Draco-REX

Could be worse: http://f1tcdn.net/images/news/2013/ferrari-f14t.jpg Anteater? The worse part is that the new regs were supposed to help diver visibility too. But this nose is even HIGHER than the old one over the suspension. I don't know how the driver is supposed to see. http://f1tcdn.net/gallery/var/fullsizes/2014/ferrari-f14t-launch/f14t-f138-front.jpg

The Bathurst 1000? If so, it won't be anything like the road-going GT-R.

It's a personal vehicle from Toyota. It is supposed to work like a Segway, so there's no controls. You can ride it like a motorcycle with the canopy down at high speeds, or stand up with the canopy open for low speed maneuverability.

Lots of cool stuff this year. Some of my favorites were the Z06 (of course), the Toyota FT-1 (Supra), BMW M4 (maybe S5 replacement), and the Mercedes S-Class Coupe (DROOL!). The new Mustang looks good, and of course the 918 is Teh Sex in person. Also BMW's i8 is just wild; I love that they kept a lot of the aero styling for production. Hyundai's Genesis Sedan gets the AWD treatment for 2015, might be cool with the 5.0. The Equus muscle car in person still doesn't convince me it's worth $250K. But lots of fun stuff to check out. I had a good time.

The Lotus nose looks a lot better than the style Mercedes and WIlliams are using. But I'm not sure how well it will work. Hopefully it'll work better and everyone will go to the better looking nose. For those wondering why the weird rhinoplasty this year, it's due to new crash regulations. The old nose designs were high enough that in a T-bone impact it was possible the nose cone might penetrate the driver cell. So the new crash regs require a much lower nose that extends beyond the front wing in hopes that in an impact the energy will be spent in the sidepod before it reaches the driver cell. The skinny nose and twin nose aren't specific to the crash regs. They're aero designs to try and get more air under the nose than a "normal" looking nose that low would allow.

This is very different from the original proposal for the new "KERS" system. Originally, the both the power and duration were to be doubled. The big kicker was that the batteries were only able to be charged 50% over the course of one lap. To get a full charge the driver would have to go a lap without using KERS at all. I think that could have made for some very interesting strategies. This system actually does away with the KERS button entirely. The car's ECU controls all of the above, making it one homogenous system rather than an on-demand system. While I was looking forward to seeing how the proposed system would work in a race environment, I can see that this system is more in-line with the spirit of F1's "trickle-down" technology ideal. In today's cars, a LOT of energy is just wasted. Exhaust heat is the largest waste, but slowing a car discards what energy we do manage to get out of the fuel anyways. Creating ways to recapture some of this wasted energy will help increase efficiency and I think manufacturers will start looking more closely into this MGU-H/K technology.

Saw it in person. It will be mine. Oh yes.. It will be mine.

Creno's is excellent.

DATSUN LOL. j/k. Nice car.

Cool. But is it quarter-of-a-million-dollars cool? I'm not so sure.

LSx, 2JZ, RBx, etc. it doesn't really matter what's under the hood if it can back up that sound/look.

Oh.. Ok. Well.. When I first saw this, the animated segments didn't load at all. I had NO idea... Sorry... still kinda funny tho..

Had a thought... Might this be the C7.R customer car and not the Z06? The front aero looks a bit aggressive for a production vehicle. I'm wondering if the "leak" got his photos mixed up.

this is just bad-ass no matter what your opinion on drifting.

http://picup.omocoro.jp/?eid=1792 :nws: Oh Japan!

I think I'm in love. Going to have to see it in person at NAIAS to be sure.

There's more than just drag racing. The local SCCA club is very active with AutoCross, RallyCross, and club racing. Various groups host track days at Mid-Ohio and Nelson Ledges as well. And there are plenty of members here who would be more than happy to get you started in any of that.

I'm disappointed. Subaru said the WRX/STI was going to diverge from the Impreza. That is clearly not the case here. They had a great opportunity here and didn't take it. Even if they aren't ready to retire the EJ, putting it in a smaller, lightweight chassis would increase both performance and efficiency. But instead they stuck with a large, heavy chassis. Frankly, I think Subaru would be better served with a turbo Impreza GT for those who want a practical "boost buggy" and a smaller, sportier WRX chassis with base and STI trims. That would renew Subaru's performance image, IMO.

Headed up the 18th with a friend.

I'm in. My GF hasn't decided yet.

Chrysler LOL

Winters here. Dunlop Wintersports have been my weapons of choice. Good snow and ice grip with moderately stiff sidewalls for good steering feel. They're also good in the wet which is a weakness for some snow tires.

There's no way GM was going to give the Z06 more hp than the ZR1 just one generation previous. Seeing a lower model come out with more power for less money would alienate current ZR1 owners. Way I see it, GM rates the new Z06 just under the current ZR1 (whether it makes more power or not) as a sop to the pride of their big money customers. Then, they will come out with a new ZR1, that will have the power you expect (I'll wager in the neighborhood of 700-750hp). This will move their ZR1 customers up the hp ladder to make room for a mid-generation model update improving power across the whole line. This will put the Z06 above the old ZR1 right into the spot you think it should occupy. There's an unofficial rule at GM that no car can be faster than the Corvette on paper. This is why the 4.5gen F-body was rated at 305hp when the LS1 easily made the same 345hp as the C5. Take that philosophy to the next step as you can see the rule being applied to trim levels within the Corvette line itself. The ZR1 is the top dog and will stay the top dog, on paper at least. It's quite possible that the new C7 Z06 will dyno higher than the C6 ZR1, and it's also quite likely that it'll tune a lot better too. But when the guy with with more wallet than knowledge brags at the office party, he'll still be able to say his is faster.

Frankenstein is upping his game apparently.

??? The ZR1 is 638hp. 13hp is well within GM's fudge factor when rating their performance engines, not to mention it's pretty negligible when we're talking 600+ hp. If anything it bodes well for the C7 ZR1 or whatever GM's got cooking.