Month: April 2009

Their mission is to provide their clients with the best [automotive] design solutions possible created within the clients’ set borders, sprung from their creativity and translated into visual emotion. Ugur Sahin Design belongs to this mission, as they were founded in 2007 within the Dutch Chambers of Commerce.

They have indeed proved this mission when they unveiled the absolutely stunning modern version Ferrari Dino. Just last year, they went to work on the C6 Corvette. During the process, Ugur Sahin Design partnered with Mallett Cars to aid with the final touches for the all new striking Corvette Z03!

The transformations they have made will increase engine cooling while improving the vehicle’s downforce capabilities. Z03 engine options include:

Base Engine
Supercharge LS7-like V8 Engine
700 Horsepower!
Cost: $32,700

Upgrade Engine
Supercharge Engine with Twin Turbos
999 Horsepower!
Cost: $35,795

With this type of transformation, why not add the extra few thousands to cover the upgraded engine’s cost? I certainly would… that is if I had the monetary means to do so!

[ Ugur Sahin Design ]

While at the National Corvette Museum’s C5/C6 Bash, we heard from the manager of the Bowling Green Assembly Plant Paul Graham about GM’s plan to close factories over the summer. Paul informs us that the only change for the Bowling Green Assembly Plant will be an additional week added to the normal two week shutdown in July. We also hear from Corvette’s Chief Engineer about the production targets for the Corvette ZR1 and how its production has been affected with these closures. [More]

The Indy Car Series takes on the first oval of 2009 at Kansas.  Watch the live streaming video at IndyCar.com or click here: http://indycar.neulion.com/indy/console.jsp

Kansas features the return of two more female drivers.  Milka Duno and Sarah Fisher join the action this week.

Also look for a couple of new paint jobs …

Toyota release:

Panasonic Toyota Racing is celebrating its best ever qualifying performance after Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock locked out the front row for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix. On a blisteringly hot and sunny day at the Bahrain International Circuit, air temperatures ranged from 35-38C while the track was 47-51C. Timo …

Chris and Josh are solo this week as George goes MIA!  We’ve got an F1 race in China to recap as well as the IRL and ALMS at Long Beach.  Mark Martin won one for the old guys in Phoenix…and much more.  Show notes are below the fold.  NEXT TIME …

The Indy Car Series shifts gears this week, leaving the narrow street course of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to tackle the first oval of the year at the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway.  The event outside of Kansas City is a 1.5 mile tri-oval …

Chevrolet Corvette to Get Launch Control for 2010, Won’t Void Warranty GM… At a 2010 Corvette seminar last weekend at the National Corvette Museum, Corvette’s Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter talked about the Launch Control program that will be featured as standard equipment on all 2010 Chevrolet Corvettes equipped with manual transmissions.

In addition to the new launch control system coming to all manual transmission Corvettes in 2010, there is another new feature coming exclusively to the Corvette ZR1. Called Performance Traction Management, the system integrates the Selective Ride, Traction Control and Active Handling systems and manages the vehicle’s acceleration based on the conditions and driver’s selection. [More]

In late March, Tom Henry Racing announced plans to market its own special-edition 2010 Camaro.

During the GM Engineering Seminar at the National Corvette Museum’s C5/C6 Bash, preliminary production data for 2009 was released. Most interesting is the total 2009 model year production through April 21, 2009 which stands at 15,237. This is the lowest amount of Corvettes produced in a single model year since the 9,752 Corvettes built during the first year of the C5 Corvette in 1997 and 20,000 less than the 35,000 Corvette built in 2008. Also included in the report is the penetration for exterior colors as well as some of the more popular options. [More]