2015 Acura TLX GT Race Car Also Debuts at the Detroit Motor Show

Acura wants to give some sporting credentials to its upcoming TLX mid-size sedan with a motorsports version dubbed the 2015 TLX GT Race Car for the Pirelli World Challenge Championship, which was revealed today alongside a thinly disguised prototype of the production car at the Detroit auto show.

With the TLX GT Race Car, Acura will move up to the top GT category of the racing series where it will go head to head with the likes of the Audi R8 LMS, Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes SLS, Nissan GTR, Porsche 911 and Ferrari 458.

Powered by a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 engine based on the naturally aspirated unit of the production car and fitted with all-wheel drive, the racing model was developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD), which is the racing arm of American Honda Motor Co. It will be campaigned by long time Acura Motorsports partner RealTime Racing.

"The 2015 Acura TLX is a true luxury sport sedan, so it is fitting that the car be raced against several of its natural luxury competitors in the Pirelli World Challenge," said Art St. Cyr, President of HPD. "Acura and Peter Cunningham's RealTime Racing organization have a long history of success together, and we look forward to adding to that tradition with the Acura TLX GT race car in 2014."

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A Technical Video Walk-Around the New Corvette Z06 and C7.R, Plus Live Shots from Detroit

GM is certainly raising the bar again with the latest addition to the Corvette Stingray family, the new Z06, which polishes up the previous generation ZR1's supercharged formula, using the seventh generation model's lighter chassis as a base to create an even better and faster sports car.

And yes, factoring in how potent the C7 Z06 is, we too are pondering what kind of a monster is GM working on for the ZR1's replacement…

For now, you can calm down your curiosity with live shots from Chevrolet's Detroit motor show stand, and a pair of videos.

In the first clip that you will find below, Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer, provides us an in-depth look at all of the performance-driven aspects of the 625-horsepower 2015 Corvette Z06, while in the second one, Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, does the same for the racing version of the Corvette dubbed C7.R.

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VIDEO

New Corvette Stingray C7 R Looks Ready to Race in Leaked Photos

Time starts passing at a slower pace when you wait for big motor show news bearing details about fresh cars, like the racing version of the new Chevy Corvette Stingray, which will debut very soon alongside the Z06 road-going model later today in Detroit.

We already know what the former looks like, and you will too after you’ve scrolled down to the gallery located after the virtual jump. It’s nothing less than you’d expect, really…

Set to make its racing debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona later this month, it comes packing the usual array of spoilers, intakes, splitters and skirts – I think it will be one of the more aesthetically striking of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s GT class; it has cool side exhausts too.

If anything, the racing role suits its sharper, more aggressive character better than the more rounded and classically-styled C6. Check it out below.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Man Plays Racing Game on the Same Track He's Being Driven Around in Megane RS

This is a bit of an odd one. It seems that in the quest to see just how realistic modern racing games are (probably, as we found no other motivation for this experiment), it was decided that strapping a racing wheel, a 19-inch screen and a gaming console into position for the passenger of a Renault Megane RS was a good idea.

The plan was to have a pro racing driver race around a track, while the passenger would be playing a game, using the same road/car combination.

The result must have been a disorienting one for the virtual driver, who felt the forces of the car moving around the corners before or after he approached them on the screen.

However, what’s surprising is that it was neck and neck right until the end.

Scroll down and click play after the virtual jump, courtesy of Viagame.

By Andrei Nedelea

VIDEO

Subaru Reveals Nürburgring 24H-Ready WRX STI Racer

Subaru will continue to participate in the Nurburgring 24-Hour race that will be held this year in June with the new WRX STI racing car that made its world premiere at the Tokyo Auto Salon. The production / road going version of the WRX STI will be revealed in the metal at the Detroit motor show.

Extensively worked on and engineered by both Subaru and their in-house tuners STI, the racing model will use a two-liter boxer-four engine with a turbocharger and be eligible for the SP3T class for displacements of between 1.6- and 2.0-liter. The road car will use a bigger 2.5-liter variant.

The road-going WRX STI, in its traditional colors, looks nice, and so does this track-honed racer. However, the official rally-bred version is what all Subaru motorsport fans are waiting for – I know I am…

Scroll down and check out the photos of the Nürburgring racer, below.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Chrysler Group Joins Monster Truck Fun with Mopar Muscle Ram

The name is Mopar Muscle and it's is the first new Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) monster truck to join the Monster Jam truck racing series in over a decade. The big-wheel truck will be run by the Hall Brothers Racing team, which already fields the winning trucks “Raminator” and “Rammunition”.

Standing 10 feet high (about 3 meters) and weighing 10,300 pounds (4.672 kg), the Mopar Muscle is loosely based on a 2014 Ram Heavy Duty truck, featuring a 2,000 horsepower 565 cubic inch (9.3-liters) supercharged version of the Gen II 426 HEMI V8 engine that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

“We’re excited to have Mopar make its first foray into the world of monster trucks by joining the Ram brand in this popular and competitive exhibition series with a such a passionate and loyal following,” said Mopar boss Pietro Gorlier.

“So much of what Mopar does is applicable to the general consumer, but occasionally we like to show just how capable our brand is of really extreme performance. This is a great and fun opportunity for us to do that with Mopar Muscle and the Hall Brothers,” he added.

If you're into such things, you can see Mopar Muscle competing at the following events during the 2014 season:

•           January 11 – Monster Jam in Detroit, Mich.
•           February 22 – Monster Jam in Arlington, Texas
•           May 16-18 – 4 Wheel Jamboree in Lima, Ohio
•           June 21-22 – 4 Wheel Jamboree in Springfield, Mo.
•           July 11-13 – 4 Wheel Jamboree in Bloomsburg, Pa.
•           September 19-21 – 4 Wheel Jamboree in Indianapolis, Ind.

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