The future of M: BMW X5, X6 and less
July 30, 2008
Filed under: Motorsports, Sports/GTs, Euro, BMW, Special/Limited Editions
The CEO of BMW M GmbH, Ludwig Willisch, spilled his guts to Auto-Motor-und-Sport in a current interview about the future of BMW’s high-performance M division. The news was good, bad, and downright dumbfounding. For the good, Willish mentioned that future M-models will include high-revving turbocharged engines, and offer ceramic brakes. The bad news is that there will be no E91 M3 Touring, E92 M3 CSL, or M1 Concept. Apparently… Continue reading
Dynolicious turns iPhone into cheap performance meter
July 30, 2008
The world has gone iPhone crazy since Apple released v2.0 of its sleek mobile device, and while GPS and 3G have been big draws, the multitude of available software apps in the new App Store has been the real wild card. One app that has us really psyched is a new automotive performance meter called Dynolicious from BunsenTech. It uses the accelerometer inside the iPhone to let you record 0-10 through 0-100 times, quarter mile and trap speed, Lateral Gs… Continue reading
Franchitti to stick to NASCAR, moves down to Nationwide Series
July 28, 2008
Filed under: Motorsports, Dodge, Humor
Following the closure of his Sprint Cup ride last month, Dario Franchitti will run several races in the second-tier Nationwide Series before the end of the season. The Scottish driver was reportedly offered several options by Chip Ganassi, and selected to concentrate on NASCAR rather than move back to open wheels or elsewhere.
Franchitti will begin campaigning in the Nationwide Series after the season’s road course races are wrapped up in Montreal and Watkins Glen. The No. 40 Fastenal… Continue reading
London Motor Show Mega Post
July 25, 2008
Filed under: Concept Vehicles, Misc. Auto Shows
Click any image above for a high-res gallery.The British International Motor Show wrapped up earlier this week and even though we weren’t able to attend in person, we’ve assembled a sizeable gallery of live shots from the show floor. Unlike… Continue reading
F1 teams debating introduction of KERS for 2009
July 25, 2008
Filed under: Motorsports, Tech
Following two incidents in two weeks, it looks like the ballyhooed KERS hybrid system might not make it onto Formula 1 vehicles for 2009 — at least, not the first races. Teams have begun to talk about how much difficulty they’re having in building a safe system. KERS not only needs to work when the car is racing around the track, it also needs to be engineered properly in the event of a 300-kph accident.
In addition to Red… Continue reading
Camaro painted with remote control automobiles
July 25, 2008
Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Chevrolet, GM, Misc. Auto Shows
Click the above image for a hi-res gallery of the RC-painted Camaro
The British are good for all sorts of car-centric goodness. When they’re not busy building zippy little monsters remarkably ill-suited to their weather, they’re… making art. English artist Ian Cook took a few remote controlled automobiles, drove them through paint, and then used them to paint a Camaro.
Called “Popbang Color” and on display now at the… Continue reading
Autoclub Speedway Redline Time Attack and Live Sockets Circuit Battle
July 24, 2008
Filed under: Motorsports, Tuners, Sports/GTs
Click the image above for a high-res view.The Redline Time Attack series has been growing steadily since its inception a few years ago. The events follow a format similar to the qualifying portion of a typical race — essentially fastest time wins. Redline events have been the stage for several exciting top lap time battles, such as one between James Sofronas (of SCCA Speed World Challenge fame) piloting his GMG Porsche GT3 against XS Engineering with their R32 Nissan… Continue reading
RCA grads design eco-friendly concepts for the future
July 24, 2008
Filed under: Concept Cars, Hybrids/Alternative, Green
Click above for more RCA Eco-Friendly Concepts
Whenever car design students tackle a project with as little direction as designing a “future eco-friendly car,” you know that the designs will bear tiny resemblance to what’s currently available. Still, when it’s students from the Royal College of Art we’re talking about, we should take note. After all, this is the same school that graduated the likes of Peter Horbury, Ian Callum, Martin Smith from Ford of Europe, Aston Martin’s… Continue reading
London 2008: Renaultsport Megane R26.R
July 23, 2008
Filed under: Euro, Hatchbacks, Misc. Auto Shows, Renault
While most of our recent hot hatch affection has been aimed at the Ford Focus RS, Renault brought its own racy three-door to the London Motor Show celebration, and now we’re torn. Admittedly, the Focus RS is easily the more suitable day-to-day driver - it’s got a full interior and air conditioning — but the Renaultsport Megane R26.R has all the kit for a serious track-day assault. Hell, it even has… Continue reading
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster states, “Cheerio!”
July 23, 2008
Filed under: Concept Vehicles, Convertibles, Green, Honda, Misc. Auto Shows
Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Honda OSM
Honda says that the OSM roadster on display at the 2008 British Motor Show is merely a design study, but given that “design study” is frequently a euphemism for “future design language,” we wonder if we’re seeing the next iteration of Honda automobile styling. Frankly, we hope so, because this is worlds better than what we’ve seen… Continue reading
