2010 CHEVY SILVERADO LUXURY PRERUNNER DASH

bu Agustin Rimenez
When you’re a race-winning veteran of Baja, you aren’t expected to show up to the desert in a run-of-the-mill lifted pickup decked out with the latest lightbars or fancy artwork of one of the handful of caffeine energy drink sponsors. When you’ve conquered Baja as a racer as well as a builder for most of your life, you can show up in anything you please because odds are that it’ll be far faster than most flashy rides out in the dirt.

This Chevy Silverado luxury prerunner you see here doesn’t quite jump out at you as a high speed desert monster but the reality is that it’s a menacing wolf in sheep’s clothing. Underneath the steel and fiberglass skin lives a Mirage Racing Products–built street-legal trophy truck with all the modern amenities anyone could ever want while prerunning the brutal deserts of Baja California, Mexico.

 Underneath the engine cage lives a 606hp LS7 Corvette crate engine that runs on Pemex pump gas. Bill didn’t need to go as fast as Trophy Trucks while prerunning since you’re generally going well under triple-digit speeds to spot all the trail hazards. Naturally, a healthy LS7 was just the ticket to a powerful yet reliable engine that didn’t require frequent rebuilds to keep it thundering through Baja.

We first caught a glimpse of this luxury prerunner while on the Baja HID Excursion a few years ago, and we knew right away that there was something very special about the metallic gunmetal gray Chevy, but it wasn’t until we saw it rip through the whoops at high speeds that our suspicions had been confirmed. A street-legal trophy truck is just about the ultimate off-road vehicle most of us could ever aspire to own, and the Mirage Racing Prerunner definitely leaves more than a few jaws dropping. After getting a little chatty with the owner, Bill Varnes, owner and founder of Mirage Racing Products in Santee, California, it was pretty clear why he built this luxury prerunner the way he did.

 

The Mirage Racing prerunner gets through the whoops smoothly thanks to a Weitzel Motorsports Trophy Truck platform along with Weitzel motorsports 4130 chromoly boxed center-mounted A-arms and 4130 chromoly twin boxed upper J-arms that cycle an impressive 29.5 inches of wheel travel thanks to Mirage’s proprietary mounting specs.

Bill didn’t want a truck that ran on high-octane race fuel or required support trucks to keep it going through Baja. As a long-time veteran of Baja, Bill has won and lost everything he’s ever wanted to win, and he’s been doing so since January of 1968, so it’s no surprise that he leaned toward a no-nonsense build philosophy when it came to his leisure go-fast prerunner. Bill needed a good reliable prerunner to help chase, pit and support his customers in Baja for some of the race cars he builds. His only requirement was that the truck needed to be comfortable, safe, and, most importantly, it needed to be fast!

We think Bill hit the nail on the head and built one hell of a prerunner that can speed across the deserts of Baja all day long while sitting in a nice and cushy climate-controlled cab. Sure, the truck is fast but more than that, it’s simple and reliable. It features nothing too extravagant that would otherwise compromise the reliability of this luxury prerunner out on the backroads of Baja.

 

Bill Varnes has been a long-time supporter of BFGoodrich so it’s no surprise he outfitted his luxury prerunner with a set of 39-inch BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR Projects up front and KRT’s in the rear. The race-spec tires are mounted on a set of 17x8.5 forged aluminum TrailReady headlocks, while a pair of 39-inch KRT’s are mounted in the back of the bed for long prerunning sessions in remote locations.

Editor’s Note:
Since we shot the truck a while back, Bill Varnes has since sold the truck and moved on to build his next ultimate prerunner. The truck is now owned by Hollywood stunt driver, Rich Minga, who is a Baja Champion himself with three SCORE Baja 1000 class wins. It’s a pretty safe bet to assume the Mirage Racing Prerunner is in great hands.
  

Tech Specs
Year Make Model: 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500

Drivetrain
Engine: 606hp 7.0L LS7 Corvette EFI crate V-8 engine with 16-quart dry sump oil system, LS7 headers, Bob Butler–built 3-inch exhaust, UMP air filter system
Transmission: Ken Mogi–built 4L80E automatic transmission with full manual valvebody, TCS 1,800-stall torque convertor Transfer Case: None
Front Axle: None
Rear Axle: Dirt-Tech Trophy Truck full-floating fabricated 9-inch race housing, Mark Williams custom spool, Sandy Cone axleshafts, Chrisman Full Floating hubs, 10-inch ring gear, 5.43 gears
Suspension
Weitzel Motorsports 4130 chromoly boxed lower A-arms and 4130 chromoly twin boxed upper J-arms mounted on a Weitzel Motorsports Trophy Truck platform, FOX Racing 4.4 five-tube bypass shocks with FOX Racing 3.0 coilovers with hypercoil springs and Fox Racing 2.0 hydraulic bumpstops, 65-inch 4130 chromoly Dirt-Tech trailing arms with Mirage Racing Products four-link, Fox Racing 4.4 five-tube bypass shocks, Fox Racing 3.0 coilovers with Hypercoil springs and Fox Racing 2.5-inch hydraulic bumpstops, Geiser Brothers sway bar

Tires & Wheels
39x13.50R17 BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR Projects in front and KRT’s in the rear mounted on six-lug forged aluminum 17x8.5 TrailReady Trophy Truck beadlock wheels

Steering
Howe 2.75-inch power steering Trophy Truck rack, 17-inch Schroeder steering wheel, custom Mirage Racing Products steering column
Brakes
Coleman 14-inch rotors at all four corners with six-piston CNC calipers
Lighting
Vision X HID lights
Interior
Racepak 250-KT UDX digital dash display, custom tweed upholstery done by Darren Brandvig of Autofab, Mastercraft Safety Suspension seats and harnesses, rear storage box and refrigerator that can be swapped out for a Mastercraft Safety rear bench seat, Mirage Racing Products custom aluminum dash, dual Lowrance Baja 540 GPS units, dual Yaesu FM race radios, Racer X intercom systems with headsets, Art Carr shifter, Vintage Air Hot Rod air conditioning system, iPod input

Other Stuff
Mirage Racing–built one-piece fiberglass lift off front end with Corvette hood bulge, Mirage Racing–built fiberglass bedsides, C&R Radiator and with internal oil coolers and heat exchangers, dual 16-inch Spal electric fans, Twin C&R Transmission coolers with Spal electric fans, two-piece forged driveshaft, Argo aluminum race jack, built-in spare fluid trays, Mirage Racing built 85-gallon aluminum fuel cell with Harmon bladder, metallic gunmetal gray paint by Chuck Hogan at Balboa Auto Body

 

Bill needed his prerunner to go through long sections of Baja where gas stations might be non-existent so he built a custom 85-gallon aluminum fuel cell with a Harmon Racing Cells bladder to give the Chevy plenty of fuel range while exploring remote sections of Baja.

From: http://www.fourwheeler.com

The road to Le Mans: Porsche Team

Aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015, Michelin est partenaire de 20 teams que nous présenterons jusqu’au début de la semaine mancelle. 17 ans après sa dernière victoire, Porsche rêve d’une… 17e victoire dans la Sarthe.

Porsche et Le Mans, une histoire d’amour qui dure depuis 64 ans. En 1951, la victoire de la Porsche 356 de Veuillet/Mouche en catégorie 1.1-L a ouvert la voie à une série de 16 succès au classement général entre 1970 et 1998, de 50 podiums et d’un octuplé historique en 1983. Porsche, marque automobile la plus victorieuse aux 24 Heures du Mans, a bâti sa légende dans la Sarthe.

C’est au mois de septembre 2012 que Porsche AG a annoncé le retour de la marque en Endurance. En juin 2013, la Porsche 919 Hybrid effectuait ses premiers tours de roue sur une piste privée, avant de disputer sa première course en avril 2014. Tout est allé très vite pour le constructeur allemand qui a monté ce projet Endurance de A à Z en un an et demi.

Aujourd’hui, plus de 200 personnes s’activent à Weissach et trois Porsche 919 Hybrid sont engagées aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015 où l’objectif est de remporter une 17^e victoire, 17 ans après son dernier triomphe avec Michelin.

Avec son petit moteur V4 2.0-L bi-turbo essence et son double système de récupération d’énergie (MGU-K et MGU-H) à 8 MJ, la Porsche 919 Hybrid est le prototype LM P1 hybride le plus avancé technologiquement. Rappelons que Porsche a engagé au Mans la première voiture à quatre roues motrices (1976) et la première à moteur turbocompressé (1974).

La saison 2014 – cinq pole positions, une victoire, leader au Mans – a démontré les performances et a permis de fiabiliser le prototype, avant un important travail de développement effectué cet hiver pour concevoir une Porsche 919 Hybrid presqu’entièrement nouvelle.

At the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours, Michelin will have 20 partner teams which we will be introducing one by one up to race week. Seventeen years after its last triumph in La Sarthe, Porsche is hunting for a 17th Le Mans win.

Porsche and Le Mans go back 64 years to the victory of Veuillet/Mouche in 1951 sharing a Porsche 356 in the 1.1-litre class. Sixteen outright wins were to follow between 1970 and 1998, plus no fewer than 50 podium appearances and a landmark top-eight lockout in 1983. Le Mans helped to forge the reputation of the most successful make ever to race in La Sarthe.

Porsche AG announced its return to endurance racing in September 2012. Starting from scratch, the new 919 Hybrid prototype made its track debut the following June before appearing competitively for the first time in April 2014.

Today, a staff of more than 200 works out of its Weissach base and three Porsche 919 Hybrids have been entered for this year’s Le Mans where the German make is targeting a 17^th victory, 17 years after its most recent success, in association Michelin.

The 919 Hybrid features a two-litre twin-turbo V4 mated to a double energy recovery system (MGU-K / MGU-H) rated at 8MJ. It is the most advanced of the current LM P1 prototypes. It should be remembered that Porsche entered the first four-wheel drive car at Le Mans (in 1976), as well as the first turbocharged car (1974).

The team’s 2014 season harvested five pole positions and one win. It also led at Le Mans to provide a glimpse of the car’s potential ahead of a busy development programme over the winter to produce a nearly all-new 919 Hybrid for 2015.

Cars entered for the Le Mans 24 Hours

N°17 Porsche 919 Hybrid (LM P1): Timo Bernhard / Mark Webber / Brendon Hartley

N°18 Porsche 919 Hybrid (LM P1): Romain Dumas / Neel Jani / Marc Lieb

N°19 Porsche 919 Hybrid (LM P1): Nico Hulkenberg / Earl Bamber / Nick Tandy

Le Mans record

1968: pole position (Siffert, Porsche 908)

1969: pole position (Stommelen, Porsche 917 LH)

1970: 1^st, Hermann/Attwood (Porsche 917 K) and pole position (Elford, Porsche 917 LH)

1971: 1^st, Marko/Van Lennep (Porsche 917 K) and pole position (Rodriguez, Porsche 917 LH)

1976: 1^st, Ickx/Van Lennep (Porsche 936)

1977: 1^st, Ickx/Haywood/Barth (Porsche 936)

1978: pole position (Ickx, Porsche 936)

1979: 1^st, Whittington/Ludwig/Whittington (Porsche 935 K3) and pole position (Wollek, Porsche 936)

1980: pole position (Fitzpatrick, Porsche 935 K3)

1981: 1^st, Ickx/Bell (Porsche 936) and pole position (Ickx, Porsche 936)

1982: 1^st, Ickx/Bell (Porsche 956) and pole position (Ickx, Porsche 956)

1983: 1^st, Schuppan/Haywood/Holbert (Porsche 956) and pole position (Ickx, Porsche 956)

1984: 1^st, Pescarolo/Ludwig (Porsche 956)

1985: 1^st, Barilla/Ludwig/Winter (Porsche 956) and pole position (Stuck, Porsche 962 C)

1986: 1^st, Stuck/Bell/Holbert (Porsche 962 C) and pole position (Mass, Porsche 962 C)

1987: 1^st, Stuck/Bell/Holbert (Porsche 962 C) and pole position (Wollek, Porsche 962 C)

1988: pole position (Stuck, Porsche 962 C)

1994: 1^st, Haywood/Dalmas/Baldi (Porsche-Dauer 962 LM)

1996: 1^st, Jones/Reuter/Wurz (Porsche WSC-95 TWR) and pole position (Martini, Porsche WSC-95 TWR)

1997: 1^st, Alboreto/Kristensen/Johansson (Porsche WSC-95 TWR) and pole position (Alboreto, Porsche WSC-95 TWR)

1998: 1^st, Aïello/Ortelli/McNish (Porsche 911 GT-1)

International nostalgia at the Christie’s 2015 Poster sale

Discover India from the back of an elephant or just take the tram to the zoo: in the pre- TV, pre-internet era, artistically designed posters were the most successful means of advertising. The Christie’s auction in London is now offering a wide range of historic poster art…

Advertising as art

Today, Hollywood stars are paid to appear in adverts in the desperate bid to attract buyers’ attention. Increasingly sophisticated commercials are created, in the hope that they will go viral and be shared across the globe. Sometimes, one thinks with longing of the artfully designed promotional posters of the past – a relatively unobtrusive way to promote a company’s products or services. Surely, Renato Casaro, John Alcorn and Frank McCarthy, who designed numerous 007 movie posters, never imagined that their work would be worth thousands, in some cases hundreds of thousands, of euros and would be celebrated with dedicated exhibitions in famous galleries around the world. Christie's, meanwhile, is celebrating poster art in its own way, with a specialist auction that time-travels through the history of advertising – as the video shows.

The Christie’s Poster sale takes place in London on 4 June 2015. All lots and other information can be found at www.christies.com. 

Samourai ....