Awesome Cars

A road legal car that’s faster than a 2015 F1 car. That’s the AM-RB 001’s threat – er, promise. Its 100% carbon fiber body and wheels, and custom V12 give the car a 1bhp:1kg ratio, and a unique underbody helps generate massive downforce. Aston will produce just 124 cars.

Jeff Brock’s modded 1952 Buick Super Riviera aka Bombshell Betty. Designed specifically to break land speed records at Bonneville Speedway, it managed to hit over 165mph in 2013 before it was retired. What a car. What a lovely car.

Jay Leno shows off one of the more interesting cars in his cavernous garage – the Shotwell. Single-handedly built in 1931 by then 17-year-old Bob Shotwell, this three-wheeled vehicle had well over 150,000 mi on it before Jay had it restored. Test drive at 13:52.

Jay Leno shows off his custom made replica of Mercedes-Benz’ one-off workhorse from 1950, a single vehicle Grand Prix race car transporter. Based on the 300 SL gullwing’s 6-cylinder engine, the unique vehicle could originally go up to 108mph.

In honor of #NationalDonutDay, Nissan decided to decorate some donuts in the best way possible, by using the tires of a Nissan 370Z NISMO to send the sprinkles flying through the air and onto more than 300 freshy-glazed donuts. Mmmm. Burnt rubber and fried dough.

Dirt Every Day made a four-wheel drive vehicle in the dumbest way possible. They welded together the front halves of a Range Rover and a Ford Ranger to create a 12-cylinder monster that can take on any terrain. Or not. Skip to 13:27 for the test drive.

(PG-13: Language) The hosts of Mighty Car Mods previously challenged each other to find a turbocharged manual car for $3000. In a classic case of less is more, they ended up doing the decent thing and freed one of the cars they bought from its gaudy trappings.

Jalopnik takes a look at three classic rally cars to illustrate the differences between automotive drivetrains, and how rally racing serves as a proving ground for tech in production vehicles. We don’t care if it’s only front-wheel drive – we want that SAAB 96.

Motor Trend’s Head 2 Head compares the world’s fastest SUV, the 2017 Bentley Bentayga, with the world’s quickest SUV, the 2016 Tesla Model X. It’s mostly a sane discussion, except for the silly drag race at 3:31.

BMW celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 2 Series with this fu-manchu’d machine. Inspired by the 2002 Turbo and built on the M2, the 2002 Hommage has racing-inspired spoilers and a carbon fiber stripe, huge wheel arches and the classic mirrored Turbo script up front.

Motorsports hall of famer Derek Bell drives around the historic Targa Florio track in Sicily in the Porsche 718 RS 60 that won the endurance race in 1960. A promotional short film for the new Porsche 718 Boxster by Petrolicious.

Sam Fankuchen spoke with Petrolicious about his 1970 AMC Jeepster Commando. He loves the classic SUV not only because it’s great for California’s beaches and dirt trails, but also because it lets him connect and hopefully inspire the people he meets on the road.

Carfection briefly touched on the origins of the Beetle successor’s prodigious variant, before test driving each of its seven generations and deciding which one they like best. Is it the wildly popular Mk II, the cutting edge Mk VII or perhaps the original? We prefer this GTI.

Gumball 3000 vets Team Galag hired Caresto to turn a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560 into the TGX, an amazing real life version of the Batmobile from Batman: Arkham Knight. Its body is made of carbon fiber panels and it’s actually comfortable and easy to drive.

A 5.1 Bluetooth speaker made from Formula 1 inspired exhaust pipes. The XiLO has an 8″ down-firing 140W subwoofer, two 40W mid-bass drivers, two 40W midrange drivers and a 40W tweeter. It also has an RCA input and an app with a variety of engine sounds.

The F1 Ranger Marmon-Herrington was the first Ford Ranger. It started as a Ford delivery truck that Marmon-Herrington converted into a 4×4. It’s believed that only 54 F1 Rangers were made; this particular unit has been meticulously restored to its original condition.

Petrolicious features Del Necessary and his Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16. The middle class dad car for many Europeans and Asians in the ’80s, the Baby Benz’s hoity-toity grill and boxy frame belies its unexpected racing pedigree.

From Maximilian Funk and Robert Klanten (The Ride) comes The Drive, a 400-page coffee table book about some of the world’s best custom car makers and their work, including ICON’s Jonathan Ward, RWB’s Akira Nakai and of course George Barris.

An obsessively designed 1:8 scale model of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The 2,700pc model has a dual-clutch gearbox w/working paddle shifters, moving engine pistons, exclusive rims and tires, and a plate laser-etched with a serial number unique to each copy. Drops 6/1/16 for $300.

A portable, unobtrusive and legal speed trap indicator. Instead of using radar, TrapTap uses location data and input from users to locate speed traps. It flashes red, green or blue depending on the zone or listed trap. You can add locations or turn it off by tapping on it.

Jay Leno shows off his 1989 Special Editions Ford Shogun. It’s a Ford Festiva modified to fit the Yamaha-made Taurus SHO V6 in the back. It weighs around 2200lb but has 220hp, which Jay boosts to over 300hp with nitro. Test drive at 15:25.

Petrolicious features Jay Kho and his 1983 R30 Skyline. The series that revived the Skyline model, Jay and many of his fellow gearheads pined for the R30 even more because it was never sold in the US. There are days when Jay still can’t believe that it’s in his garage.

Saturday Night Live guest host Julia Louis-Dreyfus pokes fun at electric cars with a hilarious mock commercial for Mercedes-Benz’ new green luxury vehicle – an amazing new car which runs on battery power, yet needs no charging stations or power outlets.