Category: Car Banter
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Lewis Hamilton Signs with Ferrari for 2025 Season
It’s official, Lewis Hamilton is leaving Mercedes F1 after 11 seasons and 6 Drivers World Championships and heading to Ferrari. When I woke up this morning, I was greeted with a cheeky text from a friend about his departure. I thought, “No way, its just rumors and the media getting riled up because it’s the
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Kindred Motorworks’ First Production Car Hits the Road
Last month, Kindred Motorworks launched their first production model of their new Kindred Bronco. A small classic car company based in the very cool Mare Island in Vallejo, California not far from where Luftgekühlt 9 was held. Specializing in building new reproductions of classic cars, Kindred stands alone in their commitment to cool. Currently they
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What is the 43 Institute?
In the wake of the legendary Ken Block’s passing, a phoenix emerged from the ashes – the 43 Institute (43i.org). More than a memorial, it stands as a living testament to Ken’s ethos, a dynamic force that seeks to perpetuate his spirit and impact on the world. Rooted in four foundational pillars, the 43 Institute
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With Guenther Out, What’s Next For Him and Haas F1?
It hurts to watch but it’s true; Guenther Steiner has been sacked at Haas. Guenther, the iconic face and founder of the Haas F1 team is out after 8 years. It doesn’t seem that long to be honest but Guenther brought an authenticity to Formula that is going to be exceptionally hard to replicate. To
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Need a Used Rally Car? KG Motorsports Has You Covered
Nestled in the northern part of Ireland, KG Motorsports is not your typical car dealer. Specializing in pre-owned WRC rally cars, this small but mighty dealership is making waves by bringing the thrill of rally racing to the masses. As the holiday season fades and the post-Christmas money starts to burn a hole in your
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Is Hoonigan As We Know it Dead?
Since Ken Block’s passing, things have been weird at Hoonigan. Immediately after his passing, it was understandable. Hoonigan put out a bunch of statements about how they were mourning and were going to go radio silent for a while. I get that. I was doing the same thing at the time, as myself and the
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Bottas Raises $150K for Prostate Cancer with his “Botass” Calendar
It all began a few years ago when Valtteri Bottas, current Alfa Romeo Formula 1 driver, posted a photo of his naked bum on Instagram. He was lying in a river outside of Aspen, Colorado airing out his derrière. With a noticeably large reaction, his photo went viral with multiple other drivers even making jokes
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GTI Series Part 7: New Brakes, New Wheels
The Late Brake is back with another GTI update. This time we actually fix the car and realize just how bad the brakes were after that track day at COTA almost a year ago. If you haven’t been following the series, long story short, make sure you have good brake fluid and brake pads rated
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Is Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story worth the watch?
Sitting around this weekend post-thanksgiving with nothing to do? Well, do I have a solution for you. This month, Disney+ and Hulu have released Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story. A documentary covering the unbelievable story of the rapid and unexpected formation of Brawn GP and the resulting single season they raced in. Revving up
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2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix: Best Race of the Year?
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a rollercoaster ride, from early circuit hiccups to a breathtaking spectacle under the dazzling city lights. Despite a rocky start with an ill-prepared circuit causing a red flag ruckus during practice, the Grand Prix transformed into an unforgettable experience that left enthusiasts hungry for more. The weekend began
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Velocity International is like Cars and Coffee for the 1%
If you have never heard of Velocity International, you should. It’s the most mind-boggling congregation of the planet’s most expensive and rarest cars. But these aren’t your typical garage queens babied around velvet ropes parked up to be looked at. They are there to race and race hard. Described by the organizers as “A motorsports
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EA Sports WRC Review: Old School Feel, New School Look
Buckle up rally fans, because EA Sports WRC has finally been released. This is EA’s first foray into the rally scene since purchasing Codemasters in 2021. Codemasters has been the standard for some time now and most fans are hoping that this new game would be more of the same as the old Codemasters would
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The Honey Badger is Back. Is Perez’s seat still safe?
With the resigning of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo finally back from his wrist injury, Red Bull finally can put their driver drama behind them. Well, maybe. Red Bull has shown in the past that they are fearless in removing drivers from the number 2 seat in the middle of the season. To be fair,
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F1 Sprint Races: F1’s Highly Profitable Snore-Fest
After the first four F1 Sprint weekends this season, I can’t see why F1 would continue running them in 2025 and beyond. It’s about the only thing Max Verstappen and I see eye-to-eye on. There are still two more Sprint weekends ahead of us, but I have seen enough to understand that they aren’t working.
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Rennsport Reunion 7: Laguna Seca’s Cauldron of Porsches
Is it Porsch or is it Porsch-ah? Either way, Rennsport Reunion is the best place to find them. All of them. I was lucky enough to attend the 7th Rennsport Reunion hosted at Laguna Seca raceway, one of my personal favorite places on earth. Rennsport is a massive gathering of all things Porsche. The weekend
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Lego Technic Peugeot Le Mans Car Review
Enter the thrilling world of endurance racing with the Lego Technic Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar. This meticulously crafted set, a homage to Peugeot’s racing legacy, invites enthusiasts to bring the speed and elegance of Le Mans to their own shelves. The set boasts a striking design, with intricate details that capture the essence
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Paul at Son of Cobra is Doing God’s Work
Based in Costa Mesa, California, Paul Lefevre’s Son of Cobra has been hand-crafting some of the best surfboards on the planet. His Instagram is littered with the gorgeous models he offers and artsy shots of his sanding room. What you may not know about Paul is that he is a BMW man. And using his
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GTI Series Part #6: Adding Roll Center Correction
The last time you heard about the GTI, I was limping it home from COTA after melting the brakes. Not literally, but pretty damn close. As it turns out, I’m an idiot. I’m not sure if something changed between my research and buying them or if I was wrong the whole time, but I thought
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The MOTUL Course de Monterey at Laguna Seca
A wall of fog. That is what greeted me as I arrived at the Motul Course de Monterey at Laguna Seca Raceway. Being at the bottom of a dry lake bed, hence the name, the circuit is prone heavy cloud cover sticking around. As I left the parking area, I had no idea what I
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Reno SCCA: The Biggest Little Autocross in the World
There is one thing that is certain when moving across the country, you’ll need to find a new SCCA chapter. Having recently moved back to Reno where I grew up, I made it about a month before signing up for a local SCCA autocross event. What can I say, I have a problem. Being new
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Luftgekühlt 9 Air/Water: An Enthusiast’s Dream
Luftgekühlt is one of the most anticipated car events in the US. Being a German car fan, it was always on my radar. Luftgekühlt (German for Air Cooled) is a single-make car show featuring only “air-cooled” Porsches. Created by Patrick Long and Jeff Zwart, this year will be the 9th edition of the now cult-followed
The Late Brake 