Like Harley-Davidson motorcycles, today’s modern muscle cars can be customized to reflect the owners personality. Paint, wheels, interior and engine modifications can be addressed and there is no shortage of parts from the aftermarket. The following Dodge Challenger comes to us from the guys over at Jonsibal Design Works, and is nothing short of sinister. Flat bronze wheels set perfectly in the fender wells give the car and evil stance, and that matte-black paint finishes off a stunning machine. This particular design may not be for everyone, but as far as we’re concerned, it looks outstanding!

Source: Jonsibal Dodge Challenger

The 1950 Chevrolet 3100 Series pickup is the quintessential American farm truck. However, after Craig Morrison of Art Morrison Enterprises found it languishing in someone’s front yard, this little farm truck went from all-slo, to all-go. The original chassis was removed in favor of a new GT Sport bolt-on unit, as was the original Chevy straight-six engine. In its place sits a new GM Performance Parts crate motor with EFI injection that’s coupled to a Hughes Performance 4L60E automatic transmission. With the original paint and interior still intact, this old truck has been given a new lease on life while still retaining all the heritage that made it great over 60 years ago.

Source: Youtube.com/DRIVE

Remember the old saying, “Speed is just a question of money, how fast do you want to go?” Well, for owners of the Ultima GTR the answer is very fast. The Ultima GTR is one of those rare machines that was not designed for the masses. It’s a car owned by individuals who are looking for something a bit different as it offers up performance levels that usually bests those machines produced by the worlds leading manufacturers. The Ultima GTR’s are manufactured by Ultima Sports Ltd of Hinckley, Leicestershire, England and can be sold as a kit, or as full turnkey automobiles. This particular Ultima GTR is a 2001 model that was first registered in 2006, as it was primarily used for display. Sold as a “factory standard version” this GTR is powered by a GM sourced LS6 V8, runs massive 245x35x18 tires up front and 335x30x18 tires out back on custom O.Z. wheels and has a full custom Alcantara interior. It’s a car that’s not for the faint of heart and is something that I would consider an “expert” level machine. So if you’ve always wanted a true exotic but wanted to be different from those around you, then this is definitely your car.

Click through for more photos or click here to go directly to the eBay ad.

Big and bad ass. That’s the only way to describe this massive tri-axle two-stroke diesel hot rod that was cooked up in Germany by one Carsten Plötner. First off this sucker is downright huge and has a presence that makes all other vehicles run for cover and secondly, for a diesel it’s actually got a pretty hairy exhaust note! Now obviously one would not go about using this as a daily driver, but hey, as a weekend road warrior – why the hell not!

Source: RalfBecker.com

Why worry about top speed, when most cars spend a very small percentage of their lives anywhere near maxed out? Instead, why not use acceleration as a benchmark of performance, since that’s something we enthusiasts tap into every time we get behind the wheel? That’s the premise behind the latest video from Road & Track, which introduces us to the “Two Second Club.”

Membership is open to any stock, production car that can sprint from 0 to 60 in under three seconds. That’s a short list, although I’m guessing that Road and Track may have missed a few possible candidates. The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, for example, can make the trip in 2.8 seconds, as can the Lambo Aventador. The McLaren MP4-12C can reel off a 0-60 time of 2.9 seconds, and the Ferrari 458 Italia just misses out, clocking in at 3.0 seconds flat. In other words, the cars in the video aren’t the only ones capable of a sub-3.0 second 0-60 run.

I’d love to see a video database of 0-60 times and quarter mile times, since it would give you a benchmark when building a car or sizing up your on-track competition. Sounds like a great idea for a website project to me.

Source: You Tube

Image: BMW AG

Here’s a cold, hard fact of life that most of us try to ignore: if you reflash your car’s ECU, then swallow a valve or put a piston through your engine block, don’t expect that to be covered under your car’s warranty. In fact, any changes to your car’s ECU will generally void the powertrain warranty granted by the automaker, unless there’s some other pre-written arrangement between the automaker and the tuner. That’s not to say that mods will void your entire warranty, but if a manufacturer can prove that a failure is a direct result of modification, you’re on your own.

The best tunes, therefore, are the ones that come directly from a manufacturer. Last July, BMW offered a factory tuning program for buyers of the 2011 335i; for a very-reasonable $550 (plus installation), BMW would reflash the ECU to give you the same level of power as a 335iS. That meant a power increase from 300 horsepower to 320 hp, with a subsequent boost in torque up to 32 ft-lb (automatic transmission) or 17 ft-lb (manual or DCT transmission).

Now BMW is taking what they’ve learned and offering the same tune for owners of any year 335i, as well as any year 135i. For $599 (plus installation), BMW will sell you its Version 1 Power Kit, which consists of an ECU reflash. For those that track their cars, a Version 2 Power Kit gives you the added horsepower, plus added cooling in the form of an auxiliary water cooler and a higher flow fan.

The good news is that the kits retain all applicable BMW warranties, as well as emission certifications and stock fuel economy. The bad new is that the kits should only be installed on cars ordered with BMW’s option code S840, which includes a higher speed limit and an additional oil cooler.

Source: BMW

APR's 34,000 square foot headquarters in Opelika, AL. Image: APR

When it comes to cities with ties to world-class tuners, what comes to mind? If Mercedes is your thing, you’d probably say Affalterbach, Germany, home to AMG. Perhaps you’d say Asaka, Saitama, Japan, home to Mugen, if fast Honda’s are your passion. Closer to home, Livonia, Michigan, home of Roush Performance, may come to mind if you’ve got a penchant for fast Mustangs.

If you’re a Volkswagen or Audi fan, your performance mecca is Opelika, Alabama, home to APR, LLC and one town over from Auburn University. Founder (and Auburn grad) Steven Hooks simply wanted to create a shop where VW and Audi owners could go for repair and tuning services, without fear of getting ripped off. What started as a hobby has grown into a worldwide business that includes both street and track performance for Volkswagen, Skoda, Seat, Audi and Porsche vehicles.

APR's lobby, with the SEMA VW GTI - nice digs.

In the early days, APR’s specialty was remapping the Bosch Motronic ECU to get more horsepower. Unlike many other tuners, APR never went for just peak power, instead aiming for a balance of both power and real-world drivability. Even their dyno charts aren’t “padded”; instead of using a worst case run as a “stock” starting point, followed by the best run as a post-tune “after” example, APR’s dyno charts are usually an average of multiple runs. Spend some time talking to their employees, and you get the feeling that the company has nothing to hide.

APR's Dynapack chassis dyno.

While much of their business still consists of ECU tuning services for Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche clients, APR’s capabilities have increased substantially over the years. They employ a full time staff of both mechanical and electrical engineers, and have the capability to design, prototype and test parts in-house. Rapid prototyping allows the company to go from an engineering representation on a computer to a plastic resin part, perfect for test fitting, in a matter of hours. They even do their own CNC work onsite, which allows APR to maintain a high level of quality control on every part that goes through their doors.

APR's CNC system. Image: APR

APR's rapid prototyping area.

Final part (L) versus a resin test part (R).

The company has a “do it yourself” attitude common with businesses founded and staffed by engineers. To test their high pressure fuel pumps, for example, APR built their own test rig at a cost of around $60,000; that may sound expensive, but commercial units designed to do the same thing cost in the neighborhood of $500,000. APR is the only company, aside from manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, to have such a fuel pump test rig in their facility. If you get the feeling that they’re obsessed with quality, you’d be correct.

APR's fuel pump test rig.

Testing components as part of the design process allows APR to keep tight control of quality, something that their customers have come to expect. If you drive an Audi A6 and want a bit more power, you probably won’t have a sense of humor if your upgrades continually produce a “check engine” light or regular component failures.

An Audi S6 being built for the GrandAm Continental Tire Challenge

One of APR's GTI racers from the Continental Tire series.

Although APR’s 34,000 square foot facility allows them to design and build many parts in house, work that can’t be done economically is farmed out. Their intakes and exhausts, for example, are built by third party companies, since APR doesn’t want the expense or hassle of laying carbon fiber or bending stainless pipe to form exhausts. The secret to any well managed business is knowing both your strengths and your weaknesses, in order to maximize the former and minimize the latter.

'Darth Vader', a new Jetta that APR is building for VW of America.

My visit to APR was two-fold: I wanted to see the facility, but I was also on-site to get more horsepower from my 2011 VW GTI. In the words of Mark Twain, “Those that respect the law and love sausage should watch neither being made,” and the same could be said of reflashing an ECU. Removing the actual ECU isn’t terribly difficult, although it does involve the use of a cut-off disk, which poses it’s own risks. If you’re pulling out your own CPU, be sure to cover the windshield with a fire-resistant cloth since sparks can etch the finish of the windshield.

Once the ECU is out of the vehicle, the real fun begins. The cover must be removed to allow access to the circuit board, since this is the only way to allow programming. Removing the ECU cover is best left to a professional: there’s a lot that can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, and you really don’t want to write a check of your own to replace an ECU. APR has quite a bit of experience in reflashing ECUs, and the company made quick work of mine. Less than an hour later, my car was buttoned up and I was back on the road (in the middle of a tropical storm, complete with tornado warnings).

Is there a difference between stock and a Stage 1 tune? Yes, in much the same way that there’s a difference between Rosie O’Donnell and Keira Knightly. While I didn’t have a chance to dyno the car before and after, APR’s numbers claim that a stock GTI, running 93 octane gas, produces 216 horsepower and 227 ft-lb of torque. With a Stage 1 tune and no other modifications, the car makes 254 horsepower and 303 ft-lb of torque.

As you’d imagine, the difference in acceleration is substantial, but the GTI never exhibits the puckering amount of torque steer that the Mazdaspeed 3 does. In fact, the tuned car feels very much like a factory-built car; there’s no sudden buildup of explosive power at top-end only, and the car just seems to pull harder across the entire range. If you use you new-found power wisely, there’s even a slight gain in fuel economy compared to stock.

So now that my GTI goes fast and isn’t electronically limited to 130 miles per hour, it’s time to start shopping for lighter wheels and stickier tires. A highway encounter with a pair of cell-phone addled drivers has convinced me that a stiffer rear-sway bar would be a worthy upgrade, and the stock brake pads don’t exactly give the car world-record stopping distances. Look for these changes coming soon.

Image: APR

I’d like to give thanks to Keith Lucas, APR’s director of sales and marketing, and Arin Ahnell, APR’s marketing manager, for the time they spent with me during my visit. If you want to see APR products in action on the racetrack, be sure to catch the APR-tuned Volkswagen GTI’s running in GrandAm’s Continental Tire Series. To find an APR dealer near you, check out the APR website.

Like a sea of ghostly white the Bonneville Salt Flats stands out as one of Earth’s great wonders. Its miles and miles of wide open space have become home to the place where mankind has tested the limits of land-based speed. Here records have been broken, hero’s have been made, and in some cases lives have been lost. That however is all part of racing and the quest for going faster then any human has gone before. Some people think chasing speed is crazy, for others though it’s a way of life that has been made possible by the Salt Flats. “A Pinch of Salt” is the final video in the “Depth of Speed” series and gives us a little insight as to why the “Salt” calls upon those who simply want to go fast.

Source: RalfBecker.com

When you’ve got 100 years of history to choose from, it’s hard to pick just six cars as the “most significant” performance cars you’ve ever built. GM’s Dr. Jamie Meyer gives it a shot in this video tour of the GM Heritage Center, picking just six cars as “most significant,” although not necessarily the fastest or best-handling. I’d take any of the six cars highlighted in the video below, but if I had my choice of any one, It’d be the 1963 Corvette.

If you’ve driven a Corvette from that era, you know just how crude and punishing the cars were. They went like hell in a straight line, assuming you could get the skinny rear tires to bite, but handling and braking were nowhere near as good as we’ve come to expect today (and yes, I learned that lesson the hard way in a 1965 Corvette Roadster).

In honor of this week’s Woodward Dream Cruise, enjoy the video below.

Image: 1poppystudios

Flyin’ MIata has been the go-to site for the Miata enthusiast looking for more power or better handling since the early 1990s. What started as a European specialty repair shop in New Jersey evolved into a Miata specific parts and tuning operation based out of Palisade, Colorado. Want better handling from your first, second or third generation Miata? The staff at FM can hook you up with everything from components through suspension kits. Want to go faster? They’ll sell you fully sorted and developed turbo or blower kits. Want to go a lot faster? They’ll even build you a second generation Miata with an Chevy LS3 V-8 stuffed under the hood.

Now, when you buy a FMII Turbo Kit, or place any other order with FM for $5,000 or more, the company will donate a goat to a needy family via Heifer International. Goats are the ideal animals for families in developing countries, since they provide up to seven quarts of milk per day and yield an endless amount of fertilizer. They can survive by eating almost anything, and reproduce with alarming regularity, which means one goat can be turned into a herd of goats in short order.

I’ll admit that this isn’t your typical “buy a turbo, get a free company t-shirt” promotion, but how often would you wear a logo t-shirt, anyway? If you’re going to drop coin on making your Miata go faster, you also get the chance to do something noble for a family in need. If that’s not a good return on your investment, I don’t know what is.

Source: Autoblog