* Yes, more Nissan news. NISMO teamed up with MOTUL to campaign a modified GT-R in the Tokachi 24-hour endurance race this past July. The race-prepped GT-R doesn't benefit from any additional power, but its curb weight has been reduced to 3,527 pounds through the use of a carbon-fiber hood, trunk, and mirrors, along with a new exhaust, acrylic rear-quarter windows, and a stripped interior. Naturally, a rollcage, fire suppression system, and onboard pneumatic air jacks have been fitted to comply with race rules, but no additional welding or chassis modifications were needed to make the GT-R ready to compete. Why do you care? Some of the NISMO parts developed for the racer will make their way into the V Spec model when it debuts next year.
* The collaborative efforts of Toyota and Subaru on a rear-wheel-drive coupe will only bear Toyota-badged fruit in Japan. The Subaru variant will be sold worldwide, but Toyota is concerned about cannibalizing Subaru sales abroad, so ToMoCo's version will only be sold in the Land of the Rising Sun. Start saving your pennies now; the Subaru coupe will debut in 2011 carrying a $20,000 price tag.
* The Honda S2000 is getting long in the tooth and a replacement is expected to debut during the next auto show season. Honda is slated to bring a convertible concept to the London Motor Show that could give us a glimpse of what the next S2000 will look like, but what about motivation? Sources indicate that Honda is considering two engines in its next roadster-a 250hp, 2.4L inline-four or a 350hp, 3.5L V-6. A hybrid drivetrain is also under consideration, and don't be surprised if the next S2000 is wearing an Acura emblem when it debuts in 2010 in an attempt to take on the BMW Z4 and Mercedes-Benz SLK.
The All-Motor VQ35DE
If you've read any of our recent issues, you are no doubt familiar with the Castrol Syntec Top Shop Challenge. Six other magazines within our company are hard at work scrounging up parts in an attempt to beat the VQ35 motor that Cosworth Engineering is building for us. While we sit back and let the Cosworth mechanics do their thing, our bosses have encouraged us to publicly humiliate our competitors. But, honestly, it just doesn't seem fair. They've been going at each other for a while, but everyone is pretty reserved when it comes to taking shots at the Cosworth SCC team. Here are a few examples:
"These guys crack us up! First, they decide to enter a VQ35DE in the competition. Not a rev-up engine, but still not an entirely bad choice. Then, they go to Cosworth to build it. Very good choice; Cosworth wrenches on F1 cars for fun ... safe bet they know what they're doing, but here's where things go genuinely SCC-they decide to go naturally aspirated at 3.5L, they're practically at the same displacement as our built SR20 with the forced induction penalty. This means that, pound-for-pound, they'd have to churn out about 770 horses to even be competitive. Isn't gonna happen." -Import Tuner
Actually you guys will be glad to know that our VQ has been bored and stroked to 3,796cc. You've got nothing to be concerned about. Don't worry that the power-per-liter test is only worth 30 out of 190 points. Still, we can't be mad at them. That was about the harshest criticism that anyone dared to print. And it's nothing compared to what they had to say about eurotuner's engine that 034 Motorsports is building.
"Everyone knows that euros and horsepower go together about as well as oil and water. It's a fundamental law of automotive science, right up there with the Venturi Effect and Murphy's Law. Yes, we know the Bugatti Veyron is European. And the badass LP640 hails from Italy. But Volkswagen manufactures neither car, and eurotuner thinks they can win this thing with a 7A Quattro engine. What's that? You're laughing? So are we!" -Import Tuner