Tim Hardy, Colorado SpringsDivision: Time Attack 1Vehicle: 1987 BMW E30What to know: Hardy will be racing the Hill Climb for the seventh straight year. He drives a 1987 BMW E30 that he bought on Craigslist for $450. Last year, he made it up the mountain in 9:59.709.Clint Vahsholtz, Woodland ParkDivision: Time Attack 1Vehicle: 2014 McLaren 650SWhat to know: Vahsholtz has been racing in the Hill Climb since 1992, following in his father’s footsteps. He’s won 23 Hill Climb championships during his career. His son, Codie, will be racing in the motorcycle Heavyweight class.Fred Veitch, Colorado SpringsDivision: Time Attack 1Vehicle: 2001 Porsche 996TTWhat to know: Veitch, 71, is one of the oldest drivers in the race. His first Hill Climb was in 2012, making this his eighth go-around. He will be driving a 2001 Porsche in the Time Attack 1 division.Tommy Boileau, Colorado SpringsDivision: Pikes Peak OpenVehicle: 2014 Chevrolet SSWhat to know: This will be Boileau’s first … [Read more...] about 13 local racers racing in this weekend’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb
2018 porsche 911 turbo s
Porsche 911 GT2 sets pace in muscle-car wars
Henry Payne The Detroit News Published 10:40 PM EDT May 8, 2019 The Carousel/Kink complex at Wisconsin’s Road America is one of the most demanding sections of race track in the country. The 700-horsepower Porsche 911 GT2 RS rips through it like a locomotive on rails. With sticky, 13.5-inch Michelin rear tires clawing the pavement, I carry a neck-straining 1.5-g through the 180-degree Carousel turn and then explode into the left-right Kink as if shot from a cannon. A tap of the 16-inch brake rotors through the Kink at 115 mph and the Porsche goes straight to the head of the 700 Club. You know the 700 Club. It’s inhabited by rare machines that push the envelope of what’s possible: 700-plus-horsepower cyborgs that define brands and make car enthusiasts’ knees weak. They are cars few can afford, yet all covet. They dominate our screen savers and lure us to showrooms. They’re an intimidating lot, from the muscle-bound Dodge Hellcat to the winged … [Read more...] about Porsche 911 GT2 sets pace in muscle-car wars
Porsche 911 4S Cabriolet review: runs the coupé so close for handling, comfort and blinding speed
There’s a belief in the motoring world that convertibles cannot be as entertaining to drive as their hard-topped siblings, that they’re somehow the poser’s choice – but it doesn’t take much distance in the latest 992-generation Porsche 911 Cabriolet to know that this really isn’t the case with the latest version of the company’s open-topped, rear-engined icon. Although… there might be the slight suspicion that the 911 Cabriolet has become less of an out-and-out sports car, and more of a very fast, sporting grand tourer instead. We’ll come back to the driving impressions in a moment, though, because first it’s probably worth outlining how the new 992 Cabriolet’s line-up looks. Just two models... To continue reading this article Start your free trial of Premium Access all Premium articles Subscriber-only events Cancel any time Free for 30 days then only £2 per week Try Premium … [Read more...] about Porsche 911 4S Cabriolet review: runs the coupé so close for handling, comfort and blinding speed
Bentley Continental GT Convertible review: opulent, ostentatious and so thirsty
4 My daughter sniffed: “I can’t believe that people actually use Bentleys as real cars.” Yet before the 2003 launch of the VW Phaeton-based Continental GT, a 2.4-tonne, two-door coupé powered by a 6.0-litre W12 engine, people simply didn’t use Bentleys every day. “We'll take the Bentley,” was a term of old monied class and not at all nouveau. But the Continental GT pushed Bentley production to 10,000 a year, in the process vindicating VW’s decision (Ferdinand Piëch’s actually) to invest in the old winged badge. For better or worse, it cheapened the marque. Suddenly you saw Bentleys outside Waitrose, Nandos and nail bars. And in 16 years the company has sold 66,000 Continental GTs. There have been few hiccups, apart from brand perception: production facilities at Crewe were sorely stressed, while during the 2008 banking crisis you couldn’t give them away. But all in all, I think history will judge the Conti GT as A … [Read more...] about Bentley Continental GT Convertible review: opulent, ostentatious and so thirsty
Review: The 2019 Porsche Cayenne will make you a believer
opinion Henry Payne The Detroit News Published 10:59 PM EST Jan 9, 2019 I shouldn’t be able to go this quickly in a big ute. Through the writhing, undulating valley roads of northern California, I whipped the all-new 2019 Porsche Cayenne five-door steed. The 10-piston brakes pulled the eyeballs out from my head. The laser-like steering placed the beast — there! — at the apex. Ample torque to all four wheels helped power-drift on exit. Cayenne’s sports car-like handling comes naturally. After all, its father is the Porsche 911, the best-handling supercar on the planet. Payne, have you gone mad? Flogging a 4,300-pound SUV through the wilderness? Well, the world has gone crazy for a while now. Blame Stuttgart, which in 2003 went off the sports-car reservation (some thought off its rocker) and invented the Cayenne, a midsize performance SUV. Like driving each new generation of the $100,000 Porsche 911, I make it a point to get in … [Read more...] about Review: The 2019 Porsche Cayenne will make you a believer