two will wear Norton (as in Norton Anti-Virus) black-and-yellow livery. The season officially kicks off on March 1, and we'll get to see the V8-powered Altima on US soil from May 17-19 when the V8 Supercars series hits the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Scroll down to watch a couple videos and a press release issued for the team introductions.

Nissan unveils Altima-based V8 Supercars [w/videos]

Good as it is, when we think about the Nissan Altima, the words "V8" or "supercar" are not in our vernacular, but Nissan Motorsports is looking to change all that. After unveiling the race version of its Altima sedan intended for the Australian V8 Supercars series back in October, the four race teams and their cars were revealed yesterday ahead of a preseason test session this weekend.

Two of the Altima racecars will be sponsored by Jack Daniels while the other two will wear Norton (as in Norton Anti-Virus) black-and-yellow livery. The season officially kicks off on March 1, and we'll get to see the V8-powered Altima on US soil from May 17-19 when the V8 Supercars series hits the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Scroll down to watch a couple videos and a press release issued for the team introductions.

Gullwing America turns SLS AMG Roadster into stunning 1955 300 SC redux

Gullwing America specializes in what it calls "retro styling meets modern technology." It's next demonstration of that is the convertible above, a stylized recreation of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SC (inset) supported by the structure of a 2012 SLS AMG Roadster. Commissioned by a client in Eastern Europe, the resulting car is called the 300 SLC.

The hand-formed aluminum bodywork required just a few changes to the SLS AMG Roadster, namely reworking the headlights into a stacked arrangement of LEDs and relocating the pop-up spoiler behind the cabin. The retro grille and long, straight hood evoke the past, the custom exhaust, height-adjustable suspension, 21-inch wheels up front and 22-inch wheels in back, however, stray a little further from history. The 300 SLC will come with a hardtop and be one-of-a-kind, making it even rarer than its inspiration, of which 92 were made.

If you have any more questions, they can probably be answered in the high-res photo gallery above and press release below.

Chrysler recalling 278,222 trucks and SUVs over bad rear axles

Chrysler has issued a recall of 278,222 light trucks and sport utility vehicles here in the United States. The reason: bad rear axles. Specifically, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rear axle pinion nut may lack a necessary adhesive patch, which could cause the nut to loosen. If this happens, the axle can lock up, which could cause all sorts of havoc on the road.

This is an expansion of the rear axle recall announced in October of last year, where 44,300 Ram 1500 and Dodge Dakota models were being called in. At that time, 12 accidents had been reported due to the faulty axle pinion nut.

Affected vehicles include Ram 1500 trucks from the 2009 to 2012 model years, Dodge Dakota models from the 2009 to 2011 model years, and both the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango SUV twins, both from the 2009 model year only.

The official recall will kick off in March, where owners will be able to take their vehicles to dealerships and have a pinion nut retainer installed, free of charge. Scroll down for the official NHTSA bulletin.

Chrysler recalling 278,222 trucks and SUVs over bad rear axles

Chrysler has issued a recall of 278,222 light trucks and sport utility vehicles here in the United States. The reason: bad rear axles. Specifically, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the rear axle pinion nut may lack a necessary adhesive patch, which could cause the nut to loosen. If this happens, the axle can lock up, which could cause all sorts of havoc on the road.

This is an expansion of the rear axle recall announced in October of last year, where 44,300 Ram 1500 and Dodge Dakota models were being called in. At that time, 12 accidents had been reported due to the faulty axle pinion nut.

Affected vehicles include Ram 1500 trucks from the 2009 to 2012 model years, Dodge Dakota models from the 2009 to 2011 model years, and both the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango SUV twins, both from the 2009 model year only.

The official recall will kick off in March, where owners will be able to take their vehicles to dealerships and have a pinion nut retainer installed, free of charge. Scroll down for the official NHTSA bulletin.

Icon Quartermaster is a custom Ural Solo that's ready for adventure [w/video]

If you've been following our friendly neighborhood blog for the last few years, you already know how fond we are of the Ural brand of motorcycles and sidecars. Sharing a life-and-limb endangering moment aboard one and having it deliver you home safely tends to bond man and machine in a way otherwise impossible...

As much as we appreciate Urals in stock form, there's certainly room for some mechanical experimentation, which is why the Icon Quartermaster caught our very limited attention spans. According to the company, it is "based on the Ural Solo sT" and is "a bike designed for enduring the End of Days."

In keeping with that apocalyptic theme, the only bit seemingly left untouched by Icon's demented customizers is the engine. The frame, fuel tank, fenders and suspension bits have all been heavily modified, and the finished product looks awfully mean. Check it out in the gallery above and the video below.

RetroSound amps up your vintage car with modern tunes [w/video]

So, you've got yourself a fine piece of vintage four-wheeled automobile history, and you actually want to drive it instead of letting it sit unused in a climate-controlled bunker deep underground? For that, we salute you. But what about your music?

Good news, classic car aficionados, RetroSound has just introduced its Model Two in-dash radio featuring such modern technology as Bluetooth, auxiliary and USB connections, front and rear RCA pre-outs plus a subwoofer output and a 25x4-Watt onboard amplifier. Bet that's enough to get your motor runnin'.

To make it match your classic of choice, the company offers a number of custom enclosures and bezels, and it can be had with its face in chrome or black and with chrome or ivory push buttons. Check out a couple of videos showcasing the RetroSound Model Two below, plus another one... just for inspiration.

First 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray spotted crashed in the wild

This restyled blue 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is wearing manufacturer plates, and it appears to be the same one seen around the internet in various pictures lately. This crash is likely not part of the Chevrolet testing regimen, however. Digital Corvettes forum member gpetry posted the shot with a note: "got this picture e-mailed from a friend in Arizona last week..." No circumstances are given, other than the incident occurred in the thick of a set of curvy roads, and the coupe ping-ponged off a guardrail and into the rock wall. Hopefully everyone involved in the incident walked away.

It may not be a pretty thing to see, a crashed sports car that's not even available for sale yet, but rest easy. Many pre-production cars are used for development and then unceremoniously crushed and scrapped, anyway. If that's the case here, that makes this wrecked 'Vette less of a tragedy and more of a case of exceptional efficiency.

First 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray spotted crashed in the wild

This restyled blue 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is wearing manufacturer plates, and it appears to be the same one seen around the internet in various pictures lately. This crash is likely not part of the Chevrolet testing regimen, however. Digital Corvettes forum member gpetry posted the shot with a note: "got this picture e-mailed from a friend in Arizona last week..." No circumstances are given, other than the incident occurred in the thick of a set of curvy roads, and the coupe ping-ponged off a guardrail and into the rock wall. Hopefully everyone involved in the incident walked away.

It may not be a pretty thing to see, a crashed sports car that's not even available for sale yet, but rest easy. Many pre-production cars are used for development and then unceremoniously crushed and scrapped, anyway. If that's the case here, that makes this wrecked 'Vette less of a tragedy and more of a case of exceptional efficiency.

Woman finds live owl trapped inside grille of her Ford

Ah, Florida... how we love you so. After all, it almost always seems that the most unlikely, impossible and otherwise head-scratchingest stories filter up north from the Sunshine State. Take, for instance, the video you'll see below. It's not terribly uncommon for a car to come into contact with an owl; what's interesting about this story is that the owl managed to survive.

That's right, this great horned owl survived blunt-force trauma with the leading end of a fullsize, body-on-frame Expedition, and worse, it was apparently stuck inside the Ford for days. Check out the feather-brained video news report down below to see how the hooter hit head-on and came out the other side apparently no worse for the wear.

Woman finds live owl trapped inside grille of her Ford

Ah, Florida... how we love you so. After all, it almost always seems that the most unlikely, impossible and otherwise head-scratchingest stories filter up north from the Sunshine State. Take, for instance, the video you'll see below. It's not terribly uncommon for a car to come into contact with an owl; what's interesting about this story is that the owl managed to survive.

That's right, this great horned owl survived blunt-force trauma with the leading end of a fullsize, body-on-frame Expedition, and worse, it was apparently stuck inside the Ford for days. Check out the feather-brained video news report down below to see how the hooter hit head-on and came out the other side apparently no worse for the wear.

Project Ugly Horse: Part V

The Slippery Slope

I've had a healthy appreciation for cars that stop since one truly unfortunate incident with a runaway 1971 Lincoln Continental.

It's funny how quickly a party can turn from, "We're all having blast" to "What happened to the front of the house, and how many stitches do you think this is going to take?" Standing in a Mustang salvage shop in Kodak, Tennessee, I couldn't help but feel I had strayed into the latter territory with Ugly Horse. There was a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 plucked from a rear-ended Cobra sitting off to my left. The shelves were lined with second-hand Roush and SVT components galore, but I couldn't stop staring at a set of rotors with the approximate diameter of my chest.

Plucked from a 2003 Mach I, the package deal included a set of five-lug hubs, 13-inch rotors and dual-piston PBR calipers for the princely sum of $300. If you're paying attention, that figure is nearly 3/4 of what I paid for my whole Mustang. Still, I've had a healthy appreciation for cars that stop since one truly unfortunate incident with a runaway 1971 Lincoln Continental 12 years ago, and the hardware that was staring me in the face should be enough to pull the freckles from my skin should I get serious with the brake pedal in the Fox. I fished three slumbering 100 dollar bills from my wallet, laid them on the counter with a wince and walked out with a set of parts that set this project down an entirely different path.

Need to catch up on Project Ugly Horse? You can check out earlier posts here!

Hyundai plant one of 100 factories shutting down in wake of Beijing pollution scare

Many factories and chemical plants have suspended production in Beijing in an attempt to curb dangerous pollution, according to the South China Morning Post. The air pollution is some of the worst the city has seen in years, with harmful PM2.5 particle rates hovering between 200 and 400 micrograms per cubic meter. That number is down from as high as 886 on Sunday. For contrast, the US Environmental Protection Agency regulations say PM2.5 concentration at any location be no higher than 65 micrograms per cubic meter, with average maximums not to exceed 15 micrograms per cubic meter.

China blames the pollution on vehicle emissions, industrial production and an increase in domestic coal use to heat homes during cold weather. A total of 48 work sites, including construction zones, metal refineries and chemical plants have suspended production, and 41 factories have cut back production as well. That includes Hyundai Motor Beijing, which suspended production on Sunday.

Even so, the area's children's hospitals are receiving up to 10,000 patients per day with respiratory ailments. The city's government says it is in the midst of an eight-year plan to curb pollution and that levels have dropped between 30 and 70 percent over the past 14 years thanks to its actions.

NHTSA mulling adding small-overlap and angled crash tests

For the sake of safer cars, it sounds like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could be moving to create stricter crash tests that are similar to (and potentially even more rigorous) than what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently instituted. In an interview with Automotive News, chief NHTSA administrator David Strickland said that the agency is looking into adding a new offset test as well as an angled impact test.

A small overlap test just recently became a part of the barrage of crash tests performed by IIHS where only 25-percent of the vehicle tested makes contact with a barrier, and Strickland said this is "very similar" to the test being considered by NHTSA. The government agency's current frontal crash tests, as shown above with the five-star-rated Buick Verano, consists of the car hitting a wall head-on, so it isn't clear how much overlap would be considered small for this new test. Another new scenario being investigated is called the oblique test, which involves the test subject hitting a barrier at a fixed angle rather than straight on. Neither test figures to be in use for at least the next couple years or so, but they would undoubtedly make it much harder for cars to receive a five-star crash rating.

NHTSA mulling adding small-overlap and angled crash tests

For the sake of safer cars, it sounds like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could be moving to create stricter crash tests that are similar to (and potentially even more rigorous) than what the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently instituted. In an interview with Automotive News, chief NHTSA administrator David Strickland said that the agency is looking into adding a new offset test as well as an angled impact test.

A small overlap test just recently became a part of the barrage of crash tests performed by IIHS where only 25-percent of the vehicle tested makes contact with a barrier, and Strickland said this is "very similar" to the test being considered by NHTSA. The government agency's current frontal crash tests, as shown above with the five-star-rated Buick Verano, consists of the car hitting a wall head-on, so it isn't clear how much overlap would be considered small for this new test. Another new scenario being investigated is called the oblique test, which involves the test subject hitting a barrier at a fixed angle rather than straight on. Neither test figures to be in use for at least the next couple years or so, but they would undoubtedly make it much harder for cars to receive a five-star crash rating.

Opa! Flaming cheese closes tunnel in Norway after truck fire [w/video]

Behold, the power of cheese. Flaming fromage has clogged up the Brattlitunnelen in Norway for almost a week. According to Reuters, a truck was hauling brunost, a caramelized Norwegian goat cheese, through the tunnel when the cheese somehow caught fire. Due to its high percentage of fat and sugar, the cheese can burn "almost like petrol" if it gets hot enough, and the fire-concentrating properties of the tunnel meant it took four days to put out the flames.

But there's still the toxic fumes to deal with the tunnel near the costal town of Narvik remains closed and might not reopen for another week until fondue and its odors are cleared. You can watch firefighters work to put out The Tunneling Inferno in the video below.