2012 Savage Rivale GTR Revealed

The first official pictures and details of the racing version of the Roadyacht have been released. 

Official images and details of the hand-built limited-edition Dutch racer, the Savage Rival GTR, have been released via the company's Facebook page, showcasing the racing variant of the Roadyacht in full livery.Built on the same platform as the Roadyacht GTS, it comes equipped with a more powerful V8 in different trims good for around 700-800hp and 575lb-ft of torque and weighs just over 2,260 pounds (quite an impressive power to weight ratio). Top speed is measured at 224 mph and sprints from 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds.
Only 69 will be built, with a Chrome Moly hand-constructed chassis, scissor doors and xenon lights. A 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, while a front-mounted turbocharger feeds the mid-mounted engine with power driving the rear wheels.The GTR also boasts a straight-pipe exhaust, ceramic Brembo brake system, and fully adjustable coilovers sitting on double wishbone a-arms. Inside, a custom carbon-fiber race spec interior houses Recaro race seats with six-point belts.At 141,250 Euros, this will be out of most people's range but that's a decent price for a custom-built race car.

2012 Savage Rivale GTR Revealed

The Experimental DeltaWing Gets Pit 56 at Le Mans

The unique racing car has yet to confirm its participation in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

DeltaWing, the American racing car managed by the Project 56 group, was allocated pit box no. 56 for the forthcoming 24 hours of Le Mans race. The team has yet to confirm its participation in the race.Pit box no. 56 is traditionally reserved for technically advanced and unique racing cars, and there is no doubt that the DeltaWing meets these criteria.

The DeltaWing is a project that aims to improve car performance by reducing consumption of oil, fuel, tires and other expandable materials and components.

This 4m long and 2m wide machine is characterized by a long nose and a very narrow front. A 1.6-liter turbocharged engine developing 300hp at 8,000 rpm will propel the car through a 5-speed gearbox. Downforce is generated solely by the bottom of a car. The car's weight is just 1,047lbs and it has no wings.72.5% of the car's weight is carried by the rear wheels, an unusual phenomenon for a racing car. The fuel tank holds just 40 liters of fuel (though the car's frugality should compensate for that).The DeltaWing will race outside the Le Mans classification but must meet all the of safety regulations.The car's performance is required by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest to be accepted to run in qualifying.The car was supposed to be completed by the end of January. It was developed by CFD simulation instead of in a wind tunnel simulation (a method that hadn't succeeded in the Virgin F1 project). The team has to build every component from scratch and every component should be very light in order reduce wear and tear.Dan Gurney's AAR team is involved in the project and builds the car that will be run by Highcroft Racing, an American Le Mans series winning team.

The Audi R8 Grand-Am Spends a Day at Daytona

Audi has developed a new R8 for racing in the States.

The Audi R8 Grand-Am has arrived. Audi has raced the R8 in endurance racing and GT3 competition for quite some time now, and the German brand thought it was about time the supercar got its due on the tracks in the U.S.Based on the R8 LMS, the R8 V10 Grand-Am will attempt to make its mark on the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, beginning with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The RWD racer will vary from the LMS-spec racecar due to a different set of rules.
The Grand-Am features less downforce, less fuel capacity and no traction control or ABS. It will also be less powerful than the LMS R8, as it had over 500hp and in Grand-Am racing, the V10 will be brought down to 460hp thanks to an ECU revamp and an air restrictor.Two Audi R8 Grand-Am racers will compete at Daytona. APR Motorsports and Onyx Racing will field both cars and during the time trials and qualifying, released plenty of pictures of the new Audi R8 Grand-Am in action. Check out the gallery below to see the new racing-spec supercar in action.

The Car That Could End Red Bull’s Grip on the F1 Title

The most technical-minded team in Formula 1 has launched an evolutionary car for the 2012 F1 Season.

Today McLaren revealed the MP4-27, its challenger for 2012 F1 world title in a media event that took place at the team's headquarters in Surrey, England, at the McLaren Technology Center.The team's pair of drivers, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, were on hand to discuss their expectations for the forthcoming season as the design team explained the new car's appearance.Per tradition, both Hamilton and Button took the wraps off the new car.
The car was painted with all the expected sponsors' logo with a dominant silver color (a reminder of the Mercedes V8 engine that will propel the car, perhaps). Beneath the surface of the MP4-27, there is a car that has been adapted to the new technical regulations of F1 (though they weren't extensive).The exterior of the racer resembles last year's model quite a bit. The chassis, however, was substantially revised from the ground-up with all major systems updated or redesigned for the new season. The most evident visual differences include more tightly-designed rear bodywork.

It was developed to improve air flow toward the rear of the car along with a revised cooling system which re-directs the gearbox oil-cooler. Last year's U-shaped sidepods have also been re-designed - a legacy of the FIA's new exhaust regulations that redefine the shape of the rear bodywork."We've changed the sidepods," said Lewis Hamilton. "We had the L-shaped sidepods last year. The front of the car is generally the same. Obviously the nose dips down a little bit different to last year; we've changed our wing mirrors a little bit, so hopefully we'll be able to see a lot better, which is something that I was pushing hard for.""Felipe [Massa] will be very happy with that."McLaren is proud of its drivers' line-up, which the team claims is the best in the field. This could be seen as a slight affront at the no. 2 drivers of the Ferrari and Red Bull teams, though it is a correct assertion. "Between them, they have scored 22 grand prix victories for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and are the strongest and most consistent driver line-up in the sport," the team said in a statement."For sure we are massively motivated for next year," said Hamilton after he helped Button taking the wraps off the car.

"We have a good-looking car; I think generally when the car looks good, it generally is good, so hopefully that reflects on the circuit."

When asked about their respective winter breaks, Hamilton replied: "I was over in the cold, in the mountains in Colorado, I wasn't missing the car too much."

Button responded "I've had a pretty good winter, spent quite a lot time away somewhere nice and warm to chill out and recharge my batteries but also to do a lot of training. I was back on 5 January, been spending quite a lot of time in the simulator and also just getting back to the way of life of -- of a driver, and then spending time here at the MTC."

The Formula 1 teams will launch their 2012 racing machines during the next fortnight.Stay tuned to Carbuzz.com for full coverage of the build-up to the 2012 F1 racing season. Check out the full unveiling of the McLaren MP4-27 below.

[Video] Tanner Foust Puts the Focus ST-R Through Its Paces

Homestead-Miami plays host to Foust and a Focus turnkey racer.

Tanner Foust, host of Top Gear U.S. and a professional race car driver, has been testing the Ford Focus ST-R at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. The track was emptied out and Foust had the whole track to try out the new racer.

Foust was impressed with the Ford Racing product. He says that it usually takes a year to make a racing car competitive on the track, however due to Ford Racing's intensive R&D the new racer is ready to rumble competitively on the track almost immediately.The Ford Focus ST-R turnkey racer is scheduled to make its competitive debut January 26-27th during the Grand AM weekend at Daytona in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

Nissan Shows Off Nissan GT-Rs Aplenty at the Tokyo Auto Salon

AutoGuide’s unrivaled coverage of the Tokyo Auto Salon continues with a mega-gallery of Godzilla’s many forms.

The Tokyo Auto Salon is basically the Japanese version of the SEMA Show in Vegas. Many different tuning companies along with several major automaker's own in-house tuners all come out and display their best wares for the public at one of the premier auto events of the Japanese calendar. AutoGuide saw an immense number of Nissan GT-Rs at the 2012 version of the auto show.

Tuning companies such as Kansai Service, CWest Global Auto, Tommy Kaira and JUN were all on hand with their respective takes on Godzilla.

Several GT-R racecars were also on display, such as Motul Autech and Kondo Advan and their wicked GT500 Godzilla.Check out the mega-gallery below of all the different Nissan GT-Rs on display at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon.

Toyota Gets Serious with the Prius GT300 Race Car

A Prius race car? Hey, anything's possible these days. 

Yes, that title rhymes. Moving past that, it's been known for some time now that Toyota wants to shed its conservative and boring image in favor of some true performance credentials.Clearly, the LFA is an amazing example of Toyota Performance Division's abilities and we assume that we'll see more of it in the very near future with more powerful versions of the GT-86/Scion FR-S. For now, however, the Japanese automaker has turned their attention to, of all models, the Prius.

Originally reported back in November in the Japanese publication Auto Sport Magazine, there was a rumor that Toyota wanted to have a GT300 entry based on the Prius.Sounded laughable at first, but now the completed car is on display at the 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon. As of now, we don't have many details about it, other than it has roughly 300hp that keeps it in line with GT300 regulations.

It may be a little hard at first to see that this is in fact a Prius, but if you can get past the added body aerodynamics, you can unquestionably make out the silhouette of everyone's favorite hybrid.

What got our attention was the nifty looking device resting on what's normally the front passenger seat. We're thinking it's possibly a regenerative braking system.In the meantime, you can check out these photos to see for yourself what exactly the Prius looks like in race car form. We have to admit, it doesn't look horrible and even the rear spoiler doesn't look all that tacky.Photos courtesy of jonsibal.com

Chevy Monte Carlo NASCAR Racer

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to turn left in a NASCAR racer’s seat, this is your chance.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. groupies get excited, because his 2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo is up for sale for just shy of $80K. Junior raced this particular car, built by JR Motorsports, only once before he let it go for on his National Hot Rod Tour.The car was purchased by a private owner who ran it at the Carolina Motorsports Park with the AVRA (American Vintage Racing Association. It runs on a powerful 725hp 358 cubic-inch SB2 V8 engine and it is race-ready upon purchase.
It is fitting, because the car comes with a membership in the AVRA and benefits include track time with a support staff. It even has fire extinguishers for its functional fire suppression system, further underlining this particular vehicle as ready to race on the track.The aerodynamic racecar comes complete with Dale Jr. livery including his famous #88. This JR Motorsports car number 10 is in terrific condition and is being sold for $79,900 by RK Motors. Featuring a NASCAR-spec roll cage, once inside you can truly feel like the son of "The Intimidator."