Toyota 86 Makes its D1GP Debut in Japan…and Crashes!

We all know that the Toyota 86 (or GT86/Scion FR-S) was not made for outright power and top Nürburgring lap times but for having some fun behind the wheel of a nimble sports car. One of the things that the 86 is happy to oblige with is drifting thanks to its rear-wheel drive setup, limited-slip diff and a stability control system that can be fully deactivated.

It goes without saying that the modern-day hachiroku would participate in pro drifting series. But while the standard boxer may be satisfactory for road use, for racing, more power is needed.

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Check Out Former F1 Driver Mika Salo Drifting a 700HP Nissan 200SX

Proving that Formula One drivers can make the cut in most types of motorsports even in their after-years, former Finnish racing driver Mika Juhani Salo sat behind the wheel of a Nissan 200SX drift car.

The GT2 class winner of the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans had no problem harnessing the 700-horses (and 850Nm) found under the hood of the 1999 Nissan S14 coupe.

Watch him in action at Ahvenisto race circuit in Hämeenlinna, Finland, in the video that follows after the break.

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Watch a 9-Year-Old Boy Drift a BMW E30 Racer

We don’t know if Stavros Grillis from the Greek island of Kos is the youngest drifter in the world, but he's surely one of the youngest and he'll no doubt impress you with his driving skills if you take into consideration his age, since we're talking about a child that's only 9 and-a-half years old…

With the help and support of his father, the talented youngster has been practicing drifting since he was seven. One can only imagine how good he will get to be once he grows up if he continues at this rate.

Head over the break to watch Stavros in action in the videos that follow.

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Watch a VW Scirocco R Chase a Ford Focus RS on the Nürburgring Track

Here are two of Europe's finest hot hatches (that you won't be able to buy in the States, at least not in their current generation…) racing each other on the Nordschleife.

The VW Scirocco R is the flagship model of the series and is powered by a specially tuned 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that churns out 261hp (265PS) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft).

Like the Volkswagen model, the Focus RS is front wheel drive but instead of a four-banger, it sports a 2.5-liter force-fed inline-five generating 300hp (305PS) and 440Nm (324.5 lb-ft).

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Notorious: Five Ugly Formula 1 Cars and their Nicknames

January 26th was a day that the international media as well as countless racing enthusiasts had been waiting for since the 2011 Formula 1 season finished two months earlier.

Caterham launched its new challenger, the CT01, and by the evening everyone was talking about one of the car’s features in particular. Located on the CT01’s nose was what can best be described as an awkward-looking step and the press quickly began referring to the design as the “platypus nose.”

Over the course of the following weeks, almost every team on the 2012 Formula 1 grid launched their own version of the design and it became apparent that the “Platypus nose” was here to stay.

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Scion FR-S Speedster Appears at Formula Drift Event in Long Beach

A chopped version of the just launched in the States Scion FR-S made a special appearance at the 2012 Long Beach Formula Drift even in California this past weekend and was snagged on camera by a forum member over at the FT86Club.

While there's no official information on the speedster model, evidently it's some sort of racing concept based on the production FR-S, possibly one we'll see at this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

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Toyota to Field a Pair of GT86 Coupes in the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race [Video]

Toyota is wasting no time in preparing its newly launched 86 rear-wheel drive coupe (named GT86 in Europe) for its motorsports activities.

The Japanese automaker announced today that in cooperation with its motorsports partner Gazoo Racing, it is entering two GT86 coupes in the famous Nürburgring 24 hour race, which takes place from May 17 to 20. Gazoo Racing will also field a Lexus LFA in the race.

Prior to the Nürburgring endurance race, Gazoo Racing will bring one of its GT86 models to the Japanese Rally Championship.

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Dodge Unveils 600HP Dart RallyCross in New York, Watch Pastrana Put it Through its Paces

Visitors to the New York Auto Show will have the chance to see Dodge's new Dart Global RallyCross entry in the flesh exhibited on an appropriately decorated stand.

Whereas the standard model makes do with a choice of three four-cylinder engines pushing between 160hp and 184hp to the front wheels, the most exciting Dart of all features a specially prepared 2.0-liter turbo unit delivering a monstrous 600-horsepower and more than 550 lb-ft (745Nm) of torque to all four wheels.

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SRT Viper GTS-R is the Chrysler Group's New 2012 ALMS Racer

The 2013 SRT Viper and Viper GTS are sure to wow the crowds at this year's New York Auto Show, but they won’t be alone as the street-legal versions are joined at Chrysler’s stand by the GTS-R racing model.

Almost all race fans know that the previous generation Vipers have a long history on the tracks, which begun back in 1996 with the original GTS-R that won the 1997-1999 FIA GT championships along with five international GT titles and was the first-ever production-based American car to win the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2000.

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Stock Mercedes SLS AMG Vs. Tuned BMW M6 and Audi RS6

In this week's drag strip battle, we have a stock Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with 571-horses competing against two tuned German sports cars, a previous generation BMW M6 Coupe with 530-ponies and an even more powerful Audi RS6 sedan with 750-horses kicking under its hood.

This time, the number of ponies played their role in the races, though if it wasn't for a bad start, the Mercedes could have won the match with the Audi as well.

You can watch the race for yourself in the video that follows below.

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Subaru BRZ GT300 Makes its Racing Debut at Super GT's Season Opener

The racing version of Subaru's new BRZ sports coupe made its motorsports debut during the opening round of Japan's 2012 SUPER GT that took place on Sunday, April 1, at the Okayama International Circuit.

With Tetsuya Yamano behind the wheel, the BRZ GT300 started the final race from 8th place on the grid as the team had advanced to Q3 in the knockout qualifying the previous day.

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Scarlet Pilgrimage: Five Things a Ferrari Fan Must See and Do in Maranello

In 1943, Italy was in the midst of a war. Along with other major industrial centres throughout the country, the northern Italian town of Modena became a target for bombing raids. It was during this time that Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari decided to move his factory to the nearby town of Maranello.

In the years that followed the war, Ferrari grew to become one of the most recognised companies in the world and the name of Maranello has become synonymous with the famous Italian manufacturer.

As a life-long Ferrari fanatic, I spent my youth dreaming about the day that I would finally get to wander its streets for myself. I remember being overcome with extreme emotion and even though I have been back many times since, the town still holds the same power over me.

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Toyota 86 Coupe Prepped with TRD Parts, Plus Video of Ken Gushi Driving Scion FR-S

In a sort of two for one deal, we present to you one of the first videos of the Japanese domestic market (JDM) Toyota 86 fitted with a selection of parts from the brand's in-house tuning division TRD, and a second clip of its North American twin, the Scion FR-S in both stock and racing forms.

The Toyota 86 TRD model features a different exhaust system plus a sports suspension package and a more powerful braking system. You can read more about TRD's offerings in our previous post here.

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Ken Block Takes Russian Journalists for a Wild Ride in a Ford Focus RS WRC

Put a professional driver behind the wheel of a thoroughbred-racing car like the 2010 Ford Focus RS WRC on a snow packed route and you're bound to have some fun.

And fun it was for some 150 journalists that attended the presentation of a new Pirelli tire at the Igora Park ski resort outside of St. Petersburg in Russia, as the Italian company brought Ken Block to entertain the media with ride-alongs on a short course running through the resort.

Skip the jump to watch the video.

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Porsche 911 Turbo S Vs. Twin Turbo Honda NSX with 700Hp

We all know (or should know) that any car is as good as its driver. This is why surprises can, and will, happen often in races between cars that are not equally matched on paper.

In this 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) drag race, a completely stock Porsche 911 Turbo S rated at 530-ponnies doesn't seem to stand much of a chance against a heavily modded Honda (Acura in North America) NSX sporting a twin-turbocharged V6 that pushes out 700-horses to the rear axle, but numbers alone can be deceiving.

Sprint over the break to watch the video of the race and how it wend down.

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This Toyota 86 is Powered by a Lexus IS F 5.0-liter V8!

Even though few consumers have actually driven it, many have been…complaining about the lack of power in the Toyota GT 86 and 86, Subaru BRZ and for North America, the Scion FR-S, all of which share a 2.0-liter naturally-aspirated boxer-engine yielding 200-horses at 7,000rpm and a peak torque of 205Nm (151.2 lb-ft) at 6,600rpm.

That's music to the ears of the aftermarket industry, which will happily provide a lot more ponies in all sorts of ways, depending on the depth of buyers' pockets.

Over the coming months and years, we're also sure to see many custom creations with engine swaps. If you're looking for ideas, here are a couple of videos of a custom Toyota 86 that you will probably find extremely interesting.

Made to compete in this year's Japanese D1 drift series with Max Orido behind the wheel, this Toyota 86 ditches the factory four-pot for a 5.0-liter V8 engine sourced from the Lexus IS F!

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Volkswagen Group Nabs TeamRS and SVT Boss Jost Capito from Ford

In a surprising development, the Volkswagen Group has grabbed the much-famed Jost Capito from the Ford Motor Company.

The 53-year old will head the German company's Motorsport division effective May 1, 2012, replacing Kris Nissen, who will remain in the company to support Capito during the transition phase and consequently assist the Group in an advisory role, according to VW.

Capito, who is credited with overseeing the development of the original Focus RS as well as the current Focus ST and Fiesta ST models, was Ford's director of Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsport Business Development. Both the North American SVT and European TeamRS performance divisions reported directly to Capito. It is believed that he will have a similar role in the VW Group as well.

It is not known who will replace him at Ford yet.

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Corvette Z06 Chases a Nissan GT-R Around the Track Until it Surrenders

What Nissan has managed to do with the R35 GT-R is nothing short of amazing, as the Japanese carmaker's flagship model has become the de facto standard in the sports car world upon which all other vehicles are judged.

Of course, we should never forget that another important factor that weighs in at any type of race is the driver and how capable he or she is behind the wheel.

The video that follows, isn't a race per se, as the drivers of the Corvette Z06 and Nissan GT-R running at the MotorSport Ranch Performance Car Country Club in Texas were probably there to do some hot laps around the track, but still, the chase that ensued makes for a pretty interesting watch.

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Polish Racer Loses Control of Renault Clio RS and Violently Smashes into a Tree

Rallying or any type of motorsports for that matter, and accidents go hand in hand, which is why the governing bodies around the world have mandated a series of safety measures for both drivers and their vehicles.

In the video that follows past the break, we see the driver of a lightly modified Renault Clio RS losing control of the vehicle and violently smashing into a tree during what appears to be a rally event in Poland.

While definitely shaken from the incident, he managed to walk away unhurt.

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Extinct Species: Remembering Five Former Italian Car Makers

Two weeks ago, while wandering around the brand new Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, I came across a particular brand of automobile that is a rarity to find. Located in the lower half of the Jan Kaplický designed building’s modern showroom was a 1961 Stanguellini Junior.

As I studied the contours of its red bodywork, I couldn’t help but think about all of the once great Italian names that have faded into a distant memory.

In the spirit of the Enzo Ferrari Museum, which aims to educate visitors about Modena’s rich racing heritage, I decided to take a moment to write about some of the many Italian automobile brands that are now a part of the past.

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