Lamborghini Gallardo and Factory Five Kit Cars Face Off on Hot Rod Unlimited

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On this week's episode ofHot Rod Unlimited,the team pits four Factory Five kit cars against a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 to find out if a ride you build in your own garage can be faster than an Italian supercar.

TheHot Rodteam starts out in Las Vegas at the drag strip to see which car can put down the faster time. All four kit cars make big power. The 1933 Ford replica is powered by a 427 small block V-8, and is the most powerful car of the four with 510 hp and 496 lb-ft of torque. Next up is the Shelby Daytona Coupe replica, which has a 363 crate V-8, making 426 hp and 369 lb-ft. After the Daytona comes the Cobra replicas - one powered by a modern Ford Mustang GT 5.0-liter Coyote V-8 crate engine that makes 388 hp and 330 lb-ft, and the other powered by a Summit Racing 427 V-8 making 372 hp and 461 lb-ft.

After facing off at the drag strip, the kit cars head to a race track where they all record a lap time before the rear-drive Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 is brought out for its run. To see if the modern supercar can set a faster lap than the kit cars, watch the latestHot Rod Unlimitedfor yourself below.

I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.

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