BRANDS HATCH TO NURBURGRING // THE TRAILER

Check out this short trailer for the much anticipated 'BH2N' film from production crew Trackday Films. Following a group of UK based lap day enthusiasts, the film crew tags along as they rally from Brands Hatch to the famed Nurburgring. An epic journey no doubt, we can't wait to see the final production. Stay tuned // 10.01.2008

GARTH STEIN // IS READING TO BMW FANS

ColdTrackDays supporter Garth Stein, will be at the University Book Store in Bellevue (WA) this coming Thursday, October 4th, for a special reading hosted by the Puget Sound Region of the BMWCCA. Garth will read from his acclaimed novel, "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and will be available for autographs, questions and general chit chat beginning at 10am. If you are in the area and have a free morning, a Garth Stein reading is not something to be missed. For additional info, click here. Hope to see you there // 10.01.2008

PORSCHE DESIGN P'9522 // GEAR UP

French cell phone manufacturer Sagem and Porsche Design have teamed up to create yet another enthusiast inspired cellular device. Dubbed the P’9522, this one of a kind phone just might make you the coolest kid in the room (or at the track) when you show everyone you passed up the gen-two iPhone in exchange for some euro goodness. Equipped with a 5 megapixel camera, 2.8-inch touch screen, GPS, Wi-Fi capabilities and a MicroSD fingerprint reader (keeping your investment safe via fingerprint identification), the P’9522 will go on sale in France come November, with other markets to follow shortly there after. Now a Porsche wouldn’t be a Porsche if it didn’t hurt the wallet a little, so expect to pay upwards of $800 for this one of a kind cell phone. A phone to seperate the men from the boys, we like it // 10.01.2008

2010 MUSTANG // KILLING THE PLANET?

I hate this video. Every time I have made up my mind, decided that fuel efficiency is of the utmost importance and that big hulking American muscle is just not an option, Ford releases a new teaser for their 2010 Mustang and I loose the mental battle for eco friendliness. So, here it is, the video that the go-green crowd should be all up in arms about, as it is undoubtedly causing many to pass up the four cylinder Honda and get back to good old, dual exhaust snarling, fuel guzzling, two tire patch leaving American muscle. Sea levels may rise a 1/4 inch every time you watch this... // 10.01.2008

SWEDISH RACING? // SAAB JOINS IN

A Swedish Touring Car Championship? Didn’t even know such a thing existed. None the less, Saab wants in on the action and has released a race prepped 9-3, looking to take home a trophy in the S2000 class. Their entry will be powered by a 2.0 liter four cylinder running on bio-fuel and will be mated to a six speed manual transmission. Though official ownership of the 9-3 belongs to Team Dealer Sport, Saab opened up their test track for some R&D and will be assisting in the engineering and construction of the vehicle. The S200 9-3 will run in the 2009 Swedish Touring Car Championship // 10.01.2008

SINGAPORE GP // IN PHOTOS

Came across some photos from this weekends Singapore Grand Prix and thought we'd share them with our readers. The Marina Bay circuit was lit by huge flood lighting (said to be four times as powerful as that of a typical NFL stadium), and was not only the first night race in Formula One history, but the first to be run in Singapore as well. For the complete photo gallery, click here, or scroll down for complete coverage from Sundays Singapore GP // 09.30.2008

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT // SINGAPORE GP 2008

In case you missed it, here is a great video re-cap of this weekends inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. Provided by our friends at Axis of Oversteer, the short video highlights both qualifying and the race itself. The first ever night race, as well as the first Formula One race to be run in Singapore, last Sunday was a historical day for F1. Fernando Alonso took the win after a hard fought battle, appropriate pit strategy and a few mistakes on the part of Ferrari. Nico Rosberg took second with the Williams team, holding Lewis Hamilton to a third place finish. With the mess that Ferrari made, little hope is left for both Raikkonen or Massa, with Hamilton now holding a commanding lead atop the drivers championship. The Japanese Grand Prix will be held on October 12th, so stay with ColdTrackDays for more coverage from the final races of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. For full results from this years Singapore Grand Prix, click here // 09.30.2008

EYE CANDY // NEWMAN'S OWN

For this weeks Eye Candy we thought it appropriate to share a few photos of Paul Newman. With Mr.Newmans passing this week, the motorsport community lost an important piece of the puzzle. A long time supporter of grass roots, endurance and sanctioned racing, Newman could often be found behind the wheel of a high horsepower race car, competing well into his 70’s. A man of the sport, he will be sorely missed // 09.30.2008

A NEW TAKE // 'MAZDA ON TRACK'

Came across this video and thought we should share it. Out of the UK comes a new take on lap days. Entitled ‘Mazda on Track,’ this all Mazda group looks to host a number of lapping events, with varying locations, offering on site part supplies, tech assistance and a community of dedicated tuners, tweakers and fix-it types. Little information was available, but this is the type of thing we are missing here in the states...hmm, a ColdTrackDays lap day.... // 09.30.2008

IRDC @ PR // FORMULA CLASS

Coupled with this past weekends PRO-3 race, the IRDC saw a handful of Formula cars take to the track for a few races. Steve Litsky, rookie in the Formula Continental class (driving the purple and yellow Van Diemen shown above), ColdTrackDays supporter and all around great guy, was on track, polishing his Raikkonen like skills, looking to slay the competition and run away with the trophy (ed note- do they give out trophies at IRDC races?). No such luck for Steve, but having followed his career (racing career that is) all season, we can say there have been some significant improvements. Though there was a decent field, no one class was heavily represented. None the less, the IRDC put on a great event and the drivers a great race. Click through to our photo gallery for some additional shots of Steve ‘skills like Kimi’ Litsky and all of the competitors in this past weekends race. Enjoy // 09.30.2008

PRO-3 @ IRDC // HEY, THAT RHYMES

Home for only a few days and we are already back at it. The IRDC (International Race Drivers Club) held a club race this weekend, and the PRO-3 class came out in force. ColdTrackDays was there to shoot the event, meet and greet with a few drivers and above all, take in some great racing. Like no other class (no offense SM), the PRO-3 class provides some of the best bang for your buck, fender to fender racing one can get themselves into. A field of nearly thirty cars took to the track at Pacific Raceways this afternoon, battling it out for a handful of laps, leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats. Great class. Great racing. Great event. Click through to our photo gallery for some more pics from the event // 09.28.2008

COLDTRACKDAYS.COM // FREE STICKERS RD.3

Before we left for Monza, we ran a posting about our free stickers. Not knowing what to expect, we offered not only as many free stickers as you wanted, but free shipping, anywhere in the world. Our only stipulation; send us a pic when the sticker(s) find a good home. Good plan? We thought so. Pictured above are a few of the pictorial responses we received. Big thanks to everyone that requested stickers, but for those of you out there still absent of a ColdTrackDays.com sticker (or two), send us an email, tell us how many and where you would like them shipped, and off they go, free of charge. Just one more reason ColdTrackDays is so much cooler than all those other auto blogs, I mean come on, you'd be lucky to get a logo endorsed pen from those folks // 09.28.2008

TALK A LITTLE S#!T // COMMENTS ARE OPEN

Seeing as how the Italians are not ones to keep their mouths shut, preferring to argue endlessly in the street rather than just duke it out, we thought now was an appropriate time to open up the comments on our blog postings. So, don't like what we have to say about Massa? Tired of hearing about all these new 'concept cars'? Let us know about it. Just click on the posting title, then click on 'Post a Comment' and leave us a note. You do not need to signup for anything or leave us a forwarding address, none of that craziness. All comments can be anonymous, so go ahead, give it a try, promise we wont be offended // 09.27.2008

IN MEMORY OF // PAUL NEWMAN (1925-2008)

Paul Newman passed away today in his Connecticut home at the age of 83, after a long battle with cancer. Our thoughts go out to the Newman family, as both the motorsport and mainstream world have lost a great influence, a great philanthropist and a great star. The picture above shows Mr.Newman at the 1979 24hrs of Le Mans, where he, Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour came in second overall. The trio piloted a 'bone stock' Porsche 935 Turbo (#70) which housed a turbocharged 2.85 Liter flat-six making 590bhp. This was Newman's first attempt at the 24hrs, but surely not his last. During the 1995 24hrs of Daytona, at the age of 70, Paul Newman became the oldest driver in history to be part of a winning team during a sanctioned race event. Along with countless contributions to pop culture, the motorsport community and child welfare, Mr.Newman donated over $200 million dollars to charity. He will be sorely missed // 09.27.2008

500 CURVES // FIRST TAKE

Video editor Ivan Fuentes Hagar put together this well edited, well shot video entitled ‘500 Curves.’ Follwing a lap day at the track, watch as Hagar and his crew take on a mountain pass while on their way home. Hagar does well with what he has available, making for an enjoyable viewing experience and a bit of motivation, tempting us to leave the office and terrorize the mountain passes that surround our city. Enjoy // 09.27.2008

BK MOTORSPORTS // MAZADA LMP2 ENTRY

This is the B-K Motorsports Lola B08/86 Mazda MZR-R Coupe. Whoo, that was a bit much. What is it you ask? Well this is Mazda's latest entry into the Le Mans world. Making its debut at Road Atlanta next week for the American Le Mans Series Petit Le Mans, the new Mazda LMP2 racer will take on the likes of Porsche and Acura for Prototype supremacy. According to John Doonan, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Team Development Manager: “This is the top rung of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports program and we needed to raise our efforts. The B-K team has already invested over 1200 hours into the assembly of the new car and we are optimistic about the final two races of 2008 and are already looking forward to the 2009 Sebring race.” Mazda has always managed to do well on track, and we look forward to what their new LMP2 can do // 09.26.2008

F1 @ SINGAPORE // TOYOTA'S PERSPECTIVE

With the Singapore Grand Prix soon to see the checkered flag, the boys at Panasonic/Toyota F1 Racing have released this video. Sort of a promo for Formula Ones first ever night race at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Shanghai, take a look at the new street course layout (featuring one of the fastest corners in F1) and what Toyota has to say about it. Enjoy // 09.26.2008

A SUBARU WTCC ENTRY? // WHY NOT...

We like AWD. Who doesn't? More is better right? So why hasn't Subaru released an AWD road racer? Why are all the touring car race series beeing dominated by front and rear driver vehicles? We’re not sure, but with news that Subaru intends to build a WTCC worthy ride, we are getting our hopes up. Domination in gravel rallies is Subaru's bread and butter, but if you have ever been to a lap day or time attack, you are well aware that these are capable road going machines. Oh, and don’t forget the Cusco Super GT300 (pictured above) that took the JGTC Championship by storm a few years back. So, will they build it? Sure. Would we buy it? You bet // 09.26.2008

CITROEN GT // THATS NOT REAL...

We at ColdTrackDays are not fans of concept cars, not at all. Matter of fact, we pride ourselves on not showcasing too many concepts, the black plague of current automotive blogs as far as we are concerned, and look to provide more meaningful content. So, this stings a little. Citroen, you know ,the French automaker famous for this, has released a teaser in conjunction with the folks at Polyphony Digital, the guys famous for this, to promote a new concept car they are currently working on. Now, as much as we hate concept cars, we are even less fond of teasers, teasers of any sort for that matter (you picking up what we are putting down?). So this was somewhat of a double whammy for us, a bit of a one-two. Titled the Citroen GT, what we can tell thus far is... nothing. Sold on the cool shot, here is a teaser of a concept (ooh that did sting), with little to no purpose, for a car that will never be made. Sorry // 09.26.2008

COLDTRACKDAYS // OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL

As you can tell by now, we spend a lot of time on YouTube. I am talking endless, girlfriend pissing off, dry eyed from staring at the laptop screen for too long, hours on You Tube. And what has all that time produced? Well, until earlier today, is was nothing more than a source for CTD.com, a place to find the 'long lost' and the 'never knew there was a video of that' type videos. Now it has become so much more. As of today, you can check out the official ColdTrackDays.com YouTube channel for the latest and greatest from our endless YoutTube searching. We will be uploading and selecting a number of videos for your enjoyment from here on out, so if you have a few hours to kill (and no significant other around), sit back and scroll through our favorites from the YouTube world. More to come, so check back often. Enjoy // 09.26.2008

WHAT WE'RE READING // AIRPLANE EYE CANDY

Picked these up in Milan. Hard to find any english language magazines in Italy, let alone any auto related ones. An obvious interest in kart racing was present all over Italy, and there were quite a few karting magazines to choose from ('Vroom' just screamed Italy at us). So, with an inability to digest the content, we had to settle for a plethora of eye candy. Compact cars are certainly an Italian favorite and Autocar had plenty of that, with features on our personal favorites, the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper JCW, as well as a great pre-Monza feature on Ferrari's F1 history. All in all, I think we have one up on the Italians in the car magazine department. But, if you are as eco-conscious as we are (wink), looking to avoid all that unnecessary paper waste, you can always substitute those auto mag subscriptions for a daily visit to ColdTrackDays, as we are sure to provide all of your motorsport news and culture bits, right... // 09.26.2008

MKVI GTI // PICS RELEASED

Here are a few shots of the 2010 Volkswagen MK6 GTI. Slight changes come in the form of a reworked grill, front fascia and rear taillights, all of which have left us a bit underwhelmed. Beneath the bonnet is VW’s workhorse, the 2.0 Liter TFSI four-cylinder good for 210bhp and reasonable fuel economy. The folks at VW say their latest GTI will go on sale during the Summer of 2009, and though unimpressed with the slight exterior changes, we were smitten with the tartan clad bucket seats and in-dash nav screen. Full report when we get behind the wheel. Stay tuned // 09.26.2008

GRAN TURISMO MC CORSA // TOURING CAR?

We blogged about the forthcoming Maserati Gran Turismo 'S', an Alfa Romeo powered, 430bhp V8 super touring sedan, set to release later this year and take on the likes of Aston Martin. But for all that we like about big cushy leather seats, wood grain and power steering, we would give it all up in an instant for raw horsepower, carbon fiber race buckets and toggle switches. Enter the Maserati Gran Turismo MC Corsa Concept. Making an additional 20bhp (450bhp) via a tweaked intake and full race exhaust, the MC Corsa will ride on a 18”x12” (front) and 18”x13” (rear) wheel/tire combo and offer little in the way of creature comforts. It is uncertain as of yet when the new Maserati will run its first race, but you have to know it has the engineering staff at Aston Martin and Porsche sweating a bit // 09.26.2008

RETURN FLIGHT // CTD STAFF HEADED HOME

Apologies once again for the lack of posts, as we are in transit back to the US. Currently boarding a train out of Brindisi and will be departing from Rome tomorrow A.M. A bit of a layover in Amsterdam, then on to Seattle. Stay with ColdTrackDays, as we will return to our typical 'daily posting' schedule once we have reached the Western shores. Thanks to all for their patience and for watching CTD as we paraded around Italy, covering not only the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, but Italian car culture as a whole. Stay tuned! // 09.23.3008

MOTO GP HIGHLIGHTS // INDY

Not that we were intending to do it this way, but here is another enjoyable piece of video blogging. Courtesy of Axis of Oversteer, this is the last episode of the Moto GP Championship at Indianapolis International Speedway. A well sorted video, produced, edited and shot by the folks at MotoGP.com, we have nothing but good things to say. So, sit back and enjoy, and if you are like us, wonder for a moment why it is MotoGP can manage two (yeah 2!) races here in the states, while the FIA can’t seem to keep a single race on our shores... // 09.21.2008

PPIHC // ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Watch as the 2008 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb ‘Rookie of the Year,’ Kevin Jones takes his 2005 Subaru WRX STi up the hill. This was Kevins first attempt at the hill, matter of fact, this was the first time he had driven on dirt/gravel at speed. Well done. Video comes courtesy of 0-60 Magazine, and for more on this years PPIHC check out the Fall 2008 copy of 0-60 // 09.21.2008

SINGAPORE GP // COURSE LAYOUT

With the Singapore Grand Prix soon upon us (like next Sunday), we thought it appropriate to showcase the new street course layout. Now, we could have provided a map, maybe even a link to Google maps with that ultra cool ‘Street View’ feature, but we thought we’d let the folks at Red Bull Racing do the honors. The above video, sourced from spaceinvaders.com (not sure, just happened upon it) is a great piece, showcasing the Singapore street course in all its glory. So, sit back, turn up the Harmon-Kardon’s and enjoy // 09.19.2008

$28.5 MILLION // THAT'S A BIT PRICEY...

Word has come down from the trio at Top Gear, that a certain Ferrari 250 GTO reportedly just sold for an insane $28.5 million (USD). If the rumor is true, it would make this particular 250, one of the most expensive cars in the world. The buyer is keeping things on the hush-hush right now (for obvious reasons), but what we do know is, the car was sold by a Scot, to a Brit, via a Cali auto broker. Catch all that? Anyhow, this is a prime example of supply and demand, and considering there are only 39 known GTOs still in existence, we can’t see the price do anything but go up. Good investment? Sure. As fun as counting $28.5 million in cash? Maybe... // 09.19.2008

KIMI'S CHANCES // IT'S MIRACLE TIME

Fans of Finland's finest take note, Kimi Raikkonen says “it will take a miracle, one that makes lightning strike twice” for him to take the drivers championship. Now before you give up all hope entirely and start cheering for Massa, remember Kimi’s comeback last season. According to Autosport, Raikkonen had this to say in regards to his chances at the title, despite being 21 points behind current leader Hamilton and 20 behind teammate Massa: “This sport can be really hard to digest, you push, you give it all, but it won’t go in the right direction. You don’t have to be Einstein to understand that this is not the right way to fight for the title. It’s not over yet, but now it will take a miracle, one that makes lightning strike twice. I will never forget what happened last year and I want to repeat it again.” Strong words from a man absent from the title fight these last few races, and at a hearty $2 million a race, we think Kimi should step up a bit, rain or shine // 09.19.2008

ENZO REPLACEMENT // DETAILS LEAKED

According to a leaked internal document from Ferrari (serious, we’re not making this up), a current project titled FX150 is looking like the Enzo replacement. Powered by a mid-engine, twin-turbo V8 good for 794bhp and 532 ft/lbs of torque, the new Enzo should weigh in at a featherweight 2,800lbs and make the run to sixty in 2.7 seconds. The car it is replacing took a camper van slow 3.3 seconds to do the same. A seven speed dual clutch box, with gear changes as fast as 50 milliseconds will handle the ups and downs, and with a (claimed) top speed of 242mph any new Ferrari owner will need all the help they can get. Price? Try 1.3 million Euros, something like $2 million USD. Production numbers? Well the document didn't say, but based on what the boys from Maranello have done in the past, expect maybe 400 to be made. More when we know more // 09.19.2008

EYE CANDY // MILAN IS MONEY

For this weeks Eye Candy, following up on our coverage from Italy, we thought we'd feature an Italian original. Spotted on the streets of Milan, shortly after seeing countless Audi uber sedans and a few Porsche Turbo's, along came this. What some may call the most beautiful Ferrari currently available, the 599 GTB said all of that to us, as it screamed passed on the busy cobble stone streets of downtown Milan. Parking outside a busy hotel, the owner disappeared inside leaving us to gawk and snap another few shots before heading out. Click through to our photo gallery for some more shots from our time in Milan // 09.17.2008