In an attempt to convince drivers of the pitfalls of drunk driving, Russian authorities have commissioned a giant metal bottle filled with the broken remains of crashed vehicles. The 40-foot tall structure will be located just off of a highway outside of Odintsovo in order to scare the living daylights out of educate those who may be interested in throwing a few back without a designated driver.
Once installed, the massive bottle was wrapped in the crushed remains of even more vehicles in order to create a more easily recognizable image. We’ve always wondered what you’d get if you took the time to distill mash. Now we know. You can check out a slew of images of the bottle over at , complete with burly half-naked Russian construction workers. We didn’t say it’d be pretty.
Governments the world over are doing their best to stave off budget shortfalls, and has taken to upping the cost of fuel to cover its overhead. Turns out the common man isn’t much for those kinds of shenanigans. According to the BBC News, after fuel prices shot skyward, opposition to the ruling party initiated a strike that stuttered normal life in the country for a few days. closed down, businesses shuttered their doors and transportation ground to a near halt with some flights and trains canceled. Even the nation’s biggest trucking union sided with the strike, further complicating matters.
There’s even some word that Toyota had to stop work at one of its facilities near Bangalore due to the disruptions. There’s no news yet as to whether or not the prices have come back down, but has managed to get things moving again in its factory.
There is some indication that the public at large is more concerned about the higher price of cooking kerosene rather than the slight nudge in the cost of gasoline. Either way, we’re thinking the powers that be will probably think twice before tweaking fuel prices again.
[Source: via Image: Manish Swarup/The Associated Press]
#1 Peugeot 908 powers through the night at Le Mans – Click above for high-res image gallery
This was shaping up to be a second straight flag-to-flag romp for the Peugeot 908 diesels, right up to the point where they all started dropping like flies. Needless to say, the Peugeot Sport engineers have taken a long, hard look at why all four cars failed to finish – and in the case of three of them, it basically comes down to perfect race conditions leading them to be running too fast.
The first car to go out was the #3 entrant that was built up from the tub that won the 2009 race. After two-and-a-half hours of racing, a suspension mounting point separated from the carbon fiber tub as the result of an undetected structural problem.
The other three cars all went out later in the race with what turned out to be an identical connecting rod failure. A combination of circumstances led to all of the cars running faster this year and putting increased stress on their engines. Not mentioned by Peugeot in its report is the fact that the new Audi R15+ ran considerably faster in 2010, pushing the Peugeots to the limit. At the same time, cool temperatures and a grippy track, blended with air-to-air intercoolers that didn’t clog up as much as they did in the past led to more air going into the combustion chamber. More air means more power and an increased load on the pistons – especially late in the race. No doubt Peugeot will be looking to increase its safety margins as the engineers prepare their all-new 2011challenger.
2011 Mercedes CL65 AMG and CL63 AMG – Click above for high-res image gallery
We now have first looks at the two models that we’ve really been waiting to see: the CL63 AMG and CL65 AMG. With the front end of the standard model firmed up, there isn’t the massive visual difference there used to be between that one and the AMG versions. The CL63, riding on 19-inch wheels, gets the necessary aggression added to the lower front dam, losing its chrome accent and getting mesh instead. Sharper side and rear skirts maintain the anger, but out back AMG’s trademark twin oval pipes have been replaced with squoval-like tips shaped to fit the cutout. Under the hood is said to be a 5.5-liter, twin-turbo V8 with 544 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque – a full 26 ponies more than the outgoing 6.3-liter.
The CL65 gets 20-inch wheels and puts some of that chrome back, applying a strip to the center of the front air dam and rear diffuser so you can tell it apart from the CL63. Or, more specifically, so people can tell your boss’ CL car from yours. It keeps the joined oval pipes we’ve seen on 65-series AMG cars for a few years now. Under its hood resides the 6.0-liter, twin-turbo V12 biturbo giving a stout 630 hp and 737 lb-ft. You can examine both in the gallery of photos below.
1974 Dodge Dart Hang Ten – Click above for high-res image gallery
Ah, the ’70s. Few decades are quite so easily identifiable by its products than the era that brought us disco music and… not much else. For proof, we need look no further than the cherry 1974 Dart Hang Ten you see above. While the car has gone through a mild restoration to return it to its former glory, the previous owner took pains to keep it as close to its original form as possible. As a result, the still wears the original Hang Ten graphics, including the ever-cool waves with surf rider on the rear quarter, and the interior is doused in enough multi-color pin stripes and orange carpet to have you pining for your long-lost pet rock.
According to the seller, there were only 500 Darts ever built with the Hang Ten package, making this particular example a rare breed indeed. With a 318 V8 under the hood, the car probably scoots along just fine, and the mountain of paperwork and dealer propaganda that comes along with the sale would probably make you a show circuit hero in no time flat. You can find it on with a Buy It Now price of $22,950, and they’ll even throw in a matching surf board.
Pebble Beach is an octane-drenched event that never disappoints, and this year’s event is shaping up to be no exception – but it will be exceptional. Already lined up for the August concours are the debuts of and , with notable auction lots including the and a famous . The latter will be part of Gooding & Company’s auction, but that’s far from the extent of what the venerable auction house has in store for Monterey this year.
An ex-Stirling Moss 1956 200 SI and the 340 America from the 1952 New York Auto Show have already been announced, but once the Pebble rolls around they’ll be joined by a growing roster of drool-worthy classic Italian machinery. Among them will be a rare Zagato-bodied 1954 Fiat 8V, a stunning 1971 Miura S and a pristine alloy-bodied 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, along with the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC Hot Rod and 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Zagato pictured in the galleries below.
SEFAC, as the tifosi will tell you, stands for Scuderia Enzo Ferrari Automobili Corsa, the precursor to the modern Scuderia Ferrari, represented here by what could very well be the ultimate expression of the 250 GT racer in existence today. And that Zagato Maserati? That’s the coachbuilt special which the Modenese marque chose to represent at the 1955 Turin Motor Show. In other words, these cars have mad pedigree. Read more about ‘em in the press release after the jump.
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[Source: Gooding & Company Images: Simon Clay & Pawel Litwinski]
Spyker C8 Laviolette joins Jay Leno’s Garage – Click above to watch video
It’s the Spyker C8 Laviolette’s turn to tour Jay Leno’s Garage, and it holds its own under the lights with a Rocket, McLaren F1 and Jay’s playing character roles in the background.
Leno spends half the 11-minute video crawling all over the 400-horsepower, 2,800-pound C8 with a Spyker sales rep from Galpin Auto Sports, and we learn a unique fact in the process… how many of you knew that the C8’s ignition is in the glove compartment? For the rest of the Spyker’s secrets and its terrific roar, for the video.
has its sights set firmly on the blooming Chinese auto market, and according to a report from the China Car Times, the company plans to produce and market a road-legal version of its racer just for the People’s Republic. Supposedly the car will be both longer and wider, and will feature a host of creature comforts to help bridge the gap between the racetrack and public streets. Now, here’s the really surprising part: the car is set to be launched in October of this year. If that’s the case, development of the vehicle must be almost complete.
China Car Times also mentions that is planning to build a larger four-door model just for Chinese customers as well. Both vehicles will feature design elements that have been specifically crafted just for the new market. Eventually, Spyker hopes China will become the company’s second largest market after the United States. With all of the money floating around the Asian country’s economy at the moment, we can’t imagine that the goal is too much of a stretch.
Ferrari 458 Italia – Click above for high-res image gallery
There’s been a lot of talk recently about new slated to roll out of Maranello. Which makes sense, considering that its parents at Fiat are in the midst of a big product shake-up. But while previous reports foreshadowed – and even went as far as to be implemented across Ferrari’s entire line – executives in Maranello have until now avoided any mention of a Scuderia version of the new 458.
And we could hardly blame them. After all, there aren’t many better ways to kill off excitement for a brand-new supercar than talking about the better version in the pipeline. Motor Trend, however, claims to have it on good authority that a lighter-weight, more powerful version of the 458 Italia will arrive in 2013, taking up the position held by the outgoing 430 Scuderia and the 360 Challenge Stradale before it.
Unfortunately, not much else is known, other than to say that, while some body panels will be replaced by carbon fiber, Ferrari’s intent on sticking with aluminum for its production models, rather than integrating the magic black weave into its mainstream offerings as some of its competitors are doing.
The Enzo’s replacement, however, is not considered a mainstream production model. MT figures the that will power the new flagship will produce upwards of 700 horsepower, driving through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and aided by all the latest electronic wizardry which Ferrari has cooked up in its F1 and XX development programs.
We don’t typically think of rental cars as the most well-loved vehicles on the planet, but we do expect them to be well maintained and reasonably safe. According to findings from a recent lawsuit against , that may not always be true. In a case involving the death of two California women who were killed after their rental caught fire and struck an oncoming semi. Enterprise admitted that it routinely rents out vehicles that are under recall and haven’t been repaired. The was one of those vehicles.
In September of 2004, Chrysler issued a recall for the car. In certain instances, the vehicle’s power steering unit could leak, causing an engine fire. Enterprise continued to rent the vehicle for a full month after receiving the recall notice before Raechel Houck, 24, and her sister, Jacquie, 20 rented the vehicle for a trip to visit their parents.
In further testimony, it was revealed that Enterprise routinely rents out vehicles under recall, and that the company has no standing policy against doing so. ABC News also indicates that other major companies like Hertz and Avis conduct themselves similarly.
In the case of the PT Cruiser, a jury awarded the womens’ parents a $15 million settlement. Click to watch the ABC News video report.
McLaren F1 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Here’s a juicy rumor for you: Autocar is reporting that will be introducing the successor to the incredible supercar in 2012. If that seems a smidge early, it is. In its original plans, McLaren had said the new beast wouldn’t surface until 2014 at the earliest, thanks largely to the company’s efforts with the all-new . Instead, the Brits say that unnamed McLaren insiders have let it slip that the company is feverishly working on the new machine, going so far as to say that it will be “revolutionary” in both styling and performance. We would expect nothing less.
That’s not to say we’re swallowing the Autocar report hook, line and anonymous sinker. At this point, 2012 is a mere year and a half away, and while we have no doubt that the engineers at McLaren are slaving away on the successor to the F1 throne, that’s just not enough time to bring a world class supercar into reality. So until someone from McLaren goes on the record with this one, we won’t hold our breath for the world’s next record breaker to hit the scene.
Celebrating 100 Years of Alfa Romeo – Click above for high-res image gallery
2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo, and the Italian car company will be the most celebrated marque at nearly every concours and motorsports events this year. The Goodwood Festival of Speed, however, will likely top them all, at least in terms of artistic expression. Alfa Romeo was the theme of the perennial sculpture outside of the Goodwood house, with a 1925 Alfa Romeo P2 and an 8C Competizione mated to 12 tons of red steel standing more than 60 feet high.
There were plenty of Alfas on the ground as well, with quite a few examples competing in the hill climb, including a beautiful that won its class at the 24 hour race and a stunning . Perhaps our favorite Alfas, though, were the wacky conceptcars at the concours event sponsored by Cartier, like the , the and the . Some of the more famous classic Alfas were in attendance as well including a gorgeous and perhaps on of the most cars of the 1960s, a . You can view all of the photos of Alfa Romeo at the 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the high-res gallery below.
Until its demise, A1GP had an intriguing, original formula. (At least once it took its place as a feeder series and not a competitor to Formula One). The idea, for those unfamiliar, was to pit teams representing their home countries against each other in identical F1-style single-seaters on famous race tracks around the world. Unfortunately, like so many things, the execution failed to live up to the idea.
With the series financially supporting each team, the whole proverbial house of cards came last year, its creditors (including , which had designed and built their new spec racer) seizing the series’ .
Now it seems that the self-styled “World Cup of Motorsport” may have another chance to see the light of day. A group of investors is reportedly working out a plan to get the cars and other assets out of hock and field them once more. But instead of the original doomed formula, the re-inaugurated series would demand each team secure its own financial backing, while the series organizers would coordinate the races and provide spare parts trackside. An off-season calendar could see the series run 10 races in 2011-12, if the plan comes to fruition.
Ford Start Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
During our favorite Southern California car meet this past weekend we were wondering what was drawing such a large crowd up front. We could clearly see the first Ferrari 458 Italia make an appearance off to the side, itself drawing quite a crowd, but something very interesting looked to be parked right alongside a beautiful Porsche Speedster hardtop. Anything that would draw attention away from the Ferrari and a classic Porsche had to be pretty impressive itself, so when we finally pushed through the throngs of admirers, we were a bit surprised to see the new Ford Start Concept.
The Start was unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show a few months ago and has since rested inside the Ford Design Studio. Lucky for us, the crew decided this concept needed a bit of fresh air, so they drove it over to the meet-up and parked it front and center between the Speedster and an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato, both said to be styling influences for the design team. The design was a huge hit with the attendees, admiring its stance and size as much as its striking styling cues. The rear pillar got a lot of appreciative glances in particular, as did the .
Designers on hand wouldn’t comment on production plans for this little runabout, but the crowd seemed to want one – now – andwe are right in line with them. This could easily be the look of the next Ford Ka, with a funky ferocity to that has us thinking of the original Mini more than the current BMW version. If nothing else the Start gives us an even clearer vision of what Ford’s “” design language will generate in future models. One feature we know we’ll be seeing more of its the engine: The Start features the new Ecoboost 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, which is said to be good for 120 horsepower in this application. Click on the gallery below to see even more pics of the Start in the wild.
Fiat has the highly regarded Multijet diesel engine among its offerings, and Volkswagen has been spending massive amounts of moolah to soften American hearts toward diesels. Yet in spite of those two factoids, at a recent symposium in Michigan Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne championed compressed natural gas (CNG) as a fuel he’d like to see take a notable place among the panoply of domestic options.
Last year when , the senior VP of powertrain, Paolo Ferrero, mentioned diesels, hybrids and electric cars as intentions beyond the direct-injected and turbocharged ICE. Earlier this year an was announced for 2012. But the push has apparently already begun to integrate compressed and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles. Fiat’s already has the experience and hardware in South America, where its tetrafuel engines run on four different fuels.
Marchionne didn’t offer any kind of timetable for the arrival of CNG, saying only that it “, in terms of costs and timing, to lessen this country’s reliance on oil” as well as making it clear that it could be a quicker way for to get seriously green. He did admit, though, that the infrastructure is nowhere close to making it viable. We will admit that the idea of an Alfa Giulietta that runs on LPG is an enticing thought. But we’d be even more enticed if Fiat could get even one Giulietta here for retail sale that runs on… well, anything.
Porsche 908/3 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2010 – Click above to watch video
There are plenty of reasons to get excited about the . The annual shindig is a mecca for metal from all over the world – old and new. events from across the go-fast spectrum make it onto the schedule and there’s even plenty of auto-themed art to keep the masses entertained when they aren’t huffing tire smoke. In a word, the event is bliss for anyone with even a passing interest in the automobile.
But the grand daddy of it all has to be the . At 1.16 miles, the course features nine turns, a looming stone wall and enough hay to feed all the cows in Wisconsin for a week. Last year brought out a rash of new high-dollar supercars, including the and the , and as a result, there were plenty of manufacturers on hand to show off their newest hardware. While we were lurking the grounds and looking at all the shiny conveyances, drivers were blasting across the grounds and recording their exploits. We’ve rounded up 10 of the best videos from the hill and arranged them in no particular order. Sure, some of them are more entertaining than others, but all of them are better than what you’re doing at work, right? to get started.
Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR – Click above for high-res image gallery
In the book about the story of the McLaren F1, chapter 19 begins with the following:
It would have been easy for McLaren Cars to bask in the simple afterglow of its achievement, and initially a relatively somber programme of production and detail refinement to perfect the model was all that was envisaged. But not high performance car manufacturer can legitimately expect to build a world-beater, without one or two prominent and enthusiastic customers becoming keen to prove its products’ capabilities ‘in anger’. Although there had never – ever – been any expressed intention by the McLaren team at Genesis to produce anything other than a purebred road car, through the summer of 1994 – as we have seen – enthusiastic sporting-minded customers began to persuade the F1’s manufacturers to change their minds. Despite many qualms, they did just that.
And that, friends, is why the McLaren F1 GTR is so impressive. The F1 road car wasn’t built just to homologate for racing. The motorsports program was an afterthought, one that won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans outright on McLaren’s first attempt as well as finishing third, fourth and fifth. You’re looking at the winning car, driven by J.J. Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya, which was displayed by McLaren at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Enjoy the gallery below.
It’s certainly possible. According to La Voz de Galicia, the French automaker is currently mulling the creation of a new sub-brand to break into the lower rungs of the inexpensive car market. Rather than go through the hassle of rustling up a whole new name, the company has looked to the past for inspiration. It came up with – a company that got its start early in the 20th century and puttered to a stop in 1986.
The name has a history of rising from the dead. In 1978, pulled a similar stunt by bringing the Talbot name back from obscurity after axed it a decade prior. During the revival, the brand mostly served as a dumping ground for former ChryslerEurope models. Needless to say, the resurrection didn’t last long.
But if our Google Translator is to be believed, the most recent zombification of the Talbot moniker will have more to do with funky little entry-level machines than any sort of rebadging exercise. La Voz de Galicia claims that the brand will likely start off with just two models based loosely on existing Peugeot models, which would be manufactured at the factory in Vigo.
Is it possible? Sure. But the rumors could just as easily be smoke and mirrors. Thanks for the tip, Lucian!
Up to this point, has relied on hybrid technology purchased and licensed from the undisputed leader in hybrid vehicles. That would be , naturally. But the two Japanese automakers will be moving in separate directions in short order as Nissan has developed its own hybrid powertrain technology, and unlike most other automakers, Nissan’s system will wearing the badge.
And there’s apparently another way Nissan and Infiniti’s first in-house hybrid system will differ from Toyota’s full hybrid and mild hybrid architecture. According to Reuters, Koichi Hayasaki, Nissan’s chief engineer of its rear-wheel-drive hybrid system maintains that “Typically, carmakers say the fuel economy improvement on their cars using a ’strong’ or ‘full’ hybrid system is roughly 30 percent, while for ‘mild’ hybrids, it’s 15 percent. We’re aiming for an improvement of 60 to 90 percent.”
Further, Nissan claims its hybrid system will use a single electric motor and twin clutches (instead of two electric motors as used by Toyota), a move that ought to help make the system simpler and lighter than its competitors. It will also use lithium ion batteries instead of cheaper but less energy dense nickel metal hydride cells. If Nissan can manage to hit all of its targets, we may be looking at a new hybrid standard bearer.
