Category Archives: Racing

All-new 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Makes its Canadian Debut

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The all-new 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C made its highly anticipated Canadian debut at the 15th annual Crescent Street Grand Prix Festival, the official kick-off to this weekend’s Grand Prix du Canada in Montreal, June 5-8, 2014.

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C

The unveiling of the two-seat, mid-engine 4C, also marks the return of the storied Alfa Romeo brand to Canada. Inspired by the brand’s legendary racing history, the Italian-built coupe features a state-of-the-art carbon fibre monocoque, an all-aluminum turbocharged engine influenced by Formula 1 and advanced technological solutions that deliver supercar-level performance and driving exhilaration.

For its 15th anniversary, the popular Crescent Street Grand Prix Festival will have the all-new Alfa Romeo 4C as the event’s official automotive sponsor. Beginning Thursday at 11 AM, the Alfa Romeo Pit Stop challenge is an area where celebrities, athletes and the public can test their skills at a timed, tire-changing contest to see how they measure up to the top-level F1 pit crews.

“What better place to debut an all-new performance vehicle inspired by Alfa Romeo’s legendary racing history, than at a festival celebrating the largest motor sports event in Canada?,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO of Chrysler Canada. “With its purposeful design for maximum performance, the all-new 4C coupe is sure to be the talk of the Crescent Street Grand Prix Festival.”

For the Alfa Romeo brand, the all-new 4C represents the essential sportiness embedded within the brand’s DNA: Italian style, performance and technical excellence, for maximum driving pleasure in complete safety.

The Alfa Romeo 4C is inspired by the century-old traditions of Alfa Romeo and projects the brand’s authentic values. The “4C” name recalls Alfa Romeo’s great sporting tradition: the acronyms 8C and 6C in the 1930s and 1940s distinguished racing and road cars fitted with powerful eight and six cylinder engines. The 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C model’s designation continues this tradition with the latest, all-aluminum 1,750 cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

The very best technical and industrial expertise of the Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands were used to develop the all-new Alfa Romeo 4C. Teamwork between the two brands included the integration of the Alfa Romeo Style Center design with the well-known craftsmanship of the Maserati brand’s Modena production plant. In addition, the Alfa Romeo 4C was boosted by the technological contributions of Italian suppliers, who are international leaders in manufacturing high-performance components.This is a distinguishing trait of Alfa Romeo, a brand with a century of history that continues to be one of the most famous and popular ambassadors of Italian products around the world.

The Alfa Romeo 4C will be available in Canada in the summer of 2014.

For more information check out Chrysler Group’s news page.

 

Today is the year’s best day in auto racing television

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The weather is beautiful here in Toronto today so hopefully you are all out enjoying an auto related activity.  However, if you are stuck inside, don’t fret since today is the best day of the year for auto racing television as the F1 Monaco GP, Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 all are happening.

Monaco Grand Prix view

Monaco Grand Prix view

Indy 500 start

Indy 500 start

Coca-Cola 600

Coca-Cola 600

So for the folks staying indoors we recommend you grab a good spot on the couch to experience the greatest day as a racing couch potato.  Of course saying this, if you do end up watching all three races make sure you get some serious exercise this week. Happy watching!

 

Best of Formula One engine sounds

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We wanted to share a very cool story from our friends over at AutoMotoFoto about the best of Formula One engine sounds.  Beginning from the early days of the V6 turbocharged engines to the more modern V10, V12 and most recently the V8 – these engines are all music to the ears of F1 enthusiasts. Interestingly though, for 2014, the Formula One engines are now back to a V6 turbocharged setup and some fans and drivers have already complained about the lack of sound of these engines during the races.  Well, you be the judge after watching this video. Be sure to crank up the volume on the speakers as you will want to capture all of it. Just think, it’s only two months until Montreal’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Pepsi MAX and Jeff Gordon do it again

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Many of you likely saw the video Pepsi Max created last year that went on to become a huge viral hit. We are talking about this one that showed a disguised Jeff Gordon (champion NASCAR driver) taking a local dealership salesman on the wildest ride of his life. That video was supposedly captured on a hidden camera but actually ended up being debunked as a fraudulent video by Travis Okulski, a writer for Gawker Media’s Jalopnik blog.

A year has now passed since the first video and Pepsi MAX and Jeff Gordon apparently had something to prove so they have created a follow-up Jeff Gordon 2.0 video.   By all accounts this new video is for real and destined to become another massive viral hit as it’s already at over 13 million views.

Although Travis is getting some serious online coverage within the mainstream media it must be slightly humbling since the world can now watch him scream like a little girl in the video.

2013 Tesla Model S battles 2014 Corvette Stingray on dragstrip

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Unless you have lived in a cave for the past year, you know that Tesla and their Model S is the hottest car in the world. From its incredible technology, top safety record to Consumer Reports going on record saying it’s the best car they have ever tested it does not get any better than this. Now, before you all jump over me about the NYT’s review and the Model S fires and there have been a few of them there is one important thing to remember.

As a car enthusiasts, the most important aspect of the Model S is that it looks good and it’s darn fast…..This is why I along with thousands of other folks want a Tesla Model S. It produces zero emissions and provides 416 horsepower and  443 lb ft of torque all available off the line.  Check out this new very cool video of a 2013 Tesla Model S P85 take on a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 Z51 at a drag strip in Palm Beach Florida.

We don’t want to spoil it for you but back in 2012 we did a another story where a Model S did a similar battle with a BMW M5 so the Model S has been down this road once before.

Chevrolet Camaro race fans can rejoice

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Some exciting news came out of General Motors today as they announced the Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 will return to its racing roots this week when the all-new Camaro Z/28.R race car debuts in a 2.5-hour endurance race ahead of the 52nd Rolex 24 At Daytona. It will be one of the most production-based competitors on the track, sharing aero, engine and even axle components with the new 2014 Camaro Z/28.

Chevy Camaro Z28

Chevy Camaro Z/28.R

Stevenson Motorsports and CKS Autosport will campaign Z/28.R race cars in the GS class of the IMSA Continental Tires SportsCar Challenge. The Daytona race begins at 1:45 p.m. EST, on Friday, Jan. 24, kicking off the 12-race 2014 season.

The non racing version 2014 Camaro Z/28 goes on sale this spring and many Camaro enthusiasts have been waiting a long time for this event so sales should be spirited.

Central Florida Racing Complex closes its doors for good

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Having just spent some time in the South, it’s quite suiting we recently came across this story. After years of providing Central Florida with a popular development track, the Central Florida Racing Complex (CFRC) has officially closed its doors.  Most recently used by drifting enthusiasts to hone their skills, the track’s substantial size and grassroots environment made it a prime breeding ground for Florida’s drifting scene.

Over the years, track owner Donnie Vivier poured his heart and soul into each event and fought hard to keep the doors open for Florida’s drift community. However, Donnie is now moving on to Orlando Speedworld (OSW), an oval track where drifting started for a lot of Florida’s top drivers. Nevertheless, check out a recently made tribute video which successfully captures the visceral action that made the track infamous for providing an ultimate learning ground for aspiring drifters.

Epic Drifting by Ryan Tuerck

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Finally, it looks like Ken Block has some real competition.  Seriously, before everyone jumps all over me I know there are a bunch of other famous drifters in Block’s class like Tanner Foust and Vaughn Gittin Jr.  However, recently, drifter extraordinaire Ryan Tuerck took on an absolutely outrageous road in Oregon.  The epic video takes place on a newly paved mountain winding road and also includes some wicked tandem drifting from fellow drifter Rob Primozich.

Even if you are not into drifting you need to watch this video in full screen mode and with your volume cranked.

Sebastian Vettel becomes four-time F1 world champion

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If you have a son and want him to become a successful race driver you may seriously want to think about naming him Sebastian. Yes, the spelling is slightly different but the facts remain between the F1‘s Sebastian Vettel and the WRC‘s Sebastien Loeb they have combined for 15 major championships.  Although we have covered several stories in the past on Loeb it’s now time to take a look at Vettel who this past weekend was crowned with his 4th consecutive F1 championship.

Sebastian Vettel Image source: telegraph.co.uk

Sebastian Vettel
Image source: telegraph.co.uk

At only age 26, Vettel is said to be one of the most ambitious drivers in the world and his ambition is certainly paying off.  Driving for Team Infiniti-Red Bull which by all accounts is the wealthiest and best staffed F1 team as it includes the top technicians who have the uncanny ability to anticipate Vettel’s every need before trouble arises around the racetrack.

Sebastian Vettel 2013 Red Bull RB9 race car

Sebastian Vettel
2013 Red Bull RB9 race car

With his 4th championship, Vettel has now surpassed the three championships of the late Aryton Senna on the all time list and tied Senna’s arch rival Alain Proust for four. This along with his annual salary of €12m safely plants him in the history books as the real deal. His winning record over the past four years proves he is now the best driver in F1 but the real question now is, “will he be able to break the all time F1 record of his countryman, Michael Schumacher who won seven F1 championships?”

Michael Schumacher Seven championships

Michael Schumacher’s seven F1 championships

Targa Newfoundland

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For the past twelve years, Targa Newfoundland has played host as a unique one of kind auto event providing auto enthusiasts with the opportunity to drive or race their own cars along a 2200 kilometer course through Canada’s most eastern province. This amazing course is comprised of central Newfoundland‘s breathtaking public roads along with competitive race sections held on closed roads.

Photo source: thegarageblog.com 2009

Photo source: thegarageblog.com 2009

For one week every September, the roads in Newfoundland become much busier with all types of vehicles attempting to tame Newfoundland’s incredible terrain.  As auto enthusiasts, Targa Newfoundland needs to be on your bucket list if not already.  We hope some day in the near future we are able to run a RedlineNorth team in this epic auto adventure. Be sure to check out all the recent coverage as the event wraps up tomorrow.

Photo source: ca.autoblog.com 2011

Photo source: ca.autoblog.com 2011