Car FYI

Photo Credit: CNW Group/Grand Touring Automobiles untitled In 1994, Christian von Koenigsegg started on a path in the automotive world many have attempted but few succeed. Committed to manufacturing of exotic, high-performance vehicles, Sweden’s Koenigsegg Automotive AB would have to build more just a fast supercar. Design and engineering efforts behind constructing a quality performance machine can be comparably easier than assembling a lasting halo around a premium brand. Koenigsegg has beaten the odds by producing small batches of exceptionally high-powered, precision-engineered cars identified for regularly exceeding a top speed of 240 miles per hour or greater. Though production of Koenigsegg’s vehicles is limited and is accompanied with an exceptionally high price adding to the brand’s exclusivity, there is still a need for the Swedish car make to have a partner to share the young marque’s products with their select customer base. Announced i...

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company untitled One of many returning traditions in 2021 is the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is a celebration of the past, present and future of aviation going beyond many air shows. This exhibition running from July 26 to August 1 st provides something for everyone enamoured by creations that draws humanity airborne. Displays of vintage warplanes, ultra-light and home-built flying machines, air demonstrations, radio-controlled aircraft, aviation-related exhibitors as well as various workshops are part of this massive gathering insuring lots of fun and entertainment throughout the event. On Thursday, July 29 th the festivities in Oshkosh will include an auction for a one-of-a-kind piece of machinery by the Ford Motor Company. Although a four-wheeled automobile limited to traversing land, a very special Ford Mustang Mach-E is crafted as a high-flying tribute to brave pilots. Created specifically for the EAA AirVenture auction to bene...

Photo Credit: Gruppe C Photography/Mercedes-Benz AG untitled   NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series: NHRA Sonoma Nationals The first of two race weekends in the state of California, the elite categories of the NHRA arrived at Sonoma Raceway. The NHRA Sonoma Nationals Top Fuel category was decided through a very quick, narrow duel between Leah Pruett and Steve Torrance. After a nearly equal fight down the drag strip, Torrance’s 3.757 ET and 327.98-mile per hour top speed beat Pruett’s 3.768 and 323.04-mile per hour effort. Through first round of eliminations in the Funny Car category, the Tim Wilkerson versus Jim Campbell match literally had an explosive outcome. Wilkerson’s Ford Mustang pulled ahead of Campbell but suffered a spectacular engine failure crossing the finish line. Despite the flaming explosion from under the Mustang’s body, Wilkerson was able to make his second round appearance but was eliminated by Alexis Dejoria. In th...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy/Car FYI Canada untitled Last month, Japanese auto brand Subaru reached a massive production milestone with a technology that transformed how motorists would see the Pleiades star cluster. The 20-millionth Subaru vehicle manufactured with all-wheel drive marks 49 years of evolution in styling and engineering resulting in the current 2021 product line. Whether it was known as On-Demand 4WD, Full-Time 4WD or as Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, Subaru’s primary sense of motion for many decades appear in some familiar and unusual forms. With 20 million Subaru all-wheel drive models produced, let’s take a look at how the automaker used the technology to shape their vehicles and vice versa.     1972 Leone 4WD Estate Van Photo Credit: Subaru Global In 1972, Subaru became the first car maker in Japan to offer a mass-produced all-wheel drive for the general motoring public. The creation of the Subaru Leone 4WD Estate Van came as ...

Photo Credit: Aston Martin The Americas NASCAR Cup Series: Darkened New Hampshire Track Source Of Light For Almirola Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series’ Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 was intended to be a relatively quick summer event on the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway but a rain shower pushed the duration between the green flag and the checkered flag to almost five hours. Due to daylight being lost on a track with no lighting system, only 293 laps would run (eight laps fewer than the advertised distance). Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. led the field to green but would also become the victims when rain began to soak the race track. Entering turn one on lap seven, Busch’s #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry slid and backed into the retaining wall ending the race for the two-time 2021 season race winner. Truex’s #19 Resers car sustained less damage and would complete the event in 12 th place. Denny Hamlin’s #11 ...

Photo Credit: Jiri Krenek/Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. untitled Seven-time and reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton arrived ahead of his home race at the Silverstone Circuit with 98 grand prix victories since he first turned a wheel on the tour in 2007. Of the British driver’s series record amount of wins, some of the grand prix wins involved awesome motorsport feats that have garnered glory and popularity. While Hamilton’s 99 th career Formula 1 victory was a popular one in front of a sold-out home crowd, the glory of his eighth British Grand Prix win was marred by an altercation on the opening lap with his championship rival Max Verstappen. Taking pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix from Lewis Hamilton’s #44 Mercedes-AMG race car during the inaugural 17-lap sprint qualifying race a day earlier , Max Verstappen in the #33 car positioned himself in a spot to potentially record a fourth consecutive Formula 1 win. Verstappen ...

Photo Credit: Charles Coates/LAT Images/Pirelli untitled After well-deserved one-week break following three consecutive weekends of racing, the drivers and teams of Formula 1 arrive at the storied Silverstone Circuit for the British Grand Prix. A short commute for many teams who operate home bases close to the track, Silverstone’s combination of high speeds and high g-force corners strain race cars and tires. Last season’s grand prix on the circuit famously ended with winner Lewis Hamilton limping his Mercedes-AMG machine to the chequered flag on just three intact tires. Rule changes meant to reduce downforce of Formula 1 cars introduced for 2021 as well as revised construction used for Pirelli rear tires should prevent similar incident as last year occurring in this latest British Grand Prix. Providing a new wrinkle to the British Grand Prix was Formula 1's first-ever sprint qualifying session. The familiar three-stage time trial was held on Friday with Merc...

Photo Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images untitled NASCAR Cup Series: Kurt Busch Wins Brotherly Battle At Atlanta NASCAR’s July visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway ended with a Busch sweep. However, the honour would be divided between brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch. The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart was the last event on a surface dating back to late 1997. During the intermission between the second and third stages of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, track repairs were required necessitating a red flag period lasting just more than 19 minutes. When racing resumed, fans were treated to an enticing duo between the #18 Skittles Gummies Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing driven by Kyle and the #1 Gearwrench Chevrolet from the Chip Ganassi Racing stables piloted by Kurt. First place at the end of the second stage, Kurt Busch had the advantage early into the third stage of the Quaker State 400 but an excellent pit stop by the #18 team propelled Kyle Busch ahead of t...