Porsche Carrera GT 2003-2006

Here’s the bare carbon chassis. Most people assume the chassis was built by Porsche but in fact it was built by an Italian company called ATR Composites Group which specializes in composite parts.

The V10 engine on the other hand was all Porsche. The development of the Carrera GT can be traced back to the 911 GT1 and LMP1-98 racing cars. Due in part to the FIA and ACO rule changes in 1998, both designs had ended. Porsche at the time had planned on a new Le Mans prototype for 1999. The car was initially intended to use a turbocharged flat-6, but was later redesigned to use a new V10 engine, pushing the project back to planned completion in 2000. The V10 was a unit secretly built by Porsche for the Footwork Formula One team in 1992, but later shelved. The engine was resurrected for the Le Mans prototype and increased in size to 5.7 liters. Unfortunately the project was canceled after two days of testing for the first car, in mid-1999, mostly due to Porsche's wish to build the Cayenne SUV with involvement from Volkswagen and Audi, thus requiring engineering expertise to be pulled from the motorsports division. It was also speculated that VW-Audi chairman Ferdinand Piëch wanted Audi's new Le Mans Prototype, the Audi R8 not to face competition from Porsche in 2004.

Audi Sport Quattro S1 Pikes Peak

After Audi completely revolutionized rally cars by introducing their Quattro car with all wheel drive they started to see that they could improve on their design. The original car was too long and didnt rotate quickly enough for tight rally courses. Just like the other manufacturers, Audi used the lenient homologation requirements to create a new rally car. All they needed for homologation was a production run of just 200 cars. There was a distinct difference though in Audi's approach as the Roland Gumpert led engineers used the existing 'urQuattro' design as a basis. The likes of Peugeot and Lancia went one step further by developing their Group B racers from the ground up around custom-built spaceframe chassis.

One of the original Quattro's biggest problems was addressed by shortening the wheelbase. A section of 320 mm (12.6 inches) was cut from the chassis behind the doors. With the engine still mounted ahead of the front axle, the short wheelbase Sport Quattro had massive overhangs that made for very strange proportions. Further weight was cut by replacing most of the steel body panels with lightweight composites like Kevlar and fiberglass and aluminium.

The all-aluminium five cylinder in-line engine was also a development of the existing design. It displaced just over 2.1 liter to slot into the three-liter class (for turbocharged engines a 1.4 equivalency factor was used). In competition trim, the turbocharged engine produced at least 350 bhp. As mentioned earlier the entire engine was mounted ahead of the front axle. Although this was not the most obvious location for the engine, it make installing the Quattro all-wheel drive system considerably easier.

Priced at a staggering 203,850 German Marks, the 300 bhp homologation special was introduced during 1983. By May 1st of 1984 the required 200 cars were constructed and the Sport Quattro was fully homologated. Audi's new rally weapon was handed to an all-star driver line-up that included Hannu Mikkola, Walter Röhrl, Michele Mouton and Stig Blomqvist. Considering that the previous Quattro had still been good enough to help Mikkola win the 1983 World Rally Championship, expectations for the new Sport Quattro were understandably high.

Blomqvist's spectacular, very sideways driving style suited the Sport Quattro perfectly. By flicking the tail out, the Swede overcame the natural understeer of the nose-heavy Audi. He won five of the twelve rounds and was crowned the 1984 World Champion. Mikkola and Röhrl also won a round, which was enough to clinch the constructor's trophy as well. The writing for the Sport Quattro was on the wall; the mid-engined Peugeot 205 T16 introduced halfway through the season had won three of the last four rallies of the year.

The Group B regulations allowed for an evolution an existing car under the condition that an additional 20 examples were produced. This allowed Audi to create the Sport Quattro S1, which was introduced at the 1000 Lakes rally in August of 1985. Visibly it was quite a dramatic make-over thanks to a massive scoop on the nose and a large rear wing. The awkward weight balance was also addressed by moving the radiators, battery and other auxiliaries to the rear of the car.

Further modifications under the the kevlar body panels concentrated on the drivetrain. The turbocharged 'five' now produced well over 500 bhp, which came at the expense of low-end grunt due to the turbo-lag. To counter that the S1 was fitted with an anti-lag system that fed fuel into the turbo to keep it spinning even when the throttle was closed. The resulting bangs and exhaust-flames were immediate fan favourites. At some rallies, Audi also experimented with a 'PDK' dual clutch automatic gearbox.

By the time the Sport Quattro S1 made its debut, the Peugeot 205 T16 had already won six rallies out of a possible eight. At the new car's first outing, reigning champion Blomqvist scored a commendable second with the S1, behind a Peugeot of course. Röhrl salvaged the season for Audi by winning the San Remo Rally. There the massive power and traction of the Audi gave it the edge over the better handling and much nimbler Peugeot. Having barely caught on with the Peugeot, Audi was confronted with an all new turbocharged and supercharged Lancia at the final round of the season.

Audi's engineers worked hard over the winter on the engine, which reportedly produced in excess of 600 bhp at the start of the 1986 season. The podium of the traditional season opening Rallye Monte Carlo was telling with a Lancia and Peugeot heading the third placed Audi of Mikkola. Audi's presence in the World Championship came to a dramatic end after the Rallye de Portugal. Three spectators were killed and a further 30 were injured after a Ford RS200 pilot plunged into the crowd. Audi announced their withdrawal from the sport shortly after.

Audi also dispatched the Sport Quattro and Sport Quattro S1 to the United States for the annual Pikes Peak Hillclimb. In 1984 Michelle Mouton became the first woman to win 'The Race to the Clouds.' In 1985 she repeated that feat in a Sport Quattro S1. Bobby Unser continued Audi's winning streak in 1986. With Group B cancelled in 1987 the competition at Pikes Peak was much stronger that year. Röhrl was handed a mildly modified Sport Quattro S1 with an even wilder bodykit. The turbo boost was raised to produce a rumored 1000+ bhp. The German rally-legend won at his first attempt.

Audi's world rally program lasted less than five years but its influence can still be felt. With four championships, the adventure was also highly successful for Audi. The Sport Quattro and the extreme Sport Quattro S1 represented the final development of the 'urQuattro' and remain as the most powerful rally cars ever built. The valuable lessons learned were later applied to GT and Touring car racing, winning Trans-Am, DTM and BTCC titles in the following years.


In both TRans Am and BTCC the Audi cars were banned for having too much of an advantage with their Quattro systems over all the other cars. But thats a story for another time...

Porsche 911 (type 953) Paris-Dakar 1984

Heres the original Paris-Dakar 911. I didnt know it actually had a new designation but it makes total sense since this was a prototype.

The 953 was a heavily modified variant of the 911, designed and built specifically to compete in the 1984 Paris–Dakar Rally. It was a short lived model, as it was replaced in 1985 by the 959. It is sometimes referred to as the 911 4x4, as it used the developmental, manually controlled four-wheel drive system that was intended to be used on the 959. Naturally it had an extremely enhanced suspension, was powered by a 300 bhp (220 kW) naturally aspirated flat 6, and weighed in at 2,750 lb (1,247 kg). It was extremely successful with one of the three entered taking overall first place.

Drag-u-la

The Drag-u-la from The Munsters. Both of the cars from The Munsters were built by George Barris (he of Batmobile fame etc etc) and were actually fully drivable. Funny story about the Drag-u-la courtesy of That Car Guy…
In an episode titled Hot Rod Herman, Herman lost the Koach in a bet with a faster drag-racer. To win the family car back, Grandpa built a dragster out of a coffin. In the end, they wound up with both cars, and the Drag-u-la is seen in the closing credits of the second season.

The Drag-u-la has a Dragmaster chassis, a 350-horsepower 289 Mustang V-8, four-speed stick, and dragster slicks mounted on polished Rader five-spoke wheels. On the front, English Speedsport wire wheels have mounted Italian motorcycle tires. With the upturned organ pipe exhaust, Grandpa says it’s the only dragster in America that can play Oh, Promise Me in second gear.

Getting the casket for the car was, well, another story. Seems the crew went to buy a damaged casket, but the undertaker would not sell one to Barris since he wasn’t dead. As soon as the funeral director left, Barris “appropriated” a casket, leaving the cash behind for payment.
Things were definitively more laid back in the 60s!

Porsche 911 Paris-Dakar rally replica

Looks awesome! Bombing through some dirt roads must be sick in that thing!

Mr. Bentley – He builds fast trucks.  

Ettore Bugatti

Hydyne Motorsport 3 piece Ford Mustang wheel

This is my own company, Hydyne Motorsport. We manufacture one off and very limited production run (12 sets or less of each model) forged wheels in 1, 2, and 3 piece, as well as carbon fiber pieces. Every now and then I will post projects we work on here, although I will also start a dedicated blog that deals only with the company news and products.

This is a new Hydyne Motorsport 19” Ford Mustang forged 3 piece wheel! They will be 19x9.5 in front and 19x10 in the rear. The color is decided…but here’s a little test idea we played with. It will be one color now…

I will post the complete wheel once painted and assembled…and installed as well!

Oldsmobile Aerotech 1987

Was reading Deans Garage and saw the story of the Aerotech...one of the coolest looking designs ever. Leraned a few things too...I had no idea they used an Indy car chassis, in the fourth picture you can clearly see this. Heres the story written by Gary Smith, who was directly involved in the design of it.

The Oldsmobile Aerotechs were a series of experimental high-speed vehicles created between 1987 and 1992 incorporating the latest in performance technology with the intention of breaking multiple automobile speed records. The first such car was driven by four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt to a world closed-course speed record of 257.123 mph (413.788 km/h) on 27 August 1987 at the 7.712-mile (12.411 km) test track near Fort Stockton Texas. Prior to this, on 26 August 1987, the car had posted a top speed over a mile of 267.88 mph (431.10 km/h). The car consisted of a March Indycar single seat chassis enclosed in an extremely efficient aerodynamic body shell. It was powered by a highly turbo-charged version of the 2-litre Oldsmobile Quad 4 engine. The Aerotech body was designed by GM Design staff and was one of the sleekest vehicles ever developed for use on a high speed track. The design of the Aerotech included the capability of adjusting underbody sections to control the distribution of downforce, front to rear. Oldsmobile produced three versions of the original Aerotech to prove the capabilities of the company’s Quad 4 engine. Two were short-tailed (ST) versions and one was long-tailed (LT).
Subsequently, between 7–15 December 1992, another version of the Aerotech, this time powered by a 4.0 liter Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engine and fitted with lights, broke 47 speed endurance records including the 10,000 and 25,000 kilometer world speed records. Other national and international speed records ranging from 10 kilometers to 24 hours were accomplished by a team of drivers working 24 hours a day for 8 days. These records were also set at the Fort Stockton test track.

If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower.

Mark Donohue

AMC AMX 3 1970

One of the coolest limited production cars in my opinion started off as a concept and went on to be made in only 6 copies. It even featured a rising rear spoiler which wouldn't be seen until many years later. The AMX/3 debuted at the 1970 Chicago Auto Show. Engine-less and fashioned in fiberglass, the original AMC/3 prototype was a show car only.

American Motors placed an order for 30 operational cars. The AMX/3 body mold was sent to Italian manufacturer Giotto Bizzarini, whose factory in Turin hand made drivable mid-engined, steel bodied cars. Built on a 105.3-inch (2,675 mm) wheelbase, the Bizzarrini prototypes used the AMC 390 cu in (6.4 L) V8 and an Italian OTO Melara four-speed transaxle. Road testing was done by BMW where it is rumored that the test drivers declared the AMX/3's chassis one of the stiffest and most neutral handling they had ever tested.

 The steel Italian cars differed from the original AMC design in having fewer but functional rear decklid louvers, louvered hoods, and, in some cases, hood scoops to direct fresh air into the heating-A/C system.

Five completed cars were produced before the $2,000,000 program was cancelled. Escalating costs and pending bumper regulations put a stop to the mid-engined AMX/3 The remaining extra parts were used to assemble a sixth car.