HOME
*



picture info

SARD
is a Japanese tuning company and racing team from Toyota, Aichi, mainly competing in the Super GT series and specialising in Toyota tuning parts. History The company was formed in 1972 as Sigma Automotive Co., Ltd by Shin Kato to develop and produce motorsport related parts and accessories as well as operating their own racing team.SARD
Sigma began its racing career in the Fuji Grand Champion Series and for the following year participated for the first time in the with their

picture info

Heikki Kovalainen
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and Lotus F1 teams, scoring a single victory at the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix. After leaving Formula One, he raced in the Japanese Super GT series between 2015 and 2021, where he won the championship in 2016. He was supported by the Renault Driver Development programme early in his racing career, during which he won the World Series by Nissan championship and finished runner-up in the GP2 series. Renault signed him on as a full-time Formula One test driver for , and then promoted him to a race seat for . He gained his first podium by finishing second in the Japanese Grand Prix that year. He moved to McLaren for the season, where he partnered Lewis Hamilton. His second season in Formula One saw him achieve his first pole position at Silve ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




2016 Super GT Series
The 2016 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fourth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the twelfth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fourth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 10 and ended on November 13, after 8 races. Schedule Calendar Changes * The Super GT in Kyushu 300km at Autopolis was scheduled for May 22nd as the third round of the season but was subsequently cancelled in the aftermath of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. On May 20th, series organizers announced that the final weekend at Twin Ring Motegi would host two 250 kilometer races, with the race on Saturday being promoted as "Round 3" of the championship as it replaces the Autopolis race. * The SUGO GT 300km was brought forward to July from its previous date in September. * The overseas r ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


SARD MC8-R
The Sard MC8-R was a modified and lengthened version of the Toyota MR2 (SW20) built for GT racing by Toyota's SARD (Sigma Advanced Research Development) works team. SARD heavily modified the original MR2 frontal chassis deriving with custom rear chassis in order to fit a twin-turbo version of the 4.0-liter 1UZ-FE V8 producing . This is the first car which only using the frontal chassis of production car was effectively a purpose-built semi-sports-prototype that successfully got GT1 homologation. The MC8-R was lacked pace and very unreliable that makes it often at the bottom of the race and even the 'traditional' GT1 Toyota Supra also faster than it and let alone with McLaren F1 and Ferrari F40. However, the overall construction method of this car (a heavily-modified production car frontal chassis with race-built rear chassis combined into a style of semi-prototype) inspired Porsche to make 911 GT1 homologation specials which dominates the GT1 and indirectly led to the cancellatio ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

1996 24 Hours Of Le Mans
The 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 64th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 15 and 16 June 1996. It was won by a Tom Walkinshaw-Porsche prototype run by Joest Racing with drivers Davy Jones, Manuel Reuter and Le Mans rookie Alexander Wurz completing 354 laps. While not being the fastest car on track, it hit the front in the first hour and aside from several pit-stop overlaps, was never headed as other teams hit mechanical troubles during the race. This was Reuter's second Le Mans victory, and the first for Jones (after finishing as runner-up in 1991 with Jaguar) and Wurz, who, at 22 years old, became the youngest ever Le Mans overall winner. Regulations and Entries Still very satisfied with its equivalency formulae between the prototypes and GTs, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) made only slight adjustments to its regulations, by including engine volume and turbo boost into its calculations. LMP1 and P2 got closer to the IMSA-WSC category with new, updated, body ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Toyota MR2
The Toyota MR2 is a line of two-seat, mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports cars manufactured in Japan and marketed globally by Toyota from 1984 until 2007 over three generations: W10 (1984–1989), W20 (1989–1999) and W30 (2000–2007). It is Japan's first rear mid-engined production car. Conceived as a small, economical and sporty car, the MR2 employed straightforward design elements, including fully independent MacPherson strut front and rear suspensions, four-wheel disc brakes, and a transverse-mounted inline-four engine. The name MR2 stands for either "mid-ship run-about 2-seater" or "mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-seater". In French-speaking markets, the vehicle was renamed Toyota MR because the abbreviation "MR2" sounds like the profanity "merde" when spoken in French. Origins The MR2 derived from a 1976 Toyota design project with the goal of a car which would be enjoyable to drive, yet still provide good fuel economy – not necessarily a sports car. Design wo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Super GT
Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is the top level of sports car racing in Japan. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). Autobacs has been the title sponsor of the series and its predecessor since 1998. History The JGTC years (1993–2004) The JGTC (Japanese Grand Touring Championship) was established in 1993 by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) via its subsidiary company the GTA (GT Association), replacing the defunct All Japan Sports Prototype Championship for Group C cars and the Japanese Touring Car Championship for Group A touring cars, which instead would adopt the supertouring formula. Seeking to prevent the spiraling budgets and one-team/make domination of both series, JGTC imposed strict limits ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lexus RC F
The Lexus RC (Japanese: レクサス・RC, ''Rekusasu RC'') is a compact executive two-door coupé manufactured by Lexus, Toyota's luxury division. The RC which according to Lexus stands for "Radical Coupe" is a two-door coupé version of the Lexus IS (XE30). The RC is designated as the XC10 series. The RC borrowed styling from the LF-LC concept and was previewed by the LF-CC concept, being designed as a proposal by Pansoo Kwon from 2010 to early 2012 and approved by supervising designers Yasuo Kajino and Tatsuya Takei. Overview The RC was unveiled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. The RC has a shorter wheelbase than the Lexus IS (XE30) though it is longer overall. The platform shares the front end of the Lexus GS (L10), midsection from the Lexus IS (XE20) convertible, while the rear componentry is from the XE30 series IS. The RC has three LED lamps in the triangular headlights and 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels as standard, or 19-inch ten-spoke wheels as option. Japan ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Toyota Supra
is a sports car and grand tourer manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation beginning in 1978. The name " supra" is derived from the Latin prefix, meaning "above", "to surpass" or "go beyond". The initial four generations of the Supra were produced from 1978 to 2002. The fifth generation has been produced since March 2019 and went on sale in May 2019. The styling of the original Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the A70 Supra became a separate model from the Celica. In turn, Toyota also stopped using the prefix ''Celica'' and named the car ''Supra''. Owing to the similarity and past of the Celica's name, it is frequently mistaken for the Supra, and vice versa. The first, second and third generations of the Supra were assembled at the Tahara plant in Tahara, Aichi, while the fourth generation was assembled at the Motomachi plant in Toyota City. The 5th generation of the Supra is assembled alongside the G29 BMW ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Suzuka Circuit
The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Introduction Soichiro Honda decided to develop a new permanent circuit in Mie prefecture in the late 1950s. Designed as a Honda test track in 1962 by Dutchman John "Hans" Hugenholtz, the most iconic feature of the track is its "figure eight" layout, with the long back straight passing over the front section by means of an overpass. It is one of only two FIA Grade 1 licensed tracks to have a "figure eight" layout, the other one being the Fiorano Circuit. The circuit has been modified at least eight times: In 1983 a chicane was inserted at the last curve to slow the cars into the pit straight; the original circuit was an incredibly fast track with only one slow corner; without the Casio chicane some cars would go through the final long right-hand corne ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Toyota GR Supra
The J29/DB Toyota Supra, mainly marketed as Toyota GR Supra, is the fifth-generation of the Supra, a sports car produced by Toyota since 2019. Sold under Gazoo Racing (GR) branding, it replaced the previous model, A80, which stopped production in 2002. The GR Supra was developed in collaboration with BMW and shares a platform with the G29 BMW Z4. Both cars are manufactured at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria. The fifth-generation Supra uses BMW model code conventions, designated as a J29 series with DB model codes. However, Toyota used the "A90" and "A91" code for promotional and marketing materials for the fifth generation Supra to maintain continuity from previous Supra generations. Development ''Motor Trend'' had reported that a possible Supra successor could be based on the FT-HS (Future Toyota-Hybrid Sport), which debuted at the 2007 North American International Auto Show. The publication also reported that the fifth generation of the Supra could be powere ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Honda NSX (first Generation)
The first generation Honda NSX (''New Sportscar eXperimental''), marketed in North America and Hong Kong as the Acura NSX, is a 2-seater, mid-engine sports car that was manufactured by Honda in Japan from 1990 until 2005. Development Around 1984, Honda engineers began experimenting with different engine and chassis layouts to test viability for future products. One of the test mules was a Honda City that had been cut in half, with the engine installed behind the driver's seat and powering the rear wheels. Although the project was not developed any further, many of the engineers were inspired by the exciting laps around the company parking lot in the mid-engined City. This experience, in part, convinced Honda leadership that the company should consider developing a pure sports car. As a result, in 1984, Honda commissioned the Italian car styling house Pininfarina to design the concept car HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental), which had a C20A 2.0 L V6 engine in a mid ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Nissan Skyline GT-R
The is a sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range. The first cars named "Skyline GT-R" were produced between 1969 and 1972 under the model code KPGC10, and were successful in Japanese touring car racing events. This model was followed by a brief production run of second-generation cars, under model code KPGC110, in 1973. After a 16-year hiatus, the GT-R name was revived in 1989 as the BNR32 ("R32") Skyline GT-R. Group A specification versions of the R32 GT-R were used to win the Japanese Touring Car Championship for four years in a row. The R32 GT-R also had success in the Australian Touring Car Championship, with Jim Richards using it to win the championship in 1991 and Mark Skaife doing the same in 1992, until a regulation change excluded the GT-R in 1993. The technology and performance of the R32 GT-R prompted the Australian motoring publication ''Wheels'' to nickname the GT-R "Godzilla" in its July 1989 edition. ''Wheels'' then carried the name through all th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]