Video: Home-made racing simulator rocks our senses!
Remember that two-hundred ton F1 simulator Ferrari has tucked somewhere in their research facility?
Turns out, you can probably make your own F1 Simulator and fit it inside your bedroom. All you need to have is a flat-screen HDTV, some pretty extensive knowledge of physics and robotics, and it’ll probably be advantageous to also know how to build the damned thing from scratch.
Don’t think it’s impossible to do because this really lucky dude has one working just fine – mighty fine, even.
But hey, if you have neither the capabilities nor the finances to build such an awesome simulator, it’s not the end of the world. But you’d probably be green with envy too – just like we are – of this guy hamming it up Wipeout-style.
Video: Home-made racing simulator rocks our senses! originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 6 March 2010 10:53 EST.
Louis Vuitton files infringement suit against Hyundai for improper use of design trademark on a basketball
We didn’t notice it at first but a certain high-end couture brand certainly did and they’re dropping the hammer on Hyundai for having the audacity to associate their luxury line to the Korean automaker and its 2011 Sonata.
Apprently, Louis Vuitton wasn’t all that thrilled when Hyundai used their trademark design and symbols on an obviously high-end basketball in one of their Super Bowl commercials. The whole scene happens a little too fast in the commercial so it could’ve escaped even the most astute eyes watching television during the Big Game,
But it turns out, Louis Vuitton has the eyes of the hawk, immediately recognizing their image and liking on the basketball and immediately filed a law suit against Hyundai for copyright infringement. We’re not familiar with the whole lexicon of infringement laws but Louis Vuittions demand of “triple damages, punitive damages, a halt to the alleged infringement, and other remedies” doesn’t sound a whole lot like “Ok, we caught you. Now drop that footage from your ad”.
We’ve still to hear from Hyundai regarding Louis Vuitton’s lawsuit so we don’t know how they plan to address the situation. Nevertheless, we can show you the commercial and the clip-in-question in its entirety so you can see what got LVM all riled up.
Video after the jump
Louis Vuitton files infringement suit against Hyundai for improper use of design trademark on a basketball originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 6 March 2010 11:39 EST.
Koenigsegg releases online configurator for new Agera supercar
If you took a stab at drawing percentages on how many people in this world can afford a Koenigsegg Agera, a safe estimate would probably be around 10%. As far as the remaining 90% of the world’s population is concerned – and that includes us, by the way – the closest thing we can do to owning an Agera is to buy one of its die-cast models at a Toys R’ Us.
But while the reality of owning Koenigsegg’s new supercar is about as likely as seeing Ronald McDonald’s chowing down at Burger King, there are still ways for us to fill our heads with delusion – like play dress-up on the Agera through Koenigsegg’s new online configurator.
Koenigsegg’s online configurator allows us to touch up and retool the Agera to our liking. We can choose among a palette of colors for the car’s exterior, pick out a rear spoiler for the car, and even choose what set of rims would go best with our freshly-minted Agera. In addition to that, we can also play designer with the car’s interior as well as pick out what additional options we’d want on our make-believe Agera.
Of course, this configurator doesn’t do a whole lot except to exercise our imaginations and while it’s not on the same level as having the resources to actually buy one, a lot of us realize that this is about as close as we can get to playing with the Agera.
Koenigsegg releases online configurator for new Agera supercar originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 6 March 2010 13:21 EST.
FIA denies USF1’s delay request; US team officially dead
The FIA has made a verdict on USF1’s request of delaying its F1 entry for 2011 and much to the dismay of the US-based outfit, they’re appeal was resoundly denied. The loss of USF1 for the 2010 grid means that one spot will be vacated, paving the way for the possibility that Stefan GP could take USF1’s place.
As it stands now, the FIA is doing a business review over the viability of the Serbian-based team and if they decide that the team is structurally-fit, then they could make it for the season-opening race in Bahrain next week.
Bernie Ecclestone, however, thinks that allowing a team to join for the season this close to the first race of the year doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Continued after the jump.
FIA denies USF1’s delay request; US team officially dead originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 5 March 2010 12:00 EST.
Video: Bubba’s World Trailer
Yamaha Supercross rider James “Bubba” Steward will have his own show called Bubba’s World on FELD Motor Sports and we just came across the recently released trailer indicating March 28th as the date of the premiere. We wish Steward good luck and plenty of fun with his TV career, but we can’t see him giving the sound of a cheering crowd over big audience figures any time soon.
Video: Bubba’s World Trailer originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 2 March 2010 17:05 EST.
Chrysler 300C eco style
Chrysler unveiled today the 300C eco style today at the Geneva Motor Show. The model is individually accessorized with eco-friendly materials such as cork, bamboo, recycled jute carpeting and suede seat inserts and feature refurbished wheels while providing high-end luxury and elegant design.
The 300C eco style is painted in Vanilla exterior color with black roof and features unique pewter finished exterior accents and large 20-inch wheels. It is powered by a 5.7-liter HEMI® engine with Multi-displacement System (MDS), a system that alternates between smooth high-fuel-economy four-cylinder mode when less power is needed and V-8 mode when more power is needed.
Press release after the jump.
Chrysler 300C eco style originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 2 March 2010 18:00 EST.
Seat Ibe Concept
If you needed one more proof that the Geneva Show will be all about electric and hybrid cars here it is: the Seat Ibe Concept, a 2+2-seater, zero-emission vehicle.
The Seat Ibe’s drive motor is located together with the power electronics beneath the extremely flat bonnet, with the lithium-ion battery positioned in the car’s very short rear. The concept can deliver a maximum of 102 hp (but is limited to 68 hp) and 200 Nm of torque. The concept can go from 0 to 50 km/h takes only 3.4 seconds; within 6.3 seconds, the IBE has reached 80 km/h, and after only 9.4 seconds it arrives at 100 km/h. Top speed is also limited to 160 km/h (100mph).
The concept’s front is defined by full-LED headlamps, two air intakes in the lower bumper section and a V-shaped bonnet. The rear light clusters also feature LED light guide technology with a hint of a diffuser beneath the rear bumper area reflecting the visual of the front air intakes.
Press release after the jump.
Seat Ibe Concept originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 1 March 2010 18:00 EST.
Kawazuki by Icon
Apart from providing motorcycle gear for speed junkies, Icon also likes to get their hands dirty from time to time while customizing, obviously, Japanese motorcycles. One of their latest creations is actually called the Kawazuki, originally a 1979 Kawasaki KZ1000 with an ordinary destiny, but which ended up with a modified frame (mounts for rearsets included), a Suzuki SV1000 monoshock and front end as well as with a ’92 GSX-R750 swingarm and rear wheel.
The original engine was fitted with a 1075cc Wiseco big bore kit so that this classic would keep up with modern bikes, but it is a pleasure just to look at it.
Kawazuki by Icon originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 15:34 EST.
Toyota’s recalled cars ballons to 10 million; adds Prius and Lexus HS 250h to the list
With Toyota embroiled in the biggest crisis in company history, you’d figure that there’s no way to go but up for the embattled auto giant. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Toyota’s problems are far from over.
After already recalling an estimated 8 million vehicles over sticky accelerator, a new problem has arisen from a number of Toyota units, forcing the Japanese-based automaker to recall about 437,000 more units of the Toyota Prius, the Lexus HS 250h, and the Toyota Sai.
What makes is worse for Toyota is that the recall of these units is completely different from the over 9 million vehicles that Toyota has previously recalled. While those cars suffered from sticky accelerators pedals, this latest batch consisting mostly of Prius and Lexus HS 250h models involve “inconsistent braking during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated in an effort to maintain traction.”
It may sound a little too complicated at first but the bottom line is that these cars have a very serious braking problem, which could end up leading to fatal accidents down the road. While accidents stemming from this problem have been minimal, Toyota isn’t taking any more chances in making irreparable damage to its already hard-hit reputation.
Toyota’s recalled cars ballons to 10 million; adds Prius and Lexus HS 250h to the list originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 16:00 EST.
Bobby Allison’s Dodge Charger Daytona
Last year towards the end of the NASCAR season we had the opportunity to talk with three time Daytona 500 winner and South Florida native Bobby Allison about his life in the stock car circuit. One of his more memorable machines was a red and gold Coca-cola sponsored 1970 Dodge Charger Daytona, that oddly enough never even turned a wheel in competition, recently went up for auction at the 2010 Mecum Auto Auctions in Kissimmee, FL.
What makes this car so special, aside from the over sized wing towering over the rear end that was designed to provide down force and stability at over 200 MPH on the high banks of super speedways like Talladega and the track the car was named after, Daytona. For the 1970 season, the man in charge of NASCAR, Bill France, handicapped the big winged race cars by limiting their displacement forcing racers to choose between sheer power and aerodynamic optimization. Never being one to back down from a challenge, Allison and car builder Mario Rossi decided to try their luck with a destroked version of the 426 Hemi that only displaced 305 cubic inches.
Any enthusiast knows that there is no replacement for displacement, but any engine builder will tell you that for every 0.1 Liters you lose, the motor gains about 2,000 RPM. While the new combination looked promising for the 1970 NASCAR season, Mr. France flexed his muscle once again and banned the car from competition, so the world was never able to see what a big winged high revving Hemi could have done on track. Unfortunately the one of a kind test mule didn’t sell at auction despite registering a high bid of $210,000.
Press release after the jump.
Bobby Allison’s Dodge Charger Daytona originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 16:38 EST.