Ark Design heads up USA assault

[matespace]

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After the retirement of the Sierra Sierra team following the 2011 WTAC it was largely assumed that we would not see a competitor from the land of Uncle Sam in 2012. And that would have probably been the case except for one thing – Eric Hsu!

For those of you who have been living under a rock, Eric Hsu was the guy responsible for the engine and tuning on the Sierra Sierra team and we can tell you that you will go a long way before you will find a more diehard time attack junkie than Eric (except perhaps us!).

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So with the reality of SSE being dead in the water Eric was left with two options to come to Australia in 2012. 1, come and work as a scrutineer for WTAC (we called this plan B) or find a suitable car that could possibly bring the big trophy back to the USA in August.

So Eric walked out into his garage and stared long and hard at his old XS engineering GTR that was still sitting in the garage. This car has long history in the US and much of the original build was featured on a reality TV show. The car then went on to win the one of the very first Redline Time Attack rounds at Fontana Speedway on March 5 2006 with none other than the legendary Tarzan Yamada behind the wheel.

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To continue the story further we need to wind the clock back even more and tell you that before Eric was at XS engineering he was the senior engineer for world famous tuning brand APEXi and in fact was responsible for bringing this brand to the USA. Back then the Australian distributor for APEXi was a fellow by the name of Andy Chen who now owns a rapidly growing brand of tuner products ARK Design. Andy had already mentioned to Eric about the possibility of building a time attack demo car to showcase his brand and as they say the rest is history!

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When your day job is Product development Manager at Cosworth US it would be fair to assume that you would be fairly well connected in the racing game! So to start with the office at Cosworth, the minute Eric mentioned his plan he was greeted with “yep we are in” from three of the Cosworth staff including the Principle Engineer Tyler Hara.

Joing Eric is Katsu Hibio, one of the original GTR gurus from Japan back in the early days of RH9 racing and Cosworth sales manager, Kyong Choi. These guys have pretty much given up their social life for several months to make this dream a reality.

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The car was stripped bare and shipped off (along with several cartons of Heineken beer) to one of the most experienced and talented fabricators in Los Angeles, Gary Castillo from Design Craft Fabrication. Gary has a long history of being the “behind the scenes” man on many of the most famous sport compact builds in the USA.

Joining the team as “suspension tech” is an ex-TRD suspension engineer and co-MotoIQ blogger Mike Kojima. Mike has been around suspension tuning forever and has a strong relationship with KW suspension. In recent times he was responsible for dialling the setup on Dai Yoshiharas Formula D 2011 champion drift car.

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For the powerplant Eric always wanted to do something that not only would outperform anything on the track but also bring the car into the new millennium with a “new-tech” engine replacing the powerful but ageing RB26.

So the team have managed to repower the GTR with a Cosworth-built VQ35 Turbo that should produce close to 1000 horsepower if needed, complete with a 4WD. This is coupled to a Holinger 6 speed sequential gearbox and a pair of Albins custom crown wheels to give optimum gearing.

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Now onto the driver… Whilst it would be fairly easy to find an extremely experienced and fast driver in the USA, there was a strong synergy between this car and Tarzan Yamada. Our guess is Tarzan will be the guy behind the wheel giving this car a real sense of Deja Vu!

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Without a doubt, this will be one of the most highly anticipated entries into WTAC 2012. If you are even slightly interested in GTRs and time attack racing you really should check out the build thread on MotoIQ because this article does not even go close to telling you how much effort these guys are putting into this car!

For a full team profile click here (http://www.advanwheels.com.au/racing/car.aspx?id=52)

[NeedVtec]

ssshhhiiiiieeetttttttt

[mocchi]

http://www.gifsforum.com/images/gif/omg/grand/65227387-omg-reaction-.gif

[Snoop_gee]

wasnt this on foxtel i remember seeing this ages ago.
Speed tv Street tuner challenge .
This r32 GTR got ripped by a Cobolat ss


Besting a 600 HP Nissan Skyline and nitrous-charged Volkswagen Jetta

BUTTONWILLOW, California - Timing is everything, and the timing of the new Cobalt SS Supercharged's introduction couldn't be better. As Chevy's new sport compact performance car debuts in dealer showrooms, it already has a record-setting pedigree. Driver John Heinricy piloted a race-prepared Cobalt SS Supercharged on a challenging road course at the Buttonwillow Raceway Park, besting both the legendary Nissan Skyline and the new Volkswagen Jetta by more than seven seconds. The Cobalt SS, which is based on Chevy's new factory-built front-wheel-drive Super Sport, posted a time of 1:58 around Buttonwillow's #13 track configuration, which was fast enough to eclipse the marks set by the All-Wheel-Drive, twin-turbo Skyline (2:05) and the nitrous-charged Jetta (2:07).

"It was an absolute blast to run the Cobalt SS flat-out on the Buttonwillow track," said Heinricy, current SCCA driving champion and GM Performance Division's Director of High Performance Vehicle Operations. "GM Performance Division and the Powell Motorsports crew gave me a perfectly prepared car, and the Ecotec engine ran flawlessly."

A television crew from Speed Channel's Street Tuner Challenge was on hand to direct the day's competition at the track. The Street Tuner Challenge chose three vehicle makes representing North America (Chevrolet Cobalt SS), Europe (Volkswagen Jetta) and Asia (Nissan Skyline) and followed each team throughout a 13 week build competition. The Cobalt build team was comprised of engineers and designers from the GM Performance Division and Powell Motorsports, while the Nissan Skyline was built by XS Engineering and the Jetta was assembled by Autobahn Designs. The final time attack race served as the build completion and the culmination of Speed Channel's taping. For program times, please check Speed Channel's web site at http://www.speedtv.com (http://www.speedtv.com/).

The production Cobalt SS Supercharged has strong performance credentials in factory trim. Powered by a supercharged and intercooled 205-horsepower, 2.0-liter Ecotec DOHC four-cylinder engine and equipped with a tenacious suspension developed on Germany's famed Nurburgring race track, the production Cobalt SS Supercharged will bring more heat to the already red-hot sport compact segment.

GM Performance Division created the Cobalt SS for this time attack competition to demonstrate the ultimate capabilities of the four-cylinder, supercharged Ecotec engine and Chevy's new front-wheel-drive "tuner" car. The program was led by the GM Performance Division, in collaboration with Chevrolet, GM Powertrain, GM Performance Parts, and GM Design. Powell Motorsports, in Blackstock, Ontario, Canada provided vehicle preparation and logistical support for the successful assault on the time attack.

"The Cobalt SS surpassed every expectation we had going into this competition," said GM Performance Division Executive Director Mark Reuss. "We came to Buttonwillow to demonstrate the performance and reliability of the Ecotec engine on one of the most demanding tracks in the world. The Cobalt SS, driver John Heinricy, and the entire team performed to the highest standards. We're out here to be the best, and today we proved that Chevy and GM race to win."

Enthusiasts will be able to catch a live glimpse of the Time Attack Cobalt SS Supercharged this November at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. It will also run on Tuesday, November 8, 2005 in Super Street magazine's Time Attack at Buttonwillow Raceway Park.

[Snoop_gee]

Anyways here is teh monster in action


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhpvSasZUjw

[EKVTIR-T]

Didnt XS have some problem before when they were meant to challenge in Hot Version American Touge