The Subaru BRZ is one of the hottest sports cars on the market right now, blending an excellent chassis with a fairly stylish body style and affordable pricing. It has really stolen the sports car show ever since it was launched, along with its two other Toyota- and Scion-badged sister models. The only complaint people are having with the coupe up until this point is that its straight line performance is poorer than that of a well-sorted hot hatch.

However, Crawford Performance have fixed the issue, by more than doubling the horsepower rating of the BRZ’s 2.0-liter boxer-four and tripling its torque output. They say it has 450 hp, and after watching the latest episode of Drive’s Tuned show, we thoroughly believe them.

Keep in mind, though, that this is not your average bolt-on kit. Crawford Performance only deals in Subaru vehicles, which are expertly modified for various types of racing/driving – it’s the same company that put together Ken Block’s first Gymkhana Subaru Impreza WRX, so they do know what they are doing. The engine is completely rebuilt, and gets a custom turbo kit, a new and stronger clutch and various other strengthened components.

The result is eye-catching, and once all the bugs are worked out (it sometimes breaks up a bit over 4,000 rpm, according to reviewer Matt Farah) this kit will likely become popular with anyToyonbar Toyobaru owners. It also paves the way for future similar projects, because from what the people who have modded it say, its FA20 boxer engine has a lot more power to give with relative ease, even compared to other Subaru motors - it also makes a great noise at full throttle.

By Andrei Nedelea

source : carscoop

Here at Carscoops we love a good old quarter-mile drag race, and we’re definitely not alone. So, when the crew from Autocar set up a ratherunusual drag race, we were interested to see take a look.

The lineup is made up of three very different machines: there’s a hardcore track monster – the 475bhp rear-wheel drive Ariel Atom V8, a 560bhp rallycross four-wheel drive Citroen DS3, and a 193bhp BMW HP4 superbike. Which of these three do you think is fastest over a standing quarter-mile sprint?

Considering the drag strip was wet, most people would put their money on the all-wheel driveCitroen DS3 rallycross car. However, there’s another factor one needs to consider when assessing situations like these: the power-to-weight ratio.

With 757 bhp per ton, the BMW HP4 is just ahead of the Ariel Atom, which boasts 748 bhp per ton. The Citroen DS3 rallycross machine has 577 bhp per ton, but its four-wheel drive system helps it compensate for its lower power-to-weight ratio. Will it be enough to win this race? You’ll just have to hit “play” on the video below to find out.

By Dan Mihalascu

source : carscoop

The newest entry in the extremely competitive premium compact saloon category is the third generation of Lexus' IS sedan that brings with it a sharper design with more character inside and out, along with the promise of improved dynamics.

It doesn’t have an easy job as all contestants for the title in the segment have many strong points, with the BMW 3-Series, now in its sixth iteration, having the added bonus of being the most recognized and successful player for almost three decades now.

Naturally, the Teutonic 3-Series is the car to beat for the throne and it is this model that Edmunds put the Lexus IS up against in its latest comparison test, while also adding the new Cadillac ATS for good measure.

In particular, it chose the basic U.S. market models of the three competitors: the BMW 328i M Sport that features a 240hp 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four; the Cadillac ATS 2.0 Premium with a 272hp turbocharged four-cylinder and the Lexus IS 250 F Sport with a naturally-aspirated 2.5-liter V6 rated for 204hp.

For all its improvements and in what concerns the entry-level version of the IS, the Lexus model couldn't come on top of the other two challengers, but according to Edmunds, it is worth noting the testers found that the Japanese car's steering feel and precision "trumped" the BMW, something that should have the Bavarians worried…

source : carscoop