Liberty Racing Transmission Pro Stock Shifter on 2040-parts.com

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will be Indy 500 pace car

The 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will be the pace car for this year's Indianapolis 500--a fitting victory lap as the current sixth-generation Corvette heads for the end of its production run and the end of this version of the ZR1. The Indy pace-car Corvette will wear the 60th-anniversary trim package--an arctic white exterior with silver stripes down the center of the car and a blue interior with suede leather coverings on the steering wheel, center console and in the seats. Changes for the pace car include only the addition of a light bar on the roof, some racing-safety equipment and race logos.

Land Rover Defender to be built in Sri Lanka

The Land Rover Defender is to be built outside the UK in a new plant in Sri Lanka to produce Defenders for the region. Land Rover are assisting and training staff at a new assembly plant in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, run by Sathosa Motors PLC in a 50-50 deal with Land Rover distributors SML Frontier Automotive, with $1 million being invested to get the project up and running this year. It seems clear from the level of investment that this is simply an assembly operation using CKD kits from the UK for the Defender, but Sri Lank’s Daily News is reporting that there are plans to invest $500 million in the project.

Possible Ferrari F70 tester spotted

The above photos of what very well might be a development mule for the next primo Ferrari —likely to be called the F70—were recently posted on the Ferrari 4/5 Competizone Facebook page. The future F70 is expected to be a front-runner in the competition between the very best cost-no-object supercars. The F70 will feature a 7.3-liter V12 coupled to a kinetic-energy-recovery system, a combination that will be good for 920 hp.