Much of the legend of the Nissan Skyline GT-R was born in Japanese GT Championship (JGTC) competition. And now Nissan has gone and replaced the Skyline, which won the championship last year, with a racing version of the 350Z for the GT-500 class.
The GT-500 class is limited to 500 hp (hence, duh, the name) and the 350Z reaches for that with a twin-turbocharged version of the Nissan VQ-series V6 displacing 3.0 liters and making 465 hp... and an almost gruesome 520 lb-ft of torque at a low, low, low 4000 rpm. All that torque may lead one to expect a rather long stroked engine, but in fact, the VQ in the GT-500 350Z has a relatively large 93mm bore (compared to the production 350Z 3.5-liter VQ's 95.5mm) and an ultra-short 73.3mm stroke (stock in the 350Z is 81.4mm). It's backed by a sequential six-speed transmission.
The physical dimensions of the GT-500 don't vary much from those of the production 350Z, though obviously everything is reinforced and tuned for racing. In fact, if the photos are correct, much of the structure comes straight over from the production car.
How good a racecar is the GT-500? In testing this March at the Suzuka Circuit, Nissan claims to have already broken the track record, albeit unofficially.
BMW Shows 1 SeriesWith the BMW 1 Series showing up in fresh spy photos every week, BMW admitted defeat in March and released these shots of the 1 Series that will enter production this fall.
A full 240mm (9.4-inches) shorter overall than the 3 Series, the 1 Series five-door retains rear-wheel drive and will be available with four different four-cylinder engines. The gasoline-fired 1.6-liter engine is rated at 115 hp, the 2.0-liter gas engine makes 150 hp, the 1.8-liter diesel goes at 122 hp and the 2.0-liter diesel is 163 hp. The 1.6-liter gas car gets a five-speed manual standard, while all the others have six-speed manuals to start and six-speed automatics as options.
Of course, the suspension is all independent. Of course, the structure is tight. Of course, there are all sorts of options. This may be a smaller BMW, but it's still a BMW.
While the 1 Series is going on sale in Europe this year, BMW says it won't come to the United States until a sedan or coupe version is developed, which means 2005 is the more likely target.
Realtime Takes The TSX RacingRealTime Racing has been campaigning Acuras seemingly forever and until now, none of them have had four doors. But with the coming of the 2004 SCCA Speed Touring Car Championship, the team has debuted a new TSX to compete in the series. Another hallowed tradition bites the dust.
RealTime's adoption of the TSX is something of a surprise since its first full season with the RSX was only last year and driver Pierre Kleinubing won three races with it. But the TSX uses a 2.4-liter engine, as opposed to the RSX's 2.0-liter and the larger displacement produces a beefier torque curve than the team thought would be advantageous.
Though the TSX weighs 50 pounds more than the RSX (which RealTime continues to campaign), it was instantly obvious the four-door has immense potential during the car's debut at Sebring in March. Qualifying third, the TSX eventually finished second to pole-sitter Bill Auberlen's BMW 325i. That's wholly impressive and may have been a portent of the season yet to come.
Maybe Ford can enter a Crown Vic in the series?
Cosworth and Ford Racing Team Up On PZEV FocusIn a move to leverage its ties to the WRC, Cosworth announced at SEMA's International Auto Salon in Los Angeles on April 3 and 4 that it will produce engine upgrade kits for the 2.3-liter PZEV Ford Focus. Upgrade packages will be three tiered, with the first assured of California smog exemption. Specifics about which parts will be included in each kit weren't available as of press time, but Cosworth did release a few details.
Stage one will be an intake upgrade and is estimated, optimistically we suspect, to make 20 hp more than the PZEV engine's 144 hp and 149 lb-ft of torque. Stage two will include cams with a target of about 200 hp. Stage three will require removing the engine, which we can only assume means it will replace bottom-end parts such as the crankshaft, pistons and rods. Cosworth is shooting for 100 normally aspirated hp per liter with stage three. Stages two and three (and probably stage one) will include a reflashed ECU. Customers will send their ECU to Cosworth's Torrance, Calif., headquarters for the reflash.
Several parts from the kits will be made available separately, but since Cosworth won't admit what parts are being used, it's tough for them to say which ones will be sold independently.
Ford Racing will also sell many of the coveted parts from the Europe-only Focus RS and the SVT Focus. Everything from the RS's exotic suspension bits to the Brembo brakes to five-spoke RS wheels can be had through an authorized Ford Racing Parts dealer. The SVT Focus' suspension, wheels, front and rear fascias and other parts will be available.
Even the rare Focus RS body parts will be for sale. Front and rear quarter panels from the actual RS can be had through FRPP or a knockoff Wings West RS replica bodykit can be had to satisfy every Focus lover's need for urethane. Point your browser to www.fordracingparts.com to see everything for yourself. - Josh Jacquot
Monsters From Planet ScionHas Jesse James been elevated to demi-god in your eyes? Is he the alpha fabricator amongst all fabricators? Then do yourself a favor, disconnect the cable from your TV set and get out into some sunlight.
Among James' latest near-forays into the sport compact world was a recent episode of Monster Garage where they took a Scion xB and an xA and transformed them into "battle 'bots." This doesn't strike us as the best way to exploit the warranty potential on a brand-new Scion.
On the Scene Video Magazine3: Drift USALive Sockets' video magazines have become regular viewing around here and the techs there merit some praise for their ever-improving editing and range of subject matter. In this third edition, they cover the first Drift Showoff at Irwindale Speedway, some of last year's SEMA show, the Rim of the World Rally, the Import Xpression bikini contest, the buildup of a BMW E36 3 Series and the IDRC International Finals at Los Angeles County Raceway. Not bad for one DVD. And there's an entire second DVD included in the package.
Unfortunately, that second dish of bonus features is pretty much a waste. Do we really need to see interviews with the security guards at SEMA? Does anyone want to watch the Live Sprockets guys try and pick up models? Didn't think so. And there's a reason a lot of the drifting footage that's on the second disc isn't on the first.
We don't expect technically thorough or fascinating features on DVDs anymore, but it's still a bit disconcerting how quickly these sorts of things gloss over the details in the rush to throw on more tire smoke and butt-floss bikini action. Just a mention of what engines are in the featured drifting cars, or a look at how they're set up would be appreciated.
Still, if you've been hiding in a spider hole without cable TV service or current magazines, this edition of the "On The Scene" series is a good introduction to the spectacle of the sport compact world. 247Motoring.com has "On The Scene 3" at its site for $19.95. It wasn't yet up for sale on Amazon.com when this was written.
Fiesta RS Concept:Like A Focus, But Smallerscn Europe, the Ford Focus is a performance car that grabs much of its luster from the Focus RS that runs in the World Rally Championship. Can some of that star power transfer down to the smaller Fiesta? Even if the Fiesta never runs in WRC?
The Fiesta RS Concept was shown by Ford at March's Geneva Auto Show and could enter production in as little as two years if it's OK'd by the powers-that-are. Based on the new Fiesta, the goal for the front-drive RS is an output of 180 PS (that's 177 hp to us) from a 2.0-liter, DOHC, 16-valve Duratec four and a 7.0-second 0-to-60-mph time. To go with the power, Ford fit 18-inch wheels, flared the fenders and fitted brake calipers coated in white ceramic.
Ford hasn't revealed any plans to bring this Fiesta to America, but it has sold a car this size here before. A few years ago, it was the misbegotten, Korean-built Aspire and a few years before that, it was the teetering Festiva. Go back to the '70s and the very first Fiesta was sold here. So there's always a chance Ford can decide to bring something like this over again. A chance.
Toyota's Very, Very, Very Good StartNo other Asian car company is as thoroughly involved in U.S. motorsport as Toyota. Apparently, it's also on the verge of being the most successful racing company around, too. Want proof? Look at how well its various "big league" seasons started.
At the season-opening NHRA Winternationals, Jerry Tolliver took his Celica-bodied Funny Car to the finals, where he beat Gary Densham despite Densham's holeshot with a 4.821 e.t. at 319.29 mph. Tolliver also set low e.t. (4.738 seconds) and top speed (328.22 mph) for the event. This was Toyota's first-ever victory in Funny Car.
Meanwhile that same day, on the other side of the country, the Penske Team Marlboro duo of Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves was finishing first and second, respectively, at the first IRL races of the season. Both of their Dallara Indy Cars were powered by Toyota V8 engines and three more Toyota-powered cars finished in the top 10. Oh, yeah, the name of that race at Homestead-Miami Speedway? The Toyota Indy 300.
Toyota made its much anticipated debut in the NASCAR Craftsman truck series at Daytona in February. In what many speculated was a case of diplomatic sandbagging, the best qualifying Tundra was Mike Skinner's #42 in 11th. But in the race (the Florida Dodge Dealers 250), the Tundras were obviously competitive with Travis Kvapil's truck, finishing a strong second and David Reutimann coming home ninth.
At the second race in Atlanta (elegantly named the "EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200") Reutimann qualified his Tundra on the pole with three more Tundras in the top five and six total in the top 10. In that race, Bobby Hamilton's Dodge barely edged out Mike Skinner's spinning Toyota for the win, with Reutimann in third and Kavapil in fourth. Going into the third race, Tundra pilot Kvapil was leading in the points race.
What does all this mean? Pretty soon, even the rednecks will drive Camrys.