Driving down the boulevard in their Italian supercars, wealthy but genuine car enthusiasts face the difficult challenge of separating themselves from the typical playboys in fast cars. To solve this first world problem, HRE performance wheels proposed that there is no better way to add a touch of class to an exotic than by installing performance wheels with vintage flair.

Introducing the new Vintage Series, HRE wheels recreated three iconic designs from the brand’s 34-year history, each of which range from 18- to 20-inches, and are completely re-engineered as 3-piece forged wheels from quality aerospace-grade forged alloy. What’s more, each wheel is hand-finished in order to meet customer’s specifications for their modern exotic.

HRE provided a press gallery to showcase its new wheels installed upon the successors of the same automobiles that once wore the originals. The German racing car roots of the “501″ wheels are instantly recognizable, as its mesh lace design suits the latest viper green Porsche 991 ducktail nicely.  The five-porthole “454″ is a modern take on the wheels from the sensational Lamborghini Diablo and are just as striking to look at when fitted to the new Aventador. Finally, the pentagram design “505″ is a proper ode to the Ferrari F40, although pairing the set of wheels to a Ferrari 458 Spider is slightly clashing.

HRE Wheels President Alan Peltier said, “The process of recreating vintage designs that captured the style and essence of the originals was very exciting and challenging for all of us at HRE. These designs take us all back to the ’70′s and ’80′s when we were kids falling in love with exotics for the first time and truly becoming car lovers. Capturing all the character and magic of these designs, while ensuring they fit modern super cars and met our current engineering standards, made the project tougher than simply creating replicas of the original cast wheels. We found inspiration in those original designs but created wheels that reflect the HRE of today; wheels that are truly inspired.”

Wealthy automotive connoisseurs, rejoice!

GALLERY: HRE Vintage Series

[Source: Autoblog]

In keeping up with the Corvette video we showed earlier today, we have  a Honda S2000 trying its hand at the drag strip.

Of course, with a little help from Real Street Performance, this S2000 really flies. Witness the car lift it’s front wheels at just about the 1:07 mark of the video.

The description of the video shows off the full range of the modifications, which interestingly enough retains its stock engine block.

Watch the whole clip right here.

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It appears as though Honda won’t let Toyota hog the spotlight in the GT300 class of the Super GT racing series.

Joining the Prius Hybrid race car will be a Honda CR-Z developed with M-TEC Co., Ltd. and will be campaigned by Team Mugen. The hybrid racer won’t, however, be competing until Round 4 of the Super GT Series.

Unfortunately not a lot of details have been released by Honda, other than confirmation that the race car will be a reality and will have a hybrid racing system. The development driver for the project will be Hideki Mutoh, who is known for competing in the IndyCar Series and the GT500 class of Super GT. We’re guessing it will be some time before photos of the finished project surface considering Round 4 of the Super GT 2012 schedule isn’t until July 30th, 2012.

GALLERY: Honda CR-Z GT300 Race Car

[Source: Jon Sibal]

Increasing motorsports exposure, Honda announced its plans to enter its newly redesigned European 2012 Honda Civic into the 2012 FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

According to Honda CEO Takanobu Ito, this entry entails creating an all-new engine developed specifically for touring car competition. “We have made a decision to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic. We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge.” Developed alongside Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport, Honda’s new engine is a racing 1.6 liter, direct-injection, turbo 4-cylinder engine designed within FIA Super 2000 regulations.

Racing as a two car-team managed by J.A.S. Motorsport, the inaugural rounds for the new Civic will be held when the WTCC arrives to Asia, namely races in Japan, China, and Macau. Honda also intends to compete in every race in the 2013 season.

GALLERY: WTCC 2012 Honda Civic

Now that the 2003-2008 Nissan 350Z can be hand at a much more affordable price through the used car market, sports car enthusiasts nationwide are hopping behind the wheel of one for fun. Clearly the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) and Nissan North America were well aware of the abundance of 350Z enthusiasts, creating an all-new Spec Z series exclusively for those owners.

The Spec Z class will include all trim levels of the 2003-2008 model year 350Zs, which is worth noting that 370Zs with the more powerful HR motor are not invited to participate. NASA wants to keep it a level playing field, focusing on close competition, parity and cost containment in order to “showcase driving ability and car setup skills.”

The Spec Z series will have a comprehensive contingency program, awarding both Regional and National Championship competitors. Of course, Nissan Motorsports will be providing support for the entire series with cash rewards of up to $850 for the top three finishers at each regional event. Nissan Motorsports will also be providing $6,500 in cash support to the top Spec Z finishers at the 2012 NASA Championships.

Rubber of choice will come from BFGoodrich, as their tires will be the control tire for the Spec Z series. BFG will also be creating a generous contingency prize program for the series.

“We are very excited about Spec Z,” said Jeremy Croiset, NASA Sponsorship Manager. “We have been working closely with Nissan Motorsports on the creation of Spec Z, and it will be an excellent series for anyone looking to step into a spec vehicle that’s fast and relatively inexpensive to build, maintain and race. With the fantastic contingency prize programs that are being provided for Spec Z, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more rewarding spec series to race in. We look forward to watching Spec Z grow and flourish in the coming years as more racers adopt this new formula.”

If you’re a Nissan 350Z owner and interested in the rules for the new Spec Z series, please click here. NASA and Nissan did announce that additional contingency prize programs are still being finalized and will be announced shortly.

There was absolutely no surprised looks around here when we heard that TRD was hard at work on tuning the all-new Toyota GT 86. It’s been a while since Toyota had such a formidable sports car platform, but we have to admit we’re a little disappointed that a method of forced induction – like a supercharger kit – still hasn’t been announced.

But we’ll give TRD the benefit of the doubt since they’ve already developed such a nice collection of modifications for the new sports car before it has even hit American soil. Our guess is that the majority of these will find their way to America’s Scion FR-S assuming that there’s little to no fitment differences on the products. We can hardly imagine what improvements TRD has made to the sports car, considering that it’s a fantastic machine to drive straight from the factory – read our review here.

Nonetheless, TRD’s full line of products for the GT 86 includes a full styling package with a new front spoiler, side skirts, rear diffuser and rear duck tail wing. For an exhaust upgrade, TRD offers a High Response Muffler Ver.R for the GT 86, sporting a quad-tipped design. For suspension and chassis upgrades, TRD has a front strut tower bar and 40-way damping adjustable suspension kit. Accessories include a radiator and oil cap, HID bulb upgrade, and Door Stabilizer Set.

For wheels and brakes, TRD offers a nicely designed 18-inch SF2 wheel, which is a one-piece forged aluminum wheel. The Big Brake Kit comes with 6-piston front calipers and 4-piston rear calipers with massive 14-inch rotors in the front and the rears are just slightly smaller at 13.6-inch. The BBK comes with new brake pads and stainless steel braided lines of course.

Lastly, the interior also has plenty of TRD goods available including a set of new seats in a black and red theme, TRD shift knob and push start button, and a series of gauges.

For now it’ll calm us down a bit, but seriously TRD… where’s our supercharger at?

GALLERY: TRD Toyota GT 86

[Source: Jon Sibal]

We have already seen the video of the Nissan Juke-R taking on some Italian and German exotics in Dubai, but a newer version has surfaced which is much better quality and allows us to watch the super cars get whipped in high definition.

The Juke-R is seen competing with a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and a Ferrari 458 Italia in a small circuit somewhere on the streets of Dubai. This video must have been staged by Nissan, so it is not a big surprise that the Juke-R takes the checkered flag, however rigged or not the Juke-R looks like it handles really well through those corners and takes off pretty quickly off the line.

Watch the new and improved video after the jump.

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Lexus clearly has a winner on its hands with their new 2013 GS – read our review here – and it appears that they didn’t want to stop the customizing options with just the F Sport model. Toyota Racing Development (TRD) has come up with a lineup even more special parts and accessories for the performance variant.

Since the GS F Sport already comes with a different aero kit, 19-inch wheels and tuned suspension, it almost seems redundant that TRD would produce parts for the sportier sedan model. But surprisingly the additions are great, adding a lip kit for the front bumper, add-ons for the side skirts, a larger trunk spoiler, a rear apron and quad exhaust tips with a blue outline.

Performance upgrades are limited to a sportier suspension kit and an exhaust system for the F Sport model while TRD also offers a set of mesh-style, 19-inch wheels in a gunmetallic finish. No pricing was announced from TRD Japan and we’ll also assume that these parts will work on the U.S. model.

GALLERY: 2013 TRD Lexus GS F Sport

Hyundai and Rhys Millen Racing deserve a round of applause for their recent video antics that spread through the Internet like a leaked photo from a celebrity cell phone.

This time around, the team took their Veloster Rally Car out to the golf course where it replaced the traditional golf cart. Almost everything you can imagine that shouldn’t be combined into a video, is. We’re talking golf clubs, golf balls, a 500-hp Veloster with 600 lb-ft of torque, and cows. Yes, we said cows.

Really there’s no reason behind this video, other than the fact that millions of people will watch it which means millions of eye balls on Hyundai’s little Veloster.

Check out the video after the break.

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The Sports Car Club of America’s B-Spec class is growing in popularity as enthusiasts enjoy a relatively inexpensive entry into amateur racing while automakers are discovering B-Spec to be a great platform for grassroots motorsport marketing.  Honda, one of the early adopters to B-Spec racing, is committed to the series and hopes to gain even more fans.

Honda Performance Development, HPD General Manager Marc Sours said, “A cornerstone of our grassroots motorsports marketing initiative has been to establish a connection between Honda’s passenger cars and the racing cars that evolve from these models. The B-Spec category provides a relatively low-cost means for the prospective racer to enter the sport, and the Honda FIt offers a natural point of entry. These are inexpensive, great-handling cars that should provide both excellent competition and help grow the sport at the entry level.”

Continuing its support, Honda has announced a new line of “manufacturer-approved suspension components” for the Honda Fit that will be available via HPD on February 1, 2012. The suspension components kit includes coil-over shocks, front and rear race springs, cat-back exhaust, performance front brake pads, camber bolts, braided stainless brake lines, an air filter,  and an A/C delete belt.

Despite the thorough list of performance parts in the kit, Honda fit owners and racers will still need to be responsible for a competition roll cage, racing seats, harness and other safety equipment.

[Source: Inside Line]