As you can see from the video, and implied by the drum-und-bass music, it's quite the spectacular reel of truly amazing crashes. We can't wait to see it in full, glorious hi-def. Until then, enjoy the video, as well as the gallery of some of the most scenic WRC crashes in recent years.

Video Courtesy HD Theater / WRC.com

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup series, aka Can Am, started out pretty wild… and then got even better! Active aerodynamics, four-figure horsepower numbers, the works. The Porsche 917. The Chapparal 2J "sucker car." General madness.



Can Am was pretty damn cool, that's for sure. But Can Am machines didn't bear much resemblance to street cars, and there was a distinct lack of dirt on Can Am race tracks. Not so with Group B Rally, which ran from 1982 to 1986 and featured utterly ridiculous race versions of everyday street cars- which actually had to be homologated, although in fairly small numbers- dodging drunken fans on zero-margin-for-error roads. No limits on turbocharging and/or supercharging boost! Group B cars were so awesome that we almost can't stand it (I'm going to wear out the italics tag here)… but it's pretty hard to out-awesome the 917 or 2J. What's your choice?

My requests to have the Gawker Overlords pay my way to France and fund the Team Jalopnik Humber Sceptre have met with stony silence from Gawker HQ, so I won't be participating in StreetSafari's 2009 Czech Wrecks Rally this year. The lineup includes Rovers, Skodas, Renaults- in fact, all the European counterparts to the '85 Olds Cutlass Ciera will be there! I'm sure we'll get some photos to share from the participants later on; for now, here are some shots from the '08 event:

SCROGGS!! (who, just like Yahoo!, uses exclamation points as part of his name) has found us a treasure trove of vintage European Rally videos on YouTube:

1963 Alpine Rally, Part 1

1963 Alpine Rally, Part 2

1965 Monte Carlo Rally

1968 Rally Of Sweden, Part 1

1968 Rally Of Sweden, Part 2

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 1

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 2

1971 RAC Rally Of Great Britain, Part 3

The proximity of the branch to either one of their heads is phenomenal and we're guessing that the alternate scenario to this crash will haunt these two for years to come. [via youtube]

In his typical "Rally Leviathan" style, Travis Pastrana nabbed his third win this season with almost a minute lead between him and second place finisher Tanner Foust. Andrew "Antilag Alarm Clock" Comrie-Picard picked up a third place finish — especially interesting considering Comrie-Picard ate tree during the practice stage. Pastrana's Subaru Factory teammate Ken Block was dramatically removed from the standings on Day Two after an 80 MPH flat tire did him in and left Block with a fractured control arm. Dave Mirra scored a first place finish in the Super Production class; walking away from the event with both his first rally win and a drop-forged cast iron grin.

We're betting on an underdog upset at one of these upcoming rallies; a real David Vs. Goliath moment. Even though he was taken out of this weekend's event due to a very blown engine, our chips are on racing wunderkind and Jalop-You-Never-Knew-Existed Matthew Johnson in his hyper-chromatic technicolor Subaru WRX at a post-X Games rally. You heard it here first.

Sit tight and follow our RallyAmerica tag for the upcoming gonzo coverage of the 2009 Oregon Trail Rally including our mega-gallery plus a smattering of tasty bonus features.

Photog Credit: Alex C. Conley

The Sacramento-to-Tahoe Snowball is open to pre-1974 sports and touring cars (the rules specifically prohibit forklifts and steamrollers) and offers participants the joy of climbing the Sierra Nevada mountains on funky back roads during snow season. Much Jalopnik-approved machinery took part, including at least one Opel GT, the usual cast of beater seasoned Alfa Romeos, some MGs, etc.






Along the way, the rallyers passed the kind of mountain junkyard we dream about. Citroëns were just part of the goodness.

In a 100-mile, tight, technical rally in the southern Catskills Mountains of New York, Ken slid towards a top finish with nearly a three minute margin between him and second place. Not a part of the RallyAmerica circuit, the rally was cited as being notoriously wet this year. Not to worry, as Block performed flawlessly and was noted to have been "unchallenged." Block raced his 2007 Open Class Subaru STi as his 2009 car is on its way west for the upcoming Olympus rally.

Photo Credit: Neil McDaid and Lars Gange

Two days worth of shooting went into Ken Block's infamous Gymkhana practice clip, so it's safe to assume a large amount of glorious footage had to go to the cutting room floor - no matter how hoontacular. Thankfully, the guys over at DC Shoes and Mad Media knew we'd have a hankerin' for some more tire shredding and assembled a compilation clip of everything that didn't get into the first lineup. Sit back with a tire dust whippet and enjoy.

The Finn—celebrating his 24th birthday on the day of the accident—had already gotten off to a shaky start in the 2009 WRC season, going off the road in two of the three races before his big roll. While leading the fourth stage, his Ford hit the cliffside on a narrow dirt road, flipped over the Armco and began its roll down the hillside:

We rolled and rolled. I don't know how many times, but I had time during the accident to think about how it might end and what might happen. It was not nice.

When we were rolling, I could see the roll cage getting lower and lower and coming towards me. When you have an accident like this, you think it’s going to stop, the noise is going to stop soon, but this time it didn’t, it just kept on happening.

The Focus came to rest after 17 rolls against a tree and Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila walked away from the wreckage:

The work the FIA and Ford have done definitely helped Miikka and I walk away from it. That wouldn’t have happened 10 or 20 years ago. The work on side impact, the seats, everything has helped and I have to say a very big thank you for that.

Source: Autosport.com, Photo Credit: Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

The reality is it’s got great music, a lovely analog look, prodigious shots of a Lamborghini Miura SV, a guy who changes from a tux into a racing suit and sings in a mumbling baritone while driving—and all this is interspersed with Group B rally footage. Including heavy crashes. And Formula 1 crashes too!

WTF, right? But WTF in a most excellent way.

It turns out that No Problem Raceway, site of the Laissez Les Crapheaps Roulez LeMons New Orleans race in June, has a full quarter-mile dragstrip. That means that the very same cars that spend all day Saturday being beat to hell on the racetrack (which should feature parts-breakin' 100-degree/100%-humidity weather conditions) will be able to spend the evening making like the protagonists in a Jan & Dean song (had Jan & Dean included references to cane fields, voodoo, and big scary swamp insects in their drag-racing-themed work). Ah, the smell of fried clutches… the staccato chorus of E30 engines bouncing off the rev limiter… the sight of connecting rods fleeing their confines via new holes in hoods and oil pans- it ought to be concentrated essence of hoonage. But hold on there, Big Daddy- it gets even better! Those LeMons cars won't just be knocking off 16-second times against each other; the Big Apple To Big Easy Rally contestants will arrive in New Orleans just in time for the 24 Hours Of LeMons. The BABE Rally features $500 cars, just like LeMons, and we're sure the BABE teams will be eager to put those so-called race cars in their place when the Christmas tree goes green. So make sure you mark your calendar for the first weekend in June, because you'll definitely want to be there for the First Annual JunkerNationals! Here's what LeMons Chief Perpetrator Jay Lamm has to say:

Don't let the crocs and the voodoo dissuade you, mon cher: There's just one week left to enter LeMons New Orleans (aka "Laissez les Crapheaps Roulez," 23-24 May at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose LA). Get those apps in no later than midnight on Saturday, 28 March 09, or you cry in your gumbo without us. Click here to apply.

What's that? You say that endurance-racing $500 junkers in full Nomex at 100% humidity isn't quite idiotic enough for you? You think it'd be easier to just stay home, seal yourself in a trash bag, and spin in the dryer all weekend? Fear not: In addition to the usual LeMons hullabaloo, Saturday will see the first-ever BABE Rally vs. LeMons Drag-Race Junker-Nationals. If those limeys think their $500 rally cars can blow up more spectacularly than our $500 racecars on the dragstrip, they've got another think coming. It's two ill-conceived, rod-bearing-destroying motorsport contests in one, n'est-ce pas?

Naturally, we can't discuss the glorious automotive industry of the Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics without the sound of the Red Army Choir belting out the Soviet National Anthem, so get this video playing and crank up the volume before you continue:



What we've got here is a Russian-language site focusing on the triumphs of Soviet rally teams of the 1960s through the 1990s. Don't read Russian? Doesn't matter! Just click on random links and check out the Moskviches (plus some Volgas and other assorted Soviet steel) doing their thing.
[Soviet Rally]

With enough speed to seal Ken's fourth win at the 100 Acre Wood in Salem, MO, the resulting footage is nothing short of breathtaking. New to our in-car game is a spiffy set of live data gauges telling the viewer exactly what's going on with those pedals.

Up next, we've got video interviews with Block and Pastrana, Behind the Scenes with Subaru Rally Team USA, and, of course, our 100 Acre Wood mega-gallery. Can you contain your excitement? We can't. Keep your browsers locked on our RallyAmerica tag for all this upcoming dirty fun. And as always, Press On Regardless!

Update: As it turns out, the video was just too friggin' awesome to be contained by our hamsters. We've moved it to Vimeo and all should be well. Sorry for those of you who's browsers we've imploded. It'll grow back, promise.

That's just what this rally-equipped 330 GT's owner does, and reader Paul spotted it parked in front of an Alfa Romeo shop in The Hague, Netherlands. Here's what he has to say about his find:

Spotted in Den Haag, Netherlands, Fall 2008. Why not to include it: It's Just Another Ferrari
Why to include it: When was the last time you saw a rally-driven 60's Ferrari with bolt-on driving lights, side exhaust and knock-offs that have clearly been used in anger? It's just got the look of a car that's driven hard and often. And, if it were mine, that's how I'd treat it too.

Here's an easy one for you, folks. We considered zooming it in on just the fender and making you search paint codes to up the ante, but that's no fun. Here's a hint: You'd have to be batshit insane to rally one of these. After a short chat with the genial driver and crew, we can confirm that they are indeed crazy.

The answer will be revealed once our 100 Acre Wood mega-gallery goes live. In the meantime, throw out your best guesses below. Keep an eye on our RallyAmerica Tag for further dirtysport updates.

This year's Sno*Drift Rally, held in Atlana, MI, brought a frothy mixture of high horsepower and tasty hydrocarbons to a quaint, rural town. Did you catch those friggin' sweet AfterEffects titles? Expect more of the same.

Right now, we're deep in the heart of Missouri to cover the 100 Acre Wood Rally here in Salem. We've upped our camera count from two to five to bring you exactly what you crave: dirty, naughty racing obscenity. If you catch us in our megaphone-equipped gunmetal-brown Saab 9-7x, stop and say hi. Press on regardless!

Photo Credit: Alex C. Conley
Video Credit: Kyle "Dangerzone" Conner and Brian "Nannerpuss" Shepanek

The 105S was made from 1956 through 1959, and this one proves that a left-hand-drive version was built. Kip shot this car, plus the Beetle in Gulf Oil colors, in downtown San Francisco. And that wraps up our DOTS-O-Rama Sunday!

[via break]