The Ultimate Street Car Challenge is all about fun. Yeah right, and J. Lo and Ben won't be divorced by summer.
Don't misunderstand. The USCC is fun, but it's also fiercely competitive, very hard work and a real car killer. To the victor, the rewards are many. Past champions have met presidents, landed endorsement deals and dated supermodels, while the losers, well, the losers get to go home. Regardless of the risk, for the second year in a row, 10 crazies* took up the challenge and agreed to meet us in Los Angeles for the two days of absolute automotive bliss that is the USCC.
The first day was spent at HKS Engineering in Torrance, Calif., where the cars were put on the chassis dyno, judged by a team of experts for their presentation and engineering. We sampled their driveability, measured their fuel economy, checked their emissions and gave Grandma a ride in each. The next day we hit California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where the cars battled it out on the skidpad, the road course and the dragstrip. Fifteen grueling tests in all.
If you tuned in last month, you already know all about the cars. We covered all 10 in serious detail and reminded you that it was you, the readers of Sport Compact Car, who chose the very diverse group from the more than 90 entered.
Who won? Who has the ultimate street car?
| This year, the 10 crazies are: |
| Machine | Man |
| 1996 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 Spyder | Joe Privitier, Sherman Oaks, Calif. |
| 1993 Mitsubishi Eclipse | Dan Cokic, Milford, Conn. |
| 1972 Datsun 510 Michai | l Essa, Culver City, Calif. |
| 2001 Dodge Viper ACR | Paul Mumford, Yorba Linda, Calif. |
| 2001 Acura Integra Type R | Deric Massie, Mason, Ohio |
| 1994 Toyota Supra Turbo | Mani Jayasinghe, Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 2000 Toyota MR2 | James Chen, Santa Fe Springs, Calif. |
| 2002 Laminar SRX-7 | Jerry Fink, Media, Penn. |
| 2001 Subaru WRX | Scott Gladstone, Irvine, Calif. |
| 1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R | Daniel Suh, Los Angeles, Calif. |
We want to thank the Sponsors of this year's USCC. Yokico and www.wheelsboutique.com. It couldn't go down without them, and we want you to enter tour ride in next year's competition.