Thom Taylor

The stillborn, mid-engine Viper was supposed to remain a secret. This Viper that wasn’t could have become the first mid-engine American sports car. Still, nobody is saying much—at least not on the record—about the car that became the stimulus for what would be the Ford GT in the mid-2000s. That’s right; Chrysler’s mid-engine Viper program was the basis for Ford’s 2006 GT. Confused? Read on.
Car companies throw a lot of things at walls to see what sticks. Car development requires a proven need...

What It Takes: Creating the Next Ford GT
This was an exclusive I was able to put together to interview all of the designers behind the incredibly designed 2016 Ford GT, including head of design Moray Callum.

Why did Ford kill one of its best-looking models of the 1970s—the Torino Sportsroof Fastback—after only two years? All that tooling and manufacturing complexity, the logistics of selling and marketing a special car, only to see it last 24 months. What forces dashed those plans?

Few racers have stacked the deck so high against themselves to just qualify, never mind winning the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”. What makes this effort even more compelling is that these drag racers qualified for the 1982 Indy 500 and walked away with a reputation for building a racecar far exceeding anything ever seen at the Speedway.

More than just a rumor: Fiat Chrysler Chief Sergio Marchionne had dinner with both NASCAR Vice-Chairman Jim France and International Speedway Inc. CEO Lesa France Kennedy to discuss Chrysler’s return to NASCAR, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The dinner took place on...

HOT ROD takes a detour as it revisits a 1,600-pound torque, 12-cylinder Allison boat that competed during marathon races of the 1960s.

Welcome to the world of fabrication fanaticism. Meet 15 automotive fabricators who are immersed in metals like "Ti" (titanium) and billet aluminum. They're focused on shaping and disrupting metal fabrication for the future.

Some of the not-so-obvious trends we spotted at the SEMA Show:
• Diverters/Deflectors/Vents/Holes
• Tire Trend
• Pipe Porn
• Chopped-Up Chops
• Dead Truck Beds
• Parts Printing
• Appendages Galore
• T-Bucket Bliss
• Rick Dore’s Custom Cavalcade

To promote the 60th Anniversary of Hot Rod Magazine I volunteered to drive this windowless 1932 Ford roadster in the dead of winter from Nashville, Tennessee, to Hot Rod's home in Los Angeles. It was one of the dumbest but most memorable things I've ever done.

In this episode for The MotorTrend YouTube channel, I take viewers for some intense parade laps in a vintage Offenhauser-powered roadster.

The Dark Corners of Fuel-Injected Pro Stock Motor Mysticism: Compiled over months of interviews, I was able to do a deep dive into the arcane world of professional Pro Stock drag racing, with secrets exposed by top drivers, including World Champion Greg Anderson.

Jim Oberhofer is the Vice President of Operations and Crew Chief for Kalitta Motorsports

Jim Oberhofer is the vice president of operations and crew chief for Kalitta Motorsports. The team (TeamKalitta.com) has won five world championships and continues the hunt for number six, fielding two Top Fuel dragsters (driven by Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, and J.R. Todd) as well as two Funny Cars (driven by Del Worsham and Alexis DeJoria) from its 50,000-square-foot operation in Ypsilanti, Michigan....

Each Hot Rod staff member was tasked with writing a portion of the owner's manual for the Dodge Hellcat. This is my contribution promoting the unbelievable idea that a factory warranty came with each car.

Drag Racing and Drifting Create Huge Plumes of Smoke Over Vegas Speedway:
Tire smoking action came from both sides of LS Fest at the Vegas Motorsports Speedway. At the drag strip, smoky burnouts were the norm, as LS-equipped racers vied for quick times.

NHRA 2016 Funny Car champion Ron Capps champion gets candid about his first championship and other topics you've never heard him discuss in this lively interview for HOT ROD.