Lotus Opens Its Rejuvenated Hethel Test Track, Nigel Mansell and Others Turn Laps [VIDEO]

If Lotus ever hopes to achieve its aggressive plan of bringing a whole passel of new cars to market by mid-decade?one, the Elan, has already been delayed?the British automaker unquestionably needs a top-notch testing facility. Fortunately, it already had one it its back yard, and the company has just reopened its Hethel track. Repaved, carrying [...]

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Gazoo Racing and Toyota Create Funky, MR2-Based Sports Hybrid Concept II, Debut it at the ?Ring

Toyota and its motorsports partner Gazoo Racing have announced that they will debut the GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II at this year?s 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring in Germany. ?GRMN? is an acronym for “Gazoo Racing tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring,” the latter a nickname for Toyota?s late chief test driver, Hiromu [...]

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Mini Cooper Coupe Priced from $22K; Full 2012 Mini Lineup Pricing Released, Too

Between seeing a lightly camo’d Mini Coupe, driving a prototype, and showing you pictures of a camo-free car, we’ve provided all of the new two-seater’s details but one: price. If you’re planning to buy one, or if you’re just curious about how the least-practical Mini compares to its siblings, here’s a figure to start chewing on: $22,000. [...]

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2011 NSCS Toyota/Save Mart 350 Q & A with Team Chevy Driver, Tony Stewart

2011 Tony Stewart in car - Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCARTONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET met with media and discussed the manner in which drivers are racing each other now, road racing at Infineon, two-car drafting style at Daytona next week, and more. REGARDING PRACTICE, YOU GUYS DIDN?T SEEM TO...more»

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New Tire Model Debuts on New Chevrolet Impala B

The wait is over.  After 18 months of crunching numbers and pounding computer keyboards into submission, Dave Kaemmer and his guys have pronounced their new, state-of-the-art tire model ready for prime time.  The product of their labor of love may well be the most significant development in iRacing’s online racing service since the company opened its virtual doors for business in the summer of 2008. ?Previous tire models for race simulations have been based on measuring real tires and fitting performance curves to data generated on test machines,? says Kaemmer.  ?But without understanding why tires generate the forces they do, it?s hard to predict what?s going to happen outside of the performance envelope where tires are tested.  It also is very time consuming to determine the many numbers needed to [...]

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Hot & Slick

Hot and slick Michigan International Speedway hosted Week Seven of the NASCAR iRacing.com Class A series, and for some sim racers it was a week to remember while, for others, it was something they want to forget. Grip was not easily found at the aging track, as most drivers fought very loose cars on the exit of the corners. However, this made the lives of people who found traction, that much more enjoyable. Eddie A. Smith turned a lot of heads this week, as he not only won every race he started, but led the way in points as well. 329 big ones for Smith gave him the top honors for the week, beating out NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship driver Brad Davies. Michael Conti was third overall, while Roland [...]

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2013 BMW 6-series Gran Coupé Spy Photos: Finally, BMW Builds Its ?Four-Door Coupe?

BMW readies a car for people who think its 5-series is too commonplace but don?t like the 7. If you liked the BMW Concept Gran Coupé at the Beijing auto show last April, prepare your checkbook: The Bavarians are readying it for a production launch next year. Our spy photographers caught what will be called [...]

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