Back in 2013, the four of us, outwardly known as The Smoking Tire, produced a movie called All Cars Go to Heaven, in which we attempted to drive some terrible cars 600 miles off-road across the state of Washington and into Canada. The resulting film was so much fun and so well received that we did it all again (with…
You wouldn’t believe it at first look, but this is not a Peugeot 206 207 WRC car. This car was built from the chassis on up, from scratch, by a 22 year old rally driver named Alex Kelsey. It weighs just 1,000 KG (2,200 lbs) and makes 450 HP to all four wheels from a Renaultsport V6 out of a Formula 2 car. Only the…
In our travels to New Zealand, we drove a huge variety of cars, all of which were excellent in their own ways. But the one we were most excited about was, of course, the one we can’t have here for 9 more years: The R34 Skyline GTR. Almost like a bonus, this one makes four times the power it left the factory with, an…
I get asked all the time, “What happens if you crash one of those cars you’re testing?” Fair question: I have to pay for it. But that’s not the hardest part. The hardest part is immediately having to get back in another borrowed car and test that. On our trip to New Zealand, in horrible conditions, that’s exactly what…
Though it may look just like our 1996-2001 Toyota Camry at a glance, the Toyota Chaser is no beigemobile. Because the Japanese spent the 90’s selling their coolest cars only to themselves, we never got the Toyota Chaser; it looks like a Camry, but underneath, it’s a Supra. We’re in love.
In New Zealand, motorsport runs as deep through the country as sheep-herding, fishing, and Hobbits. Practically every weekend of the year, you can find a hillclimb, street sprint, or track day somewhere in the country. So we went to the track with the Hutt Valley Motorsport Club, and hopped in president Jared Rush's…
New Zealand is quite possibly the most car-crazy per capita country in the entire world, as we at TST recently learned by touring the whole country for two weeks. Most importantly, Kiwis take incredible pride in doing everything themselves, from body work, to making parts, to repurposing parts that never should have…
The Fiesta ST is a riot out of the box; a car that can make you feel like Colin McRae on a tarmac stage after just a few minutes behind the wheel. But we wanted more. A lot more. So after installing the Cobb Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 packages, we went balls-out on a 100-octane ProTune and were blown away by what…
My first car was a 1992 Lexus LS400. It was six years old at the time, so not a spring chicken, but when I sold it at 60,000 miles, I had no idea what these cars were really capable of. Now, thanks to CraigsList, we're going to find out. Because I just bought a 1996 Lexus LS400 with 897,000 actual miles on it, and I'm…
The Dodge Viper T/A is an absolute animal: 640 HP, 600 lb/ft, 3,300 lbs, and 355-section rear tires with an old-fashioned 6-speed manual gearbox. And now that it has a new, lower base price, it's analog speed worth revisiting. Let's do a quick first-light Snake Run to find out.
The Polaris Slingshot is a three-wheeled motorcycle. Not a car. They keep repeating this to the small group of us as we get an overview of Polaris's first road-legal recreational vehicle. OK, sure guys, whatever you gotta do to get it out there. But how does it drive ride?
The worst thing for a project car is just to linger on and on, endlessly. I want to get out there and drive it! So I'm happy to report my project Fox Body Mustang is nearing completion! I checked in with the crew at Maximum Motorsports to see how the build is finishing up.
The Audi RS5 Cabriolet is a big, heavy car. In fact, at 4,420 lbs, the RS5 is 60 lbs heavier than my Honda Odyssey Minivan, which combined with this particular shade of "Nardo Gray," has led me to lovingly refer to the car as "The Battleship." Thing is with 450 hp and a redline half-past-eight, this battleship hauls…
The Alfa Romeo 4C is an important car for both Fiat/Chrysler and us, the enthusiast consumers. It offers the purest driving experience available from a road car, Italian styling, properly advanced carbon construction, and a great soundtrack. But what's it like to drive on American roads? Mind bending.
Two weeks ago, we brought you the first half of our coverage of Rally North America's biggest event yet: the US50 Rally, from West Virginia to Missouri. Then last week, we showed you what our Jeep SRT is like at a hot, elevated track day. Today, let's see more sights, meet more folks, and share the conclusion of Rally…
I recently had the pleasure of spending two weeks and 4,000 miles on Rally North America in one of the greatest vehicles to ever come out of the US of A: the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. It's comfortable, fast, and full of practicality. But how does it handle a road course, at 4,500 feet of elevation, when it's 95…
As someone with some level of experience regarding the "high profile" rallies, I can say definitively that I have no desire whatsoever to do a high-profile rally anymore. They reek of wretched excess and sketchy driving, and leave your license in tatters. So this year, when Rally North America invited us along,…
Mark Still is a professional fabricator for the movie industry, but didn't know what a sorted sports car should feel like. So when he finished his 400 HP, Supercharged 1UZ Corolla, he rang up The Smoking Tire and asked for some feedback. How could we say no?
We've been messing with our Fiesta ST basically ever since we took it home, and so far it's been killer in every way. This time we did Cobb Tuning's "Stage 3" Package, which is a turboback exhaust, ECU tune, and a new rear motor mount for better launches and hard shifts. Plus, Launch Control! Which I demonstrate.
Many out there, myself included, have stated that the BMW 1 Series M-Coupe is the best modern BMW money can buy, and one that, with such limited numbers in the US, will certainly go up in value. But what if you modify it? Steve Dinan's S3.R, with 444 HP and 450 lb/ft of torque may not be collector-focused, but when it…
