The first race weekend of a new season is all about the new – who’s in new rides, who has found more speed in the off season, who has slowed down. It’s the possibilities of new winners, new looks and new excitement.
Some drivers, however, prefer the status quo. Some things in the 2011 opening round of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series at Firebird International Raceway looked very  … Details
www.stokednews.com
The race track has long been an attractive test bed for street car technology. Forced-induction system, fuel injection, tire construction and even the rear view mirror were innovated through competition. Controlled but public arenas, the race track seems like the perfect proving grounds for hybrid technology. Several automakers have recognized the closed circuit combat as the chance to further gasoline-electric hybrid by educating the public as well as advancing the technology. In the mid 1990s, Chrysler toyed entering a hybrid vehicle called the Patriot into the 24 Hour of Le Mans. While the Chrysler Patriot never made it into competition, sports car magnate Don Panoz did attempt the feat in 1997 but failed to qualify into the Le Mans field. Most recently, Peugeot and Zytec launched hybrid race cars in the prototype class of sports car racing with limited race success.
Becoming one of the first car companies to  … Pictures & More
www.stokednews.com
No sooner is practice over, than the drivers go off to another insufferably long round of meetings with their engineers ‘to tweak setup’. But what exactly do they do? Autoblog UK is about to reveal all behind the arcane art of setting up a vehicle.
At the Renault garage, the narrow walkways are very congested. There are cars are up on stands with engine covers removed, and tools lying all over the floor. An army of mechanics beavers away tirelessly on each car to adjust setup correctly … More
www.stokednews.com
When Porsche first unveiled the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid to the world, the future of the car was far from set in stone due to the incredible cost that would be associated with producing it. But after receiving considerable positive attention, Porsche decided to gauge the interest for the car and said if it could garner 1,000 serious buyers, it would take the model to production.
Porsche reached that requirement, and today the German automaker has officially made the 918 Spyder available for order, starting at roughly $913,000 for those purchasing with the U.S. dollar, or 645,000 Euros.
Changes from the concept – As expected, a few changes from the concept car to the production model are in order, including … Details
www.stokednews.com