Competition: The act of competing; rivalry for supremacy, a prize; blowing your adversary out of the water in a test of skill or ability. In late 2007, Turbo magazine received some exciting news that Castrol Oil and our wonderful Source Interlink Media proposed an idea of running a "friendly" competition among seven of the top Source Interlink Media publications. The initial rules handed down to each of the teams during the preliminary stages were stated to be as simple, non-competitive event that editors could enjoy. The rules stated each team was to build an engine of their choice, produce the most horsepower and torque per liter, and last throughout the entire event without blowing up. Simple and to the point, right? So they thought. Corporate media had one idea of how to run a challenge and regulate us on how to even the playing field, but for us editors we were playing a completely different ballgame. Funny as it seems, they obviously underestimated the fact that we live and breathe in the automotive performance world and in that world, no one thrives better than us in competition--not to mention the amount of men jacked up on testosterone involved in this event and the sacks that hang between our legs we like to call pride. Elliott Moran, Source Interlink Media's events coordinator, jotted some simple guidelines to abide by as the Turbo magazine team quickly tore into poor Elliott with a battery of questions a month before we finalized our engine and builder.
Turbo: How many power adders?
Elliott: Only one and nitrous does count as one adder.
Turbo: What octane grade fuel?
Elliott: 100-octane
Turbo: Can we mix our own fuel?
Elliott: No
Turbo: Can we run a methanol or water injection setup?
Elliott: No
Turbo: Will there be an engine teardown after the dyno testing has concluded?
Elliott: No
Turbo: Good Another team chimes in: How will you know their final displacement?
Elliott: You guys are shady. You trying to look for the loopholes already? I'm going to have to revise these rules. What engine is Turbo magazine building and who's the builder?
Turbo: No comment. I'd rather wait to see who our other competitors are using.
Elliott: Why are you being so secretive?
Turbo: It's all part of the game.