Yamaha Main Stand; 1t3-27111-01 on 2040-parts.com

Spectre 341 Challenge: The thrill of the hill

All you need to take on the death-defying Spectre 341 Challenge is a license, registration, proof of insurance and Department Of Transportation-legal tires. The winding 5.2-mile road in Virginia City, Nev., named Highway 341 has 22 hair-raising turns, about 14 of which can literally kill you. “This place forces the intangibles to the surface,” event creator and Spectre Performance owner Amir Rosenbaum says.

GM to double size of battery lab

General Motors says it will spend $8 million to double the size of its Global Battery Systems Lab, which the company claims is the largest and most technologically advanced automotive battery lab in the United States. GM says the expansion will speed up the development of hybrid and electric vehicles, such as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, by improving on-site testing of battery cells and systems. When finished, the lab will be 30,000 square feet bigger than it is now, for a 63,000-square-foot total.

KTM X-Bow – the heavyweight dealer arrives

Dick Lovett has been appointed as a dealer for the KTM X-Bow And the profile of the X-Bow keeps growing with the effusive comments from those who’ve driven it and the decent marketing the car is enjoying through sensible stuff like the KTM X-Bow Drive Orange days at Brands Hatch and Silverstone. But that 1,000 car a year production may have to be revised again after it has been announced that Dick Lovett – a high-end supercar dealer – has just been appointed KTM X-Bow dealer for South Wales and South West England. We who read (and write) about cars every day tend to assume that anyone looking for a supercar or high-end sports car is completely au fait with what the market has to offer.