Josh Wainwright became a living testimony for the value helmets during the British Superstock 600 recently. The rider put his bike down on the 11th lap just ahead of Johnny Bradshaw. With nowhere to go and no time to get there, Bradshaw literally drove over Wainwright’s head with his motorcycle, catapulting both riders down the track.
Miraculously, Wainwright escaped the off with nothing more than a cracked rib and a broken collarbone. Bradshaw walked away without serious injury as well.
Any impact to the head involving that kind of velocity typically brings about neck injury concerns, but Wainwright seems to have avoided that peril. You can check out the video for yourself to see just how close both Wainwright and Bradshaw came to having significantly worse days.
We at Autoblog, por supuesto, love us some behind-the-scenes car development videos. We also dig smart humor, and we think the two are gloriously combined in this German take on almost every dramatic engineering/track/shakedown vid that has hit the YouTubes. Until it gets a tad too absurd, at least…
Put together by who earlier made an , this time they’ve worked up a car they call the Fahrradi Farfalla FXX which is loosely based on a whole lot of othercars. When they give it the shakedown in a German tunnel, well, you’ll just have to see for yourself what happens. to see what’s up.
What can you even say to defend a financial decision like this one? According to a report by Detroit’s WXYZ television news team, the City of Detroit has been leasing a 2004 Intrepid since September 2003, over six years after the original two-year-lease expired. Since the City did not return the car, it has continued to make the $608 per month lease payments, even as it racked up miles well beyond the 40,000 in the original agreement, for which it now must pay 15 cents per mile. According to the report, the City has spent over $65,000 for the car, which it doesn’t even own.
But that’s not all. WXYZ says that Detroit has 110 of these expired lease agreements on 2004 through 2007 models, and all of the cars are still on the road, wasting money with every tick of the odometer. And remember, the City still has to turn in all 110 cars, and pay for excess wear and tear. An estimate of the city’s losses incurred by this leasing scheme is well over $4 million, according to the report. The cars are all being used by the Detroit Police Department, and though they’re not quite full-zoot police cruisers like the 2002 Intrepid pictured above, they see action for undercover work. That means it’s not just the taxpayers who are getting a bad deal here, but the cops themselves, as we’re pretty sure none of them are particularly happy to be out risking their lives in an eight-year-old Dodge.
If we can attempt to find the faintest silver lining to this epic thunderstorm of mismanagement, it would be that perhaps in the publicity sure to follow, a few of Detroit’s residents might better understand why and how leasing can cost more than financing a new car purchase. And at least the City of Detroit has been using these cars, rather than . for a video report from WXYZ.
We’re almost ready to record Episode #281 of the Autoblog Podcast, and you can check out the topics below, add your own to the and join us live via , as well, and we’ve embedded our UStream player Thanks for listening!
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #281
We’ve been guilty of putting a vehicle or three on two wheels occasionally, but never on purpose. James “Ski” Smith, on the other hand, has made a habit of standing a car on edge for extended periods of time. That’s impressive enough by our standards, but Smith recently attempted to take his skills to the next level by piloting a fox body all the way around Laguna Seca. Why an old Mustang? Probably because no one would shed a tear if the car wound up on its roof.
Unfortunately, Smith ran into another piece of trouble before he could tackle the track’s more daring corners. The extreme angle caused oiling issues with the V8 engine, flooding one bank with oil while depriving the other. As a result, Smith came to a stop just past Turn Six. Still, he hopes to try again soon. May we suggest he take something a little better suited to the task? A , mayhaps? to check out the clip for yourself.
Russell Sutton is a man after our own heart. The craftsman has spent the building a nine-cylinder radial engine using a smattering of XR600 singles for his airboat. After a little trial and error, Sutton discovered his creation is happier running off of liquid propane gas instead of gasoline. Years of hard work finally paid off when he recently started his monster creation for the first time. The elegant radial fires with a puff of smoke before before settling into a perfect hum. Unfortunately, the success is quickly marred by the sound of mechanical failure.
As it turns out, the cast piston sleeves Sutton used in his creation can’t withstand the abuse of the radial. In addition, some of the pistons required shaving in order to work with the different stroke. Unfortunately, the shaving caused the pistons to delaminate their crown, causing further trouble. Despite the issues, Sutton seems to take the failure in stride and plans to correct the issues before firing up the engine one more time. We could all learn a thing or two from his resilience. to check out a few videos of the engine. If you want to skip ahead, check out the second video around the 2:30 mark.
We record Episode #281 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, meaning you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below and chime in to direct our conversation. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #281
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The folks at Motor Authority snagged some spy video of the new hitting the Nürburgring. Unfortunately, rain hit the ‘Ring first, so while there are still some potent exhaust noises emanating from the 662-horsepower ‘Stang, there isn’t a lot of tearing it up on the slick surface.
Let’s talk nemesis, namely the 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1. The battleground established, the folks turned their verbal turrets on the Shelby and fired high-impact rounds – see Exhibits and – on their way to setting an time and a “Holy smokes!” . Since there’s no reason to dawdle round the ‘Ring, we have to expect that Ford’s fly-by has some sort of recon purpose.
As many will bring up once the time is set, the Shelby has a mess of advantages on paper: more horsepower, more torque, less weight. No matter, for as Cormac McCarthy wrote, there will be blood. We still don’t know whose blood it will be, but oh yes, one of these cars is going to bleed. Embedding of this video has been disabled, so follow the link to watch the Shelby in action.
Ah yes, the Nürburgring. Where else would you expect to find the forthcoming Gran Coupe? Well, other than on the stand the in September or .
While of the big 560-plus-horsepower sedan, 6post.com has snagged footage of the M6 Gran Coupe squealing tires and clipping apexes with some of its siblings on everyone’s favorite German road.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team has been using its drivers of F1, and in this video Nico Rosberg demonstrates what we’ve long suspected: the driving position in a Formula 1 car is outrageous, with drivers reclined on a carbon-fiber gynecologist’s table pretending to be a seat.
to watch Nico explain finding a balance between comfort and weight. And how it’s kind of hard to see above the wheel.
This weekend, Audi marked the of its latest R18 race cars at the World Endurance Championships at Spa Francorchamps. Yet the most spectacular race car running on any track this weekend was thousands of miles away at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in the 24 Hours of Lemons “Loudon Annoying” event taking place at the very same time.
Yes, that’s a camper trailer that’s been converted into a race car. And there’s . Now, before you click, see if you can guess what the car underneath is. (Hint, there’s another photo in the gallery that makes it very clear.) That answer is also posted , and it makes the whole rig even more fantastic.
Thanks to our friend (and ) Jake Fisher for the on-site photos!
With a couple of high-level U.S. defectors from the RallyCross series into other motorsport disciplines there was a domestic vacuum at the top, and we know what nature thinks about that. Enter German shoe/sportswear Puma, which is throwing its sponsor dollars behind the factory-backed PUMA Rallycross Team.
Dave Mirra heads up the trio of drivers, joined by Bucky Lasek and Sverre Isachsen, and they’ll run all six RallyCross rounds this year in 2012 STi’s. Of course, you can’t properly launch a team without some smoke and sliding action, so you’ll find that in the video . And make sure to peep the “Zombie Cat” Puma skeletons on the cars while you’re at it…
Alex Zanardi is an impressive person. Despite losing both his legs (and almost his life) in what many assumed was a career-ending crash during a 2001 CART race at Lausitzring, Zanadari wasn’t content to accept that fate. After being disappointed with the prosthetic limbs doctors offered at the time, he designed his own and it wasn’t long before he was back behind the wheel of a vehicle.
Two years later, he returned to competition using hand-operated throttle and brake controls on the same track that almost took his life. He’s since competed in a wide range of automotive racing events. Now Zanardi has turned his focus to hand-bike racing, and has produced a video previewing this new chapter in the determined competitor’s ongoing story. to watch.
Yes, it’s spring time in Indiana, and although ahead of the drop of the green flag, it’s time for another One Lap of America.
Having been part of the timing and scoring team for well over a decade, we tend to see a lot of the same faces and sheetmetal year in and year out, though there’s always a steady stream of newcomers. Every few races, however, there seems to be a bumper crop of new cars that show up as old ones get tired and drivers find something different to play with. This is clearly one of those times, perhaps brought about by the dominance of the over the last several years. As a result, there are a glut of the Japanese supercars in the fold, along with other noteworthy new models including an , a and , not to mention a factory-prepped . As ever, there’s a brace of and models of various vintages, along with a or two and a 430. There’s even an and an incredible sounding , also running with factory support.
Unfortunately, one key classic will be notably absent from the paddock this year: Brock Yates. Father of One Lap Of America and the legendary Cannonball Run that spawned it, Yates’ health has been deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s. Yates’ son, Brock Jr. has been ably running the event for many years, but this is the first time that .
As has become the usual, this year’s event kicks off in South Bend, Indiana at title sponsor Tire Rack’s massive headquarters with a wet skidpad event. The motley crew of madmen and their motors will then jog down the road a few miles to the South Bend Motor Speedway (a paved oval) before hoofing it over to Autobahn Country Club’s road course in Illinois. After that, it’s off to a string of road courses starting with scenic Pacific Junction, Iowa, for the Mid America Motorplex, then on to Oklahoma’s Hallett Motor Racing Circuit before heading to High Plains Raceway in Colorado. After that, it’s off to Motorsports Park Hastings in Nebraska followed by a northwestern jog to Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. Then it’s over to Wisconsin’s legendary Road America before the sleepless and bedraggled horde stumble back into South Bend next Saturday, April 14 for a final dry skidpad event. Got all that? If you don’t, you can check out a map .
As we’ll be working the event, we won’t have the ability to give you daily updates on the rally’s progress, but if you’re interested in keeping tabs on the action, check out and , both of which figure to have live updates as the race gets underway this morning. In the meantime, you can check out our massive gallery above. It doesn’t have every one of the roughly 75 that are scheduled to race, but if you are new to One Lap, it’ll give you a good idea of the automotive diversity on display.
Apparently, the world’s population of talking frogs have turned their allegiance from Budweiser and are now shilling for of Australia. At least, those that haven’t been smashed into great green globs of greasy, grimy cane toad guts.
Let’s set the scene: A pair of Australian cane toads – the species, native to Central and South America, was imported into Australia in an unsuccessful attempt to control Beetle populations – are having a nighttime chat on a random road somewhere in Oz. The subject matter ranges from the tastiness and arousing properties of the toads’ own back secretions to the velocity with which a four-cylinder car can travel. In this case, the car is powered by one of Ford’s turbocharged EcoBoost engines.
And then… disaster strikes. It’s certainly an odd advertisement, but at least it’s unique. Oh, and if you’re a member of PETA, you might want to look away. See for yourself by scrolling down .
has already begun spinning wrenches on the company’s crowd-sourced , and the automaker has been kind enough to craft a well-made video documenting the build. Fans of the brand chose a GReddy twin turbo kit, which should crank up the 3.7-liter V6 to the tune of around 500 horsepower. The Stage One clip follows the build as technicians dismantle the front of the sports car, yank the engine and bolt on the aftermarket goods. Fans also chose a GReddy Ti-C catback exhaust to help the engine breathe a little easier while hustling down the track, so the pipes go on next.
Nissan plans on documenting the full build before unveiling the project at the upcoming . If you’re curious about the creation, you can follow along on the page. In the mean time, to check out the video for yourself.
Chances are, we’ll never be able to park a Bugatti Veyron in our own personal garage. It’s sad, we know. Fortunately for us, the crew at Visual Spicer have worked up a little something special to ease the pain: Behold a 2.5-foot long papercraft Veyron. The project soaks up 44 pages of 8.5×11-inch printer paper and encompasses a whopping 159 parts. Needless to say, sticking this thing together is going to take some time. And ink.
The good news is, the templates are entirely free, which means we’ll be commandeering the dining room table for construction purposes in sweet little time. You can to check out a time-lapse construction video for yourself or download the template over at . We’re sure they wouldn’t mind a donation or two, either.
We’ve taken the bone-stock down the quarter-mile drag strip at Bondurant in Arizona . The very first pass we made netted us a time slip in the mid-12-second range. That’s an impressive performance for a car wearing road-legal radial tires with zero preparation and a driver familiarizing himself with the car.
We instantly knew this car was capable of more, and wondered how long it would take before we saw our first elapsed time in the 11s. Turns out the wait is over.
itself is the perpetrator of the blazing-fast quarter mile. engineers took two completely stock ZL1 coupes to Milan Dragway in Michigan – one automatic and one manual – and recorded a best pass of 11.93 seconds at 116 miles per hour. That was with the automatic; the row-your-own model managed 11.96 at 117 mph.
Those looking to drag their new Camaro ZL1 ought to be pleased with this news. But even if your race track aspirations lean more toward a curvy strip of asphalt, the baddest production ever made has you covered. Consider its as proof of its prowess.
Likely sensing that there would be plenty of Ford fans skeptics demanding proof of its quarter mile performance, Chevrolet has released a video showing off its drag strip exploits at Milan. for the video, along with the related press release… and join us in waiting for a from .
*UPDATE: We’ve placed a call to Chevrolet inquiring whether these times were recorded on stock tires, as the press release indicates, or on drag radials. We’ll add another update as soon as we hear back.
We’ve taken the bone-stock down the quarter-mile drag strip at Bondurant in Arizona . The very first pass we made netted us a time slip in the mid-12-second range. That’s an impressive performance for a car wearing road-legal radial tires with zero preparation and a driver familiarizing himself with the car.
We instantly knew this car was capable of more, and wondered how long it would take before we saw our first elapsed time in the 11s. Turns out the wait is over.
itself is the perpetrator of the blazing-fast quarter mile. engineers took two completely stock ZL1 coupes to Milan Dragway in Michigan – one automatic and one manual – and recorded a best pass of 11.93 seconds at 116 miles per hour. That was with the automatic; the row-your-own model managed 11.96 at 117 mph.
Those looking to drag their new Camaro ZL1 ought to be pleased with this news. But even if your race track aspirations lean more toward a curvy strip of asphalt, the baddest production ever made has you covered. Consider its as proof of its prowess.
Likely sensing that there would be plenty of Ford fans skeptics demanding proof of its quarter mile performance, Chevrolet has released a video showing off its drag strip exploits at Milan. for the video, along with the related press release… and join us in waiting for a from .
We are currently barreling toward the end of the week, which means there’s a good chance you’re looking for ways to chip away at the time card. Allow us to lend you a hand. Chris Harris recently took it up on himself to line up a three very expensive, very powerful German track-bred machines for a little showdown. With names like the Porsche GT3 RS 4.0, BMW M3 GTS and the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series, the half-hour clip all but guarantees some giggles. Since these are all coupes that are supposed to be able to pull double duty on the street and on track, Harris puts one and all through a two-day drive.
Day One features plenty of time on the street, where things like how quickly the dual-clutch transmission in the M3 GTS don’t matter nearly as much as a functional Bluetooth phone pairing system. Of course, Day Two is the fun stuff. That’s when all three sports cars are pressed around a track to see which can return the best lap time. How does it turn out? We won’t spoil it for you. You’ve got time to waste. to check out the clip for yourself.
