Chris Harris

  • Reviews/ Videos

    Porsche Cayman GT4 driven and drifted (VIDEO)

    Porsche Cayman GT4

    Chris Harris takes to the track in the new Porsche Cayman GT4, the fastest and most track-focused Cayman to date.

    We’re only three months in, but this is possibly the most hotly anticipated car of 2015. It’s the Porsche Cayman GT4, the car that finally takes the Cayman – regarded by some as Porsche’s sweetest steering model – and turns up the volume to eleven.

    Since the mid-engine coupe was introduced some ten years ago there has been a suspicion that Porsche was deliberately holding back its performance to protect the more iconic and expensive 911. Not anymore, because Porsche has given the Cayman to its motorsport division – the people responsible for the 911 GT3, the GT3 cup car and the slightly mental GT2 RS from the 997 generation 911. The GT car engineers know how to make a car go, steer and stop better than anyone else in the business, so the Cayman GT4 should be pretty good.

    In terms of its power and straight line performance it seems just a rung above the lesser Cayman GTS, but actually this is more or less a whole different animal. It’s got the larger 3.8-litre flat six engine from the 911 Carrera S producing 375hp in this application instead of the standard 3.4-litre. Suspension has been changed completely, the entire front axle is borrowed from the bigger 911 GT3 and the rear suspension has been re-designed and re-engineered. The carbon ceramic brakes are also taken from the GT3.

    The only thing that hasn’t been dramatically changed from the Cayman GTS is the gearbox. Ah yes, the most appealing thing about the new GT4 for some will be the fact that it’s only available with a six-speed manual gearbox. The GT4’s ‘box features shorter throws and a more precise feeling, say Porsche.

    So what does all this machinery look like in action? We’ll let Chris Harris show you…

    BONUS CLIP: What’s the third pedal for?

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  • News/ Super Cars/ Videos

    Chris Harris drifts mental Aussie HSV Maloo ute (VIDEO)

    HSV Maloo GTS

    Chris Harris went on holiday to Australia and couldn’t resist sampling some of the local produce. Enter 577hp HSV Maloo ute.

    I suppose we ought to figure out whether we’re going to call it a ute or a pick up, right? Well, it’s not American or very truck-like and it’s made in Australia. So that’d be a ute then. There settled that, now more about this mental green machine.

    It’s Australian so it must have a massive V8, right? Indeed, the Maloo GTS is fitted with the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 from the Camaro ZL1 which means 577hp through the rear wheels that, unless you shove a sheep in the back, have barely any weight over them. Still, it’s got sticky Continental tyres, a limited slip differential and a monster set of stoppers.

    It may have started out life as a piece of farm machinery, but this HSV Maloo ute will hit 62mph in about 4.4 seconds – the same as a BMW M5. This green meanie is the fastest pick up in the world and it could only come from Australia.

    Apart from the transmission which is either a six-speed manual or torque converter auto, the whole package is actually rather sophisticated. Seriously! Even Chris Harris thinks so…

     

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  • Celebrity Cars/ Super Cars/ Videos

    Ken Block’s Gymkhana 7 Mustang explained by Chris Harris (VIDEO)

    Ken Block's Gymkhana 7 Mustang

    Chris Harris takes a look at Ken Block’s wild Gymkhana 7 car, the custom-built 845hp all-wheel drive 1965 Ford Mustang.

    From the outside the 1965 Mustang used by Ken Block in his latest viral video sensation, Gymkhana 7 Wild in the Streets of L.A, may look like any other slammed and stickered pony car.

    But actually apart from the doors and roof, the Hoonicorn RTR as Ken calls it, is completely bespoke. It’s a custom-built race car which has been made to slightly resemble an old Mustang. This beast has about as much in common with a ’65 Mustang as a Ford Nascar racer has in common with an Ecoboost Fusion sedan.

    It uses a bespoke tubular chassis built especially for Ken Block by ASD Motorsports and most of the body panels are made from carbon fiber.

    The motor is a screaming 6.7-litre (410 cubic inch) Ford V8 pumping out 845hp and 720lb.ft of torque, which hits the ground through a six-speed sequential gearbox and extremely complicated all-wheel drive system that makes sliding backwards possible – somehow.

    Ken Block describes the creation as part WRC car, part DTM racer and part Hot Wheels play-thing.

    Now, enough jabbering from me, here’s Chris Harris:

     

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  • News

    Chris Harris Takes You To Drift School (Video)

    Our friends at /DRIVE are embarking on a new season now, and while the model for their business has changed a bit, the awesomeness hasn’t. Here, Chris Harris teaches you how to drift a car on track.

    MUST WATCH: 13-Year-Old Finn Rally Driver Scares Hilarious Passenger: Video

    If you’re wondering about his credentials to teach such a lesson, you clearly haven’t been watching enough /DRIVE. If you have been watching, you know this guy can slide a car through the eye of a needle at a buck fifty. With walls on both sides.

    So sit down, shut up, put on your learning cap, and absorb some sideways education.

    via Motor Authority

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  • Super Cars

    Chris Harris Tests The McLaren P1 On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)

    Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)

    Chris Harris drives the new $1.2 million McLaren P1 at the Yas Marina Grand Prix circuit in Abu Dhabi UAE. Before taking to the track at night, Chris Harris chats with Chris Goodwin, the Chief Test Driver for McLaren Automotive to discuss the technology of McLaren’s latest offering, perhaps the definition of the modern day hypercar.

    Fair warning, the McLaren Chris Harris drives in this video is the XP7, the pre-production prototype for P1. The car has had a long life over the past 15 months, driving around the world and clocking over 40,000 hard miles.

    Hit the video above to watch and check out some awesome pics below…

    Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)
     Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)
     Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)
     Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)
     Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)
     Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)
    Chris Harris Tests The McLaren On Road and Track In Abu Dhabi (VIDEO)

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  • Super Cars/ Videos

    Porsche 918 Spyder Driven And Drifted By Chris Harris (VIDEO)

    Chris Harris drives the super high tech Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar on track.

    Many doubted Porsche when they unveiled the 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar. On paper at least it would wade into battle against its key rivals, the McLaren P1 and the Ferrari The Ferrari, on the back foot. So Porsche raised the total power output to a whopping 887hp.

    Then there were those very loud voices claiming that doing a hybrid supercar was the wrong thing for Porsche to do. Why not just have that 608hp V8 and the carbon tub without all of the heavy batteries weighing it down? There was even controversy around whether Porsche could sell each of the 918, million-dollar hybrids that it planned to build. But then the 918 smashed the Nurburgring lap record and everyone just sort of nodded in awe.

    Now Chris Harris has driven the car and delivered his verdict. It seems the Porsche 918 Spyder is quite the car….

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