Motorsports/Performance

Quicker shifts for Geartronics' paddleshifter Geartronics is working with Penny+Giles, a business group of Curtiss Wright Controls, to improve shift times and reliability of its motorsport paddleshift system for semi-automatic gearboxes. Read full story

Putting the sport in the 2013 Explorer Sport The new performance-tuned model gets its growl from a unique dual exhaust system and its power from an EcoBoost 3.5-L V6 engine and borrows some other upgrades from Ford's Police Interceptor Utility. Read full story

Chrysler relaunches the Viper Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology division returned its Viper sports car to enthusiasts at the 2012 New York International Auto Show following a brief hiatus. With more power, less weight, and more distinctive styling that hews more closely to that of the first-generation car, the 2013 SRT Viper addresses many of the issues that led to the previous models' discontinuation. Read full story

Brembo sees high-performance brakes moving into more medium-price cars The Hyundai Genesis Coupe is one example, using a cast-iron rotor. An improved carbon-ceramic manufacturing process is sought to increase production and reduce cost. Fixed caliper design provides more uniform lining wear, reduced hysteresis, and better ABS response. Read full story

2013 Mustang features virtual test track on instrument cluster The car's driver information center displays a “Christmas tree” and provides readouts of acceleration and braking times and distances. All data are derived from existing vehicle sensors and sophisticated algorithms developed by Ford engineers. Read full story

2012 Fiat 500 Abarth brings MultiAir Turbo and new 'growl' to North America The "hot" version of the 2012 Fiat 500 for North American customers combines MultiAir valve control technology with turbocharging for the first time. Read full story

200-mph electric racecar aims to break track records Lola-Drayson’s 850-hp Formula E prototype sports active aerodynamics, wireless charging, and regenerative suspension dampers. Read full story

Shelby shows three golden anniversary models, one with up to 800 hp The GT500 Super Snake has 750 hp as standard, with a special supercharger upgrade for 800 hp. The GT350 supercharged performance is 525 or 624 hp. The GTS “entry level” model has a six-cylinder engine for 30 mpg highway fuel economy or can be supercharged to 475 hp. Read full story

Audi lighting the way forward Although motorsport technology has only a small direct influence on production vehicles, lighting used on race cars is an area that Audi sees as very useful for testing advances for road applications. Read full story