Car Porn Deluxe - "Supra-er" Edition - The Lexus LF-A

At an asking pricing of $400,000, I might have suggested that they call it the LmFAo. And while the specs are impressive,

* 4.8-liter 72-degree V10 putting out 560 hp at 8,700 RPM (that's 116.5 hp/liter) and 354 lb.-ft. of torque at 6,800 RPM
* Redline: 9,000 RPM
* Titanium valves, connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, dry sump lubrication and a titanium exhaust manifold
* Six-speed sequential gearbox
* Torsen limited slip differential
* 3,263 pounds with a 48/52 front-to-rear weight distribution
* Power-to-weight ratio of 5.8 pounds/hp
* 65 percent of the body is carbon fiber
* 20-inch BBS wheels wrapped in 265/35 ZR20 Bridgestone tires in front and 305/30 ZR20 in the rear.
* 0-62 MPH (100 km/h) in 3.7 seconds
* Top speed of 201.94 MPH
* Production limited to 500 units

I just can't see how many folks will want to sign-up for Ferrari 599 performance and price, with the cache of Lexus.

Enjoy?

Car Porn Deluxe - "Cool, but's its not coming here" edition - BMW e92 M3 CSL / GT4 Prototype

Although BMW's M Division is reluctant to confirm the existence of a e92-bodied M3 CSL / GT4 program, the short video below would lead me to believe that BMW is serious about producing a track day version of their 3800 lbs GT car. While I'd love to see BMW get serious and provide a GT car that car carry four R-comp tires to a track day and then give reasonable chase to a Porsche GT-3, my guess is that BMW is just trying not to get too much sand kicked in it's face by the upcoming Audi RS4/RS5.

Only time will tell. Enjoy!

The Scuderia back on track - Bratwurst and Snowtire Edition- Badger Bimmer's Oktoberfast

The Scuderia finished up the 2009 Midwestern track season with a three-day home stand at the friendly confines of Road America in lovely Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The Badger Bimmers Fall event is know to attract drivers from around the region and from across the country to this extremely friendly and well-run HPDE. While this event is traditionally held in September, schedule fallout from the SCCA run-offs, as well as a planned BMWCCA national Octoberfest planned for 2010 contributed to a shift in dates to the second weekend in October.

Historically this weekend treats us to temps in the mid 60's to low 70's with lots of Autumn sun. This wasn't the case this year with hotel parking lot temps ranging between 32 and 28 degrees welcoming us to the Dairy State, and variable snow showers testing the fortitude of the drivers, corner workers, and safety crews throughout the day on Saturday.

One thing that makes this weekend worth the trip (aside from a great breakfast at The All-Season Restaurant with the corner workers) is the wide range of metal that shows up for this event. This year there were some of the usual suspects (for this event) Ferrari 333sp, a handful of race prepared Corvettes, a Porsche Cup Car, multiple Porsche Turbos, and Prepared M3's, but this year they were joined by a Radical SR3, Viper ACR and Porsche GT-2 (in black/orange RS colors )

The weekend ended with a minimum of incidents, given the prevailing weather conditions, with all of the Scuderia able to drive off and/or able to mount a trailer on their own power. Looking forward to seeing you at Road America in 2010. Maybe you too can get some experience with the snow-line, or find out what slicks are like in the snow at 140mph, its worth the trip.

Car Porn Deluxe - "Polizei Vice Edition" - Team Polizei Time Lapse NY to MIA

Enjoy!

Renault Guarantees Pole in 2010 - Signs Robert Kubica as Alonso's Replacement

While it appears that the 2009 Silly Season in Formula 1 started in March this year, the number of confirmed drivers for 2010 just increased by one with the Renault F1 Team's signing of Robert Kubica. Based on the press releases that have been circling it appears as though Robert Kubica's contract with Renault in for one year only, not surprising in a sport where the remaining manufacturer-based teams keep a clear path to the exit just in case the share-holders get nervous about the F1 budget.

The move to Renault is actually a return for Robert who started his F1 career with a Renault test session before being snapped up by BMW-Sauber. Hopefully Robert finds the 2010 Renault more to his liking than the 2009 BMW-Sauber, which combined with some of his ambitious passing maneuvers has netted him only 9 points so far this year.

Best of luck Robert, anyone that can take the kind of hit that he did in Montreal in 2007 and return to racing cars is one of the few bright spots in Formula 1 today.

Car Porn Deluxe - "Snow-Shoe Edition" - Porsches and White Powder and it's not even Miami

As someone who mounts up the snow tires on his M3 and chugs through the Chicago winters, I truly respect and admire Porsche for shaming those who park their cars in inclement weather. Cars are meant to be driven, and with some decent winter tires and a little talent it can even be fun. Enjoy!

Car Porn Deluxe - 1963 SCCA USRRC Championship at Road America

Some amazing footage of the 4.01 mile wonder that is Road America from the days before ARMCO barriers, harnesses or proper helmets. Some great Elva, Porsche and Cobra action as well from Bob Holbert, Ken Miles and Augie Pabst. Enjoy!

(via William Stenson and Jalopnik)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Tribute to Attilio Bottega in Anticipation of The Discovery Channel HD carrying the WRC tonight at 8PM est

Attention WRC fans in the USA, the Discovery Channel HD Theater will be showing the Rally of Ireland tonight at 7pm CST/8pm EST. While The Discovery Channel will be showing 4 hours of rally racing action as a lead up to to the action, we thought that it would be fun to serve up some rally action from the salad days of rally racing with a tribute to one of the masters, Attilio Bottega. Enjoy!