Etc : Car News And Reviews

If you’ve ever dreamed of racing in the Baja 1000, the guys at Wide Open Baja can make that dream come true. The Ensenada-based off-road company offers several different ways to get your feet wet (and helmet dirty) in a real Baja challenge car.

The 6.2-liter, supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI engine found in the Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Charger Hellcat, and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is about as impressive as any factory engine to ever find its way into a sub-$100,000 vehicle.

Two of the world’s most iconic vehicles are the classic VW Type 2 Bus, and the DeLorean DMC-12. So what would happen if you figured out a way to combine the two? You’d end up with this one-of-a-kind van.

Of all of the cars I’ve ever driven – and I’ve driven quite a few – my favorite is still the Ferrari 458 Italia. It just offered the right combination of power, oversteer, and drop dead looks that are everything you want in an Italian sportscar.

Russia isn’t exactly known for their cars. Most of the ones I’m aware of are either highly utilitarian, boxy trucks and vans, crazy military style off-roaders, or junky sub-compacts held together with bubble gum and spit.

The Nissan GT-R is perhaps the most precise and predictable sports car on the market. It’s incredibly responsive, and sharp as a tack going around a road course. I speak from experience. It’s like a precision scalpel that makes anyone behind the driver’s seat look like a pro.

If you’re a famous celebrity chef, you’re running around all the time and probably don’t get to spend nearly as much time in the kitchen as you once did. For that reason, Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations decided to do something special for chef Jamie Oliver, and built him an awesome kitchen on wheels, based on the latest generation Land Rover Discovery.

While I think it’s critical to take any vehicle you’re considering for an actual test drive, it’s kind of fun to see the sorts of things that automakers are starting to do with virtual reality to give people a small taste of what their vehicles are like.

Ken Block recently tore through the Utah desert in his Ford Fiesta ST RX43. Now he’s back with another epic action clip, as he drifts his way to the 14,100 ft summit of Pikes Peak, Colorado in his Hoonicorn RTR V2.

We’ve got cars with 4 wheels, 3 wheels, and even 6 wheels. But something that doesn’t seem natural at all is a car that has only 2 wheels. But that’s exactly what we have here – the 1967 Gyro-X, courtesy of Nashville’s Lane Motor Museum, who recently completed a full restoration of this unusual, one-of-a-kind vehicle. 

One of the last cars you’d ever think about taking off-road and onto a course filled with loose dirt, mud, and rocks would be a Bentley. Sure, they make some powerful cars, but they’re way too fancy and expensive to think about risking dings, dents, and scratches.

Gearheads love to talk about their engines, suspension systems, transmissions, tires, and even brakes. But there’s a far less sexy, but just as necessary component to all vehicles – and that’s its cooling system and coolant.

While most of us would rather have an off-road truck we can actually sit in and drive, something like a Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, a Ford Raptor, or a Chevy Colorado ZR2 will cost you $40K to $50K or more.

If you’re looking for truly off-road capable vehicle that also happens to be crazy fast, there aren’t too many choices. But the Nikola Zero aims to change that, with a rugged all-terrain vehicle with an all-electric drivetrain that’s as powerful as many high-end sports cars.

There are few things that automotive journalists fully agree on, but if you put 100 auto journos in a room and asked them to name the five ugliest cars ever designed, I bet the Pontiac Aztek would be in everyone’s top three.