Rams Eye The Track Guy

Despite hearing and reading the rumours over and over again about the all-new, 5.5 litre, naturally aspirated high revving V8 Chevrolet was putting in the upcoming C8 Z06, I am still completely awe struck by what Chevrolet has done and sticking to a naturally aspirated V8 against all odds. Please take a moment to welcome the most powerful naturally aspirated production V8 the world has ever seen (at least mainstream production). The title previously belonged to the now dead SLS AMG, which had AMG's legendary 6.2 litre V8 making 622 hp and 468 lb-ft of torque. The New Z06 eclipses the horsepower figure with a whopping 670 hp at a scarcely believable 8,400 rpm (with an 8,600 rpm redline). Despite the high revving nature AND the smaller displacement (5.5 litre vs 6.2 litre for the Merc), torque hardly suffers with a healthy 460 lb-ft of torque, only 8 lower the the bigger displacement AMG engine.  At a time when AMG, BMW, and even Ferrari have abandoned naturally aspirated V8s, and af...

No, it's not because it's called Mach 1 or the heritage that comes with the name, although that's pretty cool for Mustang fans. There are few cars out there that have the widespread track use of Mustangs. A combination of affordability, a decent RWD platform with endless aftermarket support and the potential to be competitive when properly set up makes them a staple in most track paddocks in North America. But being popular for track use comes with some headaches for manufacturers. It means that the car will be pushed hard by its customers and that will inevitably lead to discovering weak links .  The vast majority of factory main-stream performance cars have limitations on track when pushed to hot lapping pace. That's not to say they are all equal - some are, without a doubt, far more durable and dependable than others - but nearly all require modifications. Mustangs are no exception. And their popularity also means those weak links are discovered fast, and marketing d...

GM recently announced that the high performing C8 Corvette models that have been highly anticipated are going to be delayed because of the ongoing pandemic. As a result, some GM insiders saw fit to leak some details about the upcoming (and highly anticipated) big gun C8 Corvette models. According to a report by Hagerty , the usual Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1 are planned as has been rumoured, in addition to a top of the line hyper-car level model named Zora, also as rumoured. And now, we get a sneak peak into what they may be packing. Z06: 600 hp - 470 lb-ft The Z06 will supposedly get the highly anticipated 5.5 litre flat-plane crank DOHC V8 that debuted in the C8.R race car. You can hear it rev here where it certainly sounds a lot more exotic, if less baritone than the traditional Corvette noise. The new engine will be code named LT6 and Hagerty's estimates put the power output around 600 hp. If it follows a similar specific power to the 5.2 litre Voodoo V8 in the Shelby G...

Meet the Koenigsegg Gamera. This car brings so many firsts, not just to Koenigsegg, but also to the entire automotive industry. For Koenigsegg, it is the first car to have 4 seats, the first to have 3 cylinders and the first to have all wheel drive. Koenigsegg calls it the world's first mega-GT (gran touring) car, and I think they're right. For the world, it brings the first four seater, mid-engine, hyper car. Koenigsegg says it wants to bring the "exciting performance traits of a mid-engine two-seater megacar with the practicalities of a four-seater car with more luggage space" so the experience can be shared with "family and friends." Clearly, I need better friends... With 1,700 hp on tap, you are sure to impress those lucky enough to be your family and friends if you own one of those. Of course, a three cylinder engine with 1,700 hp is likely to have all the driveability and flexibility of a farm tractor so Koenigsegg doesn't rely on it for all ...

It's finally time to welcome the brand new 2020 mid-engine Corvette C8.R race car. I'd say this is the most hotly anticipated race car to debut since the current Ford GT, but Ford surprised the world with the GT so there wasn't a whole lot of anticipation. This may be the most hotly anticipated new race car ever in quite a while, much like its street going mid-engine sister. It's the first clean sheet design in about 20 years, Chevy says, since the 1999 C5.R and will race for the first time ever at the 2020 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Chevy says there is a deeper connection and technology transfer between the C8.R racing version and the road-going C8, and the highest percentage of shared parts of any Corvette generation before. In fact, the C8.R utilizes the production chassis built right alongside the other chassis meant for street duty in the Bowling Green Assembly plant that builds the street version. As expected, there are some modifications to meet race re...

A couple of months ago, I posted about how the 2020 BMW M3 (code named G80) will bring more than 500 hp and AWD . At that point, I figured all hope was lost for a manual M3 or M4, despite an earlier report that BMW M is still committed to manuals . Thankfully, it looks like hope is fully restored or - better yet - replaced with full expectations of a manual, thanks to an interview by Car Magazine. If you were waiting for a 500+ hp AWD beast, fear not. It is still coming. But BMW M boss Markus Flasch just confirmed to Car Magazine that an entry level version for the purists will bring lower horsepower, a manual stick shift, and RWD. They are code named M3 Pure or M4 Pure internally and will pack "only" 454 hp. According to Car Magazine, this is because BMW does not have a manual gear box that can handle the full output, but I'm sure it also has something to do with hierarchy. It will still come with an electronic limited slip differential like the current M cars...