AWD

VW Golf24 Heads To Nürburgring

February 11, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

I’ll give you the bad news up front: you can’t buy what may be the coolest VW ever built. It’s got a turbocharged 2.5 liter, inline five engine good for 434 horsepower and 398 ft lb of torque, a six speed sequential gearbox, all wheel drive and a stance that’s chock full of attitude. Those are some meaty fender flares, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Renault R5 Turbo 2 of the 1980s. Want some good news? This isn’t just a design study, and VW will be racing the car in the upcoming 24 Hours of Nürburgring event, held from June 23 to June 26. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: AWD, Cars, Golf24, Nordschleife, Nurburgring, VW

Dodge Prepares You For The Snowpacalypse

February 7, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Snowpacalypse? It's Snowmageddon!

I don’t live in the snow belt any more, but I have to say the beginning of this video is pretty accurate. Thanks to the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it predictions from weather forecasters at the slightest inclination of bad weather, even moderate snowfall brings an all-out assault on the grocery store, as shoppers stockpile enough food to withstand a 90 day siege. I can only imagine how bad Chicago was just prior to this last storm, but I’d be willing to bet the video below is pretty accurate. It makes me wonder how we all survived in the days before Doppler radar and overpaid, panic-inducing weathermen. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Domestic Tagged With: AWD, Cars, Dodge, Trucks

Porsche Shows 918 RSR Race Car Concept In Detroit

January 10, 2011 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

The 918 RSR - commence drooling now. Image: Porsche AG

If you thought the Porsche 918 Spyder concept car was cool, you’re going to love this: Porsche has debuted a 918 coupe in race trim at the Detroit Auto Show. Dubbed the 918 RSR, the concept features the same Porsche hybrid drive system as used in the 911 GT3 R Hybrid racecar. Unlike the 911 Hybrid, however, it’s unclear if the 918 RSR has been built to compete in a specific racing series, or if it’s just a design exercise meant to honor Porsche’s revered racing history. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Import Tagged With: AWD, Car, Hybrid, Import, Porsche, Track

The Smoking Tire Drives The STāSIS Engineering Audi V10 Spyder

December 1, 2010 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Matt Farah drives a lot of really fast cars, so it’s safe to assume he’s pretty jaded when it comes to exotics and tuner cars. I’ve seen him smile in videos, and I may have even seen him laugh once or twice, but I’ve never seen him giggle like a schoolgirl. It’s equal parts cool and disturbing, and I know this much for certain: I need to get my hands on a Stasis Engineering Audi R8 V10, because I want to see if it does the same thing for me. I’m guessing the answer is “yes”.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cars, On Road Tagged With: Audi, AWD, Cars, Stasis Engineering, Tuners

Reminder: Ken Block Is Faster Than You’ll Ever Be

November 17, 2010 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

The internet is a funny thing, since it allows complete strangers to interact from the comfort, safety and privacy of their mom’s basement. Take a few of the lads in this video, who were obviously talking smack about Ken Block. As they’re about to find out, driving a real car balls-out takes a bit more skill and intestinal fortitude than driving a video game or RC car in the same manner. It’s one of the funnier automotive videos I’ve seen in a while (even though it’s about a year old), since it’s chock full of big, burly men squealing like little schoolgirls. It’s also got little schoolgirls squealing like, well, little schoolgirls.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cars, On Road, Uncategorized Tagged With: AWD, Cars, Ken Block, Subaru, Track

Audi Celebrates quattro’s 30th Birthday

September 30, 2010 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Audi has been kicking ass and taking names with the quattro all wheel drive system since its debut in 1980. It’s dominated the World Rally Championship, and the Group B Audi Sport Quattro was one of the reasons that Group B was eliminated from the WRC competition; the cars were simply too fast to be safe for drivers or spectators. In Touring Car competition, the quattro sedans proved so dominant that the FIA banned AWD cars from the series in 1998. Any company that can write racing history by changing the rules in two separate series demands respect, and Audi gets mine.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cars, On Road Tagged With: Audi, AWD, Cars, Concepts, quattro, Race

Travis Pastrana Kicks Mt. Washington’s Ass

September 14, 2010 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

The road that winds up Mt. Washington was originally built 149 years ago to accommodate carriages and travelers on horseback. It’s narrow, and filled with off-camber corners and sudden elevation changes. Most of it is paved, but some of it isn’t, and Mount Washington is home to the worst weather on the planet. It takes a special kind of crazy to wake up one day and think, “I wonder if I can shatter the record for driving from the base to the summit.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cars, On Road Tagged With: AWD, Hill climb, Off Road, Suburu

Dave Mirra Learns From The Master, Tommi Mäkinen

September 13, 2010 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Dave Mirra is a relative newcomer to the sport of rally driving, so why not learn from the best if your sponsors are willing to foot the bill? In this case it’s Subaru, who flew Mirra to Finland for some one on one instruction from four time World Rally Champion Tommi Mäkinen. Mäkinen is a master at driving balls-to-the-wall in less than ideal conditions, and he has an almost supernatural ability to control a race car. He’s also got a photographic memory, and was able to learn the intricacies of the Nürburgring circuit after just five laps.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: How To, Off Road Skills Tagged With: AWD, Cars, new cars, Off Road, Race, Suburu

Dodge Unveils The 2011 Durango

September 2, 2010 By Kurt Ernst Leave a Comment

Just a few short years ago, body on frame SUVs were the hottest selling vehicles in the United States. It didn’t matter that most owner’s off-roading consisted solely of trips to the town dump and the occasional run up an unpaved driveway, what mattered was the ability to go anywhere an SUV owner wished. Along with those capabilities came a harsh ride, handling that bordered on dangerous and abysmal fuel mileage. Somewhere along the line, SUV owners woke up and realized that they’d gladly trade some off-road capability for improved on-road comfort and handling, and they’d sacrifice towing capacity in exchange for better fuel mileage. Thus, the crossover segment was born, and it’s now the hottest selling vehicle class in the U.S.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: On Road, Trucks and SUVs Tagged With: AWD, Dodge, Durango, Off Road, Trucks

2012 Hyundai Genesis Coupe Could Be A Game Changer

August 25, 2010 By Kurt Ernst 9 Comments

2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Photo: IFCAR

It wasn’t too long ago that Hyundai was the stuff of water cooler jokes. Everyone knows that Hyundai actually stands for, “Hope You Understand Nothing’s Drivable And Inexpensive”, right?

But then, somewhere along the line, Hyundai started building good cars and backing them with a great warranty. Then they began building great cars, in all shapes, sizes and flavors, and kept the great warranty. The Koreans had learned a valuable lesson from the Japanese: you can lure the first generation of customers on price alone, but you’d damn well better have solid product to capture the repeat buyer.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Cars, On Road, Uncategorized Tagged With: AWD, Cars, Hyundai, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, new cars

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