Jalopnik: turbocharged

2009 Sno*Drift Rally: Michigan's Great Motorsport Secret

Andrew Didorosi — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:15:00 EST

Up in Northern Michigan, the rally action is as furious as ever. Join us below for our mega gallery of what can only be described as Michigan's great motorsport secret.

Michigan is home to both the start and end of the yearly RallyAmerica racing circuit. The 2008 season came to an end in Houghton, Michigan last October at the Lake Superior Pro Rally. The fresh 2009 season begins anew here in Atlanta, Michigan during the dead of winter.

Snowmobiles and 4x4 trucks aren't just a convenience in Atlanta - they're a necessary facet of life. Good thing we were locked, stocked and two smoking cameras while rolling in our Roush Propane-powered F-150. This time we were pushing giant steamroller tires on chrome wheels as the factory hides met a smokey demise at an earlier date.

The rally went down as a classic snow rally with plenty of snowbank-Plinko and lots of off-course sliding. Spectators were quick to jump in and assist when drivers chose to jam their cars firmly into the stout, powdered walls. Our rookie favorite of last year Kyle Sarasin was stuck in an old front wheels-driven Mitsubishi Eclipse after his previous yellow Subaru-wielding team was disbanded. The title of Most Jalopnik Rally Car of this event was taken by Greg and Tom Woodside in their turbo 1987 Dodge Shadow.

After a short battle with Travis for the lead, Ken Block was knocked out in the first day with a mechanical failure as a result of a minor crash. Travis Pastrana and Christian Edstrom secured the first place finish while Tanner Foust and Co-driver Chrissie Beavis locked in the second rank in their Hyundai Tiburon. Andrew "ACP" Comrie-Picard and Marc Goldfarb snuck into third place after fighting against some handling problems in their Mistu Evolution IX. BMX baddie Dave Mirra pulled in a strong 6th-place finish.

Keep an eye on our RallyAmerica tag as we'll soon be following up with an exclusive behind the scenes look at Subaru's Rally Team, a full HD video of Sno*Drift and Travis and Ken's In-Car video. We're stuffing our hatchbacks in preparation of the 100 Acre Wood rally in a few weeks time located in Salem, MO. Press on regardless!

Partial Photo Credit: Alex "Tater Salad" Conley

BMW Turbo Four-Banger In Development

Mark Arnold — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:00:00 EDT

Confirming speculation, BMWNA CEO Jim O’Donnell has stated in an interview with Business Week that BMW is indeed developing a new turbocharged 4-cylinder gasoline engine. Of course, when we'll see it on our shores all depends on who gets elected President. Wait, what? Said O'Donnell, "It will deliver stronger performance in terms of acceleration than the current 6-cylinder, it will deliver lower emissions and will give you better fuel economy; so it is a win, win, win situation. This will be a high tech 4-cylinder engine; obviously turbo charged. We can’t really confirm or deny when it is going to come into the US, or if it is going to come into the US, until after the election and the government makes it clear what is going to be the platform that manufacturers have got to work to."

After the election? Really? Sure, that makes sense, seeing as BMW's future North American lineup will vary depending on future legislation. But we thought ze Germans were all about über efficiency, technology, and whatnot anyways, no matter what our stupid politics are. Oh well, either way, it sounds like the perfect engine to stick in a 1-Series tii. [via BimmerFile][image]

1980 Toyota Corolla Somewhat Repowered With BMW I6

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:30:00 EST

It's a little known fact that one of us Jalops spent the better part of our youth traipsing around the country in the back of a 1980 Toyota Corolla without so much as a radio installed. That first parental Corolla turned out to be a gateway Toyota and was followed by an unbroken chain of Corollas extending to this very day. This is why there is an A4 in the driveway and a Continental in the garage. Things would have been different had the Corolla of our youth been powered by a turbocharged BMW inline six sporting 400 bhp and 370+ lb.ft. of torque. Ah yes, smoky power drifts though the state of Nebraska would have made cross country trips far more palatable.

Dodge Tomahawk? Please: "Jagged Edge" For Sale on eBay

bwojdyla — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:45:00 EDT

Remember when the Tomahawk rolled on stage beneath leather-clad Wolfgang Bernhard's posterior? Remember how we all thought Dodge must have had an aneurysm, and the "bitchin'" center of the brain was now running the show? Well, in light of what we have here, Dodge's Viper-powered bike/car mashup looks more like a malaise-era station wagon. It's "Jagged Edge," a one-off motorcycle powered by a twin-turbocharged, 5.3 liter, V12 Jag engine with a single cog driving the rear wheel. Fancy-pants suspension? Nope, it has the front end from a Kawasaki GPZ1100 and a hard tail rear (that means none). Highly engineered thoroughly tested transmission? Ha! It's cobbled together from a cacophony of motorcycle and Land Rover parts. The builder reports 120 mph is as far as he's pushed it, but says there's far more room to roar. Sir, we salute you. [eBay via Custom Mettle]

Ford Is Readying A Trio Of Twin-Turbo Engines

Jonny Lieberman — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT

Looks like BMW isn't the only new twin-turbo sheriff in town. Back during the Detroit Show we hipped you to the knowledge that FoMoCo was readying a "twin-force" V6 good for over 400 hp that would be showing up in a Lincoln flagship. Not good enough for Mulally, apparently. Turns out that Dearborn is actually preparing twin-turbo 4 and 8-cylinder engines as well. Which is fantastic news. For their part, Ford is saying that this new family of forced induction mills will be easy on our pocketbooks, explaining that "twin-force will offer diesel-like fuel economy." And that's good, we like that. But they are leaving out the part about how twin-turbo V8 Mustangs (and maybe the Interceptor...) will be better than 10 Super Bowls. Direct injection and cylinder deactivation will also be part of the mix, natch. – Jonny Lieberman

Ford adding twin-turbos to V6 and V8 petrol engines [Motor Authority]