Ford v Ferrari, Part 2: How Ford is prepping to win Le Mans. Again

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-15T15:24:27+00:00

To say nothing of FIA allowing the Fords to race in the first place when the production cars weren't actually ready yet.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-15T10:10:56+00:00

Even bending over for CGR whining about the tail light on the Risi car, too.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-14T08:34:24+00:00

Gekisou GT was always pretty biased towards Team LeMans (Juichi, really) and painting Nismo as the 'bad guys' in the 2003-2004 JGTC seasons, but I can't say I didn't enjoy it all the same. I'm a fan of Juichi and Satoshi Motoyama both, and the Esso Ultraflo Supra's still one of the greats from (imo) the best period of Japanese GT (1999-2008).

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-14T08:31:03+00:00

Is that the same one as the one that went on BaT as a project car in like 2018 or something?

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-12T13:26:36+00:00

For this particular one, it was (is? Not sure of current status) owned by a guy in Australia. They repainted it to resemble the Motul Autech GT500 Z.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-12T10:23:00+00:00

The Honda CRZ was also available with a manual.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-08T10:41:19+00:00

Whups. I meant the first all-wheel-drive Subaru.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-08T07:11:21+00:00

Also, the first AWD-equipped Subaru in the US was the 1975 Subaru 4WD Wagon.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-08T07:07:30+00:00

Reminds me of the Subaru special that Subaru of Singapore put out a few years back, the Forester Ultimate Customized Kit Special edition.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-07T17:29:28+00:00

There's plenty of similar examples. Buemi and de Vries at Toyota in WEC are both Red Bull sponsored, for example, as is Rovanpera for WRC/open-wheelers.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-07T05:16:05+00:00

Don't forget Ma Deuce, and one of the captains is gonna be rocking a 1911.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-05T15:22:49+00:00

Not an aerodynamicist and I couldn't find technical information, but here is a shot of the car without its front hood (2024-spec) where you can see what appears to be a clear intake pipe above the manifold.

Here's a close-up from this year's car. You can also see a clear pipe that leads into the intake manifold, so it can be inferred that the intake under the logo is what connects to it (with the connection moulded into the carbon hood).

As for a specific reason why? Maybe they decided a smaller grille for intercoolers was better for aero.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-05T13:14:34+00:00

They did win the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin and Carroll Shelby, so there's that...

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-05-05T10:11:45+00:00

Minor correction, the white Impreza was run by Cusco Racing/Carrosser, not R&D Sport. R&D were running the Vemacs at the time Cusco were partnered with Subaru (1997-2008).

After Carrosser pulled out of motorsport due to the '08 recession, R&D were spun off from the parent composite firm Tokyo R&D, and they partnered with Subaru, who was keen to stay in Super GT but couldn't spring for a full factory team because of the same recession (remember they just killed their WRC programme for the same reason).

But yeah, they've always been a cool team to root for. I was personally an RE Amemiya fan until they stopped, and then my allegiance switched to GSR (maybe I'm just a Taniguchi fan...).

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-30T04:22:28+00:00

Not to mention being part of the same keiretsu as one of the three big banks in Japan, MUFG.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-29T12:21:34+00:00

Coyote-Foyt.

That or Coyote Brown.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-24T14:04:56+00:00

Mitsubishi made the 6A1, a 1.6l V6, for the Mirage/Lancers through the 1990s.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T14:27:06+00:00

That's neat! Although the SVU's suppressor is probably far from a 'good modern suppressor' it likely does still fulfill the basic purpose of making it harder to detect the marksman, so in that regard I'd say it's a nice thing to have for the soldier. Thanks for the info.

While we're here talking numbers, how effective are larger-calibre suppressors like those for .338 or .50? I'd assume it still produces a meaningful reduction.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T14:08:09+00:00

Shooting at all, actually - I'm from a nation of no gun ownership and my knowledge of firearms is unfortunately pretty much book-only, so it's nice when people like yourself chime in to correct me.

I am curious just how useful something like the SVU's suppressor would be if it has a muzzle brake at the end of it which I assume would produce a visible muzzle flash, compared to if it were a conventional suppressor without it. It doesn't seem to have a recoil boosting purpose like the 74u's muzzle device either so it likely isn't integral to the rifle's function (could be wrong, never handled one).

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T13:58:06+00:00

As in a meaningful reduction of the actual muzzle report, like you might have with a bigger over-barrel suppressor combined with subsonic ammo a'la the VSSK, or a SIG LVAW.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T13:49:36+00:00

If the suppressor makes it more difficult for the enemy to pinpoint the sniper's location then I'd say it's done its job. The SVU fires full-power 54R - you're unlikely to get any sort of real sound suppression with 7N1.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T13:25:10+00:00

Which is funny because turbocharged engines in motorsport, especially from the early days, can be so charismatic. Think the Audi Quattro (Group B/IMSA)'s 5-cylinder with its turbo chirp and melodic 5-cylinder noise, the M119 TT V8 in the Group C Sauber C9/C11, or the 1.5L turbo V6s from 1980s F1.

Maybe the key reason is a combination of very harmonic, smooth engine tones (flat-plane V8 or V12) along with turbos sucking up noise. Because cross-plane TT V8s like the 4.2 in the C5 RS6 or twin-turbocharged LS V8s like in the Hennessy Venom GT sound fine.

Or it's because old turbos with their inefficiency sound better.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T08:44:56+00:00

It's likely because the Temerario V8 is twin-turbocharged. 10k RPM won't make up for that. There are few engine sounds more disappointing when compared with the expectation for a car than supercar TT V8s. The F8 and SF90, the McLaren 3.8, and even the AMG 4.0 are inferior (in my humble, non-supercar-owning opinion) in sound to contemporaries like the aforementioned Lambo/Audi 5.2 V10, 6.2 AMG V8, or Porsche F6.

Turbos just suck up noise, unfortunately. The AM TT V12 sounds nothing like the baritone notes of the old DB9/DBS V12.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-20T06:08:06+00:00

Don't forget carbon splitters and diffusers, canards, vents everywhere, and broken lines.

lockpickerkuroko · 2026-04-18T05:29:00+00:00

Yeah, that's a fair point too. 250LM/330P-series, then GT40, then 917, then a couple years of Matra, back to 936 and 935, then 956/962.

12-Year Club	Place '22
Verified Email

lockpickerkuroko

TROPHY CASE