Accelerate Mpls

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting the great folks of Evolution Motorsports.  The crew, led by fearless founder and owner Todd Zuccone, came into town to tune a monster Porsche GT2 for a customer.  They got to work quickly and set up shop at Imola Motorsports with Kevin and his crew for the week.

You know the saying all work and no play makes a something something something?  Well, to avoid that scenario Todd and the crew brought along their latest creation, which they call the “PDK Car.”  This is a 2010 Porsche 997.2 Twin Turbo equipped with the new PDK (Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe, good luck saying that if you aren’t German) dual clutch transmission, which since this is a 201o model, it has the proper paddle shifters, not those dumb buttons on the steering wheel.

After spending some time talking with Todd, it became very clear why they are one of the leaders in this industry.  When I asked about his company versus the competition, he was very professional.  His responses consisted of statements like “the work speaks for itself” and “really it is about experience”.  After a nice chat, he tossed me the keys to the PDK car.  Of course I had a big stupid grin on my face – because someone just tossed me keys to a 650 hp Porsche.

Below was the set up on the 997.2 TT I drove-

Evolution MotorSports EVT.2 650 HP Performance System
EVOMSit SDI3 ECU Calibration (www.evomsit.com)
EVOMS 65mm Billet VTG Turbochargers
EVOMS ClubSport Headers
EVOMS / Fabspeed 70mm Sport Exhaust w/ GT2 Style Tips
HJS Motorsport 200 Cell Catalysts
EVOMS Billet Boost Diverter Valves

Alright, so I know the real question is what was it like?  Well two things, one I was in the middle of the city and did not have a long time with the car.  Thus I did not have track access.  Secondly, it was rush hour (note to self, plan better for these things).  Regardless the car takes off like a you are being shot out of a rocket.  Keep in mind the turbo 911′s have all wheel drive.  Thus this car was clawing at the pavement from all four corners.  This really made a huge impression with me when launching or even just hitting the gas.  Todd had warned me that the tuning in the software for the PDK downshifts was not 100%.  He was right, it is a little slow on the downshift.  If you pull the left paddle (for a downshift) it has a slight delay and then drops down a gear.  Upshifts are lightning fast and you can feel the shift under hard acceleration.  When I say feel, it feels like a hard fast thud.  Not a sound that makes you cringe however, because it does not sound like it is breaking.  The sound is more of a clean quick shift made at lightning fast speed.  The steering was terrific just like any other Porsche 997.2 TT.  The exhaust sounded great with a strong braaap braaap noise coming with each shift.

The interior was mostly stock, though the seats were not stock – rather they were thin and covered in leather with center inserts to keep you from moving.  They were very tight and you were not going to be moving during an aggressive track session.  The seats also had a harnesses for track days and a fire extinguisher was bolted to the floor directly in front of the passenger seat.  The particular car I was in had a factory navigation and sound system, along with automatic climate control.  That was all fine and dandy, but I turned off the radio and the air conditioning, rolled down the windows and listened to the sweet sound of the tuned 3.8 liter pumping out 650 hp to all four wheels.

They took the car to this past months local Cars & Café , and after that headed over to the track to run some quarter mile figures.  It ran consistent mid 10′s pushing 130 mph.  This was achieved by someone that had never even been in the car.  That in itself is a testament to the ease in which someone who has never gotten into the car can drive it consistently and pull great numbers.

Overall the “PDK car” was a beast.  It was not twitchy or hard to drive, yet it had terrific power delivery.  This is a car that could be tracked on Saturday and still drive to work on Monday.  I already know they are working on a R8 Twin Turbo among other things.  I can only expect to see greater things to come from EVOMS in the near future, and I for one look forward to that.

Full Disclosure- The review vehicle was provided by Evolution Motorsports

Ford GT

Another month of spring has come upon us and that means another Cars & Café gathering on a Saturday morning.  The coffee was flowing and everyone seemed very happy to see Kylee from Imola Motorsports pull in with the doughnut holes in the backseat of Kevin’s M5.  This month, rain was not in the forecast and the cars started flowing in early and fast.  By 8:30 the lot was full and people were already parking cars up on the hill.

My Father & My 300ZX

Some of the notable cars from last month made repeat appearances including the VW Bus and the Scion XB with the LED lights.  In fact, the XB parked next to our 300ZX.  On Friday night I saw a Subaru WRX that looked like it was on its way to a rally but, in fact, it was being pulled out of where it is kept for Cars and Café.  The WRX was literally kitted out and looked rally ready.  Two really nice last generation Toyota Supra’s were in attendance along with two Ford GT’s that seem to be regulars at the event.  Two Audi R8 V10′s pulled in along with two 4.2 V8 models.  Of course the myriad of Porsches, Audi’s and Mercedes were lined up.  Two BMW 8 Series made it out along with an M Coupe.  A custom 1978 Porsche 924 was revealed at the show and I must say it looked terrific.

Audi R8 V10

Custom 1978 Porsche 924

The AutoMotorPlex has been hard at work on newest build out of new buildings.  They are in the process of building out new garages currently.  As you can see in the picture, it looks like the heated floors are being laid out now (that is just a guess).

This month the organizers had something special in store. Many left the AutoMotorPlex for the first annual drag day immediately after the event.  The group traveled to Eau Claire, WI to Rock Falls Raceway.  Sadly, I could not attend due to a prior commitment though I heard it was a blast.

With more cars than last month and terrific weather, we are already off to a great start to the season.  Next month promises to be even better as the weather warms up more.

Hennessey Performance Engineering, also known as HPE, has been tuning cars for a long time. They are very well known and tune various cars, everything from Chevrolet Corvettes to Audi R8′s and many other high performance cars.  Taking something that is already powerful and overall a great car, and making it better is truly an art.  HPE has been working hard on the new 2010 Camaro since it came out and is finally getting close to releasing the HPE700.  The heart of this beast will be the 6.2 liter supercharged LS9 V8 from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1.  This is not a simple drop and swap engine job.  Hennessey is tweaking the engine to extract even more power from this amazing V8.  The HPE700 will be rated at a incredible 725 hp and 741 lb-ft.  That power is good for a quick sprint 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and you will be stopping from that speed in just 104 feet.  Stopping will be handled by the upgraded 15 inch Brembo brakes.  Other upgrades include a carbon fiber body kit and three piece 20 inch Hennessey designed wheels This car has been in development for quite a while and enthusiasts have been waiting impatiently.  The official car is going to debut this week at the SEMA show in Las Vegas.  The HPE700 is set for a limited production run with only 24 units being built.

The below video was put out by Hennessey back in September of the HPE700 on the Dyno.  Note- The hp and lb-ft numbers were different then the final numbers when the video was taken.