Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Sporty Letters Don’t Mean Sportier Performance
It’s pretty much safe to say that we are in an age of high performance. Upon initial thought, that being the knowledge that the Toyota Prius is still in existence, you may be a bit hesitant to consume such words, but if you really think about it, you being to realize that we are truly ‘power-driven.’
For example, we’ve a trio of 210 mph-plus supercars soon to hit the market, the hot hatch niche has never been as competitive as it is now, and the Subaru BRZ’s reminded us that we don’t need to be an upper middle-class man having a midlife crisis in order to afford some truly awe-inspiring sports cars. And I haven’t even mentioned the used performance car market…
And so it seems that every manufacturer, no matter their reputation, wants to get in on this whole ‘performance’ trend.
So what do they do in order to get in on it, you ask? That’s a mighty fine question you’ve asked there dear boy. Some resort to shedding weight, some to adding power, some to tweaking suspensions, and some electing the cheap way out by slapping on some stickers that hint to higher performance. Cough, Toyota, cough…
But which fake performance badges are the worst? For me it’s got to be the infamous S, SE (for ‘Special Edition,’ although it’s used on Toyotas and I don’t understand what’s so special about one of those), and the V6 badge you may have seen on a plastic engine cover or two.
We ask you. Which go-faster letters or phrases have you seen on cars that don’t really go much faster at all?
Sporty Letters Don’t Mean Sportier Performance
1850hp Gallardo Just Set A 20 Second Standing Mile Record
The Lamborghini Gallardo Nera managed to reach 254.14mph in one mile and with the impressive time of 20.845 seconds.
The Lamborghini Gallardo Nera is powered by an insane engine that has a power of 1850bhp, but we have seen a more powerful Gallardo, we cannot forget the insane 2005bhp Gallardo by Underground Racing who broke the record of drag at Unlim 500+ with a speed of 264mph. The 2005bhp Gallardo ran one mile in 21.852 seconds, one second slower than the black Gallardo Nera.
Check out 1850hp Lamborghini Gallardo Nera breaking the record of drag in the video below.
1850hp Gallardo Just Set A 20 Second Standing Mile Record
HONDA CB750 CONCEPT BIKE
Some concept cars and bikes become reality, some don’t and some shouldn’t. The Honda CB750 concept is one that would be epic even if it would never win any awards for beauty.
Looking like something straight out of a futuristic Hollywood blockbuster the CB750 boasts technology that most manufacturers can only imagine having at their disposal. With a 750cc four pot liquid nitrogen powered motor which is reportedly smaller and more efficient than today’s motors. It has a 5″OLED touch screen display that does everything, you can change the settings on the suspension and the bikes engine.
Designed by Igor Chak it isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing concept but being a Honda it would be awesome to ride and very quick and no doubt boasting technology from their RCV MotoGP bike it will be super refined with seamless shift gears and body work made from carbon fibre, titanium and aluminium.
I hope they choose better colour schemes for it than what we normally get from Honda motorcycles.
HONDA CB750 CONCEPT BIKE
Sledge Hammer Training... BMW Style
Hadi Pourmohseni and his friend, Kumpel Thomas Brunner destroyed a BMW M6 using a hammer and an axe on Saturday, right in front of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The owner, Pourmohseni, claims that the Italian branch of BMW refused to repair his £1000,000 car that was riddled with technical problems.
Hadi Pourmohseni decided the best was to resolve the problem was to smash the side of it in with an axe and his mate with a sledge hammer… Problem solved.
Monday, 30 December 2013
Competition - Design Vettel's Helmet for The Circuit of the Americas
The Circuit of the Americas will host its second United States Grand Prix in November; which I will be very fortunately attending this year might I must add. Infiniti have a competition this year to design Sebastian Vettel’s helmet for the first two days of race weekend.
The only thing required of the graphic designer within you is to head to the competition site, download the helmet template and make it your own master piece. Design the helmet that is perfect for a F1 champion to wear.
As you will know the helmets are already heavily committed to team and sponsor logos; other than a few thin strips along the sides, your creativity will must make it stand out from the rest.
Vettel will choose the winner and will wear the selected lid during the free practices and qualifying.
The grand prize winner will also get a VIP trip for two to the grand prix as a guest of Infiniti, which includes some face time with the triple world champion himself. The contest is on now, the deadline for entries is Sunday, September 29th and the winner is chosen the very next day.
Competition - Design Vettel's Helmet for The Circuit of the Americas
A Hamster Driving a Volvo Truck - Easy!
There is not much you can really say about this. It’s just your normal construction worker hamster driving a truck.
A Hamster Driving a Volvo Truck - Easy!
Most Watched Chris Harris Videos of 2013
If you are anything like me, you religiously watch every new video that Chris Harris releases. So here we have the top 5 most watched videos that Chris Harris has starred in this year. Take a look below.
Why do we love these videos
Being fair Chris tells it how it is. If its good he will tell you how good it is and if its not so good he will make sure his point is made. But the real reason we all watch these videos is for Chris’ driving; he takes the cars to their limits. His team do a great job of filming the test drives so that we all get to share the experiences with him. I wonder what will be coming next year?
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.
Most Watched Chris Harris Videos of 2013
MCE British Superbike roundup
With the races at Donington Park being the last chance to grab a spot in The Showdown all the riders were going to push hard for vital points. The first race showed why Alex Lowes and Shakey Byrne are the two most likely title takers with Lowes leading from turn one of the race and taking the win for Samsung Honda and Byrne following him close behind in second and former MOTO GP man James Ellison taking third. The top six was rounded out by Australia’s Josh Brookes and the Buildbase BMW teammates James Westmoreland and Jon Kirkham.
Race two had more of a battle for positions and it was a more interesting race than race one with Ellison and Byrne pushing the young gun Lowes hard in the first half of the race. With Westmoreland, Brookes and Tommy bridewell all in and around the top six positions. Ellison looked good early on in the race and was unlucky to outbrake himself at the Esses and blow any chance of a win when he tried to take the lead off Lowes. Byrne also took the lead on the last lap if only for a brief moment before Lowes grabbed it back to take the chequered flag. With the final place in the top six still to be decided it came down to a straight shootout between the two BMW boys after Tommy Bridewell failed to finish race one and it looked likely that Kirkham would grab it but with Ellison taking to the gravel it pushed Westmoreland higher into the points and into the sixth and final showdown position.
In the British Supersport Championship Stuart Easton took the lead in the championship standings and took his seventh win of the season. With Alistair Seeley struggling with injury following a crash on friday Easton had the chance to take over the top of the standings and did so with a second place finish in race one which was ended after a red flagand a win in race two in which he fought off challenges from McConnell and Jason O’Halloran.
In the Motostar Championship young guns Jordan Weaving, Tarran McEnzie and Tom Carne took the podiums positions with Weaving taking the win. In the Pirelli National 1000cc championship Hudson Kennaught took the win and with grabbed a three point advantage in the championship standings. In the 600cc race Callan Cooper took the maximum points available and closed the gap between him and Jordan Simpkin to 45 points.
The two Ducati 848 challenge races were won by Marty Nutt and Jonathon Railton and in the Triumph Triple Luke Shelley took race one and Freddy Pett took race two.
MCE British Superbike roundup
The European Corvette Sting Ray Takes off at Nürburgring
Just a simply sneak peak. The guys at Chevrolet are puttying considerable effort into making the Corvette work in Europe, the latest Corvette String Ray has been spotted several times going around the Nürburgring, so the US based motoring company can tweak the handling on the car and get it to work as we would like it to on European roads.
Despite recording numerous laps of the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, Chevrolet are yet to reveal any specific lap times. Suspension tweaks aside, though, it’s unlikely the ‘Vette will come close to the 6min 57sec time the Porsche 918 set earlier this month – the first approved road car to lap under seven minutes.
Nürburgring is renowned for its demanding race track and it is perfectly suited for our purpose, which is to fine-tune the ride and handling characteristics of the European Corvette Stingray. We are paying particular attention to the suspension set-up and the steering at Nürburgring. European roads are quite distinct and different from those in the U.S., and so are driving habits.
The European Corvette Sting Ray Takes off at Nürburgring
Sunday, 29 December 2013
Lamborghini Gallardo 2005bhp - Sets on Fire
This 2005bhp Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 TT that has been modified to 2005bhp sadly set on fire as it crossed the line on the Russian drag strip. It achieved 402km/h which is 249mph, that’s pretty fast to have an engine fire.
Lamborghini Gallardo 2005bhp - Sets on Fire
Grand Prix of Baltimore - First Hand
You’ve probably already seen the video. And in case you haven’t, the mystical power of HTML coding has enabled you to have seen the absolute worst way that a group of racing drivers could possibly start a race.
And in case you’re expecting a bunch of words about how me and my mate spent about five seconds of our lives with our hearts in our throats as we attempted to dodge flying carbon-fibre debris on the front straight, you may be a bit disappointed. Instead, we found ourselves at the first corner of the ALMS Grand Prix of Baltimore in great anticipation (and a fair bit of nervousness, I might add) of the impending chaos that was bound to happen. But they just couldn’t wait, could they?
Regardless of the caution-filled ALMS and IndyCar race, the entire weekend was absolutely phenomenal. After enduring a bit of race traffic on a bridge, we were able to roll down our windows and hear what a 650 bhp engine at full chat sounds like ricocheting off of tall office buildings. The local residents might not have enjoyed all the noise, but to a motorsports fan, it was magical.
Watching races on the telly never really gives you a true understanding of the sheer awesomeness of a race car’s exhaust note. However, suffice to say the sound of thundering, bonnet-trembling V8s that cause Hades’ walls to cave in being hunted by the lovely sound of Ferrari’s shrieking, ear-splitting 458 exhaust note is what you may categorize as a wake-up call.
And the speed? Absolutely mental. We headed down to the fastest part of the circuit, the run to turns 10-12, where cars can reach speeds of up to 170 mph in order to get a true sense of just how fast these cars got round the circuit. And again, the TV just doesn’t do enough justice, as the fact of the matter is that these things are properly bolting around the place like each of the drivers is running ten minutes late for a meeting on the other side of the country.
However, the noise and the mind-bending speeds were not the sole highlights of the weekend. Whilst walking through the ALMS paddock, we stumbled across quite the phenomenal car park. The cars there seemed to be straight out of a petrol-filled dream, with a blacked-out Ferrari F430 and a properly red 348 ts, a Porsche 930 Turbo, a 993 RSR, a C1 and L88 ‘Vette, a Lamborghini Gallardo, and a sea of BMWs all out on a display that was extraordinarily difficult to walk away from when we realized it was dark.
There’s something about street racing that has an unspeakably cool essence about it. Maybe it’s the exhaust notes that are trapped between the outer stuctures of skyscrapers. Maybe it’s the mix of concrete jungle and nature as you go from a sidewalk to navigating through bushes.
Maybe it’s the purity of the circuit; no oceans of pavement run-offs, just pure driver skill. Or maybe it’s the knowledge that going down an avenue at 165 mph is something that puts you behind bars for quite a long time…
DMC teases their Lamborghini Aventador LP988 Edizione GT
DMC has released the first teaser images of their Lamborghini Aventador LP988 Edizione GT.
Details are limited but the pictures suggest the car will be equipped with a carbon fiber front splitter and a carbon fiber rear wing. We can also see revised side skirts, a massive rear diffuser and a new exhaust system that exits much higher than on the standard model.
There’s no word on performance changes but the LP988 name suggests the car could produce 988bhp. For comparison, the standard model has a 6.5-liter V12 engine that develops 700bhp and 507 lb-ft of torque. This enables the car to accelerate from 0-60 in 2.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 217 mph.
BMW i8 - 0-60 in 4.4 Seconds
The BMW i8 sports car may appear to be the perfect recipient for a thorough performance upgrade from BMW’s M division, but the German’s have confirmed that no BMW i8 M will be manufactured. Let’s start a partition!
Under that perfectly crafted bonnet sits a 1.5-litre, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine. Which doesn’t sound like much, but it churns out a respectable 231bhp and 236 pound-feet of torque, which is then delivered to the rear wheels by a six-speed automatic transmission. An electric motor, meanwhile, sends 131bhp and 184lb-ft of torque through a two-speed automatic to the front wheels.
Using all 4 wheels the total system power sits at 362bhp and 320lb-ft of torque, and allows the i8 to launch to 60mph in just 4.4 seconds and to think this all done by a 1.5-litre engine, a motor and a couple of batteries, that’s crazy.
The BMW i8 is just one car in the i-brand line-up which BMW considers as a separate model range from all other BMWs including M-tuned BMWs. It appears that there will be no mixing of the i and M ranges.
I don’t think that it would make sense to mix these two sub-brands in one car. We have the Ms, we have the i, and we have the BMW, the core brand.
Saturday, 28 December 2013
2013 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring
I have a feeling that this car will divide people. You’re either going to instantly fall in love with it’s nostalgic stylings and huge sweeping curves or think that it looks like something out of a 1960′s sci-fi film trying to look futuristic! Either way, it is certainly a striking car.
Based around the 8c, the 2013 Disco Volante is the 60th anniversary gift from prestigious coach-building company Touring Superleggera celebrating the original 1900 CV2 ‘Disco Volante’. And boy, have Touring marked the anniversary well! The body is a hand built, carbon fibre and aluminium structure that captures ‘innovation, emotion and aerodynamic characteristics’.
The stunning figure of the car also houses a few nice figures inside, such as the 4.7litre V8 which is good for around 450hp, which will get you to 60mph in just over 4 seconds and on to a top speed of 181mph. Exact costs haven’t been finalised but when it was first showcased it 2012, it was rumoured to be upwards of £300,000, though they were throwing in a donor 8c, which I guess something as Alfa’s haven’t always had the best reliability record.
Even though it looks like something from my childhood dreams, this is actually going into production with Touring predicting a six month turn-around before you take ownership. However, if you are considering buying one, allow at least an extra week to bring it to Birmingham so I can drool all over that sumptuous bodywork. It may be a Marmite car, you’ll love it or hate it, but I’ve certainly got a hunger for it, have you? Leave a comment below…
5 Reasons why Nigel Mansell will always be a Legend
1. Drift King.
Mansell once did one of the manliest drifts ever seen!
2. Hop in Senna.
Mansell once used his F1 car as a taxi to give Senna a lift back to the pits after a race at Silverstone where Senna’s car had run out of fuel (watch out for Senna kicking the marshal).
3. That Mustache.
Mansell is the only person I know that could pull off such a mustache.
4. Top Gear Leaderboard.
Mansell may be in his 60′s but he is still close behind all the younger F1 drivers around the Top Gear test track.
5. Crowned the Most Successfull British Formula One Driver Ever.
Mansell is still measured as the most successfull British Formula One driver. To date he remains unbeaten with 31 race wins and is sixth overall on the Formula One race winners list behind Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.
5 Reasons why Nigel Mansell will always be a Legend
New Nürburgring Record Holder - The Porsche 918 Spyder
It’s been a good year for the motoring industry this year, lots of manufacture birthdays, lots of new cars and lots great events.
But the single thing that I can’t get over is the Porsche 918 Spyder.The cars looks like nothing else on the road, it’s a new generation of Porsche and the technology in this hybrid super car ar is ridiculous.
Whilst many people are focused on the Frankfurt motor show at the moment, our friends in Porsche snuck out the back and off around the Nürburgring to push the boundaries of the mighty 918. I’m proud to say that the Porsche 918 smashed it on the track. On the 4th September 2013 a team of 3 drivers (Walter Röhrl, Timo Kluck and Marc Lieb) attempted to set the lap record around the infamous circuit.
They did it… 6:57. Porsche now own the production car lap record. Good work. Somehow they managed to average 111mph around the track to achieve this record.
The previous owner of the record for the last two years was the Dodge Viper ACR. The 918 Spyder succeed that record by 4 seconds. Other runners up include the Gumpert Apollo, and just behind the Radical SR8 which is basically a race car with a tax disk.
Congratulations to the guys at Porsche for breaking the record, my only thoughts are, will McLaren be coming after this spot next. Only time will tell.
Take a look the footage of the record breaking lap below.
New Nürburgring Record Holder - The Porsche 918 Spyder
Friday, 27 December 2013
New Honda Civic Type R - With at least 280BHP - Yes Please!
Honda have always done well in the hot hatch market. The Type R’s give the driver everything they need and nothing they don’t need. Honda have now released some new information about the 2015 Civic Type R. It’s planned to be putting out at least 280bhp from a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. This just the boost that Honda need to keep on top of the hot hatch market.
You can see from the pictures that Honda are already putting the car through its paces around the Nurburgring; WTCC driver Gabriele Tarquini is the man behind the wheel helping perfect this car for its 2015 release. Honda’s ambition is to make the Civic Type R the fastest front wheel drive car to go around the infamous Nurburgring circuit in Germany. The current record holder is the Megane 265 at 8mins 8sec. With 2 years left in development I’m hoping that Honda will be able to complete their goals, as I have soft spot for the Type R.
For me, the strength of the car is the synergy of functionality, versatility, and dynamic design. As a European development team, we’re passionate and proud about what we’ve achieved
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