Blogs

The Ford GT40 was a high-speed monster that dominated the racetracks back in the ‘60s. Auto fans back then fell in love with its sexy, aerodynamic lines and that love affair hasn't cooled off yet.

Personally, the low-slung good looks of the GT40 are enough to get my pulse racing and my heart pounding.

I recently read an article about the SPF GT40 from Superformance, one of the world's leading component car manufacturers. Turns out that this particular component car's serial numbers are actually continuation numbers from the revered Safir GT40 Spares LLC out of Milford, Ohio.

Have you ever heard of the Ultimate Aero supercar? I've got to admit, I had no idea this insanely fast hyper-car existed. I just watched a video of this production car - that's right, production car - blowing the doors off of the world speed record.

The Ultimate Aero took to the flatlands of Wyoming a couple months ago with representatives from Guinness World Records filming the whole run. This muscle-bound beauty was clocked at an astounding 256.18mph!

Manufactured by Shelby Supercars, this electrifying speed demon may share the legendary Shelby name, but it's no relation at all to Carroll Shelby or Shelby North America. In fact, Shelby Supercars is the brainchild of a guy by the name of Jerod Shelby.

I recently read up on the handcrafted cars offered by the Mullen Motor Company (www.mullenmotorco.com) out of Las Vegas. In particular, I was absolutely captivated by the Mullen M-11, which has a distinctively exotic look.

Turns out, the Mullen M-11 has an impressive pedigree. At an Association of Handcrafted Automobiles Show just a couple months ago, she was named winner of the Special Interest award, and then took the Kit Car Illustrated Editor’s Choice Car of the Show trophy as well.

Tiff Needle: Now you probably know that I’m not very keen on old cars.  They’re usually uncomfortable, they don’t handle very well, they’ve got rubbish brakes, and they leak.  But there was one old design I was willing to travel 6,000 miles to have a go in.

For the past 15 years, the designers and engineers at Mongoose Motorsports (http://www.mongoosems.com) have been fine-tuning their powerful Grand Sport Replica. Recently, this team unveiled their newest endeavor – the GTP replica. And is she ever hot. This GTP kit car is Mongoose Motorsports’ homage to the super-rare Corvette GTP race car (only seven were ever built), and its looks are spot-on perfect. In fact, I’ve read that Corvette GTP aficionados have to look closely – two or three times – to be sure that the Mongoose GTP isn’t actually one of the extremely scarce originals. Of course, the Mongoose GTP has something the original GTP race cars never had – air conditioning. But this sleek beast isn’t just for the racetrack.

If you were ever a Boy Scout, chances are you tap into many of the skills and experiences the well-known youth organization provided you even today as an adult, relying on outdoor expertise you learned, safety know-how or social adeptness your Cubmaster helped you develop way back when.

However, your passion for cars wasn't likely started there. But for Boy Scouts in Pack No. 323, in Exeter NH, this passion is being ignited with the annual Pinewood Derby, which now boasts 31 Boy Scouts and Webelos (younger scouts), all of whom design, create and paint-by-hand their own cars and enjoy a day of camaraderie and competition, as well as a little showing off.

As the old saying goes, a picture's worth a thousand words. In the case of this website: BarrysBuildPage.com, the pictures may be worth even more for they carry the site by providing eye candy that's sure to get every car lover's salivary glands working overtime.

A chronicle, or "diary" as kit car builder Barry Johnson affectionately calls his website, viewers of these pages are privy to a written account, well, actually a visual account of Barry's hand-built works, which are certainly admirable and run the gamut from a Euro Works Countach to a Diablo Roadster.

Last month, I wrote about DJ Motorsports' Lotus 7-inspired DAX Rush. Now I'd like to tell you about another car manufacturer in England who also uses Colin Chapman's brilliant Lotus 7 design - Caterham Cars.

Caterham Cars has been manufacturing their version of the Lotus 7 since 1973. Lovingly called the Caterham 7, this very cool Clubman-style car can be purchased as either a complete kit or basic starter kit, and is even available as a "ready to hit the highway" factory-built beauty. Now, that's a nice range of choices!

But as all kit car enthusiasts know, the fun is in the build.

Don’t be fooled by its diminutive size.  This Porsche-inspired two-seater from Vintage Spyder is made for the adrenaline rush of speed and hairpin curves.

When Porsche first introduced the 550 Spyder back in the ‘50s, it was the manufacturer’s first effort at an all-out, “burn up the track” racecar.  Its low slung design and beefed-up engine made it a natural on the racetrack.  In fact, during its racing reign in the mid-1950’s, the 550 Spyder beat everything in its class and even some much higher-powered racecars. 

If you travel to another state or even another country, chances are you'll rent a car to get around while there. Now, car rental can be a great experience or it can be a hair-raising adventure. And with so many nondescript rental cars available, it's a real thrill when one actually adds to the fun of seeing new places.

I recently returned from a dream vacation in the Yucatan Peninsula area of Mexico. While there, I rented a car to take in some of the local scenery. What I ended up with was a smoking Geo Tracker (no, it wasn't smoking fast or cool-looking - the exhaust blew more smoke than my granddad's cigars). The floor of this thing was so rusted out I could literally see the road beneath my feet.