As the month of June winds down, we wanted to use this week's poll to ask the Speedhunters audience which one this month's car features was their favorite.
With some brilliant machines presented from around the world this month, it won't be an easy choice.
For a refresher, we've added links to all the month's feature cars below.
As the sage late-twentieth-century philosophy and electronic-music collective known as Devo once opined, “Freedom of choice/Is what you got.” Looking at the specs for the new Dodge Dart, it seems this couplet still runs through the minds of at least a few Chrysler product planners. How else can one explain the bewildering number of trim-level [...]
The annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place in the south of England, is shaping up to be a fun one this year. Well, who are we kidding; it’s fun every year. It is a meeting of old and new, mixed with some racing events, a hill-climb, and a head-spinning display of motoring history [...]
Another great week packed with some excellent Speedhunting. Loving the energy on the site at the moment. So to dial us all squarely into the weekend we are pleased to announce the theme for this week’s “Speedhunting Weekend”. One thing we’re really enjoying lately is seeing all of your own cars. So let’s go back [...]
We try to showcase as many of the world's mouth-watering car builds as we can here on Speedhunters, and sometimes end up digging quite deep to find them. Occasionally though comes a project that is completely mind blowing. A "viral" build if you will.
This particular build is one that's already gained quite a bit of attention on the net recently, but there was no way we couldn't share this one.
Audi didn’t invent the crossover segment, but it does field a pretty strong lineup of models. Things arguably started twelve years ago with the A6-based Allroad; today, the company offers the Q3, Q5, and Q7 utilities, as well as the A4 Allroad and A6 Allroad wagons. The U.S. market is, at present, deprived of the [...]
Audi took the R8 e-tron electric supercar to the Nürburgring and all it got was a lousy lap record, circuiting the Green Hell in 8 minutes, 9 seconds. Impressive, right? The time is for sure, but the record maybe not so much: It’s claimed for production EVs, a thin group that seemingly includes, well, just [...]
Once the SVT Focus departed in 2004, we were left staring across the Atlantic wishing for a hot version of Ford’s small car. Now, the Focus ST is here. You can walk into a Ford showroom and plunk down a deposit on 252 horsepower of automotive glee, with deliveries starting later this summer. Consider the [...]
BMW and Toyota announced relatively vague plans for further collaboration today. And yes, there was news about “exploring future collaboration” on topics as exciting as “fuel-cell-system technologies.” But by far, the bulk of Akio Toyoda’s short speech—he flew all the way from Japan to Germany to present it—was about how excited he is that BMW [...]
Mercedes-Benz has finally launched a spin-off we’ve long known was coming, the new CLS Shooting Brake. The Shooting Brake is a long-roof wagon variant of the company’s swoopy CLS “four-door coupe,” so Benz naturally refers to this five-door as a coupe, too. We’ll now point out that this new CLS wag—er, coupe-with-a-liftgate, is neither a [...]
For guys like Ken Block the internet has become a bit of a double edged sword. On one hand it’s the place where a string of well-executed video clips have helped make him the global sensation he is, and opened the doors to new adventures. On the other hand – and for reasons that escape [...]
Is this the best looking car ever made? Whilst some may say that Aston Martin have not created a revolution in a long time, this current evolution has resulted in this car – the absolutely stunning 2012 Aston Martin Vanquish. With sleek lines, gorgeous curves and a scintillating timeless form, this is a piece of [...]
What It Is: A next-generation Chevrolet Tahoe (or GMC Yukon—it’s nearly impossible to tell the two apart without badging or visible grillework) wrapped in a parka. Despite the blacked-out oval badge on the front end, it definitely is not a Ford, although this prototype was spied running with an Expedition as well as a Toyota [...]
Due to wildfires that started on June 23 in Waldo Canyon near Colorado Springs, the 90th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb has been postponed until later in the summer. The event was originally scheduled for July 8th; race organizers said they would try to announce a new date within the next two weeks. Read full [...]
What It Is: The fourth generation of the classic Range Rover, which will again come with four passenger portals and a split tailgate. Even though the Range Rover was launched more than forty years ago as a two-door SUV, this basic configuration has become the norm ever since Swiss automaker Monteverdi came up with this [...]
For only the second time ever, Mazda may offer a more-powerful, sportier version of its MX-5 Miata. For many fans, this would be welcome. For others, Miatas are already too large, too heavy, and too powerful. If you fit into the latter category—the same folks who don’t realize that the Lotus Elan’s lightweight construction is [...]
Nissan’s Leaf is first in nobody’s mind when it comes to any type of traditionally defined performance. But the positioning of its heavy battery pack beneath the floor gives it a low center of gravity, a potential handling advantage. In the interest of science, we set out to measure how much roadholding (skidpad grip) we [...]
The bad news surrounding Aston Martin’s One-77 is that they’re all sold out; the good news is that they’re making 77 more. The slightly-less-good news is that the next 77 examples will be bicycles—the One-77 Cycle. Aston’s two-wheeler will go on sale in July for just shy of $39,000, roughly $9,000 less than the brand’s [...]
It's Thursday, and that means it's almost time for the weekend. It also means that it's time for our second Thursday Shoutout, thwe new weekly post to give some love to the cars and projects of the Speedhunters readers from around the world.
Here are some of the highlights from our recent batch of submissions.
Wind up your pants? Check. Bugs to the face? Check. Maybe the most insane/pure open-air road car in the world? Check. In the latest episode of Car and Driver: Abroad, European correspondent Jethro Bovingdon gets behind the wheel of the less-is-more Ariel Atom 300 and gives it a good, old-fashioned thrashing on both the street [...]
Ford, like most manufacturers, has been no slouch in developing technology focused on keeping drivers safe. In the past few years, features such as adaptive cruise control, lane assist, and parking assist have crept into almost every vehicle segment. Now, Ford is looking to combine these existing technologies in its Traffic Jam Assist, harnessing their [...]
General Motors is readying the launch of in-car technology that can charge cell phones and other mobile electronics without the use of wires, and we think it’ll be called Dockspot. The company filed to trademark the name last week with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Read full story »
Trim the weight of your car. Remove golf clubs, antifreeze, dumbbells, and any other garbage you tote around daily. Moving more weight requires more energy and consumes more fuel. For max mpg, think and run light. Keep your tires properly inflated. It sounds simple because it is. A properly inflated tire not only will last [...]
People who don’t own supercars and have never driven one often wonder why owners don’t rack up tens of thousands of miles on them each year. We’ll agree, to an extent, that the defenses for not doing so sound an awful lot like whining. Too much traffic on your commute? Buy a new commute. Clearly [...]
Forty is the new 30. What used to be an outlandishly thrifty consumption figure signifying the market’s tiniest, most punishingly austere cars is now on window stickers everywhere. And what used to be the kiss of death—back when gas was two bucks a gallon and 40 highway mpg basically meant that you’d be having a [...]
With the addition of the 2013 GTS to the Cayenne lineup, there are now six flavors of the Porsche SUV—Cayenne V-6, Cayenne S, Cayenne S hybrid, Cayenne diesel, Cayenne GTS, and Cayenne Turbo. Six variations of the same crossover make perfect sense from a company that offers 18 variations of the 911. Each has its [...]
If there’s been one complaint levied against the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ, it’s that their 2.0-liter boxer engine produces just 200 hp. The complaint was levied against Toyota again when it and Gazoo Racing—Toyota’s partner in sports car racing—entered the GT 86 in the 24 Hours Nürburgring. Prior to this weekend’s Goodwood Festival [...]
On Monday we presented this week’s shifter and asked you to identify the make and model of the vehicle from whence it came. The shift knob pictured to the left clearly was familiar to most of you who accurately pointed out that it is a BMW unit. However, no one figured out that it is [...]
The iconic Lotus Elan celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and the Elan will be taking centre stage at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival Of Speed in the UK. This was a car launched within a year of other groundbreaking cars such as the E-Type, the AC Cobra and Ferrari GTO – cars all about power. [...]
Restraint is a noble thing, and Hyundai sets an excellent example with the 2013 Veloster Turbo. The 201-hp version of this half-coupe, half-sedan, half-hatchback is everything it could be without becoming things it shouldn’t be, including expensive. (more…)
The Musée Automobile De La Sarthe at the Le Mans circuit in France is the perfect way to familiarise yourself with over a century of automobiles linked to the famous race, containing both important road cars from across the decades and a slew of racers from the 79 editions of the Le Mans 24 Hours. [...]
“Four doors good, two doors bad.” So say German auto manufacturers with their Mercedes-Benz CLSs, Volkswagen CCs, and now BMW 6-series Gran Coupes. All of these so-called four-door coupes come in hauter sheetmetal than their sedan and coupe analogs, and the Gran Coupe, or GC, is no exception. It might even be the best-looking BMW, [...]
There's a lot for drag racing fans to enjoy on Speedhunters right now, with my coverage from the NMCA event at Famoso now being joined by Dino's look at the Motor Head Zero-yon meet in Japan. Two events in completely different settings, but held with the same love for raw acceleration.
With that said, let me go ahead and continue my look at the NMCA WEST season opener.
Ford is projecting a 47-mpg city fuel-economy rating for its C-Max hybrid, the company announced today. If formal EPA testing agrees, the C-Max—which is scheduled to begin sales this fall—will better the Toyota Prius V, its closest competitor, by three mpg. Since we’re talking about relatively high fuel-economy ratings for both cars, though, a difference [...]
“Do you believe,” asks the song by Zero 7 made famous in Garden State, “in what you see?” What we see in front of us is a photo of a convertible version of the Noble M600 that we received from the English manufacturer. The answer to Zero 7’s question is no, don’t believe in what [...]
If there’s one event on the New Zealand motorsport calendar that I’ll never miss, it’s the local round of the World Rally Championship. I’ve followed the rally since the early ’90s when the Special Stages were dominated by Toyota Celica GT4s and Lancia Delta Integrales, and while the cars may have come a long way [...]
Another great weekend of Speedhunting means another five winners of exclusive Speedhunters swag. If you’re new to the game, SpeedhuntingWKND is a weekly feature where we ask you to go out into the world, find some cool cars or a slice of automotive culture and post it up to Instagram or Twitter. We select the [...]
The F-150 lineup is getting a mild refresh for 2013, and Ford has announced some running upgrades are headed to the off-road-ready SVT Raptor variant as well. Unlike the regular F-150, the 2013 Raptor’s changes pretty much start and end with a rash of new standard and available features. Buyers now can spec their SVT [...]
What It Is: Chrysler’s compact hatchback, which probably will be called the 100. Development cars have been driving around for several months, but this first glimpse of the interior shows that Chrysler is planning some traditionally upscale features for this car. Close-ups of the dash show nicely labeled switches for adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, [...]
When Toyota unveiled its new Avalon at the New York auto show last April, it was quick to tell us two things about it: One, the design originated from the company’s Calty design studio, splitting time between Newport Beach, California, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. And two, 90 percent of its parts will be sourced from [...]
The coupe designation has been blurred by the marketing minions, but we ordinarily understand it to describe a car with two doors and a formal trunk. Beyond that, we tend to perceive coupes as sexier than their sedan equivalents, with a suggestion of more performance. (more…)
Over the past few years I've had many opportunities to cover drag racing events for Speedhunters, and Auto Club Famoso Raceway near Bakersfield in particular has become one of our go-to spots. Famoso is most famously known for the March Meet and the California Hot Rod Reunion - two of the world's most famous nostalgia drag meets held there annually.
I found myself at Famoso once again this weekend, but this time I'd be aiming my camera lens at slightly different type of drag action.
Infiniti Essence concept (2009) “A halo car would help us,” Andreas Sigl, the head of Infiniti’s F1 operations told us recently. “It could bridge the gap between Infiniti and F1.” Whoa, slow down there, maestro. To us, this sounds like trying to bridge the gap between Acura and roast beef. Infiniti isn’t looking for a [...]
We’ve always been pretty convinced that fitting BMW diesel engines under the hood of Toyota Europe’s cars and some battery-cell research wouldn’t be all that would come out of the collaboration between the Japanese and German automakers announced at last year’s Tokyo auto show. It seems now that the Japanese juggernaut and Bavaria’s pride will [...]
One of the many cars that left me scratching my head at Gatebil was this innocent enough from a distance Volkswagen Polo. The fourth generation Polo never really got a whole lot of love from enthusiasts, with the exception of the GTi variant which arrived in 2005 when the 9N was face-lifted as the 9N3. I guess there wasn't really an appeal to tune something which is by all accounts, a small city car. That is of course until Dahlback got their hands on one ...
After a fraught race to get a new engine Riki Christodoulou and the Team WFR Ginetta G55 had a thrilling race – going from the back of the grid into the top 5. The fourth round of the Avon Tyres British GT saw 23 year old, Sutton Coldfield based Riki Christodoulou have his best result [...]
Hyundai’s Elantra is a solid player in the crowded compact-car competition, but it also has faced self-imposed limitations, lacking the nifty hatchback variants offered by competitors like the Ford Focus, Mazda 3, and Subaru Impreza. The recently deceased Elantra Touring wagon nibbled at this turf, but lacked the svelte looks and desirability of many of [...]
While we love spotless race car builds or thorough restoration projects as much as anyone, we also have a great deal of respect for all the low budget, grassroots car builds happening across the world. Representing the latter, we have a 1984 Volvo 242 DL that comes to us by way of Josh Saddler from Fallbrook, California. Josh owns a shop called Yoshifab, and this Volvo is just one of the many crazy projects he has going on.
It’s amazing how far you can get with belief. It also helps when you’ve got three amazing drivers, a great car and a dedicated team around you. When JRM’s LMP1 HPD ARX-03a crossed the line at five minutes past three last Sunday afternoon at the end of a gruelling Le Mans 24 Hours, it was [...]
The 2012 Formula Drift Season is past the half way mark now as we finish up qualifying at Round 4 in New Jersey.
Qualifying in the first position was Odi Bakchis - his very first time as the top qualifier.
Imagine you’re a Sweet 16 princess, and your flotilla of cupcakes shows up in the back of a Ford Transit, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, or something equally boxy and dumb. The shame! We can hardly blame you for that epic meltdown. Cry no longer: Mini has revealed its production Clubvan (it first bowed as a concept at [...]
There aren’t many major international motorsport events that find their way down to New Zealand, but since 1977 us Kiwis have been lucky to have a regular round of the World Rally Championship on our doorstep. Although it’s a bi-annual affair now (Australia hosts the ‘Down Under’ round every other year), this weekend the world’s [...]
We are heading straight into another busy weekend of motorsport activity around the world, and once again we thought we'd tap into your viewing preferences for this week's poll.
Whether it's rally, drift, F1, or stock cars - there's pretty much something for everyone this weekend.
It’s competition time this week at Car Articles! Direct Line, a UK provider of home and car insurance, is giving away a generous £150 in Halfords vouchers. Why not give your car a treat this summer? Perhaps you need to stock up on some car cleaning products for your summer road trip, or maybe you [...]
We've had an incredible amount of responses to our request for feature cars and builds from around the world. Unfortunately we don't have time to dedicate separate posts to all of them, but we still wanted to find a way to to celebrate the cars of our global audience and show appreciation to our readers. With that in mind, we came up the idea for the Thursday Shoutout. This will be a weekly post featuring a collection of 20 cool vehicles submitted by readers.
Let's get started then.
Some of the most famous historic shapes that may have fallen by the wayside are slowly making their way back into car culture – and this sportbrake from Jaguar using the XF platform is the fruit of this trend. Whilst the Sportbrake’s overall length is 5mm greater, weight has also risen by almost 70kg. That’s [...]