Supercharged Audi A6 Uses Some Unusual Parts to Produce 430 Wheel Horsepower

Supercharged Audi A6

This unassuming, sleeper of an Audi A6 is quite quick, but it’s also stock-looking and supremely comfortable.

The Audi A6 has long been a popular choice in the luxury sedan segment, offering up plenty of technology, performance, and comfort in a stylish package. Of course, those that crave more performance can opt for the S6 or RS6, while the A6 is more of a plush, soft-riding alternative. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t give the Audi A6 a serious boost in that regard, and that’s precisely what the owner of this one did – leaving quite an impression on David Patterson of the YouTube channel, That Dude In Blue.

Patterson has driven all kinds of modified rides in his years on the social media platform, but he admits that he has a special place in his heart for sleepers – a category that this Audi A6 certainly falls in. On the outside, it looks like a bone stock example with zero obvious modifications  – not even a clue that this car has been upgraded in significant and in some cases, strange ways underneath its unassuming skin.

Supercharged Audi A6

This particular car has the optional supercharged 3.0-liter V6 that made a respectable 333 horsepower in factory form, but that wasn’t quite enough for its owner, Nate. Thus, he added a smaller supercharger pulley to up the boost, a stage 2 APR ECU upgrade with an E85 tune, and strangely enough, a cold-air intake designed for a Ford F-150. Regardless, the results are indeed impressive – this A6 now makes 430 horsepower at the wheels, and is capable of ripping off quarter-mile passes of 11.8 seconds. It’s truly a fantastic example of a sleeper, as well as a proper S4 clone in many regards.

The beauty of this combination is that Nate isn’t giving up his car’s comfortable ride or relaxed nature while also gaining that performance. Given the fact that he routinely drives long distances as a competitive golfer, that’s important, but at the same time, he can also enjoy a spirited drive when he wants to – making this modified A6 the perfect all-round daily driver.

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HENNESSEY VENOM 1200 MUSTANG GT500

With 1,204 horsepower on tap, the performance of the HENNESSEY VENOM 1200 MUSTANG GT500 is elevated to Supercar status!

HENNESSEY VENOM 1200 MUSTANG GT500Hennessey, the Texas-based Hypercar manufacturer and high-performance vehicle creator has confirmed production for its new Venom 1200 Mustang GT500. Based on the most powerful factory-produced Mustang of all time, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, the latest Hennessey build will be one of the most powerful Musclecars Hennessey Performance has ever produced.

Ford Performance’s factory-stock Shelby GT500 boasts a hand-built supercharged 5.2-liter V8 rated at 760 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque. It’s the most powerful factory engine ever dropped under the iconic Ponycar’s hood. Yet, Ford still leaves much of the vehicle’s potential untapped.

The Hennessey Performance team engineers have made wide-ranging improvements to the factory setup to increase horsepower and torque considerably. These include a higher capacity 3.8-liter supercharger, a high-flow induction system, new fuel rails and injectors, and an air/oil separation system. In addition, fittings, lines, belts, and tensioners are upgraded, and the dual-clutch transmission is recalibrated for its high-output role. Lastly, the vehicle is calibrated on Hennessey’s in-house dynamometer, before being road-tested.

When the Venom 1200 leaves Hennessey Performance, its comprehensive upgrades and enhancements have unleashed a formidable 1,204 horsepower and 902 pound-feet of torque – an astounding 58 percent increase in horsepower over stock.

John Hennessey, company founder, and CEO: “The stock Shelby GT500 is an extraordinary Musclecar, but we take it to the nth degree with our Venom 1200. Our engineers were able to coax more than 400 additional horsepower out of the engine, which takes performance to Supercar levels. Only a handful of vehicles in the world offer this level of power – especially at this price point.”

HENNESSEY VENOM 1200 MUSTANG GT500 Priced from $59,950 – exclusive of the base Ford Shelby GT500 – the HENNESSEY VENOM 1200 MUSTANG GT500 package offers comprehensive professional upgrades to the stock 5.2-liter V8 engine, unique exterior badging, and a special serial-numbered plaque. Only 66 examples of the Venom 1200 will be built globally. Owners will have the choice of adding the historic 1966 24 Hours of Daytona Ford Mark II red, white, and black livery to their build (an optional upgrade priced at $4,950). Hennessey prides itself on the reliability of its vehicles and the quality of its workmanship, backing up every Venom 1200 transformation with its comprehensive 1-year / 12,000-mile warranty.

For more information about the new HENNESSEY VENOM 1200 MUSTANG GT500 and its portfolio of specialty vehicles, please visit  https://www.hennesseyperformance.com/

OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911

With its wide-body RSR attitude, seriously upgraded suspension and supercharged 3.6 engine, Archie Urciuoli’s OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911 rules the road!OUTLAW: PORSCHE AA/SPORTS 911

Retired sports car racer Archie Urciuoli’s last four competition cars – Ford Mark IV, Mark I GT40,  Porsche 956 and Lola T70 Spyder – represented some of the sports’ most iconic and fastest examples of purpose-built racecars. He competed (and finished) in the Le Mans Classic in the GT40 and ran 200 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in his big-block Mark IV. Now that he’s now longer racing, his favorite road car, also purpose-built, is this Outlaw-style 911 that looks and performs like a racecar!

A member of the exclusive Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC) and a recipient of its Bob Akin Memorial Award, Urciuoli’s racing resume dates back to the 1950s when he competed on the New England SCCA circuit in popular British sports cars. He worked his way up to an exotic D-Type Jaguar, then competed in open-wheel Formula Atlantic, Can-Am and Daytona Prototype competition before moving up to a GT40. In 2005, he won the Historic GTP Series Championship in his Porsche 956.

Custom built for Urciuoli by racer and racecar builder Jim Newton and his crew at Automobile Associates of Canton, CT (AAOC), this one-of-one featherweight road rocket was crafted in the Colin Chapman tradition of adding lightness! The donor car, an ’88 Carrera 3.2 weighed in at 2,866 pounds and powered by a naturally-aspirated 3.2 liter Flat Six rated at 217 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. After AAOC worked its magic, the Double AA Sports Porsche tipped the scales at 2,300 pounds, and its supercharged 3.6 engine from a 964 Porsche dynoed at 380 horsepower and generated a whopping 350 pound-feet of torque.

Boosted by a positive-displacement Eaton supercharger producing six pounds boost and backed up by a Porsche G-50 five-speed and limited-slip differential pirated from a 964 Porsche, Newton estimates that 0-60 mph sprints should take 3.4 seconds and top speed max out at 170 mph. Unlike modern Porsches, it’s not fitted (and controlled by) computers. It’s an “analog” car with disc brakes from a 928 Porsche. “At six horsepower per pound, acceleration is phenomenal. A 3,600-pound 911 would need 600 horsepower to equal it,” says Urciuoli!

OUTLAW: PORSCHE AA/SPORTS 911While he wanted his Outlaw 911 to be purely focused on performance, handling and flawless build quality, he was also going for a unique look that would set it apart of other 911s of that generation. He also wanted creature comforts like great seats – custom Recaro buckets upholstery in Ferrari red leather – air-conditioning and a sunroof. A firm believer in using OE Porsche parts whenever possible, Newton utilized factory suspension components, Porsche KW adjustable shocks and updated the torsion bars to 911 (930) Turbo specifications. Custom aftermarket anti-roll bars were the exception.

OUTLAW: PORSCHE AA/SPORTS 911What makes Archie Urciuoli’s silver metallic Outlaw 911 stand out in a parking lot of Porsches is its steel Porsche RSR widebody treatment including custom RSR bumpers, accented by VW Salsa Red striping and accents. His last racecar, a dark blue Lola T70 Spyder powered by a Weber-carbureted Corvette engine, prominently featured Salsa Red stripes. There are also the Salsa Red 17×9 front and 17×11 Fuchs alloy wheels fitted with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

A serious racer needs a serious road car when he retires from the sport; that’s exactly what Jim Newton delivered. For proof-of-concept after competition in 2019, Newton put it through its paces at a major vintage racing event at Lime Rock. As far as its builder and owner were concerned, it exceeded expectations on the road and race track!

Photos: Howard Mintz & Martyn Schorr

For more information about AAOC, builder of Archie Urciuoli’s OUTLAW: PORSCHE DOUBLE AA SPORTS 911, and its road and racing services, please visit  https://automobileassociates.com/

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!

Ronnie Staples’ flamed classic ’32 Ford has gone through a number of engine-transmission combos over the years, but it’s all sorted out now and ready for serious cruising thanks to a modern five-speed.

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!Ronnie Staples is a serious carguy with a very large garage filled with Pro Touring customs and hot rods that he drives as well as shows. His collecting mantra is simple: NO TRAILER QUEENS! Some are designed and engineered to “bring back the good old days”, while others feature state-of-the-art billet fabrication. All, except those still under construction, are plated, insured and road-ready.

One of his favorite hot rods is this flamed, chopped ’32 Ford five-window coupe powered by a stroked and supercharged Flathead. Its top was chopped three inches and the roof section filled. Originally built in the late-1990s by Ohio-based hot-rodder, Greg Steiner and it was powered by a 302-inch Ford with three two-barrel carbs backed up by a C4 automatic. One of Ronnie Staples’s friends purchased it at the Goodguys event in Charlotte, NC in 1998. He swapped the 302 Ford for a vintage Joe Smith Automotive Flathead with a ¾-race Potvin camshaft and a new B&M blower topped with three Holley 94 two-barrels on an adapter. Unfortunately, he retained the C4 automatic.

In 2002 Staples saw that the coupe was for sale and road tested it. “No power to say the least,” said Staples. “Two of the carbs were blocked off, so the blower was pushing air through two butterflies, less an one-inch-diameter each. He saw the potential and made the buy. And, he has never looked back!

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!One of the first decisions Staples made after purchasing it was to sort out the powertrain by modifying and machining the engine and mating it to a modern five-speed. Rod and custom craftsman Mike Griffin, at his shop in Sarasota, FL, executed the Chevy S10 five-speed transmission conversion, fabricated new engine mounts and worked on a number of detail body and paint modifications. While out of the car, Griffin epoxy and K36 primed, then painted the Flathead block and finned aluminum heads Torch Red.

NO TRAILER QUEENS!What appears to be STAPLES finned aluminum heads on the vintage late-1940s Flathead are actually from Offenhauser. The Offy logo was milled off and replaced with composite letters that Staples had found on eBay! Engine displacement is 255 cubic inches thanks to a four-inch-stroke Mercury crank. Bore diameter is stock 3 3/16-inch. A pair of leaned-out Stromberg Super 97 carbs from Speedway Motors tops off the billet Roots positive-displacement supercharger, custom built for Staples by an old high school buddy in Virginia, Donnie “Duck” Townsen. “Duck is an artist with his CNC machinery and can make almost anything, including cutting my name into the lower sides of the custom blower housing,” said Staples.

The unique twin-V-belt blower is over-driven 100-percent (3-inch blower pulley, 6-inch crank pulley) and makes 6 ½-pounds boost. Staples estimates a 50 horsepower increase over stock. With a 3.55 Posi rear, cruising at 75 mph in 5th gear, the stroked Flathead is running at just 2,300 rpm. Acceleration is outstanding thanks to a very low First gear.

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!Since there’s not a lot of room in a chopped ’32 Ford coupe, the rear package shelf was removed and the seats relocated rearward. Tracks were removed from the seats and seats were bolted directly to the floor. JR’s Upholstery, Venice, FL, is responsible for the custom “very” red interior. The ’31 Cadillac dash bezel was salvaged from junkyard back when Greg Steiner was building the hot rod.

Sammy Long, with some help from Ronnie Staples, redid the chassis and suspension for increased suspension travel, improved ride and handling. The frame was C-notched to bring the car down approximately one-inch and the old crossmember was cut out and replaced with a tubular mounting for adjustable coil-over shocks. Dropped I-beam front axle, finned brakes, chrome tube shocks, and filled grille shell look as good today as they did in the 1950s!

DUECE COUPE: OLD SCHOOL; NEW SCHOOL!Ronnie Staples is a member of the Sarasota Café Racers and these photos were taken at the group’s carguy events and lunches. For more information about the Sarasota Café Racers and its satellites here and abroad, please visit http://www.sarasotacaferacers.com/home.html

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’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!

’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!

The ‘19 Corvette ZR1 set a production-car lap record on the 4.1-mile Grand Course West at Virginia International Raceway with a time of 2:37.25.

’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!Along with a harness bar and track seats with five-point harnesses, the record-setting stock ZR1 coupe was equipped with the available paddle-shift eight-speed automatic and ZTK Performance Package. The ZTK package includes an adjustable carbon-fiber High Wing, a front splitter with carbon-fiber end caps, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 summer-only tires, and specific chassis and Magnetic Ride Control tuning.

“The Corvette ZR1’s lap record at VIR, arguably America’s most challenging road course, is a testament to its supercar status,” said Mark Reuss, executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “On the racetrack, the ZR1 can compete with any supercar – at any price.”

On sale this spring, the ZR1 coupe will carry a suggested retail price of $119,995 (price includes destination charge, but excludes tax, title and other dealer fees). The ZTK Performance Package will cost $2,995.

 The ZR1’s record lap at VIR was set during routine validation testing earlier this month; with vehicle dynamics engineer Jim Mero at the wheel. The car was set up per the owner’s manual’s recommended track alignment and aerodynamic settings. As part of the validation, the ZR1 was finalizing its total of 24 hours of at-limit track testing, with multiple GM Performance engineers logging laps.

’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!“The track had been empty since mid-December, so it was a bit slow when we started, but the conditions turned pretty quick at the end,” said Alex MacDonald, manager, Vehicle Performance. “On the heels of announcing our Z06 time of 2:39.77, the ZR1 lap time is the icing on the cake. It’s not too often you set a lap record during validation testing.”

’19 CORVETTE ZR1: KING OF THE ROAD & TRACK!

The ZR1’s exclusive LT5 6.2L supercharged engine is rated at an SAE-certified 755 horsepower and 715 pound-feet of torque. It features a new, more-efficient intercooled supercharger system, along with GM’s first dual fuel-injection system, which employs primary direct injection and supplemental port injection. Compared to the supercharger system on the Corvette Z06 LT4 engine, the LT5 employs a larger, 2.65-liter supercharger that generates more boost while spinning at a slightly slower speed. That reduces heat to help maintain a lower air intake temperature for optimal performance. Four new radiators also help manage cooling in the ZR1, which features 13 radiators in all, including circuits for engine oil, transmission and differential cooling.

Watch the 2019 Corvette ZR1 set lap record at VIR,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7j1gCM6-5M

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