2010 VOLKSWAGEN GTI
BY DAVID COLMANÂ
If you’re 27 years old now, you were born the year VW introduced the GTI to the USA. That’s right, it’s been 27 years since the original hot hatchback hit these shores. Back then, the Rabbit GTI, as it was originally known, wasn’t really all that hot: 90 horsepower, 14 inch wheels, 60 series tires? Today, it sounds like the start of a Jay Leno joke, but back in 1983, those were considered supreme performance refinements, hungrily sought after by a burgeoning legion of VW enthusiasts who had been waiting no less than 7 years for this previously Euro-only model to make its tardy debut in America. Indeed, the advent of the GTI even occasioned release of the pop tune “Kleine GTI†(“Little GTIâ€), carefully modeled after Ronnie and the Daytonas hit 60’s ode to Pontiac, “Little GTO.â€Â Â
2010 marks the debut of the 6th version of the GTI, dubbed A6 by VW. Aside from the carryover tradition of the hatchback body and red grill stripe, you’d be hard pressed to find any similarities to the original GTI of 1983. For example, horsepower has more than doubled, to 200hp, thanks to VW’s terrific 2.0 liter turbo TSI engine which produces 207 lb.-ft. of torque without lag. You can order your GTI as Read the rest of this entry »
An aggressive early pace at the Rolex 24 at Daytona led to a track full of debris, a rough start for the favorites and led veteran drivers openly wondering why teams were pushing so hard in the starting stages of an endurance race.
“Absolute madness,†a bewildered Dario Franchitti said. “There’s some aggressive driving out there, huh?â€
That was an understatement  … More
The son of the Intimidator said, “I never wanted to see another racetrack or race car,” As he sat before the media at Hendrick Motorsports this week during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway.
He had lost his father, Dale Earnhardt, only one week before in the tragic crash on the final lap at Daytona International Speedway.Â
Now it was Feb. 25, 2001, and time for the Dura Lube 400Â Â …Â More
U.S. Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso traded in her skis for a sports car one a day this week and got a helicopter sightseeing tour as a bonus.
Officials in Sestriere, the site of Mancuso’s giant slalom victory in the 2006 Turin Games, invited the Californian to the Ferrari factory in Maranello on Wednesday.
Mancuso is accustomed to whizzing down mountains at speeds in excess of 80 mph, but couldn’t pass up what she called a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.â€Â   … Details