Review – Takata 6-Point Safety Harness Belts

A quality unit, the Takata brand’s racing reputation was hurt (in our opinion) by the early adoption of its products by car show loving compact car enthusiasts, many of whom had never seen a track before.

Review – Sparco 5-Point Safety Harness Belt

Quality-wise, the Sparco harness is very good. There is no latch-and-link (which we don’t like anyways) design sold by Sparco, only camlock quick-release. This camlock is made of plastic and opens and locks quite easily.

Comptech Daytona Prototype Acura NSX V6 Engine

Using a 3.9-liter Comptech-built V6, based on the production Acura NSX V6, this prototype is one of the first to use Honda power. Independent from Acura, DP engine development has been carried out by Comptech.

Review – HJC HX-11 Carbon Fiber Helmet

If you’re only going to try out a track day or it’s one of your first couple times, by all means rent an open-face helmet or buy a cheap unit. But if you end up going more than once or, more likely, get hooked, buy a decent unit.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X Tech Overview

One thing is for sure – the Lancer Evolution line has entered an entirely new generation. The 2008 model, dubbed the Evo X, feels and drives differently than all past Evo models. Does that mean it’s now slow and unstable? Uh, no.

HB Speed Evo X – Street AWD Time Attack

HB Speed is no stranger to the turbocharged, all-wheel drive platform, having tuned and modified countless custom Subaru WRX STIs and Lancer Evo 9/10s. But time attack is a little tougher than just slapping together a street cruiser and would require all of HB Speed’s expertise.

World Touring Car Championship BMW 320si

The five 320si machines run by BMW Team Germany for Augusto Farfus and Jörg Müller, BMW Team UK for Andy Priaulx and BMW Team Italy-Spain for Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández, will sport the new bonnet, headlamps and front bumper with wider air intakes that were tested during last winter in Valencia.

2009 Subaru Forester XTI Concept

Forester XTI concept has the 2.5-liter turbo engine and six-speed transmission out of the Impreza WRX STI. In the Forester, the engine is tuned with an SPT exhaust to put out 315hp.

2010 Porsche 911 GT3 Debuts

The 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 now has the distinction of being the fastest and most powerful GT3 ever. The naturally aspirated six-cylinder horizontally opposed boxer makes 435hp, 20hp more than before.

2009 WRC Ford Focus RS

World Rally Championship WRC-class cars are turbocharged, all-wheel drive, anti-lag popping machines that are driven on almost every imagineable surface. So when we came across this gallery of images in Ford Racing’s depository, we knew that we had to share them with you. Enjoy.

2009 FIA GT Championship – Test Day

FIA GT Championshp, GT3 European Championship and GT4 European Cup cars began their test day, with 49 cars hitting the Paul Ricard Circuit at Le Castellet, France. The field was comprised of usual favorites like the Corvette, M1 and 911, but also featured a few beautiful examples of the Audi R8 Also running was the first iteration of the Nissan GT-R and Ford GT GT1-spec cars.

2008 WRC Rally New Zealand Highlights

WRC Ford Focus Rally Slide Munchi’s

WRC Ford Focus Dirt Slide Hirvonen

WRC Ford Focus Dirt Rally Slide Solberg

Loeb’s WRC Citroen Xsara Rally Car

2009 BMW M3 GT4 Debut

We’ve always loved BMW M3s here at The Octane Report. A smooth chassis, solid engine and great, classic rear-wheel drive handling. The latest is quite the looker as well. Especially in its full FIA GT4-class garb. Set to debut at the 24-hour Nurburgring race, the latest M3 racer also boasts quite the driver roster.

Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles – Too bad, Paris Dakar

One of the world’s most famous endurance rally events is the Paris-Dakar, which, coincidentally, wasn’t held anywhere near either of those two cities this year. Having moved to South America due to terrorist concerns, the now-named Dakar Rally left many diehard rally fans wanting. Not the women though.

2009 New York Auto Show – 2010 Kia Forte Koup

Kia’s been re-inventing itself as of late. Borrowing cool kid cues from Scion and Honda, Kia has been designing and marketing some of its latest offerings as edgy, hip and cool. Did you see the hamsters driving down the road on TV?

2009 New York Auto Show – 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG

The new 2010 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG debuts at the New York show with 518hp out of its 6.2-liter V8. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission is now on board, with four selectable driving modes.