The GM Performance Presemts the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour 2012 kicks off June 2nd in Detroit heading to Arlington, TX. For more info on route and dates, see www.hotrod.com. 

 

 

 

 

Carroll Shelby, legendary car designer and racer dies at 89

 Carroll Shelby, a failed chicken farmer who roared out of the hills of East Texas to become a champion race car driver and the father of the muscle car, building some of the fastest and sleekest sports cars ever to hit the highway, died May 10 at age 89.

His company, Carroll Shelby International, said he died at a Dallas hospital but did not disclose a cause of death. A Facebook entry under Shelby's name in late April said he had been hospitalized with pneumonia.

Among many other achievements in a supercharged life, Shelby was one of world's longest-surviving recipients of a heart transplant, having received a new heart in 1990. He was also a principal founder of the International Chili Society, which sanctions thousands of chili cooking contests each year and has raised more than $1 billion for charity.

Shelby made and lost fortunes, trained pilots during World War II, ran a safari business in Africa and was married at least six times, but he is best known for his daring automotive achievements, first as a driver and later as a designer.

Fresh off his chicken farm, Shelby won the first race he entered in 1952 and soon became the country's leading sports-car driver. Once, hurrying to get to a race from his farm, Shelby didn't have enough time to change out of his bib overalls. He got more attention for his outfit than for winning the race and, from then on, always wore overalls in the driver's seat.

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1957, when he won 19 consecutive races, and twice was named the magazine's driver of the year. In 1959, he became the second American-born driver to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in France (along with his British teammate, Roy Salvadori).

When a heart condition forced him to retire from racing in 1960, Shelby turned to automotive design. Determined to make the fastest, sexiest sports car on the road, he put a Ford V-8 engine in the chassis of a little-known British roadster, dubbed his new car the Shelby Cobra and created a legend.

As the engine displacement rose from 260 cubic inches to 289 and finally 427, Shelby almost single-handedly defined the modern muscle car — all horsepower and wide tires, rumbling engines, dual side exhaust pipes and unbelievable speed.

The Cobra was the fastest street-legal car in the land. It could go from zero to 60 mph in four seconds. The speedometer went up to 180.

Although Shelby manufactured only about 1,000 cars before closing the first edition of his business in 1967, Automobile magazine ranked the original Shelby Cobra as one of the 10 most important sports cars ever built.

"In my opinion," auto executive Lee Iacocca said in 1995, "Shelby invented the muscle car in this country."

In a 1995 article in Texas Monthly magazine, journalist Carol Flake described the feeling of being a passenger in a 30-year-old 1965 Shelby Cobra with a 289-cubic-inch engine: "After riding in a Cobra, you may never feel the same way about cars again. It's a little like riding a runaway thoroughbred after trotting around a ring on a pony. Fear melts into awe."

In 1964, Iacocca, then an executive at Ford, hired Shelby to design a sleek, high-performance version of the new Ford Mustang. He came up with the fastback Mustang GT350, which began to steal some of the glamour from the Chevrolet Corvette.

On the racing circuit, Shelby began to set his sights on the most dominant sports car of the time, the Ferrari.

In the 1950s, Enzo Ferrari, the head of the Italian car company, had made overtures to Shelby to see if he was interested in driving for his race team. Shelby, a struggling farmer who earned no prize money in the then-amateur realm of sports-car racing, asked how much Ferrari was willing to pay.

It became clear that Shelby was expected to drive for the glory of the sport and for the privilege of being at the wheel of a Ferrari. Shelby turned down the offer and drove an Aston Martin during the 1959 race at Le Mans.

Suffering from dysentery and popping nitroglycerin pills for his heart, Shelby passed a Ferrari near the end of the race as he sped to the checkered flag.

In 1966, Shelby was no longer at the wheel, but cars he helped engineer for Ford dominated the Le Mans race and finished in the top three spots.

"Carroll desperately wanted to beat all the Europeans at Le Mans," C. Van Tune, editor of Motor Trend magazine, told the Dallas Morning News in 2001. "He wanted to show all those fancy, highbred Euros in their slick racing suits that a chicken farmer from Texas could beat them at their own game."

Carroll Hall Shelby was born Jan. 11, 1923, in Leesburg, Texas, a town of 150 people. He was 7 when his family moved to Dallas.

The young Shelby liked to ride along with his father, a mail carrier, on his postal route. He was interested in cars, motorcycles and airplanes and, after high school, joined the Army Air Forces. During World War II, he trained bomber pilots at an air base in Texas. During training flights, he dropped love letters from his airplane over his fiancee's farm.

After the war, he drove a dump truck, worked in the oil business and ran a chicken farm. It was moderately successful for a time, but when 20,000 hens died of disease, "ol' Shelby was broke," he later recalled.

He opened a car dealership in Dallas, but mostly he raced cars in the 1950s. In an era when most drivers didn't wear seat belts and some refused to wear helmets, Shelby said he attended 29 funerals of fellow drivers.

He had plastic surgery on his face after one crash and had three vertebrae in his neck fused. After shattering his elbow in a road race in 1954, he was back within a few months, with his hand taped to the steering wheel.

Shelby was, by all accounts, a man of immense charm. He dated a former Miss Universe and said he had been married six times — or maybe seven.

"I don't count the second one," he told Vanity Fair in 2006, "'cause it happened in Mexico."

In 1967, Shelby was one of two organizers of the first International Chili Cookoff in Terlingua, Texas. The event blossomed into the International Chili Society, which stages cooking contests throughout the country for charity. Shelby marketed his own brand of chili, which he later sold to Kraft Foods.

During much of the 1970s, he lived in Botswana, Angola and the Central African Republic, running a safari business and dealing in diamonds. His other business interests included radio stations, motels and cattle ranches. In 1975, he provided the seed money for the Chili's restaurant chain, which began in Dallas.

In 1982, Iacocca, then at Chrysler, lured Shelby back into the car business with the mission of designing a new line of Dodge sports cars, including the Viper.

Shelby later put updated models of his classic Cobra back in production and, five years ago, returned to Ford to design a new high-performance Ford Mustang GT500.

Even though he had a heart transplant in 1990 and a kidney transplant in 1996, Shelby never lost his love for speed. At 84, he took the new Mustang out for a test drive, easing the throttle open until he topped out at 150 mph.

 

 

 

 

  

In an unprecedented event at the GM Proving Ground (Milford, MI), the Kickoff of the 18th Annual Hot Rod Power Tour®, presented by Chevrolet Performance will be held from 9am to 7pm on Saturday, June 2, 2012.  Participants of this year’s Hot Rod Power Tour can take advantage of a whole week of activities in and around Detroit starting Monday, May 28. The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau is finalizing a daily schedule of activities customized just for Power Tour® participants.  GM Proving Ground will be the host site of the Painless Performance Kickoff Day for this year’s Power Tour, but Warren, MI will be the hub of many cool activities.  Take advantage of all Motor City has to offer, so come early and plan extra time in “The D”. Registered Power Tour participants will receive exclusive access to the following activities May 28 – June 3:

· 2 for-1 Admissions to Detroit  Automotive Attractions and Museums

· Free Track Day at Detroit race tracks

· VIP Private Garage Tours

· Nightly Cruises

· Live Music & Entertainment

 

· Friday June 1, 9am – 6pm:  Power Tour registration and credential pick-up open at Warren City Hall.

· Friday Afternoon:  “Free Prix” day at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix

· Friday Night: Power Tour Pre-Party and Cruise in Downtown Mount Clemens from 5pm – 10pm.

· Saturday Night June 2: Cruise on over to join the City of Warren as it hosts its “Afterglow” party from 7pm-11pm with a cruise in, live entertainment, food and fun.

Categories: Hot Rod Power Tour  

Related Hot Rod Articles

Read more: http://blogs.hotrod.com/more-power-tour-2012-news-20061.html#ixzz1rpjfmwte

Snake & Mongoose film producers Robin Broidy and Stephen Nemeth have announced the casting of Jesse Williams (Grey’s Anatomy, Brooklyn’s Finest, The Cabin In The Woods) as drag racing icon Don “the Snake” Prudhomme and newcomer Richard Blake (Dragonball: Evolution) as fellow legend Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen. Award-winning British commercial director Wayne Holloway will make his feature-film directing debut on the project, which he wrote with Alan Paradise. The story details the friendship, rivalry, personal tragedies, triumphs, and business successes of “the Snake” and “the Mongoose.”

Not only did the two men make drag racing history as champion drivers and owners of drag racing teams, but they also modernized the sport in 1970 by shrewdly enticing toy giant Mattel Inc. to make its then-new Hot Wheels line the sport’s first corporate sponsor. When Mattel put logos on dragsters to make them 200-mph billboards for its toy line and put real-life drivers into its TV commercials, Mattel became the first nonautomotive sponsor in a racing sport, and the industry’s first commercial tie-in was born. The Mattel sponsorship money and revenue from other sponsors that immediately followed enabled Prudhomme and McEwen to produce remarkable innovations in their dragsters and to make racing a major sport globally.

The filmmakers have partnered with NHRA, which will be an important marketing ally, utilizing the organization’s extensive reach to millions of fans around the world.

2013 Dodge Dart Review

Personally I wish they would have made it look retro like the Challenger so it was similiar to the old darts!

The 2013 Dodge Dartredefines performance with Alfa Romeo DNA, fuel-efficient powertrains and Dodge’s passion for performance. Dodge promises at least one model in the lineup that will get 40 mpg highway. That will likely be the step-up, Fiat-sourced 1.4-liter turbocharged four. Reworked 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter World Engines, now dubbed TigerShark, will round out the rest of the engine lineup, while a six-speed manual is base on all models, with a six-speed automatic optional on all but the 1.4T, which gets a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

The 2013 Dodge Dartwill start at just $15,995, yet even the base model will come with a reconfigurable TFT gauge display, ten standard airbags, and an interior that, from first look, is one of the best in its class—as Chrysler’s clearly seeking to overcompensate for past woes

Those anxiously awaiting the pricing of the 2013 Mustang models can now prepare knowing what exactly they are going to cost. Ford just released the pricingfor the all new 2013 Mustang V6, GT, and BOSS 302. Those looking at the V6 base model will be happy to know that price remains about the same at $22,995 and the V6 premium Coupe also still stands at $26,995. As soon as we get into the GT pricing, changes are evident. Those looking for a base model GT are looking to pay about an MSRP of $31,095 which is a bump up from $29,995 from the 2012 model. Those looking to upgrade to a premium 2013 Mustang GT will be looking to pay about $35,095 which was also less in 2012 at $34,895.

Also to the Convertible fans, the 2013 models have also jumped in price. The base model starts at $36,095 which is a bit more than last year’s $34,995. The premium GT convertibles now start at $40,095 from last year’s $38,895. You can expect to pay an extra $2,000 for the new BOSS 302 now with a hefty price tag of $42,995 for just the standard model as it was $40,995 for the 2012 model year. A BOSS 302 Laguna Seca is going to cost just shy of $50k at $49,990 MSRP which is also a bump up from last year’s $47,990.

Option packages for the 2013 models also have been released. Recaro seats are now available for the V6, GT, and Shelby GT500 at $1,595 for both cloth or leather. An upgraded V6 Performance Package will cost you $1,995, an Electronics Package goes for an $2,340, upgrading to a Brembo Brake Package is $1,695, while a GT Track Package goes for $2,495. Prices are below and all include a $795 destination and delivery charge.

2013 Mustang Pricing

2013 V6 base – $22,995
2013 V6 Premium – $26,995
2013 V6 Convertible base – $27,995
2013 V6 Convertible Premium – $31,995
2013 GT Coupe base – $31,095
2013 GT Coupe Premium – $35,095
2013 GT Convertible base – $36,095
2013 GT Convertible Premium – $40,095
2013 Boss 302 – $42,995
2013 Boss 302 Laguna Seca – $49,990

2013 Mustang Option Pricing:

6-Speed Automatic Transmission – $1,195
Recaro Sport Seats (leather or cloth) – $1,595
Recaro Sport Seats & Torsen Differential (Boss 302 only) – $1,995
V6 Performance Package – $1,995
Glass Roof – $1,995
Reverse Sensing System & Security Package – $695
Comfort Group (Premium only) – $650
Electronics Package – $2,340
Red Candy Paint – $395
Gotta Have It Green Metallic Tri-Coat Paint – $495
Brembo Brake Package (GT only) – $1,695
GT Track Package – $2,495
Shaker Pro Audio System – $1,295

2012 COPO CAMARO IS A GO!

The 2012 COPO Camaro is not longer a concept car, the model will be produced by Chevrolet and 69 of them will be manufactured this year. The announcement came from Chevrolet Performance today and it outlines the process in which the initial group of qualified buyers will be determined, what the available powertrain options are, available colors, and even a special package where a 2012 COPO Camaro can be ordered with all three available engines! The 69 car production run of 2012 COPO Camaros matches the number of 1969 ZL-1 that were produced through the COPO ordering process. We’re guessing that output will jump for the next year.

The engine options are the same three that we’ve been expecting. The naturally aspitated LS7 427ci motor, along with two 5.3L supercharged engines. Like the Cobra Jet Mustang, which also has two supercharged engine options. The small blower will probably measure out in the 2.0L volume category and the big boy is the 4.0L piece. It will be very interesting to see these stack up against the world conquering Cobra Jets once new owners get them tweaked and tuned for optimum performance.

We were one of the first outlets to tell the world that the COPO was going to be built, long before Chevrolet Performance admitted to it, so it is cool to see our insider info on this project validated by today’s announcement from Chevrolet.

Scroll down to read the full announcement from Chevrolet – If you are a Ford guy, chug some Maalox first…life just got more complicated!

Chevrolet will build 69 COPO Camaros for 2012, the brand’s first purpose-built Camaro drag-racing specialty car designed to compete with the quickest in NHRA’s Stock Eliminator and Super Stock classes. National records for quarter-mile times in these contests are in the nine-second range.

As such, the COPO Camaros are expected to be the quickest Camaro ever offered by Chevrolet

The COPO Camaro is going to shake up the sportsman drag racing ranks this summer and give Chevy fans a great new reason to cheer on the Bowtie,” said Jim Campbell, GM U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles & Motorsports. “COPO builds off the strengths that have made the Camaro the best-selling sports car in America. And while it was developed strictly for the drag strip, the COPO Camaro is infused with the same performance pedigree that every Camaro shares.”

The 69-car production for the 2012 COPO Camaro matches the number of “ZL-1” COPO Camaros made in 1969. COPO stands for Central Office Production Order and was Chevrolet’s special-order system in used by dealers to build high-performance models in the 1960s.

The new COPO Camaros will be built using factory “body-in-white” body structures produced at the Oshawa, Ontario plant that manufactures regular-production Camaros. They are the same body-in-white body shells available to all racers under Chevrolet Performance part number 19243374.

Customers will order and complete the transaction for their COPO Camaro at their preferred Chevrolet dealer with delivery at the General Motors Performance Build Center in Wixom, Mich.

Deliveries will begin early this summer.

Highlights of the new COPO Camaro program include:

• A sequenced build number matched to the engine but sold without a Vehicle Identification Number and cannot be registered for highway use
• Three racing-class engine are available, including a naturally aspirated 427 (7.0L) and two supercharged 327 (5.3L) V-8 engines
• Engine assembly at GM’s Performance Build Center, where the buyer can opt to participate in the engine assembly similar to Chevrolet’s Corvette Engine Build Experience and the Chevrolet Performance Build Your Own Crate Engine programs
• Engines pairing with a Powerglide automatic transmission designed for drag racing
• Five colors: Flat Black, Summit White, Victory Red, Silver Ice Metallic and Ashen Gray Metallic
• A COPO graphics package similar to the one introduced on the concept vehicle  available in Metallic White, Semi-Gloss Black, Inferno Orange Metallic and Chevy Racing Blue
• Pricing starting at $89,000
• A special collector’s package offering the purchase of all three engines with the COPO Camaro – including one  installed in the car at delivery – with each engine serial number matched to the car

Selection process

The COPO Camaro concept was first shown at the 2011 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, where the overwhelming response by more than 2,000 racing enthusiasts shaped the decision to produce a limited number of COPO Camaros.

To ensure fair access to the limited number of COPO Camaros, an independent third party was used to identify the first individuals who would be offered the opportunity to buy one of the new COPO Camaros. Those selected will receive a confirmation letter with instructions on how to fulfill the purchase contract, choose the engine option for their intended racing class, and take delivery.

Designed to win

The COPO Camaro is designed to NHRA racing specifications including a solid axle and a full chrome moly roll cage. Inside, most of the standard sound deadening and power accessories have been deleted in order to optimize weight for NHRA racing. Also included is a pair of racing bucket seats (no rear seat), a safety harness for the driver, a competition floor shifter and Chevrolet Performance gauges.

The three engines offered in the COPO Camaro program were developed to align with the top classes in NHRA’s various Stock Eliminator and Super Stock ranks. They are:

• An LS7-based naturally aspirated 427 (7.0L) V-8
• A supercharged, LSX-based 327 (5.3L) V-8 featuring a 2.9L supercharger
• A supercharged, LSX-based 327 (5.3L) V-8 featuring a 4.0L supercharger

The 2012 COPO Camaro is being offered as a performance part, with a specific part number (P/N 20129562).  It cannot be registered, titled, licensed, or driven on public roads or highways. COPO is specifically offered for off-highway, competitive NHRA use only.

Racing enthusiasts interested in more information can go to www.gmperformanceparts.com to sign up for COPO Camaro updates through the Fuel online newsletter. Production updates will also be posted onChevrolet Performance’s Facebook page.