We were teased with some pictures of it prior to the car’s official debut at the LA Auto Show, yet with the emphasis on the 650 hp Shelby GT500, it was perhaps understandable that the Boss 302, which has been hogging the limelight as of late, took a step back.

Nonetheless, it remains a serious piece of kit for 2013. The 5.0-liter Coyote V8 with its unique induction setup and calibration, cranking out a credible 444 horsepower 380 lb-ft of torque, while power is transmitted through a close-ratio six-speed to a solid axle with 3.73 gears.

Like other Ford Mustangs, the 2013 Boss adopts more of a Shelby esque front fascia for 2013, with HID headlights, plus a more aggressive front splitter and removable covers where the foglights are found on standard GTs. They are designed to provide extra cooling during track days and can be quickly removed and reinstalled with a screwdriver.

Other distinguishing features include a move to a reflective stripe package, with hockey stick graphics on the flanks (the spitting image of those found on the 1970 Boss 302), a new exterior color in the shape of shocking School Bus Yellow (chosen due to partnership with Bluebird), a gloss back panel between the LED taillight lenses.

Laguna Seca Boss models feature an even more aggressive front splitter, and new gray accents on the exterior mirrors, grille and rear deck spoiler. There’s also a Laguna Seca logo on the fake rear “gas cap”  as well as two-tone gray and silver 19-inch wheels. Laguna Seca models for 2013 will be offered in either School Bus Yellow or Black exterior colors and dispense with the roof stripes found on the 2012 version.

Another feature standard on all Boss 302s for ’13 is Ford’s SYNC in-car connectivity system, though one has to wonder if there’s a command that says “More Horsepower.”

GALLERY: 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302

As part of Cadillac‘s continued rebranding efforts the Cadillac Racing team has been releasing “ride along” videos from each of its races this season in the SCCA World Challenge series. The latest comes to use from the glass-smooth and world-famous Laguna Seca, where pilots Johnny O’Connell and Andy Pilgrim take us through all 11 turns of the circuit, displaying some incredible driving.

Unfortunately the race itself wasn’t what Cadillac Racing had hoped with O’Connell managing just a 4th place finish in the GT Class, while damage sustained to Pilgrim’s car put him entirely out of the running.

This particular video is particularly worth a watch with Pilgrim and O’Connell getting rather close to each other on a few occasions. Plus, watch out for a grenading Volvo engine.

GALLERY: Cadillac CTS-V

Watch the video after the jump:

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Here is one of the latest clips of the BMW M5 booting it on the Laguna Seca track. Oh how sweet the sound is!

The M5 has been entirely redesigned but the biggest change is the switch from a high-revving V10 to a 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8. The new engine cranks out 552 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque mated to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. The car is capable of achieving a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, not bad for a car weighs around 4,000 lbs. Pricing has not been announced but the M5 will probably sell for around $85,000.

The minute and a half long commercial paints this car as nothing less than a monster as it knifes its way through the turns on a track.

Plus, we also managed to catch up with that very car, on display at Pebble Beach.

GALLERY: 2012 BMW M5 at Pebble Beach

Check out the video after the jump!

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Last Sunday, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca hosted Refuel 2011, the third annual track day for electric cars and motorcycles. The event was open to anyone with an electric car, ranging from the Tesla Roadster to DIY conversion cars. This year’s event was the first time that fully electric production vehicles from mainstream car makers were present at the event.

Joe Nuxoll, Tesla employee and racing instructor achieved the fastest lap time in the production electric class and the Nissan Leaf wasn’t far behind.  The Leaf was two seconds behind the Tesla with a commendable time of 2:10.223.  Leaf owner Nadar Assemi took a video of the Leaf competing on the track. The Leaf surprisingly didn’t suffer from overheating issues like the Tesla and the DIY cars did.

“To my surprise almost every other EV out there (production or otherwise) had heat management issues after 2-5 laps. Tesla’s were hitting power cut by lap 4-5. Most of the other kit cars could do one or two laps due to heat or range issues.” Explained Assemi on a Nissan forum. “Conversely, the Leaf was pulling strong all day and the battery temp gauge didn’t move over 6 bars. Energy efficiency on the track was a stellar 1.2-1.3 m/kWh.”

Check out the video after the jump!

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[Source: The Car Connection]

On August 19th at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, Monterey California, Concorso Italiano will open the traditional Monterey/Pebble Beach Weekend. The event will feature more than 800-1000 beautifully designed Italian cars on display. Enthusiasts can engage in conversations with fellow car lovers and enjoy Italian fashion, food and art. There will no doubt be an astonishing variety of Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Maserati’s, Alfa Romeo’s, Pagani’s, and Lancia’s on display  The event will run from 9:00am- 5:00 pm and admission will cost $130 per person.

Think electric vehicles aren’t sporty enough to tackle the vaunted Laguna Seca? Speed Ventures doesn’t think so. For the third year in a row, they’re offering EV owners the chance to drive the world-famous race track, compete against each other, and even win a trophy.

Refuel 2011 is open to all EVs, including electric motorcycles like the Brammo, purpose-built race cars, the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and the veritable supercar that is the Tesla. This year’s EV trackday is on June 26th, so get your pre-registration in while you still can. The event is free to enter; expenses are limited to how friendly you are with your electric meter man.

[Source: Autoblog Green]

You’ve seen them on TV, and perhaps you’ve been lucky enough to see them up close in person – or even drive one one of them. And now you can bring your favorite racing circuits into your home with Race Tracks of the World.

These works of art can be hung on your walls and are made from high quality Baltic birch plywood and matte black Formica. Cut by a CNC machine for a precise design, they boast smooth edges and all the curves, turns and straightaways are exactly where they’re supposed to be. Race Tracks of the World measure in at around 36” (depending on the track shape) and they even come with a simple mounting process that doesn’t require nails or hooks.

You can pick from almost every track around the world – including better-known circuits like Monaco, Laguna Seca and Nurburgring – and hang them individually or create a wall of track art. Prices for the Race Tracks range from $200-$220, and you can order yours here.

[Source: Uncrate]

From October 22 to 24, Laguna Seca will host the first ever North American Global Tuner Grand Prix, a time-attack event bringing the very best modified cars from around the world to compete for bragging rights.

Similar to the European Tuner Grand Prix and the Japanese International Lap Battle, the event is held on one of only four weekends at Laguna Seca where there are no sound restrictions. The competition will be divided up into three classes, including Street, Tuner and Unlimited, with categories for front-drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive cars. In addition, the event will also include the GPGP Challenge Race – a 50 minute sprint session that will include pro race cars and club racers.

Also included in the event will be the Pirelli Driver’s Cup (running Porsche GT3 cup cars), a 30-minute Historic Motorsports Association race, as well as car corrals for almost ever brand.

For more info check out www.globaltunergp.com

Official release after the jump:

PRESS RELEASE

MONTEREY, Calif., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ — The Global Tuner Grand Prix is proud to announce that Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is hosting the first ever Global Tuner Grand Prix, taking place Friday, October 22nd through Sunday, October 24th, 2010.

The Global Tuner Grand Prix is a spectator event with top professional performance tuners from around the world competing at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The GTGP is similar to Europe’s Tuner GP and Japan’s International Lap Battle competitions but is the first of its kind in North America. This specific weekend is one of four no sound restriction Pro weekends at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

“On behalf of NOVITEC ROSSO we are excited to be part of the GTGP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The GTGP format has been long overdue in North America and it’s the perfect event to showcase NOVITEC ROSSO’s technology on track in front of enthusiasts. There is no better way to prove a vehicles performance than on a racing circuit and with GTGP we will be able to do so against the best Tuners in the world,” said Albert Cook, Director of NOVITEC North America, LLC.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is the only track in North America where lap times for production cars are recognized by major manufacturers and motorsport media moguls around the world.  A lap time here is used as a measuring stick for a vehicle’s performance, equivalent to the Nurburgring in Germany.

“What a great way to end our major event season, bringing our fans the best in global tuner competition,” said Gill Campbell, CEO/general manager for Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “To put Porsche, Corvette and Mazda together in competition will be a true global motorsports event.”

“Porsche Motorsport North America is very pleased to be a part of the 2010 GTGP event and to be able to attend with Technical and Parts Support as we do for all major racing events in the US. We look forward to an exciting three days of racing at one of the premier tracks in the country,” said Paul Ritchie, President & CEO of Porsche Motorsport North America.

About the Global Tuner Grand Prix:

The GTGP consists of three classes of cars, open to all Import, European and Domestic vehicles. This includes Street, Tuner and Unlimited. The three different classes each are bracketed in three categories that include Front-Wheel Drive, Rear-Wheel Drive, All-Wheel Drive.

THE GTGP Challenge Race is an all-out wheel-to-wheel, no-holds-barred, 50-minute sprint race that will showcase the best sports cars in the world from the Pro Racing ranks through the fastest Club racers.

“I’m really excited about the GTGP and looking forward to racing at a track that is so rich in motorsport history. The timing is perfect for an event like this in North America where companies can showcase their products not only to the fans but retailers and manufactures. Tuners, racers and automotive enthusiasts are finally getting their Super Bowl right here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca,” said Antonio Sabato Jr., actor and race car driver.

Event Features:

-Pirelli Driver’s Cup will feature two main events with a 45-minute timed race on Saturday and a 45-minute timed race on Sunday. The series runs both Porsche 996 and 997 GT3 Cup Cars.

-The Historic Motorsports Association is participating with a 30-minute sprint race on Saturday, running vintage and historic stock cars to their limits, taking you back in time to how hard wheel-to-wheel racing used to be.

-Exhibitor and Manufacturer displays are in the main paddock and the Yamaha Marketplace. Offering a trade show atmosphere at a professional race venue immersing spectators in a showcase of the best of what the industry has to offer while displaying proven performance on the race track. No other event in North America offers this experience for the industry as well as consumers.

-Car Club Corrals – Porsche, Audi, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Nissan, Acura and more.

-VIP Car show all day Sunday, held in the Yamaha Marketplace. This is not only for exotics and sports cars but a celebration of all automotive manufactures.

-Red Carpet Gala, Saturday evening October 23rd.

For more information on Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway, please visit www.mazdaracewaylagunaseca.com.

For more information on the GTGP, visit www.globaltunergp.com.

Chevrolet announced a custom one-off Z06 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Corvette’s first appearance at LeMans. Featuring the traditional American racing color scheme (white with blue stripes), as the 1960 Corvette, which won its class at the 24 hour race. The car’s sale will benefit the National Corvette Museum, and anyone who wishes to buy the car must make a $300,000 donation to the Museum, and then pay the $85,000 sticker price of the car.

The special edition Z06 also comes with a Z07 package, featuring some bits from the Corvette ZR1. A celebration will be held in honor of the Corvette at this Saturday’s ALMS race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one week before the Corvette racing team heads off to contest the 24 Hours of LeMans in Frace.

[Source: TopSpeed]

Corvette Racing has just released the first part of a 12 part series, chronicling the team’s build up and follow-through for the 2010 American Le Mans Series. The first video in the series doesn’t waste any time dealing with Corvette Racing’s crushing finale at Laguna Seca, where contact by one of the Flying Lizard Porsches sent driver Jan Magnussen into the wall, just seconds from the finish line. (see below).

Crew Chief Dan Binks expresses his anger, but says that the best way to avoid that situation in the future is to build a car that’s so far out front, this problem won’t occur. Corvette thinks they’ve got such a car, but this year the competition is even tougher, with the GT1 and GT2 classes amalgamated into a single GT class. Plus, for 2010 (like in 2009) the new C6.R is much more closely based on the street car and new for 2010 is a smaller 5.5-liter V8 engine.

We’ll be sure to keep an eye on how the new car stacks up, with the 2010 ALMS Season beginning with the 12 Hours of Sebring, March 17-20.

See after the jump for a video of last year’s season ending crash.

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The mystery of the Dodge Viper LA Auto Show world premiere has been solved, with the automaker announcing it will debut a revised version of its ACR model. With just a few minor tweaks, the 2010 ACR also lays claim to the production car lap record at Laguna Seca Raceway.

In 2008 pro-driver Randy Pobst set the record with the ACR running a 1:35.117, which stood until August 6 of this year when it was trumped by the Viper-based Devon GTX with a 1:35.075 time. As of today, the new 2010 ACR has reclaimed the record with a new lap record of 1:33.915.

The car was driven by SRT engineer Chris Winkler who said that, “It was definitely exciting but a somewhat uneventful lap overall from behind the steering wheel. The Dodge Viper ACR has amazing power and handles like a dream, so following my first practice here last month, I came away pretty confident that we’d be able to set a new record.”

That’s right, Winkler set the record having only ever having driven on the track once before.

Additions to the 2010 model include a shorter fifth-gear ratio of 0.80 from 0.74, as well as a short throw shifter, and a new rear wing design. The car now also gains 4 mph on the top with a new top speed of 184 mph. The shorter fifth-gear came as the direct result of testing on the Nürburgring when the ACR set the (then) production car lap record in 2008.

“I’m still amazed with what the Dodge Viper can do on and off the race track,” said Dodge brand CEO Ralph Gilles. “After our record-setting lap at the Nürburgring circuit, we’re excited to set a second performance benchmark record at another world-famous road course.”

Gilles also gave Viper aficionados hope saying that Dodge is, “investigating what the next-generation Viper is going to be. When we have partners across the ocean who are known as the best sports carmakers in the world, the future opportunities are huge.”

See AutoGuide’s Live 2009 LA Auto Show Coverage Here Starting December 2nd

GALLERY: 2010 Dodge Viper ACR

Official release and a brief video about the record setting lap after the jump:

Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR Recaptures Lap Record At Laguna Seca

Street-Legal, Production Supercar Sets New Mark

Monterey, Calif. , Nov 24, 2009 -

The Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team from Chrysler Group LLC arrived at Laguna Seca raceway today on a mission – to recapture the production car lap record at the world-renowned road course in Monterey, Calif.

Mission accomplished.

Chris Winkler, an SRT vehicle dynamics engineer piloted a black and red 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR (American Club Racer) to a lap record of 1:33.915 as recorded by Motech in-vehicle data recorder (1:33.944 – as unofficially recorded by trackside clock) around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn course, shattering the previous lap record by more than 1.1 seconds.

“It was definitely exciting but a somewhat uneventful lap overall from behind the steering wheel,” said Winkler, who is still learning the intricate details of Laguna Seca raceway, having spent only one other session on the course. “The Dodge Viper ACR has amazing power and handles like a dream, so following my first practice here last month, I came away pretty confident that we’d be able to set a new record.”

In 2008, professional road racer Randy Pobst, drove a 2008 Dodge Viper ACR to a one-lap, production car record of 1:35.117 at Laguna Seca raceway while working with Motor Trend. That record stood until August 6, 2009 when the most recent record of 1:35.075 was established by a one-off exotic prototype.

Ralph Gilles, President and CEO, Dodge Brand and Senior Vice President, Product Design Office, Chrysler Group LLC, was impressed with the Viper’s performance. “I’ve been closely tied to this car my entire career and even after owning one myself for some time, I’m still amazed with what the Dodge Viper can do on and off the race track,” Gilles said. “After our record-setting lap at the Nürburgring circuit, we’re excited to set a second performance benchmark record at another world-famous road course.”

The Dodge Viper is going into the final year of production for the current-generation model. Approximately 500 Vipers will be produced in 2010.

“We’re going to keep Dodge’s performance icon alive and well by not only producing some of the most special Vipers ever built, but we’re also investigating what the next-generation Viper is going to be,” added Gilles. “When we have partners across the ocean who are known as the best sports carmakers in the world, the future opportunities are huge.”

2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR
The Dodge Viper ACR remains the ultimate purpose-built, street-legal track car since its introduction in 2008.
New for the 2010 model year is a shorter fifth gear ratio (changing from 0.74 to 0.80) for improved high-speed acceleration and higher straightaway speeds. This improvement is a direct result of SRT’s experience at the 12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany where during the lap-record run in 2008, it was found that a revised gear ratio would have resulted in a higher speed capability and potentially a shorter elapsed time.

The Dodge Viper ACR also receives a new short-throw shifter in 2010 for enhanced driver experience and better performance. The rear wing profile and end plates are redesigned to further optimize the vehicle aerodynamics and improve rear yaw downforce. These changes result in an increase in top speed of 4 mph (to 184 mph).

Powered by the venerable 8.4-liter, V-10 engine with 600 horsepower and 560 lb.-ft. of torque, the Dodge Viper ACR continues to offer extreme performance, including 0-60 mph acceleration in less than 4 seconds, quarter-mile time in the mid 11-second range and 0-100-0 mph in 11 seconds flat.

The Dodge Viper ACR with optional Hard Core Package is more than 80 lbs. lighter than the production SRT10 and offers race-ready hardware and competition tuning for optimal on-track performance.

The four-wheel independent suspension features high-performance aluminum control arms and knuckles, KW suspension with two-way adjustable competition coil-over shock absorbers with remote reservoirs.

The aerodynamic package features a carbon fiber “fanged” splitter in front and adjustable carbon-fiber wing with seven-position stanchions that allow up to an amazing 1,000 lbs. of downforce at 150 mph. Lightweight wheels, two-piece slotted StopTech brake rotors and Michelin PS Cup tires round out the Dodge Viper ACR package.

The 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR will make its worldwide auto show debut on Dec. 2, 2009 at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Ever wonder what it’s like to drive the world famous Laguna Seca race track? Apparently the folks at Google were curious and so they sent out one of the Google street view cars onto the track.

For some reason the Google street view doesn’t include a whole lap of the track, just from around turn five to turn 10. That portion does include the famous Corkscrew but the Google street view car doesn’t seem to capture it, which does make sense to anyone who’s taken the corkscrew before. One of the things that makes the Corkscrew so challenging is the fact that it’s so steep you don’t even know where the road is until you’re going down it (or, if you’re unlucky, driving down the dirt). Likely the Google street view camera was filming the sky at that point.

The filming appears to have been done during a practice session at last year’s ALMS race, as you can see the black and yellow GT1 Corvette and one of the Flying Lizzard Motorsports Porsches. Make sure to look behind you though…. yup, that’s a LMP2 Acura and the Audi R10 TDI.

Ride along with the Google street view car at Laguna Seca here:

Google Streetview Drives Laguna Seca

[Source: Google]