#268 - Honda Drops the NSX for the Civic Type R, the Nissan Z is a Failure, and Bending the Rules is Back with One of the Biggest Scams in Racing

On Under the Hood, Honda is gearing up for the Super GT series with its Civic Type R-GT, aiming to deliver "ultimate pure sports performance." The race car, developed from the road-legal Civic Type-R, is set to debut in the 2024 season, with shakedown tests scheduled for July 25 and 26. Meanwhile, Zenvo has revealed its extreme hypercar, the Aurora V12, boasting a 6.0-liter twin-turbo engine and two variants, Tur for road focus and Agil for high-downforce racing. However, accidents also make headlines, as a white Ferrari F8 Tributo crashed in Houston during a Cars & Coffee event, and a cargo ship carrying 3,000 cars, including Mercedes-Benz vehicles, caught fire off the Dutch coast. In the market, Nissan faces challenges with the 400z, selling less than 1000 units since its launch, while manual transmissions become scarcer, with only 20 models offering them in 2023. Mazda, on the other hand, decides not to participate in the horsepower war with Toyota and Subaru, focusing on the MX-5's balance and responsiveness. Additionally, Tesla faces scrutiny as it was discovered to have suppressed driving range complaints with a "Diversion Team" manipulating range estimates.

On Bending the Rules, Scott Tucker, a race car driver and founder of Level 5 Racing, built a financial empire in payday loans, disregarding regulations and charging exorbitant interest rates of 400% to 700%. Tucker used the wealth he amassed from his payday lending business to fund his racing program for years. Despite his success on the track, Tucker's shady financial practices caught up with him. In 2017, he was convicted of 14 criminal counts related to his $2 billion payday lending company and sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison. Additionally, he was ordered to pay a $1.3 billion penalty to the Federal Trade Commission for his deceptive business practices. Despite his conviction, Tucker doesn't fully take responsibility and claims to be misunderstood. Ironically, he was featured on Netflix's show "Dirty Money," shedding light on his bending of the rules and unethical behavior both on and off the track.