Honda posted this story of Tim Mings, the only full time Honda N600 mechanic in the US. Not only does he work exclusively on N600’s, he has the first car that Honda ever made for the US, serial number 1. It’s always interesting to see these niche specialists who make a living on rare quirky cars.
Cycle World rounded up the the current crop of superbikes and took them for two days of testing at Miller Motorsports Park with Eric Bostrom. They first tested the “workhouse” bikes that cost under $20,000 and then pitted the winner up against the “exotics” that were over 20 grand. This year has been pretty interesting in the motorcycle industry because just about all of the big companies are introducing traction and stability control. Eric Bostrom says this shootout is really about who was able to best tame the power and inertia of the 1000cc engines.
Yokohama Tires has been closely following the re-engineering of the Top Fuel S2000 for the 2012 World Time Attack Challenge in August. The car held the RWD lap record at Tsukuba for three years in it’s previous form. In preparation for the WTAC, the power has been increased to 712 hp thanks to a turbocharged F20C stroked to 2.2 liters (not a F22C according to Yokohama) and the car has been equipped with an awesome widebody kit developed by Japanese aero tuners, Voltex. This video gives some good shots of the car’s details as well as some run footage on Suzuka.
Translogic got a crack at the Honda Fit EV at Honda’s press launch in Pasadena, California. It’s kind of an exciting EV because the Fit is such a fun car to drive in gasoline form. The Fit EV replaces the floor with a 20 kilowatt-hour battery pack and the engine is replaced with a 123 horsepower (92 kw), 189 ft-lbs electric motor. That means the Fit EV is probably faster and handles better than the regular Fit. Another interesting spec to note is that the battery pack only takes 3 hours to charge. Compare that to the Nissan Leaf that takes 9 hours to charge a 23 kwh battery. There’s also smart phone and key fob connectivity that allows you to control charging and air conditioning remotely. It’s an incremental step up in technology, but it goes a long way into making EV’s some more normal and appealing. My main gripe is the trend to make EV interiors light colored and sterile. That still appeals more to transportation appliance people and not car people.
Source: Translogic
The video footage to accompany the pictures I posted earlier has hit YouTube courtesy of the Car@Nifty channel. There’s a few interesting things I picked up on while watching the video. First, the engine definitely sounds turbocharged. Second, the car is able to leave the pit garage in pure EV mode. Third, the mechanics torque both of the front wheels simultaneously by hand. The car isn’t front wheel drive like the street version of the CR-Z, but Honda has confirmed that the car is indeed a racing hybrid. I’m guessing there could be an electric motor on the front axle for regenerative braking purposes. I don’t think JGTC cars are allowed to be all wheel drive, so the electric motor would only work in one direction. If the car does have an electric motor on the front axle, its drive train will actually be very similar to the new NSX.