That’s what Mazda said about the MPV, their boxy, yet surprisingly enjoyable minivan. But they never, ever, imagined this. David Swenson over at SpeedHunters tells the tale of how he shoved a VG30DETT V-6 out of a Nissan Z car into his 1993 Mazda MPV. The end result? An MPV with 388 horsepower. As a fan of Mazdas and insane engine swaps, I wholeheartedly approve.
Source: SpeedHunters
Fuse the sublime Sumi-e art of Feudal Japan with the sublime tire shredding art of contemporary Japan and you get Drift Sumi-e, quite possibly the most Japanese driving game for iPhone ever. Unlike other driving games that put you behind the wheel, Sumi-e drift lets you draw your racing line through each beautifully drawn drift course, then watch the action unfold. You can take snapshots to document your drifts and send them to your friends. The app looks fun and is a steal at only $.99.
Source: Drift Sumi-e
Compared to this, even you look like a gas guzzler. Students at Cal Poly have built a super-streamlined ride that clocks a record 2,752.3 miles per gallon. They call it the Black Widow. The all-carbon-fiber three wheeler weighs a scant 95 pounds and is powered by a seriously tweaked 3-horsepower, four-stroke Honda 50cc single. Its coefficient of drag is an astounding .12. It uses 20-inch bicycle wheels, two in the front and one in the rear. Yeah, it tops out at only 30 miles per hour, but still, it’s an incredible feat.
Source: Inhabitat
Okay, so it’s not breathtaking news, but it is an excuse to post a photo of the Fisker Karma, just in case you forgot how damn sexy it is. Fisker says it’ll reveal the Karma’s “advanced aluminum space frame” at the Geneva Auto Show. Essentially, Fisker wants you to know that there’s some bad-ass engineering to back up the Karma’s gorgeous looks. The aluminum space frame reportedly gives the Karma “new levels of strength and rigidity.” Indeed. Hit the jump for some more Fisker porn and a shot of the stunning Karma Sunset convertible.
Source: Autoblog
Here’s a pretty picture to start your day off right. The 2011 Jaguar XKR is heart-stoppingly gorgeous and it’ll hit 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds and reach 174 mph in a straight line, thanks to upgraded transmission and engine programming. Motive force is provided by Jaguar’s venerable 5.0-liter supercharged V8, good for 510 horsepower. And with a base price of only $96,000, even your run-of-the-mill plastic surgeon can afford one.
Source: Exhaust Note, Jaguar
Astin Martin recently released tons of photos of the Rapide, definitively showing everybody how to make a beautiful four-door sports car. Check out the mega-gallery at Carscoop.
The car has the muscle to back up its looks, too. A 6.0-liter V12 with 477 horsepower and 443 pound feet of torque lurks under that long hood, propelling the big sedan to 60 miles per hour in just 5.1 seconds. Top speed is 188 mph. Stateside pricing starts at $199,900 and change.
Hooniverse recently posted this spectacular video of an ’80s Audi SportQuattro making mincemeat of its tires and screaming its turbocharged head off. It reminded me of another video of a homebrew mini monster truck spraying a herd of Harleys with molten rubber.
At first glance it seems like the vehicles have nothing in common. The Audi is a tour de force of Teutonic technology. The monster truck is a homemade carnival ride. The Quattro has an über turbo with a waste gate that spits like a cobra. The mini monster has a supercharged big-block Ford V8 that’s so wicked it refuses to shut off.
But these beasts have much in common. Both have 600-ish horsepower. Both can make all four tires go critical in the blink of an eye. Both seem to have sprung fully formed from the fantasy of a 12-year-old boy.
So the question is: Which performs the better burnout?
I don’t mean to be a bummer, but a team of researchers from UC Berkeley, Switzerland, and Spain, have found that exposure to exhaust fumes thickens arteries and could increase the chances of cardiovascular disease.
The study looked at people in the Los Angeles area who live within 100 meters of a highway. It found that their arteries thickened by 5.5 micrometers – one-twentieth the thickness of a human hair – per year, more than twice the average.
“For the first time, we have shown that air pollution contributes to the early formation of heart disease, known as atherosclerosis, which is connected to nearly half the deaths in Western societies and to a growing proportion of deaths in the rapidly industrializing nations of Asia and Latin America,” said study co-author Michael Jerrett, UC Berkeley associate professor of environmental health sciences. “The implications are that by controlling air pollution from traffic, we may see much larger benefits to public health than we thought previously.”
Via: UC Berkeley
Add lightness. And a new, sleeker face.
The new 2011 Lotus Elise takes a few cues from the Evora, most notably the refined schnoz and hood. The 1.8-liter Toyota mill gets a bump to 192 horsepower naturally aspirated and 217 supercharged. The base S model will come with a 1.6-liter tricked out with Valvematic and Dual VVI-i.
I could just eat it up.
Via: Jalopnik
Would you pay $98 grand for a Ford 302? I certainly would, considering it’s wrapped in gorgeous Italian steel. This 1970 De Tomaso Mangusta is one of only about 120 left in the world and it’s flawless with only 9,000-odd miles on the odometer. It’s for sale at Fantasy Junction, one of the best exotic car dealers on the West Coast. Hit the jump for more photos and info about this ’70s super car.
The Mangusta was built from 1967 to 1971. It was designed by the legendary Giorgetto Giugiaro of Bertone, who penned the Maserati Ghibli, DeLorean DMC-12, Lotus Esprit S1, first generation VW Golf and Scirocco, Alfa Romeo 105/115 Series coupes and many, many more. Only 400 Mangustas were built and just 200 made it to the states. In Europe, they got a hot 289 V8, but we ended up with the larger, but less powerful 302.
The mid-engine chassis flexed like a wet noodle and the terrible 32/68 front/rear weight distribution meant extremely sketchy handling. But LOOK at the thing. Just look at it. It’s a wedge of pure lust. If I had the means, it would be in my garage right now.
Source: Fantasy Junction
Infants learn the rhythm and tone of their native language before they’re born. In fact, newborns from different countries have different cries. My mom brought me home in a 1970 Austin America. I can’t consciously remember it, but it burned an obsession with tiny, quirky hatchbacks into the synapses of my brain.
If you remember the car, you’re snickering or cringing (or both). It was absolute crap, disintegrating into iron-oxide dust in a light rain or simply rattling itself to bits out of the dealer lot. But despite its faults, it was an impressive little car. It was designed by the legendary Sir Alec Issigonis the man behind the original Mini, with assistance from PininFarina. It had unit-body construction and a transverse-mounted four driving the front wheels. It was also the first car to employ Dr. Alex Moulton’s crazy-ass Moulton Hydrolastic pressurized liquid and rubber suspension. The system used fluid-filled rubber bags at each corner to absorb shock. The bags were connected front to back, making a kind of real-time adaptive ride height setup. It worked really well—when it worked—and gave the little car an extremely smooth ride and good handling characteristics.
The Morris 1100 debuted in the UK in 1962. British Leyland began exporting it to the US as the Austin America in 1968 to compete with the VW beetle, touting it as the “perfect second car.” Technologically, it was a century ahead of the VW. It was front wheel drive and had disk brakes. It had a 1.3-liter four good for 58 horsepower and 69 pound-feet of torque and only weighed 1,800 pounds. It was roomy for its size, and thanks to its innovative suspension, smooth riding and nimble.
But, like I said, it was also horrid. Issigonis designed the engine and transmission as one piece—the transmission actually served as an oil pan. Because the transmission ran engine oil, it was prone to failure. Especially the automatic. Add mythical Lucas Electrics and shoddy Leyland build quality to the mix and you’ve got a rolling time bomb. Of course the VW wasn’t much better, but it ultimately trounced the Austin in sales due to its cuteness and cult following.
My Mom’s Austin was white, with a four speed manual. It perished shortly after I was born. See, Mom sold the car to get a roomier and more reliable 1978 Mazda GLC five door (in orange). The guy who bought it drove it off the road and into a tree a week or two later. The guy was okay, but the Austin was totaled.
The Austin may be gone, but it left its mark on my psyche. I can’t see any hatchback without taking a second look. I dream of owning a Mini Cooper S and consider anything bigger than a GTI an absolute tank. The Austin may have been a crappy little car, but it was my first crappy little car and it shaped my automotive tastes for good.
For more information about the Austin America, visit Austin America USA.
Porsche says it’s going to reveal a 911 GT3 hybrid racer at the Geneva Auto show in March, and it’s not anything like a Prius. Instead of using batteries, the car will use an F1-derived mechanical flywheel system to power two electric motors at the front wheels. Porsche plans to take the car to the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.
The system uses a standard wickedly tuned flat six out back and boosts power with two electric motors up front. A mechanical flywheel power generator will ride shotgun to the driver. Its heavy flywheel is connected to a generator. When the car slows under braking, the flywheel stores the energy of deceleration. The car also has regenerative breaking, which uses the two front motors as generators when the car slows down.
The flywheel and regenerative breaking will deliver six to eight seconds of power to the dual front motors, giving the driver extra juice out of the corners.
Porsche doesn’t expect the car to be competitive in the 24-hour race, but says it’ll be a great testing ground for the technology. Personally, I think it’s far too complicated to be feasible. If you really want a fast, long-distance hybrid, a microturbine coupled to a generator seems like a much better way to go.
Via: Cnet
The Delta Wing Racer Indy car concept soared into the Chicago Auto Show this week riding currents of outrage rising off Indy Car racing fans. It’s been called heretical, toy-like, Batmobile, and just plain ugly. But I think it’s amazing. Here’s why:
1. It looks like a spaceship.
I’ve been waiting for a chance to fly a Wipeout-style antigravity racer since the ’90s and the Delta Wing is probably as close as I’m gonna get. And those spectacular spaceship looks serve a purpose. The thing is designed like an aircraft for extremely low drag and tons of downforce just where you need it. See how the back end is shaped like the space shuttle? That puts maximum downforce on the middle of the car, providing supreme stability at speed. The shape is so slippery and stable it can conceivably hit 236 miles per hour at Indianapolis Speedway.
2. It weighs less than a bicycle.
Not quite. But the Delta Wing only weighs 1,000 pounds wet. That’s half the weight of current Indy race cars, which means lightning fast reflexes and stellar acceleration and braking. The Delta Wing engineers accomplished this with liberal use of carbon fiber and recycled polyethylene. That means the Delta Wing is just as fast as current Indy cars even though it has half the horsepower (300 horsepower) and uses half the gas.
3. It’s cheap.
It looks like a government-contract stealth fighter made with $1,000 bolts, but the Delta Wing will sell for half the price of current Indy cars. That means I just might be able to afford to rent one for a flight around a track. It also means more races and more opportunities for up-and-comming drivers.
4. It looks like a spaceship.
Seriously. The Delta Wing is a major aesthetic leap forward in race car design. It’s like one of Daniel Simon’s arresting concept vehicles brought to life. Some say the Delta Wing is taking racing in the wrong direction, that race cars should look like real cars so people can relate. I don’t think so. I think the Delta Wing delivers a crucial injection of sci-fi futurism to a sport that is and always has been about technology. I sure as hell would watch a few dozen of these things battle it out at 236 miles per hour around a track. Especially if they held nigh races. And the cars were festooned with electroluminescent logos.
I play a little game during night drives. I try to identify the make, model, and year of cars by the shape of their taillights or headlights alone. I’m pretty good. See, I have an Asperger’s-like obsession with cars and I’m rarely stumped. So when most of the cars at an auto museum absolutely confound me, I know it’s good. And thus, the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Ca., is good.
The Blackhawk Museum is tucked in the foothills of Mt. Diablo, technically in Danville, just south of the upscale community of Blackhawk. It was built in ‘88 and has 70,000-square-feet of gallery space. The place may be small, but it’s crammed with a stunning, bizarro collection of contraptions. On average, it houses about 90 cars, most on loan to the museum from private collectors.
And it’s quite a collection, spanning automotive history from the early teens right up through the Malaise. But enough talk, let’s take a look at some of these rides.
This red-and-sliver behemoth has classic coachwork by revered designer Raymond Detrich, who said, “I want to be to the automobile what the architect is to the building.” And it’s like a rolling building with barrel sides, acres of hood, and a gigantic trunk hanging off the rear bumper. But the elaborate chrome articulating driving lights really caught my eye. Check out the complex cable setup to move them in concert with the steering wheel. The Model 745 packed the legendary 384 c.i. L-head straight eight good for 120 horsepower.
The Pegaso’s concoction of crazy curves makes your head hurt, but it’s enticing nonetheless. The car was built by the government-owned Empresa Nacional de Automocamiones S.A. from 1951 to 1957. It’s a true sports car with a 2.8-liter DOHC V-8 that puts out 250 horsepower. Priced between $15,000 and $35,000, it was one of the most expensive cars in the world. Only 56 of them have survived the ravages of time.
Industrialist Stanley H. Arnolt made loads of cash selling lubricant and parts to the military during WWII. With his newfound wealth, he partnered with British boutique car shop Bristol and Bertone to create Arnolt-Bristol roadsters and coupes. The catfish-like roadsters were powered by BMW-derived straight sixes, rode on British chassis, and had Italian bodywork. According to the placard, this one is rocking a Corvette V-8. The little car is stunning in person, muscular and dainty at the same time.
Lagonda was founded by Wilbur Gunn, a mechanic from Ohio who moved to England in 1897. By the time this drophead coupe was made, the company had been bought by the Brits and W. O. Bentley himself was in charge of design and engineering. It carries all of Bentley’s engineering breakthroughs: an OHC V-12, independent front suspension, hydraulic brakes, and outboard rear springs. It’s also drop-dead gorgeous.
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This Cadillac is big. The kind of big that wrecks your sense of scale. When you see an aircraft carrier, your brain does a little summersault. Things that big aren’t supposed to float. This Cadillac is like that. Things this big aren’t supposed to drive. Specifically, this convertible is more than 22 feet long. Its coach-built body was commissioned by wealthy Swiss playboy Philippe Barraud. It has a 452 c.i. V-16. And it was built during the Great Depression.
This Duesenberg Model SJ has custom coachwork by Bohman and Schwartz of Pasadena and it certainly looks like it should be carting a quartet of Hollywood stars. The droptop’s supercharged straight eight puts out 320 horsepower, almost twice as much power as contemporary luxury cars.
Chrysler couldn’t get away with a name like “Firebomb” today, but in 1955 it was the perfect name for this Ghia-designed droptop. And unlike most show cars, this one actually went into production. Detroit magnate Eugene Casaroll purchased the design and production rights from Chrysler and made the car under the name Dual-Ghia between 1956 and 1958. The cars ran 315 c.i. hemis and rode on Chrysler chassis. Famous Dual-Ghia owners included Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Richard Nixon.
This angry French front-wheel-drive coupe was built by Angelo and Paul Albert Bucciali in 1930. It’s powered by an American Continental inline eight. While impressive, it’s nothing compared to the brothers’ Double Huit, a front-wheel-drive monster powered by two straight eight engines mounted side by side.
This Caddy was made long before velvet jumpsuits, platform shoes with goldfish in them, and pimp hats, but Super Fly would feel right at home in it anyway. It was bodied by famous French coach builder Jacques Saoutchik and at one time cruised the streets of Hollywood. It was eventually sold to a modest Midwesterner who bought the coupe for his wife. Her favorite color was purple.
In the ’50s, Alfa Romeo wanted to cheat the wind. Legendary designers Franco Scaglione and Nuccio Bertone designed a series of hyper-streamlined concept cars dubbed BAT (Berlinetta Aerodynamica Technica) between 1953 and 1955. Blackhawk has all three of them, the BAT 5, 7, and 9 cars. They are absolutely gorgeous—meticulously formed shapes that invoke sleek and slippery creatures like the manta ray or tiger shark. They’re worth the price of admission alone.
Imagine cramming six people—not wearing clown suits—into this contraption. That’s what the 1957 Fiat 600 Multipla was designed to hold. And now you can have one of your own!
Multiplas have got to be rare stateside, which would explain the bidding frenzy for this little imp. The seller’s pretty sure it has a 1,000-cc Abarth engine and is positive it’s packing a Weber carb. And all the electrical baubles work, including the dome light. Quite a feat for a crotchety old Fiat.
There’s only a day left on the auction, so if you want a minivan that fits in your other minivan, you’d better bid soon.
Via: eBay
The French have a healthy relationship with lust. To them, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s no repressed, punished, or controlled. It’s celebrated as the ultimate expression of unbridled passion. And it shows in their cars. Bare with me here. The Citroën DS is one of the sexiest cars ever made and since then, the French have periodically produced subtly sexy rides. The Citroën SM, the Renault Alpine A110, the Peugeot 205 GTI, the Renault Clio V6, and many more. They’re not drop-dead gorgeous like Italian supermodels, but they’re sexy in a girl-next-door-you’d-definitely-marry kind of way.
The DS3-R is the latest sexy ride to come out of Citroën. Rumor is it’ll come packed with a turbocharged 1.6-liter four good for more than 200 horsepower and will ride on rally-inspired suspension. A race version of the DS3-R will replace the current C4 rally car on courses in the near future. Chances of the DS3 or DS3-R being available for sale in the U.S. are close to zero, but we can dream.
Via: Autoblog
It has ten wheels, four-wheel steering, two small-block Chevy V-8s, and a host of Citroën DS parts. It’s the PLR, a monstrous contraption created by Michelin in the ’70s to test truck tires. The thing weighs more than 10 metric tons and is capable of sustaining speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour. And it looks like the Yellow Submarine on wheels.
Hit the jump for more photos.
Via: Ran When Parked
The PLR packed two 350-ci. Chevy V-8s, one to power the rear six wheels, another to spin a mid-mounted truck tire for testing. The font four wheels steered the beast around a test track in France.
What’s better than a 1966 Olds Toronado? A 1966 Olds Toronado with TWO engines.
Tycoon Grant McCoon of the Grant Piston ring company built this insane prototype in the late ’60s. It has two Olds 425-ci. V-8s, one in its original position powering the front wheels and one in the trunk for the back wheels. The thing supposedly has a combined 770 horsepower and can hit 100 miles per hour in 11 seconds.
McCoon’s plan was to sell twin-engined Toronados to other tycoons who needed a little extra oomph for their daily drive. Needless to say, it never happened and this brown monstrosity is the only surviving example of his mad genius.
Via: Grant Piston Rings, CarPictures.com
Have dreams of launching a boutique auto firm? Startup Trexa may have a way for you to get into the biz. The company has created an open-source electric car platform that can be used to develop unique rides. Before you scoff, check out the specs:
The 1,250-pound chassis is made from welded and bonded aluminum, carbon steel tubing, and fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. It’s all-wheel-drive, has regenerative braking, and is good for a top speed of 100mph without modifications. It’s packed with lithium iron phosphate batteries and should get 105 miles on a shingle charge. Recharge time is four hours.
Trexa crams everything into a skateboard-like chassis that has an extremely low center of gravity. Driver controls are all electronic and can be placed anywhere you like, giving you a wide range of design choices. The developer kit comes with CAD drawings so you can model a body for the chassis and open-source software for the electronics. With a few tweaks of the code you could adjust steering and braking sensitivity, acceleration, and more.
The chassis will be available in three wheel bases (64, 80, and 96 inches) with a variety of battery options to shorten or extend range. There’s also the option of dual-motor drive and variable torque between front and rear axles. With the right combo of options, an ingenious designer could create a wicked little electric roadster.
Via: Gizmag
Behold the fury of this ferocious 454-powered ‘67 Camaro as it terrorizes the plebeian traffic of Swedish country roads on the way to a dirt track.
This video poped up on the Internets quite a while ago, but it’s worth revisiting. Again, and again. And again.
My dad’s 327-powered ‘55 Chevy had a Hurst T-bar shifter just like that, too.
Via: Jalopnik