Down Shift Magazine

The five year development program for the V36 began in 2002, with conclusion in 2006 for the sedan and 2007 for the coupe. Design work started in 2003 and continued into 2004, when Hideo Komuro’s design was chosen for the sedan. The coupe design process was later completed in the first half of 2005, with a conceptual variant being readied for public introduction.

Shon Conner’s immaculate 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 380GT . Photographed by Ric Quintanilla in Corpus Christi, Texas. www.ricqphotos.com

Nismo (abbreviated from Nissan Motorsport International Limited (ニッサン・モータースポーツ・インターナショナル株式会社 Nissan Mōtā Supōtsu Intānashonaru Kabushiki-gaisha?)) is the motorsports and performance division of Nissan Motor Company. Formed in 1984 as a result of a merger of two motorsport departments, Nismo cars have participated in JSPC, Formula Nippon, JTCC, 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. They currently participate in the Super GT and FIA GT Championship.

More beautiful today than when it rolled off the Honda assembly line some 20 years ago. Photo courtesy of Stance:Nation and photographer Javier Santiago.

As with its Lotus Seven precursors, Caterhams are constructed of aluminium sheet attached to a tubular steel chassis. Nosecone and wings are either GRP or carbon fibre depending on specification. All Sevens are front engined with rear-wheel drive and two seats. Their extremely high performance is achieved through light weight (less than 500 kg (1,102 lb) on some versions) rather than particularly powerful engines. As well as a lightweight chassis and bodywork, Caterham Sevens achieve their very low mass through their lack of comfort and safety oriented features such as a fixed roof, doors, radio, air-conditioning, airbags, traction/stability control, ABS, satellite navigation or cruise control.

Caterham Cars is a manufacturer of specialist lightweight Sports Cars based in Caterham, Surrey, UK. Their current model, the Caterham 7 (or Seven), is a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman and originally launched in 1973. In the 1990s the company made the Caterham 21,a two-seater soft top alternative to the MGF and Lotus Elise, which both sold many more units. A track-only car, the SP/300.R, a joint project with Lola was released for customer testing in 2010 and is scheduled for release in 2013. On 27 April 2011, then-Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes announced that he had purchased Caterham.

While Jeff Abbott Racing may be the Formula Drift underdog with their avantgarde turbo-charged Mazda MX-5 Miata, this pocket rocket more than holds it’s own.   Photo by: Larry Chen   –  www.DriftFotos.com

Official approval from Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca came in May 1990. One year later, Carroll Shelby piloted a pre-production car as the pace vehicle in the Indianapolis 500 race. In November 1991, the car was released to reviewers with first retail shipments beginning in January 1992.