[060gallery] Ford has been doing it right lately — they are everywhere. Whether it's a new car with ridiculous efficiency or pro drivers winning championships in their vehicles, Ford's in it. Whoever's in charge of their marketing division has been making solid decisions, because the end of the day, consumer involvement is everything. But these are just the boring facts, the real story here is Octane Academy, and whether it's going to be a badass test of driving prowess or some lame advertising schtick. Fortunately enough, 0-60 was invited to the media invitational. This event was meant for a handful of media personalities to get down and dirty with a taste of what the Octane Academy has to offer when it really gets going in the near future. Basically, there are four camps, revolving around the talents of each of Ford's celebrity drivers: Ken Block, Vaughn Gittin Jr., Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan. The novelty here is that each camp is designed by the drivers, not some Ford safety inspector, making sure the ABS doesn't fail or you don't exceed 40mph. It's the real deal. We started our day at MPG (Michigan Proving Grounds). If you've never been here, you should try to break through the gates. The facility is endless and offers up terrain to test any situation you'd run into, ever. Also seems like a solid location for Block's next Gymkhana video...just sayin'. I started out with Deegan in the Ford F-150 Raptor. He took me for a hot lap while the course was still loose from the previous days rain. The best part about this ride-along was that Deegan was having a fucking blast. He was literally laughing and screaming to me that he didn't know if he had it on some turns. We almost hit a skunk and got all four wheels off the ground three times. It's nice to see these guys outside of competition, just doing what they love. Deegan is a kid living the dream.

It would have been nice if the competitive portion was to drive something remotely similar to what the hot lap was, but instead it was a challenge, using only the reverse camera to travel backward through a cone course on dirt. I gunned it and hit a cone and whoever the woman was in the passenger's seat, I'm sorry about your neck. Next up was the skid pad with Tanner Foust. Ford prepared a Focus for us with all the electronics disconnected, and on a surface meant to simulate ice, horsepower wasn't something we needed. Foust instructed us to complete a full 360 and a reverse 180. It's harder than it looks, but he's patient enough to walk you through it. Still, I wasn't really feeling the adrenaline I was expecting from the Octane Academy. No worries, though, there were still two more challenges. Ah... Ken Block. Ken realized he wasn't much of a teacher at the event, and for the better, he stuck to giving hot laps in an R2 Fiesta on a rally course set-up by Team O'Neil Rally School. Ken is an animal, even when he's out of his comfort zone piloting a front wheel-drive hatch. We were given Fiestas set up with a mostly gutted interior and roll bars, along with some good gravel tires. Tim O'Neil did the instructing for us. Providing simple pointers for transitions through the slalom, braking points and counter-steering. It's really no surprise he does this for a living. People who could barely drive stick were getting it down after two laps, and it wasn't a walk in the park either. One journalist actually crashed, but luckily everyone was unharmed.

We were told to lap the course in around 2:20. This seemed unreasonably slow, but I drove within reason and landed a 2:07 without hitting any cones. It took me two laps to realized I have a soft spot for dirt, and that tarmac is overrated. I'll be heading up to the Team O'Neil Rally School as soon as I can. Finally, my heart rate was up. We headed over to Vaughn's challenge, back on the dry side of the skid pad. If you're an enthusiast, you love parking lots. And when I saw this enormous patch of concrete with absolutely no obstructions, I was happier than ever. It's the simple things. First, Vaughn proved that the V6 Mustang was capable of 90mph drifts, which I'll admit, was pretty impressive. For us journalists though, we head to initiate a drift in an automatic 2012 Mustang GT. Toss the selector into first gear, listen to Vaughn next to you, get the revs up to about 4000rpm, flick right then left, floor it to break the tires loose, ease up to gain control and counter-steer while pedaling back on the throttle to create a controlled drift around a giant circle of cones. Easy, right?

We had a few practice runs that didn't count to get a feel for the car and how to get sideways and hold it there, instead of just flooring it and spinning out. I got around the circle twice in practice, which I found out was more than anyone had gotten all day. Now, I'm not tooting my own horn here. I'm just saying, most journalists kind of suck behind the wheel, but are really good at writing like they know how to drive at the limit.

For the one that counted, I botched my first attempt with not enough throttle, resulting in some understeer. Vaughn asked me if I wanted instruction and I just told him to yell at me if it was necessary. The pressure was on, this was my last chance to nail it. I lined back up, rolled out, stepped on it and kicked the ass out, held it and kept going. Vaughn was screaming, "Stay in it! Stay in it!" He was laughing and waving his hands around like a maniac. After the first four times around it kind of felt like the Mustang was just doing what it needed to for me. I never knew drifting was so fun, and these are just glorified donuts. After the seventh full loop I got out of it and had a grin so big it hurt to be confined in my helmet. This is the Octane Academy I was looking for, turned out I landed first place for the event, too. I swear I'm humble, but winning is as good or better than sex, or maybe I'm just too competitive. All this in a day. It was a hit, and we only got a taste of what the selected competitors will get over four days in each camp. I have a feeling Ford is doing it right, and this is going to be bigger than they imagined. If only I was allowed to compete... I'd totally accept the invite though. Check out www.octaneacademy.com for more info. And thanks to Ford, Monster Energy, Rockstar Energy, Vaughn, Ken, Brian and Tanner for putting on such a solid event.

Falken's Azenis RT-615 was already a stout performer—one you saw literally everywhere at track days and Auto-X events. And while most didn't notice anything terribly wrong with it, Falken's engineers found some areas for improvement. The result? It's called the RT-615K and it is absolutely awesome in every sense of the word.

On your first Auto-X run of the day, you expect you'll need to take it a bit slow to learn the course and heat up your tires, but RT-615K's kind of run away from traditional rubber rules. They love air pressure and they're sticky in almost any condition, so long as it's not 40 degrees outside. In a 255 width, you feel like you're riding on 275 slicks.

The grip is so mind-blowing it makes you question how such insane traction is even possible on a street tire: barely breaking the rear end out in 2nd gear at full throttle in a 420whp Evo, while cutting hard to the left. Granted, suspension setup has a lot to do with this, but there's only so much the tires can do before they are past their point of adhesion, and the RT615k's push that point to a level you'd have to literally drive like an idiot to find.

Vaughn Gitten, Jr. likes the new RT-615Ks, too, and if anyone knows what rubber compound works and what doesn't, it's a two-time Formula Drift champion. "The RT-615K's are a HUGE improvement over the original RT-615's; the increase in grip is phenomenal all the way around," he says. "I'm most impressed with the consistent grip through all heat ranges from relatively cold to smoking hot."

Vaughn isn't the only racing driver with praise for the RT-615K, either. Tyler McQuarrie, another Falken Formula Drift driver, did a few laps of the Streets of Willow to see if the new RT-615K is faster than the RT-615 it replaced—and Falken caught it on video. You can guess what happens...

Check out the Azenis RT-615K in high quality here.

Size Tested: 255/40/17, which is approved for wheels 8.5"-10.0" wide but fits especially well on a 17x9.5 wheel.

Tread Depth: 8/32

James Hunt's 1975 Hesketh 308B from the German GP... Awesome? Yeah, pretty much.

Having played every racing game known to man, I consider myself a pretty avid track junkie—at least in the virtual world. But there’s something video games just can’t simulate: elevation change.

Seeing this image really put things in perspective for us over here at the office. We've got a drawer full of GoPros, point-of-view cams, helmet mounts and so on—they shoot in full 1080p and take less than a minute to set up, not to mention, they don't really put a damper on aerodynamics and each weighs less than a pound. We've got it pretty easy it seems. Getting the shot is as simple as removing a suction cup and pressing a button. Anyway, this picture is awesome, and below, you can see the outcome of those cameras. [coolamundo!]

Gallery It's 7:30am and my phone rings. "You're on a 1 pm to Tokyo, pack your bags and get the gear together," said Matt (Deputy Editor). So I tossed my somewhat-clean laundry into the most accessible suitcase in my closet and managed to rent some camera gear in the city, while still making it to JFK International Airport with 40 minutes to spare. Stressful? Not at all.

It's been a while since I found a build that really inspired me, but this one forced me out of my "If Money Grew On Trees" hiatus. Some stumbling around on Build-Threads led me to the original build thread of one of the sickest Mk2 GTIs I've ever seen. It's crazy to think that one dude in his garage is capable of creating a true masterpiece of mechanical mayhem and fuel-injected brilliance. The Audi S2 came with the famous inline-5 20v Turbo, along with a bulletproof Quattro drivetrain. So, if you find yourself a banged up S2 and have some time, skills and an already gutted and caged Mk2, well, you have yourself a plan. Utilizing a space-frame setup, the owner was able to mount the I-5 longtudinally and swap the entire S2 drivetrain into the little Golf shell. I imagine, without an interior or any sound deadening, this hot hatch tips the scales around 2600 lbs. With a turbo that size, the owner claims the car's making around 550hp, at all four wheels. So you figure, with these numbers, the motor makes about 643hp with a calculated 17% drivetrain loss and you have yourself a monster—power to weight ration of 4 hp/lb (a Veyron is 4.44 hp / lb) Get it? Check out the Gallery after the jump to fully appreciate the amount of work and money it took to bring this sick idea to fruition. A quick video to hear it scream: here

I'm not sure what's cooler: throwing a set of Watanabes on a Jeep or swapping an SR20 in it. Regardless, paired together, this thing is one full package of sick. But this isn't just any Jeep. If you have a keen eye you'll notice the Mitsu badge on the grill. This extended-bodied CJ3 is actually a JDM version built by Mitsubishi, which makes the swap even more acceptable. The beefy sidewalls on the Goodyears don't hurt either, nor does the single, centered Bride seat. There's just something raw and purposeful about this setup and we love it. Do you smell a new race series? Maybe Pikes Peak Jeep... [gallery link="file"]