2004 Honda Accord Ex Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Acura NSX GT3 racecar bares all in raw carbon

Acura slowly and dramatically revealed the NSX over a period of years. There were previews, concepts, and lots of teases before Acura finally showed us the whole thing. It's a different story for the racecar. And today, the wraps come off the FIA GT3-spec NSX to show all of its bare-carbon glory. The NSX GT3 strips away more than just the paint from the standard road car. The racecar comes sans hybrid system, meaning all the power from the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 is sent solely to the rear wheels. Modifications to the body include a large rear wing, underbody diffuser, and bigger hood vents for engine cooling. While the hybrid system may be gone, the NSX GT3 uses the same block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons, and dry sump lubrication system as the road car. Power is sent through a six-speed sequential gearbox instead of the road car's nine-speed. The NSX GT3 will be built alongside the street version in Ohio. Honda engineers in Japan and North America shared in the development. Final GT3 homologation will be completed by the company's Honda Performance Division in Santa Clarita, CA. Related video:

Nine cars we wish were convertibles

The snow has melted, the sun is shining, and the days are getting longer. At the Autoblog Detroit office we feel like our winter hibernation is finally over. And with warmer temperatures come visions of opening up a convertible roof and cruising. You know, just turn up the bass and let the Alpine blast. There are plenty of droptops on sale in the US, and more on the way (like the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata). That said, we always want more. More! More! More! In that spirit, we cooked up a list of nine cars aren't currently sold as convertible, but ought to be. Check out our picks, below. Summer's just around the corner. Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S In some parallel universe, this car actually happened. Toyota showed us a FT 86 Convertible concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2013, and we immediately started licking our chops over the thought of a rear-wheel-drive convertible based on the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S twins. These days, the MX-5 Miata is our only option for affordable roadster fun. A competitor to the Mazda seems like a no-brainer to us, especially since we have naught but good to say about the BRZ/FR-S as-is. Unfortunately in our present timeline, this car is as likely for production as a BRZ STI. Which is to say, not very. Dang. Lexus RC F Unlike the FR-S, a convertible from Toyota's luxury division might actually see the light of day. The current IS convertible is about to be phased out, and the Lexus LF-C2 concept from the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show is really a thinly veiled look at a possible RC convertible. A droptop RC would be plenty good, but let's reach for the starts. What we really want is to run topless in an RC F, complete with that powerful, loud, 5.0-liter V8 engine. Lexus says the RC F is a true competitor to the BMW M4. If that's true, it only makes sense for Lexus to mimic the Germans and offer its performance coupe in a folding hardtop form. Maybach Landaulet Maybach is bach back, recast as an upper crust trim level for Mercedes-Benz. The Mercedes-Maybach S600 is seriously awesome, and more luxurious than a trip to the spa. But why not go a step into the truly ridiculous levels of extravagence and bring back that open-top Landaulet? We think your local princess will love this idea, and with better S-Class bones underneath, Jeeves will have a pretty enjoyable ship to steer, too. Besides, with that slick new Mercedes design language, a Landaulet redux wouldn't be nearly as hideous as the old model, pictured here.

Watch Honda lay waste to world's fastest lawnmower record

Honda has been working on its high-performance Mean Mower for a while now. In a recent attempt to take the top speed title, it didn't make its 130-miles-per-hour top speed target, but it still managed to set a new Guinness World Record has the world's fastest lawnmower at 116.57 mph. While the video certifying the run was uploaded to YouTube on April 1, this is no prank. The Guinness run was made on March 8 at the Idiafa Proving Ground in Tarragona, Spain.
To claim the record, the lawnmower had to run through a 100-meter speed trap, and it had to make two passes in opposite directions within an hour with the average taken between them. Guinness also specifies that to take the title the vehicle must still be able to cut grass and look like a lawnmower. The speed was still plenty to beat the previous record of 96.529-mph set by Bobby Cleveland on a Snapper race mower at the Bonneville Salt Flats in September 2010.
The Mean Mower is based on a Honda HF2620 Lawn Tractor that's been modified by British Touring Car Championship squad Team Dynamics. It has a newly fabricated chassis from 4130 chromoly steel and packs a 1.0-liter engine from a Honda VTR Firestorm motorcycle with a six-speed sequential gearbox. The engine produces 109 horsepower and 71 pound-feet of torque - enough power to reach 60 mph in around four seconds. The suspension and wheels come from an ATV, and the cutter deck has been remade in fiberglass. The grass bag holds the fuel tank, oil cooler and secondary radiator. The engine no longer actually cuts grass. Instead, the blade is driven by two electric motors.