Rams Eye The Track Guy

2015 Mustang Shelby GT350R Interior with 6-speed manual I posted about the new Shelby GT500 on here, DriveTribe, my Facebook, and my Instagram (you can read about all the tech and capabilities that Ford stuffed into the GT500 in my GT500 reveal post here ). Perhaps the biggest surprise (and only disappointment) was that the car wouldn't be offered with a manual. Instead, it would come with a 7-speed dual-clutch auto made by Tremec. If there is one common theme across all platforms where I posted, though, it's that people want a manual and it looks like Ford is going to be listening very closely. Prior to the reveal, I predicted that  this was going to be the first GT500 to offer an automatic, but I figured it would be the 10-speed automatic available on the Mustang GT and I never expected Ford to drop the manual as an option. According to a report by Road & Track , the reason why Ford went for this transmission instead of the torque-converter automatic w

A Subaru WRX STI is a very familiar car by now. Partially because it's very successful and capable, but partially because its engine and hp has been more or less unchanged for about 15 years in North America. It came out in 2004 with a 4 cylinder 2.5 litre turbocharged boxer engine making 300 hp. Today, the standard issue WRX STI is still powered by a version of that same engine making all of 305 hp, a measly 5 hp increase in two redesigns over 15 years. People have been complaining and, it turns out, Subaru has been listening. Enter the S209. It is based on the Japanese market only S208 developed with Subaru Tecnica International (STI). It still uses the same North American EJ25 2.5 litre engine, but it's all grown up now with forged rods and pistons, and a bigger turbo (bigger turbos make everything better). In this case, it seems like the housing is the same, but HKS increases the compressor wheel by 5 mm to 65 mm and turbine by 3 mm to 56 mm. That has allowed S

Ford had already revealed that the car is "projected" to make 700 hp, and now it's promised to make over 700 hp (and around the same power as the Ford NASCAR race car, Ford said). That may be all what A LOT of people need to know about it. But, as magnificent as it is, making that much horsepower alone isn't the best thing about this car. Less than two weeks ago, I wrote what I thought is going to be the best thing about this car in This GT500 should stay truer to the original 1967 GT500 formula put together by Carroll Shelby and Ford and be more track capable. Carbon Fibre All Things There's a Track Pack. It's called Carbon-Fibre Track pack. I fully expected this car to be more track capable, and I figured there would be a performance pack of some sort like Ford did with the last generation (i.e. the SVT pack). But I didn't expect something of this caliber. Ford seems to have a clear target in its sights; the Camaro ZL1 1LE. The same Ford Per

Unlike the new 2019 3-series that was officially revealed by BMW , the anticipated 2020 Porsche 992 (911) has not been officially revealed yet. But that doesn't mean a lot about it isn't known already. In a recent prototype drive by Car and Driver, Porsche discussed a lot of the changes. This update is very important in my opinion because the next 911 may have its work cut out for it judging by what we know about the upcoming mid-engine Corvette . The 911 vs Corvette rivalry is nothing new, spanning decades. While there has been very significant and revolutionary changes to the 911 - including switching from air-cooled to water-cooled engines, losing hydraulic power steering, and recently an all turbocharged lineup (short of the GT3) - none have been as revolutionary as the Corvette's planned change to switch from front engine to mid engine layout. So what is the next 911 coming going to be armed with? There are a bunch of changes, although most are just incremental bu

The wait is finally over (well, it's been over for about 3 weeks now, this is a bit overdue...) but the new 3-series was finally revealed by BMW and there are a lot of changes. I don't know if I am alone in waiting anxiously or not. I have been waiting for a new 3-series for a long time. being a huge 3-series fan but having been underwhelmed by the current generation in two reviews; one was a 2014 335i xDrive M Sport and another was a 2016 M4 DCT . In both cases, I have found them to be hugely capable with almost no compromise on paper but, when you compare them to older 3-series generations, they are missing a lot of the charm and feedback. They are more grown up, more refined, much more capable, but a lot less engaging. My hopes were high for this generation and, judging by what BMW revealed, I have reason to remain hopeful ... I will get the bad out of the way first. This generation is bigger. Again. It's about 3.3" longer but at least it's lighter and