Camo 458

If you cover your Ferrari 458 Italia in camouflaged vinyl wrap, it may be able to hide from the fires that seem to randomly strike them without warning...









...or perhaps the owner is hoping people will believe the registration number and assume its some sort of Ferrari test mule for a 458 FXX?

Via Crank & Piston

600bhp twin-VR6 Lupo

How do you get from this...





...to this?





There's a full build thread here - the craftsmanship in this project is just incredible.

GT5 karting

One of the many new features to look forward to when Gran Turismo 5 eventually gets released: karting!

'65 turbo Splittie

This California bus's engine has been bored from the standard 1600cc to an impressive 2276cc, with the addition of ported & polished heads, ceramic coated pistons and a Garrett hybrid turbo; this enables it to produce a mighty 235bhp. Stance and handling are taken care of by a bespoke set-up incorporating adjustable shocks, while a Porsche/Wilwood combo braking system reign in the thrust.
The performance is muscular, but the interior and exterior finish have a beautifully classic feel. The combination works perfectly - if it were mine, there's not a single thing I'd change. Click here for more info, courtesy of Motormavens.

Classic Bmw

Bmw classic car picture 1

Old BMW 316 car (1987)

Bmw classic car picture 3

1994 DTM Mercedes-Benz C-Class

This '94 Mercedes-Benz DTM racer has been fully restored to original spec by Dawn Treader Performance. It was an enormously complicated endeavour for them, as Dawn Treader's Patrick Morgan explains: 'A typical Formula 1 car restoration takes us between 2000 and 3000 hours to our standards, which are admittedly time-intensive to achieve. The DTM car has taken over 5500 hours.'
This is no show-build either - the engine has been fully rebuilt to racing tolerances and dyno-tested to ensure that it can cope with the stresses of competition.

There were six C-Class Mercedes competing in the '94 DTM season, with drivers including Klaus Ludwig and Bernd Schneider. They fought closely with the immensely competitive Alfa Romeo 155s, but Alfa ultimately notched up more wins. However, the DTM C-Class has gone down in history as one of the most complex racing cars ever campaigned, which is a very special kind of kudos.

You can read more about the rebuild here.
















You can see just how heated the Merc/Alfa rivalry was in 1994 in this amazing piece of footage: Asch spins Nannini out, Nannini goes looking for revenge. Incredible.

Nürburgring Oldtimer Grand Prix 2010

Click here to see a beautiful set of photographs from Motorsport Retro.

















You can find out more about the event here.

Franken M3 - E30 V10

Quite an unusual combination, this: an E30 BMW M3 with an M5 V10.
The purists will be outraged, saying that one of the best and most focused road-racers ever built has been sullied by a massive engine that will destroy the weight distribution and handling balance. Those in favour will reply 'Yeah? But it's got a fucking V10 in it.'
They're both good arguments. You can learn more about the Franken M3 here.

Carlos Sainz - Escort RS Cosworth

Some period footage of double World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz taking the then-new Escort RS Cosworth for a spin, prior to the start of the 1996 season. The popping and crackling on the over-run is intoxicating...



He won the inaugural Rally Indonesia in the RS in '96, as well as taking five other podium finishes, finally placing third in the drivers' world championship.

Duck Season N600

...'Duck Season', naturally, being the name of the paint colour.
This Honda N600 is a home-brewed budget build that's been getting a lot of coverage around t'internet of late, largely because of its wonderfully odd exhaust setup.
You can see the build thread here.

'72 Datsun 240Z - Khanh Le

SuckSqueezeBangBlow is a big fan of the Datsun 240Z, particularly when they look as aggressive as Khanh Le's example. The black Watanabe alloys fill the arches beautifully, while the glinting rollcage hints at the potency of the engine, which is a 280ZX unit stroked to 3.1-litres using a diesel Maxima crank. Click here for more.

Colin McRae's mkII Escort

Colin McRae was always a fan of the mkII Escort. Throughout his years of professionally driving Subaru Imprezas and Ford Focuses, he maintained that the mkII offered a purity and balance that was unrivalled. However, having driven such advanced machinery, could the Escort seem a little underpowered and agricultural? No matter - he just built his own, one that had a spec to match that of contemporary offerings. McRae's Escort had a 330bhp 2.5-litre Millington engine mated to a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox, independent rear suspension that offered 33% more travel than most Escorts and extensive carbon-fibre and kevlar throughout. The seats, engine and fuel tank were optimally placed to lower the centre of gravity and balance the weight distribution. It was, in short, the ultimate mkII.
Click here to learn more about it.