Nissan and NASA* Launch New Spec Z Race Series for 350Z

Before you go all Newt Gingrich on us, allow us to explain that NASA is an acronym for the National Auto Sport Association. With that of the way, we can now tell you that Nissan and NASA have just announced the creation of an all-new Spec Z racing series for all trim variants of the 350Z from the 2003-2008 model years.

The single make series has the support of Nissan's Motorsports division, which will offer a contingency prize program that rewards the top three finishers at each regional competition weekend with up to $850. The top finishers of the season will also be eligible for a prize of up to $6,500 in cash support.

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F1: Ferrari Launches New F2012 Car, Massa Warned that he Must do “Something Special” this Year

The bad weather that is currently torturing much of Europe has forced Ferrari to make a last-minute change of plans for its 2012 Formula 1 car launch.

While it was initially scheduled to be revealed at Maranello, and then make its maiden test at the Fiorano circuit, the heavy snow that was more suited to the Ferrari-special Grand Cherokee than an F1 car resulted in the new F2012 to be launched via an online presentation.

Compared to last year’s F150o, which celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Italian Republic, Ferrari's new Formula 1 car has a very unimaginative designation. But names don’t matter that much; after all, the 2011 car had only one win to its credit.

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Honda to Race New European Civic Hatch with 1.6-liter Turbo in the WTCC

Honda is getting ready to put on its racing suit for the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), in which it will participate with the new European Civic hatchback.

“We have made a decision to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic," said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito, on the announcement. "We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge."

The Japanese automaker revealed that its Research and Development division will design a bespoke 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder racing engine with direct-injection in accordance with FIA’s Super 2000 regulations.

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Nissan's Official Footage of the Juke-R Versus Supercars Race in Dubai

Draining all the publicity it can get from the Juke-R's appearance in Dubai where it competed against the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Ferrari 458 Italia supercars on a makeshift track, Nissan has now released official footage from the race.

This is the third video we've seen of Juke-R's win in the past two weeks, so we won't blame you if you've had enough of…Nissan's Groundhog Day. The rest of you can watch the new clip right after the break.

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An Amazing Front Flip Snowmobile Stunt and a Painful Mishap from the Winter X Games 2012

When you are trying to win a tough competition, you should be aware that with great risks come great rewards if you succeed but great pains if you fail.

At the Snowmobile finals during the Winter X Games 2012 that took place in Aspen, Colorado, on Sunday night, we saw a lot of both including the painful crash of Justin Hoyer on a double backflip attempt in the Snowmobile Best Trick competition and the scary free-fall of Colten Moore in the Snowmobile Freestyle event.

However, we also witnessed a truly spectacular front flip from Heath Frisby – the first ever of its kind in an official competition – during the Snowmobile Best Trick finals.

You can take a look at the videos right after the jump, just note that the third clip with Hoyer's accident isn't for the faint-hearted...

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Toyota TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer Sounds Like the Batmobile when it Takes Off

The first thing that came to mind upon viewing the videos of Toyota's brand-new TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer as it was leaving the pits at the Paul Ricard circuit in France for its first test run was the Batmobile – well, that or Anakin Skywalker's podracer from Star Wars Episode 1.

And no, we're not referring to the racecar's shape and styling but the sounds emitted by the hybrid powertrain which starts off with the electric motor before the V8 engine kicks in like an afterburner – yes, it's that cool.

After that, you get the usual screaming sounds produced by race-prepped engines.

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Ford Mustang Shows Audi R8, Ferrari California and BMW M3 who's the Boss at Hockenheim

While not uncommon, it’s not actually often that we hear about American sports cars beating European models on their home turf. Case in point, the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca that was featured in the latest issue of German car magazine Sport Auto.

Sport Auto editor Christian Gebhard took the track-orientated Mustang special over to the Hockenheim circuit for a fast lap recording a best time of 1:13.2, which puts it behind the likes of the BMW M5 F10 (1:12.9) but in front of the Audi R8 4.2 FSI (1:13.4), Aston Martin DBS (1:13.5) and Ferrari California (1:13.5).

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Ford Focus ST-R to Make its Racing Debut at Daytona Grand-Am 200

After a year in development and nearly five months after its public debut at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show, Ford’s Focus ST-R will make its racing debut this Friday at the Grand-Am 200 that takes place at the Daytona Motor Speedway.

Competing in the Continental Tire Sport Car Challenge ST class, the racing version of the production Focus ST is a fully prepared competition car. It sports a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, a new suspension specially tuned for track use, updated brakes and an FIA-approved roll cage.

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Rhys Millen Turns the Veloster Rally Car into a Golf Cart

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like taking a high-powered vehicle for a spin on manicured grass found on golf courses? Of course you did.

Hyundai and its partner Rhys Millen Racing had the same question as well, only being who they are; they actually had the opportunity to find out.

In Rhys Millen's second recent short promotional film for Hyundai after the drift clip with the Genesis Coupe, the professional racing driver hopped in the Veloster Rally car and played around with it on the golf course. Mosey on past the break to watch the video

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New Aerial Video of the Nissan Juke-R's Race Against the Gallardo, SLS and 458 in Dubai

Nissan is making a strong statement with its product launches lately pitting its vehicles directly against more expensive offerings from established premium brands.

And we're not only talking about Infiniti's recent commercial where the M35h beat the Porsche Panamera S Hybrid in a quarter mile sprint, as the Japanese carmaker also setup a race between the prototype 485hp Nissan Juke-R and the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Ferrari 458 Italia supercars.

The race took place on a tightly designed makeshift track in Dubai on the sidelines of the local 24hrs Endurance Race.

Following on from the first grainy video, Carscoop reader "Meto D" tipped us off on a higher-quality clip shot from the air that also includes footage from inside the car driven by the winner of the 2008 PlayStation GT Academy competition, Lucas Ordoñez.

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Toyota Introduces its New TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Endurance Racer

You lose some, you win some. About a week after Peugeot unexpectedly axed its Le Mans racing program, Toyota revealed its all-new TS030 Hybrid endurance prototype, which is the spiritual successor to the TS010 and TS020 cars that participated at Le Mans during the 1990s.

The Japanese firm's new endurance racer features the THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System – Racing) powertrain that couples an all-new 3.4-liter normally-aspirated V8 petrol engine to a hybrid system with capacitor storage developed by official team partner Nisshinbo.

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MG Returns to Racing, will Participate in the 2012 BTCC Series

After restarting production in the United Kingdom last April, MG is now getting ready to return to racing as the Chinese-owned automaker announced today that it would enter the 2012 BTCC Series with a pair of MG6 GT racing cars.

This will be the first time since 2003 that MG will have an official entry in the championship. The brand's two racing cars will run in the all-new MG KX Momentum Racing team piloted by double BTCC champion Jason Plato and former Team Aon driver Andy Neate.

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This is the New 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Racecar

The presentation of the 2013 Fusion at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this month has brought a new look for Ford Motor Company's representative at the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

And by that we mean only looks as the actual 2013 Fusion sedan you'll find in your local Ford dealerships has nothing else in common with the NASCAR racer seen here. Nevertheless, Ford sees the NASCAR racer's familiar looks as a good promotional tool to sell more Fusions to the masses.

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Living the MegaLife: A Look at MegaUpload Boss Kim Dotcom's Passion for Cars

Fast cars, beautiful women and lots of cash: what else could a man possibly want? Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Schmitz, aka Kimble (a hacker alias inspired by The Fugitive’s Dr. Kimball) had it all, but apparently wanted more.

The former hacker was the founder of popular file-sharing website MegaUpload and was worth more than US$200 million. Until last week, that is, when he made headlines all over the world after feds shut down his site and police arrested him in New Zealand.

Dotcom's collection of cars worth some US$6 million, which including two examples of the rare Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM along with a dozen or so other Benzes and a Lamborghini LM002, was to be expected – even with the not-so-subtle “God” and “CEO” vanity license plates.

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WRC: 2012 Season Kicks Off With 80th Monte Carlo Rally [Videos]

After a three-year hiatus, the most famous rally in the world, the Rallye Monte Carlo, has returned to the WRC calendar. As it was the 80th event, the Automobile Club de Monaco, which organized the race, decided to design a route that combined memories of past years with demanding stages.

The 2012 Monte Carlo rally started on January 17 with a ceremony north of Monaco, in the city of Valence. The real action, which consisted of 430 kilometers (267 miles) spread over 18 special stages, begun three days later, on January 20.

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Watch the Nissan Juke-R Pawn a Ferrari 458, a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Mercedes SLS AMG

There's no question that the Nissan Juke-R is wickedly fast, but is it actually fast enough to give a lesson to exotic supercars like the Ferrari 458 Italia, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, for example?

Well, there's a lot to take into consideration including the place and the person driving (let's not forget that any car is as fast as its driver is), but for whatever reasons, this time the Juke-R came out as the winner.

In the video clip from Carsandspeed that follows, we see the 485HP-strong Juke-R winning a race against the three aforementioned supercars on a tightly designed makeshift track in Dubai as part of a promotional event on the sidelines of the local 24hrs Endurance Race, in which it took part as the official pace car.

We managed to find out that the man behind the wheel of the Juke-R was 26-year old Lucas Ordoñez from Spain who was the winner of the 2008 PlayStation GT Academy competition.

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Watch a Lexus IS-F Drifter Drive On Top of a Set of Concrete Blocks

After watching the following videos over and over again, the kindest explanation we can give about this incident that took place during the demo drift run at last week's Tokyo Auto Salon is that something went wrong and all of a sudden the driver of the Lexus was confronted with a locked steering wheel and stuck gas pedal.

Now, if that's not the case, then the driver of the IS-F racer not only has a lot of explaining to do but he should probably also avoid making any public appearances for the near future…

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Peugeot Says Au Revoir to Le Mans Racing Program

It’s a sad day for fans of the Peugeot Le Mans racing team as the French carmaker announced today it is pulling out from the endurance race series and will not be taking part in the next Le Mans 24 Hours.

Now, if you're wondering why the French company is abandoning the series after a successful run with 14 victories in the last 16 races, including a double at the Le Mans 24 Hours 2009 as part of the ILMC championship won by Peugeot two years in a row in 2010 and 2011, the answer is financial difficulties.

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Mini Countryman Wins the Dakar 2012, Peterhansel Records 10th Victory [Video]

Despite not taking place in Africa anymore but in South America, the Dakar Rally remains a very tough race. To finish is in itself a unique experience but to win is a truly great achievement.

Imagine now how Stephane Peterhansel must have felt on January 15, after 38 hours, 44 minutes and 56 seconds and 4,000 competitive kilometers from Argentina’s Mar del Plata to Peru’s capital Lima.

Not only did he win what is probably the most demanding off-road endurance rally in the world but he also did it for a record 10th time, having won six times riding a motorbike and four driving a car.

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Ferrari F1 Drivers Have FFun Doing Slaloms at Ski Resort [Video]

With testing prohibited by FIA rules until the first official session at Jerez on February 7, Ferrari’s Formula 1 team took a break from preparing its 2012 racer and as usual, visited the Madonna di Campiglio alpine ski resort.

It’s a tradition that’s being going on for many years now (if you’re an F1 fan, you’ll surely remember Michael Schumacher’s exploits) and this time the Scuderia F1 drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, had a little fun on the snow-covered slopes.

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