GAINSCO 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype

Texas based GAINSCO has been testing it’s new 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype racecar for the coming Grand-Am series.

Check out their photos and page on facebook!

Have you always wanted to join in those fantastic cross country car rallies but never had the money or time to make it happen? We might just have the event for you, and it’s right here in Texas.

The Border Run Rally will be a 500 mile, one day journey down amazing Texas roads toward an unknown destinations and unknown adventures. The best part is that the entry fee is only $50. That takes care of the time and money constraints for most people.

This rally sounds like it will be a lot of fun and we’re hoping to hear back from some attendees on how it goes. If you are interested in running the rally act quickly and check them out at BorderRunRally.com.

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart by txGarage

The Mitsubishi Lancer has been around for a while now, and even though it didn’t start out being sold in the American market, it has always been the platform for Mitsubishi’s halo car; the Evolution. When I was in high school, I had a friend who owned a Mitsubishi Mirage, yeah remember those, that had a body kit to look like the Japanese only Evo. My first experience seeing a true Evo was also in high school. I knew this one was the real deal mostly because it was right-hand drive. Needless to say, even though we didn’t get the Evo in America, it was still a very popular car. So popular that Mitsubishi finally decided to bring the Lancer and the Evo to the United States in 2003. This was the eighth generation of the Evo, so you see that Mitsubishi took it’s time.

Ralliart was the high-performance and motorsports division of Mitsubishi. The Ralliart division was responsible for the company’s rally racing programs and also built high performance cars for the public market. It was Ralliart dealers across the world that started importing the Evolution into markets other than Japan. So, obviously, anything with a Ralliart badge on it is going to be great, right?

Not so fast, the first Ralliart Lancers to hit American streets were no more than a regular Lancer with some wheels and Ralliart badges. If you wanted the halo performance car, you still had to splurge for the Evo. Just like any other car, the Evo had gotten bigger, faster, more technologically advanced, and more expensive. Mitsubishi itself started seeing the gap between the Evo and the Lancer growing and needed something to fill it. In come the 2011 Ralliart.

This is no normal Lancer with some fancy wheels and badges. This is a detuned version of the Evo with a 237 hp 2.0 liter turbocharged engine and all-wheel-drive. The Ralliart is a fun car that gives you some of the Evo fun for less money.

So the real question is how did it handle in our Texas torture testing?

2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart by txGarage

Let’s start with the interior. The Lancer isn’t known for its great interior quality. As a matter of fact, the base Lancer’s interior is pretty poor when compared to others in its segment. This Ralliart had a nice interior. We had bolstered seats with nice quality leather, a leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter, and nice leather touch-points around the cabin. The dash and center stack were minimalist at best. No navigation system and not a ton of buttons to distract you. The most important buttons lay near the shifter. One was the traction button to let the electronics controlling the awd systems know what kind of conditions you are facing. Your options are tarmac, gravel, or snow. The other button to take note of is your shifting pattern. The Ralliart comes with a SST (Sport- or Sportronic Shift Transmission) and this button allows you to switch from normal shifts to sporty shifting. Most of the time, we would prefer a manual transmission over an automatic, but when you put this SST into Sport Mode and shift with the paddle shifters attached to the steering column, this car moves! One great aspect about the paddle shifters is that they are big and made of medal. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven a sporty car with paddle shifters and wished they were as nice as these.

So knowing the most important parts of the interior have to do with traction and shifting, let’s see just how well this thing goes. As I mentioned before, this is a detuned Evo engine, but this car doesn’t like to be driven slow. It actually seems to taunt you into driving fast and aggressive. Every time you let off the gas as you’re cruising down the road, the nose seems to dip as if to give the feeling that it’s restraining all the power. As soon as you mash that gas pedal down, it seems to rear back and shoot like a rocket and finally feels as if the car is happy to be on the move. Mix in the paddle shifters and some loose gravel and this car really comes alive. Luckily we have plenty of dirt and gravel roads around Texas to really put the Ralliart in its natural environment. If you are looking for a quite, smooth ride though, this might not be the car for you.

So it’s time to run out and buy one, right? A cheaper version of the Evo that’s still fun to drive and works well when traction isn’t there, what’s not to want? Well when we say cheaper, we’re talking a little over $32k specked out as ours was. That’s not too bad when shopping for performance cars nowadays, but you also have to factor in fuel economy. The Ralliart did okay on the highway where we were able to push it up around 22mpg, but on the city streets you were lucky to keep it above 14mpg. Take in the fact that this car entices you to drive like a 12 year old playing Gran Turismo and you’re looking more at the 12mpg range. For some, the fun factor will outweigh the fuel cost. If you can justify having the space granted by the hatchback Ralliart, the traction abilities, and the fun factor over the fuel cost, then you’ll have one great ride!

Check out the full Photo Album on our Facebook page.

We were surprised to say the least when Hyundai debuted the Veloster with its 3 door configuration and sport looks. Shortly after showing the Veloster, Hyundai gave us a peak of whats to come with the Veloster Rally car. 
It’s been only a little over a month since this car was on stage at the Chicago Auto show, but now has already made it’s competition debut at the Global Rally Championship this past week.

Check out more on autoblog.com

Austin F1 Track Layout

Updated info on Austin F1 by our friends at Motor Talk:

Well…it’s officially official now, as they have finally broke ground on the U.S. Grand Prix racetrack.  Some of the news we get from this video, is to expect a race sometime in June of 2012.  Here is the video from the Austin American-Statesman… more…

and even more from our good friends at Austin Grand Prix:

On Friday, November 13, I hopped on yet another friendly Southwest Air flight from Chicago to Austin, but first made a few stops in Kansas City and Dallas.  This time the stops were welcomed because they allowed me to change seats (while waiting on new passengers to board the plane) and grill my Pilot on how we would be flying into Austin… more…

Hennessey Venom GT

Our buddies at Hennessy announced a few years ago that they would be building a supercar of their own. Going from a tuning shop to producing your own supercar doesn’t happen overnight and now almost two years after their announcement they are telling us the car will be debuting at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010.

If you have been following the Venom GT you know it was supposed to be powered by the Viper V10, as Hennessey has a good relation with the Viper brand. We also heard that it would be weighing in at 2700 lbs with a 1,000 horsepower ratting. Now we are hearing a little different, but better, story. Hennessey is now saying that the Venom GT will be powered by a “Hennessey V8” the weight is down to 2400 lbs and horsepower is up to 1,200 bhp. This spectacular looking mid-engine supercar will be able to deliver the goods, but will it make a real splash within the supercar world? That we’ll just have to wait and see…

Let us know what you think!

Scion dnb

Texas Motor Speedway is hosting the Scion Drag-N-Brag Program debuting this evening and expecting a large turnout. With around 250 competitors expected for the event the stands should be packed as will. The event is being held as an attempt to help curb illegal street racing. The event will also feature the “first” Fourth of July Fireworks Display.

For more information check out the Texas Motor Speedway site. ..

For more information on the rules check here…

[source: Texas Motor Speedway /img from TMS]

Fiat 500 Old and New

Obviously we, at txGarage, are interested in the one called the Sporty Hatchback. This will be the Abarth edition 500, as it’s known in Europe, named the European 2008 Car of the Year. Not too much is known about the exact specs of the 500 that America will get but in Europe it is built on a shortened Panda platform. Engines range from a 1.2 liter with 69 hp to 1.4 liter with 100 hp. I’m not sure what to expect in the US but I’d bet on the 1.4 being the base engine here. In the European Abarth they have the 1.4 liter engine turbocharged pushing out a whopping 133hp, but being a smaller lighter car the driving dynamics are quite good. Also look for upgraded suspension and some “subtle” body changes.

The Abarth 500

 

The interior in the 500 doesn’t seem cheap or “half-assed” at all. Like the Mini it is a nice place to be and doesn’t seem as cramped as you would think a small car would. I would go as far to say that I like the interior of the 500 more than the Mini. You get modern technology like iPod hookups and USB interface and a wide range of powered goodies.

The question left is, will it sell in the US? I think in the times we are in that when they bring this car over, yes it will sell. Depending on the price point they put on it, it should sell as well as the Mini has which was a huge success for BMW here. The higher end Abarth models could bring a “boy racer” following to the car like in the Mini and they will get great gas mileage. In Texas though… I’m not as sure that it will be as big of a success when you get out of the big cities. We love our monster trucks and big V8 muscle cars here, and can you blame us?