It's been long in the making, but here's the first official trailer of the next chapter in the Fast and Furious franchise. The fifth installment of the car-crazy film, which is being marketed as "Fast 5", brings back together many familiar faces from the previous movies including Vin Diesel as ex-con Dom Toretto, Paul Walker as former cop Brian O'Conner, and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, as well as some fresh faces such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who plays the role of federal agent Luke Hobbs.
This time the team of car bandits heads to Rio De Janeiro in Brazil. The film is set to be released on April 29, 2011. You can watch the official trailer right after the break and tell us what you think about it in the comments section below.
In what may be a sign of the times, the Chrysler Group is using bloggers, and members of social media sites and forums to promote its newest models on film. Here we see the company's latest promotional clip showing off the restyled and upgraded Sebring sedan, which as most of you know, has been renamed to 200.
The video hosts a number of people from various websites as well as one of its own marketers, and compares the mid-size sedan with Chevrolet's soon-to-be-replaced Malibu (see the official drawings here) and the Ford Fusion. Being a Chrysler made / edited promotional video, we'd take everything said with plenty grains of salt. Follow the break to watch the short clip.
A prototype model of the Ferrari 599 covered in black cladding has been snagged on film during testing at the Fiorano circuit. We're not entirely sure if it's a test mule for a replacement of the 599 or an updated version of the current model, possibly featuring Ferrari's upcoming KERS energy-recovery system which was first shown on the Geneva Salon HY-KERS hybrid concept.
In any case, the vented hood and the styling of the bumpers point towards a prototype based on the 670-horsepower 599 GTO, which was introduced into the range this past April, with some minor changes such as the California-esque LED headlamps. Watch the video right after the jump.
Set to air on December 26, Top Gear’s [the original] newest Christmas Special will see Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take the role of the three wise men, as they celebrate Christ’s birth in the Middle East (see a video shoot from Israel here). Other highlights of the show will be drag races between the Mercedes SLS, Porsche GT3 RS and Ferrari 458 Italia, set in the Big Apple. According to BBC’s Youtube channel, Danny Boyle will be the next star in the Reasonably Priced Car. Follow through the break for the video clip.
For obvious reasons, there aren’t that many classic drifting competitions during the winter time. However, some drivers can't stay away from the sport. Despite the freezing conditions with temperatures hovering around 30F or -1 Celsius throughout the day, the “100 Drifters of December” event, held at the Summit Point racetrack in West Virginia, took place as planned. Follow the jump to watch these cold weather drifters in action.
The New Lancia Stratos has completed yet another step of its lengthy unveiling process. This time we have information about the official presentation, which took place on November 29-30, at the Paul Ricard Circuit in Le Castellet, France. There, a select few had the opportunity to see the cabin for the first time, a racecar concept, while they were also informed that the New Stratos could be built in limited production run if there's substantial interest from potential buyers.
The New Stratos is the modern-day incarnation of the legendary Lancia Stratos HF of the ‘70s. Back in 2008, German businessman Michael Stoschek commissioned Pininfarina to build this unique car, after having dwelled on the idea since 2003.
The story of the original Stratos began in 1970, when Italian design studio Bertone presented the Zero Concept Car. Being a light machine with ideal weight distribution, it was only a matter of time until motorsport fans would see it on the rally tracks.
And sure enough, the concept caught the eye of Lancia’s rally team manager, Cesaro Fiorio, so the Stratos HF made its debut in 1973. Featuring a Ferrari Dino V6 engine, it rocked the world of rallying and eventually won three consecutive World Championships.
With such an impressive heritage, the New Stratos had to be every bit as good. As mentioned, Pininfarina was commissioned to give life to the successor, under the direct guidance of Mr. Stoschek.
The owner of the Brose Group – the fifth largest family-owned automotive supplier in the world – told Pininfarina that “because the design of the Lancia Stratos was characterized by the contrast between round and rectilinear elements, I wanted to see that tension to be carried over into the New Stratos as well”.
Looking at the pictures, it’s obvious that the famous Italian design house did a great job. We simply cannot imagine a better shape for this retro-flavored beast. Speaking of which, the design wasn’t the only thing that needed to be solved properly. The new model had to excel in the performance division as well.
For this, engineers turned their attention to Ferrari. Work started with a F430 Scuderia platform, which was heavily modified for the best results possible. Hence, the New Stratos not only impresses on paper, but also managed to win over Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo and other company officials.
New information was at hand for those lucky enough to attend the press event. For the first time, the car's inner-works were displayed. The cabin boasts a pair of body-hugging bucket seats, metallic accents and an impressive Ferrari-sourced steering wheel, complete with LED lights for upshift guidance. It also get storage spaces for helmets, just like in the Stratos Zero.
The second item on the menu was the unveiling of a scale model, painted in rally livery. There’s no official information, but this could be a hint to a New Stratos racecar in the near future.
Last but not certainly not least, the creators of the New Stratos revealed that they will build the car in limited quantity if there's enough interest. Those willing to spend a small fortune on a unique sports car are advised to contact the company at "contact -at- new-stratos.com" for more information.
At this year’s Bologna Motor Show in Italy, Ferrari unveiled the fabulous 458 Challenge, a competition model boasting the standard model's 4.5-liter V8 capable of 570 hp. To promote the new racer, Ferrari also organized a series of tests at the Valencia circuit in Spain, inviting its own test drivers and Challenge Cup competitors to share their thoughts about the car. According to Raffaele De Simone, the 458 Challenge is faster than its predecessor, the F430 Challenge, but also easier to drive, while Maurizio Mediani was impressed with the double-clutch gearbox. Scroll down for the video.
Dynamometers, or dynos for short, are a useful tool in any racer’s arsenal. By applying some basic physical principles, a dyno can calculate the amount of horsepower and torque being transferred from the wheels to the track, without ever needing to leave the safety of the garage.
So here’s the scoop (according to the posters): some students at Mech-Tech College in Ponce, Puerto Rico were putting a Lancer Evolution VII through its paces on the school’s dyno, when disaster struck. Everything seems normal until 16 seconds in, when the Lancer careens to the left and slides off. Of course, it was all captured on video for our edification.
According to the EvolutionM forum, the vehicle was improperly strapped down. It has something to do with the fitting of a Blow Off Valve (BOV) dump tube which changes the way the vehicle behaves both on the track...and on the dyno. Of course, nobody seems to have taken this into account when tying the Evo down.
Check out the vid and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
The automotive industry has seen many flops during its century-long existence, most of them due to poor thinking and execution. Every once in a while, though, some truly innovative vehicles receive the axe simply because they were ahead of their time.
Renault’s Avantime is one such an example. Built in cooperation with Matra, the coupe-MPV was unlike anything else on the road when it was launched in 2001. Unfortunately, buyers weren’t ready to embrace such a radical vehicle. Ironically, a decade later, oddities like the BMW X6 and Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet are on the verge of becoming trendsetters.
The Avantime’s history dates back to the early 1990s, when Philippe Guédon, head of automotive division at Matra, noted an important change in the customer base of the Espace.
He believed that children of Espace owners remained loyal to the brand even after they grew up, but also wanted Renault to give them something new, with a stronger focus on driving pleasure. This how the CoupéSpace concept came to be, a design study that offered the van’s versatility, clad in a 2+2 coupe body.
A partnership between Renault and Matra was signed in 1998 and the Avantime name was adopted. The chassis came from the Matra-built Espace III, while design guru Patrick Le Quément was responsible for the body and interior.
The key word for the coupe-MPV was innovation. In hindsight, this was an understatement, as the French maker boldly went where no one has gone before. The name, which sounds like “ahead of time”, wasn’t just a cheap pun.
The Avantime featured a “one-box” setup, typical for an MPV, but eliminated the B-pillars to obtain the desired coupe look and had two enormous doors, for easy access. Much of the body was built using galvanized steel and polyester panels, while the upper structure was made from exposed aluminum. This lowered the center of gravity and improved rigidity, allowing engineers to fit the Avantime with a large sunroof.
Despite the very long doors, the Avantime could use a normal parking space without any trouble. It had a never before seen double parallel-opening system (dubbed “double-kinematic”), which minimized outswing.
Inside, the second row of seats was positioned higher, giving passengers a theater-like experience. The panoramic roof improved the sensation of space and, at a push of a button, it could be opened, together with all windows, for an “open air” mode.
The cabin featured four individual seats with incorporated seatbelts and clad in upscale leather. The interior design was minimalistic, but the materials and build quality was above average for the time.
Upon sale, the Avantime boasted a 3.0-liter V6 petrol engine, delivering 207 hp. Just like today, the large displacement scared away most European buyers and the smaller 2.0-liter petrol and 2.2-liter diesel powerplants were offered too late. Thus, Renault was simply unable to avoid the disaster that was shaping up.
In 2003, only two years into its lifecycle and with just 8,557 units sold, the futuristic Avantime was discontinued, in what was to become one of the biggest flops that the French maker had to endure.
However, the Avantime was not a bad car and it’s a prized item among collectors these days. A nice example sells for just £4,500 (€5,377 or US $7,127 at today’s exchange rates) on eBay UK, which is pocket change for such a unique car.
