You know those bucket lists…the ones where you write down all the things you need to do before you die…well Chris and I decided to take the initiative this summer, and check one off together.  Later this year, we are heading up to the Monterey Peninsula…and more specifically the Pebble Beach area for one of the most exclusive motorfanatic gatherings in the world.  If you’ve never been to Pebble Beach, put it at the top of your list.  It is amazing.  (Past event photos here) But more importantly, every year, the area hosts one of the largest gatherings of collector cars in the universe.  The hand full of shows, draw visitors and participants from all over the world, and this creates the opportunity to see in person, some of the most rare collector cars on the planet.    We’ve seen the pictures, and I’ve even walked the grounds of the Concours d’Elegance….just not during the show.   So this year, we decided that we are going to do what true Motorfanatics do…ROADTRIP!  Read the rest of this entry »

Alright, I gotta lay my cards down here. As much as I would like to say this is Dan and I speed testing a ZR1 above 200mph, it’s not. Yes, this is the “drives” section, but we never specified that it had to be drives by us. Just like anything else we do, it’s just got to be a drive that kicks ass, and this drive certainly does. You probably saw this video circulating last year so you might be a little upset that we’re bringing you old news. Here’s our point: when is riding in a car going 207mph old news? Exactly, never.

To us, the best part about this video is it makes you feel giddy like a kid again. We’ve all dreamt of driving some super hot car on a closed track with the sole purpose of maxing it out, and this video gives you a tiny glimpse of what that might feel like. When the passenger gives the driver the go-ahead nod, we as fanatics can feel the driver’s anticipation and excitement. As the digital speedometer blurs to the 200 mark, the long white lines blur to almost a sold line. Passing cars that could very well be going faster than we’re legally allowed on public US roads like they’re standing still, this is the stuff motorfanatic dreams are made of.

So no, this isn’t Dan and I driving and yea, this video’s been out for a while. But it’s still rockin’, and I really think you owe it to yourself as a fanatic to get a glimpse of a 200+mph run. Check it out here

The Swedish super car maker, Koenigsegg, makes some of the most exclusive cars in the world. Not only are they deadly fast…but they are equally beautiful. Enjoy here.

I was probably 2 maybe 3 days old before I started dreaming about my first project car.  At the time, my dad was working on putting together a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 and as far back as I can remember, that was the car that got me hooked on muscle cars.  As I got older, my dad and I threw around more and more ideas for what we could put together as my first project car. Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers, but they were all too expensive for a beginning driver and didn’t quite have the flair that we were looking for.

It was then one fateful day when I watched Wayne’s World for the umpteenth time and put two-and-two together.  Why not a Pacer?  Dad laughed, but I was serious.  He wrote it off as crazy, but I kept my eye open.  A month or so later, paging through a car trader with my buddy (yea, that’s how car obsessed I have always been) we stumbled across a 1978 Pacer that the ad claimed to be equipped with a V8!  I clipped out the ad and rushed home to my dad.  Showing it to him, we both wrote it off as a typo until he called.  AMC DID in fact put a V8 in a Pacer, and this was one of them.  We had found our project car.

I was 13 years old when we took delivery of our Pacer, and within a month it was completely torn down and body on a rotisserie.  Three excruciating years and a lot of blood, sweat and tears passed until we had it fully restored and ready for the street, and when it finally was, it was a HOOT!

Those three paragraphs must be the longest introduction to a post ever, but I had to give some perspective to the Black Pacer in the above image and accompanying photo gallery.  Read the rest of this entry »

Dan started talking about the new Toyota F1 car last week, and I wrote it off as another R8, 911, or Space Shuttle obsession (yea, these come and go by the minute).  Then he started talking specs, and it got me thinking.  Seriously, half the weight of a 911 and double the power?  Wow.  While most of us may never have the opportunity to drive one of those machines, it’s still awesome to think that this technology is possible.  As Dan put together a video for the Toyota F1 car program, we started brainstorming what other motor-powered things have that kind of power-to-weight ratio.  Using my primitive math and Microsoft Excel skills, I built a table in which we calculated the power-to-weight ratios for things from a Sidewinder missile to a 4-door Honda Accord LX.  Check it out below, and check out the F1 video here.  The results are a bit silly.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re pretty lucky to have an office across the street from some silly rich guy’s car collection.  While some may argue that a car collection is a frivolous spend of money, we couldn’t think of a better way to blow a huge wad of cash.  Housed in a decent sized warehouse, we’ve seen everything from a Porsche 959 to a vintage racing Mercedes parked out front, and a little while back, on our way out to lunch Dan spotted a new Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione sitting out front.

On paper, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione might almost look like a let-down.  Don’t get me wrong, 444 hp, 12.4 1/4mile, 0-62 in 4.2 seconds all wrapped in a package that weighs about half of my GTI is appealing, but the quarter million dollar price tag makes the dream car status even more lofty.  So for 250g’s, I can think of many other super cars that are in the 8C’s performance territory and are more readily available (less than 100 8C’s will touch US soil) for maybe even less money.  But none look anywhere near as good.  Just look at the friggen thing, it’s unbelievably gorgeous and that’s why it lands on the wish list.

Seeing the thing in person, in the real world, it’s ungodly.  Simply breathtaking, it was immediately evident that it was a wish list car.  Now, it’s at this point where you probably expect me to word vomit some adjective rich jargon attempting to explain the styling and striking presence of this car.  Not here at MotorFanatics, we put together a video instead…it speaks FAR louder than words.  Enjoy.

There are certain things in this world that are just the best. The ultimate in their world. True, the best is often subjective, and for me, it seems to change all the time. But one thing that continues to just be the best at what it is, is the Aston Martin. No, not the fastest, and not the prettiest, and frankly not the right car for the majority of drivers. But they are always the BEST cars. Confused? well I lost myself a little on that stream too…so here’s the photos of the Aston Martin One-77, take a look and you’ll understand my spinning head.

For those that want the technical stuff…here’s the press release from the brits themselves. Read the rest of this entry »