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Ford opens the doors on its Swedish rally skunkworks

It's always amazing to see how different kinds of racecars are made. Formula One racers are often constructed in modern architectural marvels that hint at some of the cutting-edge technology going into the racing. Conversely, rallying is all about sliding around on a varied course as fast as possible, but it often leaves a vehicle caked in mud. So it makes some sense Olsbergs MSE, or simply (OMSE) rally car shop in Nynashamn, Sweden, shows technological sophistication in a more down-to-earth setting. It builds Ford Fiesta ST racers for Global Rallycross there, and this new video gives viewers a tour through the work.
Former rally driver Andreas Eriksson runs OMSE. These days instead of racing, he and the company's 46 employees are building Ford racers from scratch. A ton of work goes into constructing each one, and according to Eriksson, it takes 400 hours to complete each body. At times, things are so busy that some of the technicians live in the shop in apartments that are on premises. There's even a restaurant to keep them fed. Sadly the dyno room is empty during this visit, though.
By the time OMSE is done, a rallycross car might resemble a Fiesta ST on the outside, but as you see in the video, it's a completely different beast underneath. Check out the work it takes to build one of them, and scroll down to read more about it in the official release.

Porsche 911 tops a list of must-have classics, but No. 2 is more of a surprise

No surprise here: In Europe, the Porsche 911 is the most sought-after classic car. Surprise here: Slip-streaming the 911 in the most sought-after chart compiled by the Car & Classic marketplace is the Ford Mustang. Using the Google search engine as a means to pick the winners, as well as the average prices achieved on the “Car and Classic” website, the venerable 911 was tagged 1.45 million times per month according to data stretching back 15 years. The number of 911Â’s sold though the C&C marketplace was 21,141, at an average price of 58,409 pounds, or $74,300. FordÂ’s pony car, still a popular choice for buyers in Europe, placed second on the list with 1.2 million monthly searches. The average sales price over 15 years was 31,107 pounds ($39,570), and the number of older Mustangs sold reached a total of 8,332. Models that also finished among the charted top 10 include the Land Rover Range Rover, the Corvette, the ultra-classic British favorite Jaguar E-Type and the BMW 3 Series. “Whilst a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS could set you back the best part of GBP500,000 ($636,000), there are many more affordable models, which bring the average sale price of a 911 on Car & Classic to GBP58,000 ($73,800) – the third highest average selling price of any make and model on the site,” explained Dale Vinten of Car & Classic. According to the site, the Jaguar fetched the highest average selling price: a whopping 89,000 pounds, or $113,000. But thatÂ’s peanuts compared to a Series 1 Roadster in excellent condition, said Vinten. For that, “you can expect to spend up to GBP250,000 ($318,000), A Series 2 or 3 will cost less, as they are not as desirable, but in decent condition you can expect to pay around GBP40,000-GBP50,000. Even a barn find 1969 E-Type Series 2 Roadster can set you back to the tune of GBP33,000 ($42,000)." Launched in 2005, Car & Classic is among EuropeÂ’s most popular classic car clearinghouses. It also runs a stand-alone auction site.

2015 Ford F-150 spied in the rain

Standing as quite a contrast from the spy shots of the 2015 Ford Mustang we saw earlier today, our spies also sent along these pictures of the next-generation F-150 pickup out testing in its (heavily camouflaged) full prototype body. Much of the new truck's design is hidden under the bulky coveralls, but we expect a lot of its new lines to be inspired by the Atlas concept that debuted at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show.
Perhaps the biggest unknown surrounding the new F-150 is what, exactly, its body will be made of. Earlier reports have suggested that lightweight aluminum materials may be used throughout, offering a serious reduction in weight versus previous models. But Ford engineers will need to be careful, though, as they need to keep a tight rein on costs while preserving class-competitive (if not class-leading) towing and payload capacity.
On the powertrain front, the new F-150 will undoubtedly carry on with EcoBoost engines, and we'd bet on a normally aspirated V8 as well. A diesel option hasn't been confirmed, but we wouldn't be surprised to see one some time in the truck's lifecycle. Mum's the word on when the production F-150 will be revealed, but our best guess is that we'll see it at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.