Ferrari’s new F12Berlinetta Launch Video
First off there is no typo in the title, it really is all one word...F12Berlinetta. Now that we have that out of the way check out the amazing launch video below. I'll admit I'm not a fan of the styling and never have been of front engined Ferrari's but this has the performance to more than make up for it as it's the fastest production Ferrari ever. 730hp and a 0-62 in 3.1 seconds and of course that hypnotizing Ferrari exhaust note that they more than show off in the video. Check it out below...
Ever Wonder What Goes Into Building a Supercar?
Guess we should call it a "hypercar" as that seems to be the latest term for these over the top, drive-able, pieces of art like the new Pagani Huayra. We look at the specs of all these cars in amazement but check out the 14 minute documentary below to see what it really takes to produce a car like that... from the carbon/titanium body, to the hand-made exhaust, the brakes, and even the rear badge that takes 24 hours to machine. It's simply amazing how much design and engineering go into the simplest of things on a car of this caliber. Just think, the car you're driving to work was completely assembled in the time it takes to make a freakin' badge of the Huayra.
Audi Quattro Porn
The new R18 Audi LeMans fighter might not have your typical Quattro system due to boring rules but that doesn't keep them from using a crap-load of Quattro footage in their latest hype video. Of course I'm not complaining because the footage is pretty amazing. And since Audi found a way to, at least at times, use all 4 wheels during the LeMans race it does make sense. With it's e-tron regenerative braking system the R18 gets power to the front wheels between braking events as per the rules. I guess that's what loop-holes are for. Check the video below and lets all hope Audi has a better showing this year...I think they're still picking up carbon fiber splinters from last year's 24.
Studded Tires and Horsepower
It may be warming up around here enough to finally get the cars out but some people decided not to wait. Check out the video below of a Yamaha R1 going up against a 911 GT3. You'd think traction might be an issue but the R1 pulling up the front wheel shows that when you have a few screws in the tire snow and ice suddenly become pavement.
If that wasn't crazy enough the camera zooms in showing the R1's speedometer sitting at an insane 258kph, or 160mph. After the rocket and Porsche have their fun a sightly more sane paring of a WR450 and Evo close the show out.
SRT’s Viper ACR-X Laps “The Ring” in 7:03.058
Just a few months after the original ACR ousted the special edition LFA as the king of the ring the new, full race (read: not street legal) ACR-X bumps the record yet again with a time of 7:03.058. That's almost 10 seconds better than the old record and close to 6 minute territory.
The ACR-X features the 650hp V10 with a tuned suspension, roll cage, fuel cell, modified exhaust, and not much of anything else that adds un-needed weight making it an insanely efficient out of the box racer. I'm interested to see if the new Viper set to debut this April comes in it's own race-ready form that might allow the SRT team to hit that sub 7 minute lap time.
You can see SRT's official announcement here. Check out the video of the run below.
Top Gear USA Returns Tonight
Just a quick PSA that Top Gear USA returns tonight at 9:00EST on the History Channel. It's taking some flack for not being on par with the hugely popular British version but it still has amazing cars and the same high production quality as seen in the original. The hosts seem to be meshing a bit better too making the dialogue seem a lot less forced. So check it out for yourself tonight.
[Source: History Channel]
Winter Time Fun at the Nurburgring
Some guys have all the fun. Andy Gulden, the cheif instructor of the Nurburgring Driving Academy takes a Formula car out for a spin on the snow and ice covered track. Most of us here are just trying to make it till April/May when the tracks open and we can get out again while this guy is blasting around regardless of temperature or conditions. This video makes me want to start calling tracks to see if racing on a snow covered track is an issue for them.
The video is cool to watch for sure but it goes to show the amazing car control this guy has. He's struggling to keep it straight for most of the video but he mostly does minus some controlled slides. Impressive for sure.
24 Hours of Daytona Pit Stop
Ever wonder what it's like to do a tire change on a Rolex Series GT car? From the Team Sahlen YouTube channel we see it from Drew Bayer's helmet cam. Much quicker than I do it of course. Last time I tried to get a tire off quick I threw my back out so it looks like I'll be watching this race for a few more years instead of flinging tires around the pits.
Tighten Your Belts!!
This video has been making the usual Internet rounds as of late as is mainly being used to show off just how many g's an F1 car can pull. However, more alarmingly, I'm noticing the looseness of the belts. Luckily nothing happened but even on some of those corners she was close to coming out of the belts completely. One mistake from the driver and it would probably have been better if she wasn't wearing them at all.
First time I was on the track in a car other than my own was an instructors old school Porsche 911. It wasn't the fastest thing in the world but it could brake and corner like a mother. I thought my belts were tight in the pits but once I got out there I noticed they weren't tight enough. They were no where as loose as in this video but I was still struggling not to get thrown around. Lesson learned for sure, now I make sure the belts are beyond tight and if I'm in a car with street belts I at least try to pull off the slouch down and yank on the belt in hopes it locks in. Object of the ride is to have fun (in the instance of this video) or learn (in an instructors car)...not holding on for your life.
Learn More Than You’ll Ever Need to Know About F1
The Mercedes AMG F1 team is serving up some interesting tidbits relating to their F1 cars in a series they're calling "Winter Facts". A ploy to get us through the boring winter months until racing once again starts (F1 testing started this week actually). They have 13 news posts on it and their page isn't exactly the easiest to use so in order to get the full list you have to do some clicking. To make your lives a bit easier we pulled out some of the more interesting ones below. Our thoughts are in the brackets and we did the math to convert the metric crap into stuff we understand. If we missed one you think should have made the list post it in the comments below. If you've got time to click through all of them check out the source link at the bottom of the page.
- An F1 car travelling at 200kph (124mph) generates enough downforce to drive upside down. [Probably the most well known fact]
- A typical KERS system will weigh around 35kg (77lbs). [Pretty heavy for a lightweight F1 car...]
- The car is comprised of over 3,200 parts and takes around 90,000 hours to design and 200,000 to manufacture. [How much time does Mercedes spend putting together a road car?]
- Drivers can experience up to 6g in cornering and braking. [Astronauts feel around 3-4g during take off...pussies]
- The braking of an F1 car is so powerful it can draw tears from the driver’s eyes.
- Fuel used by F1 cars is in fact very similar to that used by road cars, contrary to popular belief. [Wonder what is defined as very similar..I figured it would be fairly high octane but perhaps not]
- The drag from an F1 car’s aerodynamics is so strong that at 280kph (173mph) lifting off the accelerator is the equivalent of braking as hard as you can in a road car. [Which road car they're comparing it to could make this impressive or unimpressive]
- The front wing of the car can withstand over 500 kilos (1102lbs) of downforce - equivalent to the weight of 6 men. [German men must be lighter than Americans]
- In overalls a driver can survive for 11 seconds in temperatures of 840 degrees Celsius (1544 F). [I wouldn't want to test that]
- Carbon fibre accounts for 85% of an F1 car but this only represents around 30% of the total weight of the car. [ Would be interesting to see the full breakdown]
- Tyres can reach temperatures of up to 160 degrees Celsius (320 F)
[Source: Mercedes AMG F1 Website]