Enter the Texas Mile!

413955_1015112597998165_2057187904_o

As any car aficionado can tell you, the racetrack is an amazingly exciting place. You’re able to truly test the limits of your car — top speed, handling, acceleration — in a safe place without any penalty from the police. Just yesterday, countless people ran in the Texas Mile — a one mile straight on an airport runway in Texas. Competitions include 130mph, 160mph, 190mph and 200mph — which if you hit that, you get the chance to be a part of the legendary 200+mph club of Texas! Originally started in 2003, the thousands of Texas Mile participants come from all walks of life–from the US, Canada and Mexico.

Also at the Texas Mile, Hennessey Performance (you know, those guys behind the monstrous Venom GT) set a record of 267.7mph in a Ford GT. Last year, they set a record by hitting 257.7mph on 117 octane gas in their twin-turbo 5.7L V8 Ford GT, so by setting a new record yesterday, that has to be quite the accomplishment.

Check out the Texas Mile Facebook page for more photos of the event and check out Hennessey Performance for more information and videos on their cars.

Congratulations Hennessey Performance — you guys deserve it!

Photos from the Texas Mile Facebook page.

 

Spring Is Almost Here!

To our AUTOcrats, we want to tell you what your first purchase of the spring season should be. As someone who hates to see a car with scratches especially after a nice wash, here is what you need to do. The product is called Grit Guard. As an actual user of this product, I stand by it and can actually say it works. In short, the Grit Guard lets you wash your car in a scratch free environment. The grating separates the bottom of the bucket where the dirt lays and your cleaning applicators. This ensures that when you wash your car there is no dirt or grime endangering you paint and finish on the car. Enjoy the video below that explains Grit Guard and how it works and hopefully you have a scratch free wash!

Video courtesy of Grit Guard

2014 Scion tC to be debuted at NY Auto Show

Scion will be debuting the new 2014 tC at the New York International Auto Show on March 28. The last redesign for the tC came in 2011, so styling cues might appear from the FR-S. Scion’s current tC has a 2.5L 4-cylinder engine, producing 180hp and 173tq. Available transmissions include an automatic or manual, both six-speeds.

Photo from Scion.

2013 New York International Auto Show – See you there!

Are you getting ready for the 2013 New York International Auto Show?! With more than 50 cars making their first time debut, the 2013 NY Auto Show is something you don’t want to miss! We’ll be there before the public even gets a chance to so we’re going to show you everything!

Check out the trailer:

Photo and video from NYIAS.

McLaren MP4-12C Cabrio vs. X-Games Snowboarder

Rhys Millen is a current top drifting competitor and former rally driver. What happens when you put both together? You get a McLaren MP4 drifting around a snow-covered mountain, racing against Winter X-Games snowboarding medalist Chanelle Sladics. Who do you think wins? Watch the video and find out!

Photo from the McLaren YouTube channel (screenshot).

2014 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Edition 507

Did you watch that video? Does that not look amazing?

The standard C63 AMG has 451 horspower, but the C63 Edition 507 gets…you guessed it…507 horsepower. Also, exclusive for the Edition 507, features include an enhanced high-performance braking system and exclusive design features inside and out.

Shooting from 0-60 in 4.1 seconds, you’re stepping into Maserati territory. The engine is still the famous AMG 6.3L naturally-aspirated V8, just modified with lightweight forged pistons, connecting rods and crankshaft that lighten the car and make it faster. Top speed is also boosted from 155 to 174 miles per hour, so be sure to check your mirrors for those police cars.

Photos and video from Mercedes-Benz.

The 2014 Cadillac CTS

The media has been abuzz about the all-new Cadillac CTS. Why? Because of a TWIN-TURBO(!), 420-horspower V6 engine. That’s why. The insanity of this car is amazing and it produces an astounding 430-lb-ft. of torque. We truly can’t wait to drive it!

Cadillac will be live-streaming the debut of the 2014 CTS on Facebook on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:15pm EDT. Check out the event page on Facebook .

Photo from Cadillac.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The all-new 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, along with the SRT model, will have many new features and accessories. They will come with new drivetrains, have a more luxury feel and improved off-road options, as well as a standard touchscreen radio and the base engine will be the Pentastar 3.6L V6 engine with 290 horses.

Here’s a great Jeep commercial that just recently debuted. The commercial starts off with the famous Al Pacino speech from “Any Given Sunday” and is very well put together. We would not expect anything less from Jeep and we hope you enjoy the commercial as much as we did.

Newly designed interior for the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. (SRT model shown above)

Newly designed interior for the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. (SRT model shown above)

Video and photos courtesy of Jeep.

The BMW 850CSi: Pure Beauty!

Everyone has their own list of dream cars right? A Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Maserati usually has a spot on their list. My top three dream cars are all BMWs — a 2006 M6 convertible, a 2001-2002 BMW M-Coupe with the S54 engine, and a 1992-1996 BMW 850CSi — which I think is one of the best looking cars of all-time.

Photo from GM-Classics.com

Photo from GM-Classics.com

The BMW 850Csi was produced from 1992 to 1996 and was BMW’s top-of-the-line touring car. It had the same engine as the 850i, but was tuned to be 5.6 liters and produce 375 hp. Modifications from the 850i to the CSi included stiffer suspension, lower ride height and wider wheels (with forged alloy rims optional). The only transmission was a 6-speed manual and European 850CSi’s had four-wheel steering. I mean, who would want it any other way?! Unfortunately, production ceased in late 1996 because the engine was unable to be modified to meet new emission regulations.

Photo from bmwblog.com

Photo from bmwblog.com

Noted BMW tuner Alpina also produced a version of the 850, which was called the B12. The B12 5.0 Coupe was based on the 850i (5.0L M70 engine, 350hp, 4-speed automatic transmission). The B12 5.7 Coupe was based on the 850CSi and had a 5.7L S70 engine producing 416 hp and was mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox.