Rams Eye The Track Guy

Ford has been promoting its EcoBoost engine options for quite some time now, replacing larger engines with smaller, turbocharged EcoBoost engines in all of its offerings. The Mustang wasn't safe in the 6th Generation redesign (code named S550) when it debuted in 2014 for the 2015 model year. It gained a turbocharged 2.3 litre 4 cylinder EcoBoost engine making 310 hp. The previous base engine, a 3.7 litre V6 making 305 hp was down-rated to 300 hp to create a larger gap and position the EcoBoost firmly as a mid-range engine. But since the refresh for 2018, the V6 has been dropped all together, leaving the Mustang lineup with only two engine options, the 4 cylinder EcoBoost with 310 hp and the upgraded 5.0 litre V8 making 460 hp. But It seems like Ford may be ready to insert another option in the 150 hp valley between those two options as a mid-range engine. Hagerty recently discovered a document filed by Ford to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in

Cadillac sedans aren't dead after all, as evident by the brand new CT5 just revealed this morning ahead of its formal debut at the upcoming New York Auto Show. The reveal was done using "a social media campaign designed to stimulate the senses using autonomous sensory meridian response, also known as ASMR."... whatever that means. Cadillac says that the videos are meant to trigger a physical response such as a spine-tingling sensation, which is great I guess if you're into that sort of thing. Unfortunately, the video seems to very light on detail, but at least some critical bits are revealed. Design For starters, the current newest sedan in Cadillac's lineup is the CT6, which looks ancient now next to the CT5. I'm a big Cadillac fan - which shocks most people considering that I am a Mustang guy. But I like what they have been doing, particularly their V-series models. I also liked their "Arts & Science" design language and was wo

The last iteration of the Shelby GT500 that debuted in 2012 as a 2013 model year had 663 hp and a claimed top speed of over 200 mph. While some publications tried and failed to replicate the top speed claim, you knew that somewhere under specific conditions, Ford probably was able to crack 200 mph. If you were expecting the new one with "over 700 hp" to also crack 200 mph (I was), you'd be wrong. Ford is going to equip the new Shelby GT500 with a 180 mph governor, meaning the GT500 will be electronically limited with a top speed of 180 mph. That is, at least until someone fiddles with it like they do with BMW's and remove the 155 mph limiter. Thankfully, it appears that top speed has been sacrificed at the altar of track performance. A More Balanced Pony Car A Ford spokesman told me that "Ford Performance engineers and professional drivers have found the sweet spot to make the all-new Shelby GT500 as fast as possible at both road courses and the drag

At its first ever visit to Sebring International Raceway for the World Endurance Championship (WEC) 1000 Miles of Sebring, Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) set a new lap record on Test Day #1. Mike Conway in the #7 TS050 Hybrid LM P1 car had a best lap time of 1:41.211. Like Brabham's BT62 Bathurst lap record a few weeks ago , the lap time is unofficial because it wasn't set during a competitive session, but it is a verified clocked time. But this is a test session for the WEC 1000 Miles of Sebring so this is likely in race spec unlike the Brabham's BT62 lap time that was set during demonstration laps. Porsche's LM P1 car, the 919 Hybrid, famously obliterated the Nurburgring lap record last summer in 2018 with a lap time of 5:19.55. Before the test, Mike Conway said: "Going into Sebring my expectations are high. We would like to keep up the good run of form we have had in #7, which means continuing to score well and win more races. Sebring is going to be a challengin

I appreciate the entire spectrum of car motorsports; the state-of-the-art and sophisticated F1 side and the horsepower crazed, high speed 200 mph madness of NASCAR, along with everything else in between. But nothing - absolutely nothing - gets me more excited in motorsports than a race car that's closely tied to a production, road-going version. And that's why I LOVE a lot of factory turn-key race cars like the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport. The 911 (991.2) GT2 RS Clubsport was built to meet SRO Motorsport Group's new GT2 racing series. SRO is a company specializing in the promotion and organisation of motorsport series. They mainly focus on GT racing, with some of the series they promote include the Blancpain GT Series, GT4 European Series, and others. It recently acquired the GT2 trademark and announced last year the new GT2 series. The class is intended to offer a new opportunity to amateur racing (assuming you have a lot of funds) and feature ‘true supercars’ with horsepowe

It wasn't long ago that Brabham announced that it was returning to competition with the BT62 to compete at the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and Le Mans. They also announced that they will be building a road-legal version of their mighty BT62, likely to qualify for the GTE class requirements so it can compete at Le Mans. Capitalizing on that, Brabham was planning on taking a BT62 for demonstration laps in the build-up to the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race that's running this weekend, but they gave the people a lot more than a few hot laps. With minimal testing on Thursday and with just four laps on Saturday, conditions were good so the BT62 test driver Luke Youlden went for a flying lap. That flying lap set a new track record of 1:58.67. The lap time is a verified clocked time, but it is labeled "unofficial" because it wasn't set during a competitive session. The previous lap record was 1:59.29, set by an unrestricted Audi R8 GT3 race car last year in

To make 914 hp, the Gymkhana 1977 Ford F150 Hoonitruck needs A LOT of air for the turbos feeding the 3.5 L EcoBoost V6. Ford's custom designed manifold ended up being too intricate to cast, so Ford Germany put to use one of the most advanced 3D Printers and even that one was pushing the envelope to get the job done. The result? A high flow, lightweight, 3D printed custom manifold that's the largest 3D printed metal part on a functional car, according to Ford. Watch to see how it was designed and how long it takes to print just one, plus why Ken Block picked a 1977 F150. Follow Ram's Eye The Track Guy on Facebook and Instagram! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mike R (@ramseyethetrackguy) on Oct 18, 2018 at 5:03pm PDT