You know what type of racing GRM has not done? Open Road events like the Big Bend or Silver State Classic.
I was reading about them the other day, and it struck me that this would be an interesting GRM car to build because the requirements are a bit odd. 0-60 times and high lateral G-loads are not that important...sustained high speeds are. You need a car that is aerodynamic, stable at speed, and can handle some sweepers at triple digits.
It struck me that my old Dodge Intrepid R/T would be perfect. With some suspension tuning and a homemade turbo (and roll cage) you could easily compete in the 150mph class or so. In fact, many domestic sedans would be ideal, go old school!
I would like to see a build for one of these races as well but didn't the CM Shelby GT350 do one of them?
IIRC they did the Texas 1000 Rally.
+1 for some open road racing. Not that I'm biased, given that the Silver State Classic is still on my bucket list.
Vigo
SuperDork
9/19/12 7:55 p.m.
It struck me that my old Dodge Intrepid R/T would be perfect
a606 tran$missions (misspelling because the forum turned my post into an ad which irritates the hell out of me) are NOT going to be as receptive to sustained load in 4th as you're thinking.. the 4th gear clutch pack is a joke. Like literally two clutch plates, and not big ones either..
I burned up the 4th gear in my 110k mile 3.5 intrepid after doing 130 for a while. I know at least one guy who accidentally burned up his 4th gear by accidentally letting his turbo car shift into 4th in the 1/4. Im not aware of any real fix for it either, although there might be some advances from the PT cruiser community or something that im not aware of (604 and 606 have same guts).
Also, i am generally supportive of an article or project on open road racing.
I like it, but running that fast on public roads scares me. I wonder if they send out memos to the deer to take that day off.
I haven't heard about any deer related accidents at the Silver State Classic, but some of the (crash) photos suggest that the scenery doesn't take the day off.
In reply to Tim Suddard:
Make one of the Interns drive! 
We readers and forum contributors are really good at spending GRM/CM time, money, and effort, aren't we? 
At BBORR, there are occasionally critters on the road. Bird strikes are not uncommon. That happens at tracks as well. I haven't heard of any deer strikes during BBORR since I've been working the course (2005-2012). Buzzards and roadrunners, yes.
In assessing the risks, compare the possibility of a deer strike with the possibility of a collision with another car in a wheel-to-wheel race on a closed course. By design, ORR puts a lot of time and distance between the cars, and adds even more for the faster cars.
Decide how fast you would be comfortable, and build a car to suit that class and target speed. ORR is about precision timing and pacing, not absolute speed. An extended bracket race, if you will.
I'd really like to see a GRM-style ORR build and race effort. The old '86 Lincoln might have been interesting!
How about a V8 Miata?
I would think a P71 could be done fairly cheaply. Extra points for running with wigwags on!
