Back to back at Thunderhill
We all know that Hondas have a reputation for being reliable, but 25 hours on a racetrack? Billed as the "most severe endurance race on the planet," the brand- spanking new '06 Honda Civic Si took home first and second in its class at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill Endurance Race. Fresh from the factory and sporting a stock K20 block with mild modifications consisting of an AEM intake, DC exhaust, carbon fiber splitter and spoiler, Rays wheels, Michelin tires, and H&R suspension, the two Civics came in fourth and sixth overall out of a total of 58 cars, a true testament to the Honda reliability and engineering behind the new Si badge. www.honda.com
Word on the Street...
...Honda just announced the release of a new Si Sedan. Yes, you heard us right: Sedan. Take a moment and let it sink in. Look for full images and specs in our June issue alongside Mugen's answer to Honda of Japan's lack of Si support, the four-door Civic Dominator.
...AEM is withdrawing from its Pro Drag efforts for this season. If you haven't heard, there's this little fad called drifting, where cars skid around, and that's where they're headed with a second race car-to back up Stephan Papadakis and his S2000-rumored to be a 350Z driver by Tanner Foust. aempower.com
...Chip Foose, from TV series Overhaulin' fame and the true pimpslapper of rides, has announced he will lend his mutant-like ability to convert any object into a thing of beauty to the new FD audio line for Arc Audio. And here we had our money on a licensed pinstriped foosball table equipped with a small block Chevy motor spitting out ball bearings onto a field with Shelby Cobra emblems as kickers. arcaudio.com
...On the Scooby-Doo "What's going on?" tip, two of our favorite Japanese powerhouse tuners who usually make big appearances, A'PEXi and VeilSide, went missing from this year's Tokyo Auto Salon. Hopefully they won't end up on the side of a JDM milk carton. e-autosalon.net
...If you caught the last Ultimate Fighting Championship fight, no, your eyes weren't deceiving you, import friendly Toyo Tires' logo was on the bumper and floormat of the ring. Picked as the official tire for the UFC, one thing's for sure: any skid marks left by the UFC athletes can't be good. toyo.com
...Redefining the level of manliness associated with the color pink, Speed channel is set to renew PINKS, a reality show where participants drag race for pink slips, for its second season. speedtv.com
...Tire giant Pirelli is going Hollywood with plans to produce a film every year under Pirellifilm. The Call, their first film, is a thriller starring John Malkovich and Naomi Campbell which will be directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day). Pirelli asserts that all of their films will be based around three central characteristics: controversial, performance, and international. Can't wait, sounds like an exciting new bukkake movie to us. pirellifilm.com
Classic Super Street
Back in May of '99, Super Street not only featured, gasp, a VW Jetta on the cover, but Euros throughout the entire book. The self-titled "Euro Invasion" infected Super Street worse than flea-ridden rats did pre-Victorian England. Today, fortunately, we have our sister publication, eurotuner, to contaminate, err, cover any rolling bubonic tonics.