Ultimate Drag Race

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone pitted a drag race between a BMW 1-Series M, a Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca, a Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a Chevy Corvette Z06, a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Nissan GT-R, an Audi R8 GT, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a Lexus LFA, a Porsche Cayman R, and a Lotus Evora S? Of course you have. And so apparently has Motor Trend because they actually had the pull to make it happen.

All 11 vehicles are definitely among the best of the best in terms of performance vehicles that are currently made. With that said, they all excel at different things. For instance, there’s no question that the 1-series M is going to lose to the 458 Italia. So, why bother doing it? Because each one of us has a 5 year old boy in us that’s why. Without giving too much away, it’s clear that Motor Trend arranged the obvious front runners to be in the middle of the starting line and then worked backwards. The result is a spectacular flying ‘V’ made up of American, Japanese and European brilliance. The symphonic notes coming from each of the exhausts comes together exquisitely.

Click the above video to see it all unfold.

[Youtube]

Auto Express 2011 Performance Car of the Year Announced

As the year draws to a close, another Car of the Year (COTY) accolade is up for grabs. This one is courtesy of Auto Express, however it’s not your typical COTY award. Most COTY awards include any new model and usually the winner is based on how it handles day to day elements. Well Auto Express is tossing that formula out the window as their focusing solely on performance.

They took 20 cars that have performance as their top priority and ranked them from best to worst. Everything from cheap hot hatches to exotic supercars were considered. All were measured based on their performance abilities and value… which is odd considering they have an Aston Martin up against a Seat. Perhaps they meant best balance of performance for value.

Subaru fans will likely be up in arms at the results as the Cosworth WRX was ranked the lowest at number 20, especially since it was bested by several hot hatches including a hybrid, the Honda CR-Z.

Another surprise on the list was the Audi RS5 which ranked a bit low at number 11. Especially considering its arch rival, the BMW M3, not only cracked the top 10, but cracked the top 5 coming in at number 5.

I won’t spill the beans on who won the coveted top spot, however I will say that I definitely agree with their decision. Check it out in the video above. Notice no domestic cars were nominated? Just sayin’.

Do you agree with the performance COTY?

[Auto Express]

Oh Hi: 2014 Lotus Elite

Lotus has unveiled a pic of the 2014 Elite Concept (though it looks production ready to me) ahead of the official unveiling in Paris.

Along with a pic came more details on the specifications and they are quite impressive. The Elite will come with a 5.0 litre V8 which makes 611 horsepower and 531 pound feet of torque. Wowsa! Combine that engine with typical Lotus lightness and you’ll be able to get from 0-100 in just 3.5 seconds in the Elite.

On top of that, though, Lotus will apparently work with Toyota in incorporating hybrid technology into the Elite as an option. With a big V8 you can almost certainly bet that fuel efficiency will be dismal so the hybrid technology isn’t a bad idea – so long it doesn’t upset the handling.

Toyota’s got its PR game in full swing with this announcement claiming it doesn’t mind sharing it’s hybrid technology with other manufacturers “because we would like to see environmental technologies adopted and used as widely as possible.” Right. It’s not because you can make sick amounts of profit by licencing out the technology. No, it’s because you really care for the environment that badly. I don’t know who you think you’re fooling with statements like that, Toyota.

[Autoblog Green]

Henney Without the Coke

AKA only for the hardcore.

This is Hennessey Performance’s latest creation: the Venom GT.

It has the hardcore looks, and is based on the Lotus Elise. But wait until you hear the numbers.

The Venom GT will use the same 6.2 litre V8 found in the Chevy Corvette ZR1, which means there will be 725 horsepower and…..

…..Wait, what’s that?

This just in: Hennessey is also planning on producing a twin turbo V8 as well which will make 1000 horsepwer and 1200 horsepower as well! Combine that with a curb weight of less than 2,400 pounds and you’ve got yourself a car that is guaranteed to make you shit yourself. There’s no other way of saying it.

Only ten will be made, and four are already spoken for, so if you’ve got $600,000 laying around and want to have the thrill of your life, then you should probably pick up the phone.

Oh Hi: 2011 Lotus Elise, Lowest CO2 Emitter For a High Performance Car

Congrats to the 2011 Lotus Elise where the big news is that it is the the best performance car for CO2 emissions.

It’s able to achieve this mostly by its light weight (just under 2,000 ounds) and it’s new small 1.6 litre efficient engine borrowed from Toyota. 134 horsepower is generated from this 4 cylinder and it cuts its emissions by 13% over the 1.8 litre engine, producing only 155 g ofC02 per kilometre.

The new Elise will now sport a toned down front end with design cues borrowed from the awesome Evora.

Now for the bad news. We won’t be getting this new environmentally friendly Elise in Canada due to it being an extremely low volume selling vehicle.

But the 1.8 litre version will still stick around and it can hold its own for efficiency with a 9L/100 kms rating.