A pair of past MURICA burnouts…

We like burnouts here. They’re childish, immature, stupid, wasteful, and wonderful. Using the combined power of an engine and brakes, you can create vast clouds of smoke, tremendous noise, and wicked glee. So today I’m presenting two quick clips we created over the last few years as a simple tribute to America Day.

Above we have a Chevrolet SS doing a bit of what it does best. The car comes from Australia, but that’s basically 1990s America, right now.

Below, we have a Corvette displaying a bit of tire destruction as well. Yes, I know the song is sung by a band not from these shores… but they’re singing an ode to us.

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The sights and sounds of the 95th Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

Nearly 13 miles of pavement, and it’s filled with over 150 turns. Now in its 95th year, the Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an event that brings out the crazy in an already crazy world.

All sorts of men, women, and machinery come together to see just how quickly they can blast up this bit of pointed Earth in Colorado.

You start at over 9,000 feet above sea level and the checkered flag waves at 14,115 feet. The air is thin. The engines are working hard to breathe just like the spectators.

The Pikes Peak Hill Climb is an assault of sight and sound.
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Shot and edited by SPC Imaging:
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Aston Martin DB11 V8 says Hello World at the Goodwood FOS

The Aston Martin DB11 made its debut sometime last year, and the world assumed the engine under the hood would arrive as a result of the AMG-AM love fest. The world was wrong. Aston Martin produced a car with a de-stroked V12 of its own design, and then slapped a pair of turbochargers on there for good measure. There were rumors that a V8 version wasn’t far behind, however.

That version makes its debut today at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. If you’re not aware, the Festival of Speed is basically the greatest automotive event on the planet. It makes perfect sense for Aston Martin to brings its all new eight-cylinder grand tourer to this showcase, as both are delightfully British yet also showcase some great technology, history, and heritage found all over the globe.

Todays bit of globetrotting brings us to Germany, because that is where the guts of the engine come from. This AMG-derived engine is a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. It’s making 503 horsepower, 512 lb-ft of torque, and will propel the DB11 from 0-60 miles per hour in under four seconds.

If you listen closely to the video above, it also fires off the machine gun snap, crackle, and pop that has primarily been a space wholly owned by the Jaguar F-Type. Aston needs to make some noise, and this V8-powered DB11 is clearly ready to do just that.

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David Tracy turns a Free Jeep into a Hero’s Fix

We all have our limits with a given vehicle. For Jeep owner Matt, it was the terrible metal-on-metal noise coming from the guts of his 1992 Cherokee Briarwood. Matt is in college and he’s already poured a lot of love and cash into his beloved first vehicle, but that hasn’t stopped it from sounding like it’s currently gurgling bolts.

He reached out to Jalopnik’s resident Jeep-o-phile to see if he’d like to take it over for short cash. David Tracy already has plenty of Jeeps in various state of repair so he politely declined. The Cherokee was listed for sale… and no takers showed up to kick the tires. So after months of it sitting, Matt decided to offer it to Tracy for free.

David hopped in his own Jeep with a wrenching friend and they set off to see about bringing this Cherokee home. When they got there, the discovered the issue at hand, fixed it and then did something rather wonderful.

Instead of bringing home this 4.0-liter-heater powered Jeep, they took the keys and gave them right back to the college student that handed them over initially. Matt was getting his Jeep back and David was going home with a hell of a lot of good karma on his shoulders.

Head over to Jalopnik to read more about this one.  (That’s where we stole the image above too, by the way)

David Tracy, you’re officially a Hooniverse Hero for your efforts in the field. May your roads be empty, your skies blue, and your oil clean.

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Shift Happens: Benz drop off and a story about an R34 Skyline

We’ve renamed the series Shift Happens, because it’s just better. Credit goes to Josh Ostrander for that one.

In this episode, I take the W114 Benz to a shop to have it given a proper look over. This is something I should’ve done before I bought it… but I have no patience, and I’m dumb. So it’s off to the shop for a full looking over and then we’ll create a list to work through as time and money allow.

After that, Josh Ostrander picks me up from the shop and I get him to tell a crazy story. He once briefly owned a Skyline… an R34 Skyline to be specific!

Hit play to learn more about that.

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The 2018 Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE just ripped the ‘Ring a new one

The other day, I posted a video of my review of the Chevy Camaro SS 1LE. There’s a more evil beast coming out soon though, and its badging will read ZL1. You can spec your future freak-beast Camaro in 1LE guise, and that gets you Dynamic Spool Valve dampened suspension setup, a healthy heaping of aero bits, and a car that is capable of lapping the Nürburgring in 7:16.04.

You’ll also have a 650-horsepower engine under the hood and a six-speed manual gearbox at you beck and call.

There are few rear-wheel-drive production vehicles that have gone around The ‘Ring more quickly. An AMG GT R holds the top spot with a time of 7:10.92, and has a price tag quite a bit higher than the $70k it takes to own a ZL1 1LE.

We know that ‘Ring times don’t mean much in the real world… but you have to admire the fact that a Camaro just slapped its throbbing lap time on the counter, and right in the face of Yurup’s fastest machines. Also, watch the video above just for the driving ability alone and you’ll come away impressed.

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The Mazda MX-5 RF: A Miata for people who hate convertibles

The ND Miata is good. There’s no denying that the current generation Mazda MX-5 is an excellent machine. Still, I’m a bit of weird who prefers coupes to convertibles. Some air would be nice… and that’s where the MX-5 RF comes into play. Say hello to the Retractable Fastback version of …The Answer to any question where it’s not already 42.

You start with the basic MX-5 goodness that is the front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. Add in a slick-shifting six-speed manual gearbox and you’re on the right path.

Now make it a Club version car, which gets beefier brakes, nice bits of blacked-out trim, and some sweet BBS wheels and you are doing even better. The MX-5 RF won’t please the Miata Purists but it will make a whole lot more people who might not’ve considered the car before start to take a closer look.

[Disclaimer: Mazda tossed us the keys to this car and included a tank of fuel. We spent more money on pomade over the next few days at our own expense.]

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Podcast: Episode 207 – Dan Greenawalt and Forza 7

Dan Greenawalt, the Creative Director for Turn 10 Studios, swings by the podcast studio to talk about Forza 7. We dive into a bit of his current car love (A Mustang GT350), and press him for some details on the game before taking your questions. 

Hooniverse – Dan Greenawalt and Forza 7

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House of Muscle brings some classic Camaro heat to your screen

Mike Musto and his House of Muscle are back on YouTube with a new episode. The latest installment has Mike whipping through some glorious Northern California backroads. He’s doing so in a 1970 Chevy Camaro that’s been built with the goal of being a track beast.

It does this by coming packed with a GM LSA engine and outfitted with a proper suspension setup front and rear. This is the exact type of build you’d expect to find running very well in an Optima Street Car challenge event.

Musto gushes over the gussied up Camaro as he puts it through its paces. This generation car is one that I personally haven’t loved in the past, but the last few years have changed that. This one only helps cement that feeling that this era of Camaro deserves the attention it’s getting now.

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Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE: Improving on the Alpha

Dear Camaro fanboys, you’re all terrible…

but the current generation Camaro is fantastic. Especially when it comes fully dressed in SS 1LE guise. You take the already good Camaro SS, and then you add some go-fast bits and a bit of blacked-out body work and you have a truly excellent machine.

The noise. The capability. The in-your-face looks. It all adds up to a beastly American sports car that can dance with damn near anything the rest of the world has to offer. Chevy has a monster on its hands, and we haven’t even *begun* to talk about the ZL1 version that exists…

[Disclaimer: Chevy tossed us the keys to the Camaro for a week and included a tank of fuel. We would love to have also seen more tires, a race track, and more time…]

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