Tag: cool

Auctions: 1973 Lancia Stratos makes for a super cool barn find

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Off-Road, Lancia, Racing

1972 Lancia Stratos barn find front three-quarters

Like a scene out of Forza Horizon, finding something like an ultra-rare 1972 Lancia Stratos is a dream. The Ferrari-engined, Bertone-bodied rally car is one of the automotive highlights of the 1970s, winning the World Rally Championship three straight times (1974, 1975 and 1976). And while there were some 492 road cars produced, none were formally exported to the United States. Which makes the appearance of this red, Stradale variant quite a find.

It’s up for auction at Bonhams, which has a thorough rundown of this particular model. As we said, it’s a Stradale (Italian for “street”), designed to fulfill FIA homologation requirements. It uses a detuned variant of the Stratos rally car’s 2.4-liter Ferrari V6, with 192 horsepower routed through a five-speed manual transmission. The curb weight sits under 2,200 pounds, which Bonhams estimates will help with the car’s claimed 0-60 time of around five seconds.

This car was originally sold in Germany, before being imported to the US late in 1982 by a British national. He took delivery in Albuquerque, and proceeded to drive from there to his home in San Francisco. It was then regularly used for commuting, which must have been a quite a sight. The Stratos was put into storage in 1998 with just over 31,000 miles on the clock, and hasn’t been moved since.

Not surprisingly, the auction house gave this Lancia a thorough examination, and found a body that is in “very sound condition,” while the car’s mechanicals appear complete. It even has the California stamp that signifies it’s been federalized.

Bonhams is strongly recommending that this Lancia’s new owner give the car a complete, ground-up rebuild. And if you were hoping that might lower the price a bit, you’d be wrong – Bonhams is predicting this particular car will sell at auction for $250,000 to $300,000. It’s lot number 189, and will cross the block on August 16, at Pebble Beach. We’ve no doubt it will find a buyer.

Continue reading 1973 Lancia Stratos makes for a super cool barn find

1973 Lancia Stratos makes for a super cool barn find originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Aug 2013 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Auctions: 1973 Lancia Stratos makes for a super cool barn find”

Recycled street-sign furniture is uncomfortably cool

Boris Bally transit chairs

Boris Bally Transit Chairs – Click above for high-res image gallery

Industrial designer and artist Boris Bally has taken the urban decay aesthetic to a new level, crafting tables and chairs from worn-out street signs. Bally cranks out everything from high-backed dining-table chairs, to coffee tables, to armchairs.

Bally has been working with metal in one sense or another since he was just 13 years old. Rumor even has it that he cut his teeth in metalworking by building himself throwing stars and brass knuckles.

By using recycled materials, Bally isn’t only doing the environment a good turn, he’s ensuring uniqueness in each piece of furniture. Bally leaves the source material’s patina alone-and makes sure it’s visible. Such individualism comes at a price, naturally; chairs start at $1,100 and tables range from $900 to $4500. Have a closer look in the gallery below.

Recycled street-sign furniture is uncomfortably cool originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 29 May 2011 18:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Recycled street-sign furniture is uncomfortably cool”

J Mays: “Very cool Mustang” coming in 2014 [w/video]

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Ford, Rumormill

2011 Ford Mustang

Designer J Mays on Ford’s future styling direction – click above to watch the video

The crew at Mustangs Daily has let the internets in on the first morsels of information about the 2014 Ford Mustang. As you may know, America’s pony car will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in just three years, so there’s been more than a little interest in what FoMoCo will come up with to celebrate the occasion. It turns out, the ’14 car won’t be an evolution of the current machine we all know and love. Instead, it will be something completely different. Ford is keeping exactly what that means to itself for the moment, other than to say that the next design will be a huge leap forward for the nameplate.

Here’s hoping that doesn’t mean the re-introduction of the Mustang II.

Fortunately, Ford seems pretty pleased with the way that the design is going so far, saying that we’ll see a “pretty cool” Mustang crop up in 2013 as a 2014 model. Given how far the car has advanced over the past three years, we can’t wait to see what Ford is up to with its muscle car. Listen to what else J Mays, Ford’s vice president of global design, has to say about future styling of the Blue Oval’s entire portfolio in the video after the jump.

[Source: Mustangs Daily]
photo copyright (C)2010 Drew Phillips / AOL

Continue reading J Mays: “Very cool Mustang” coming in 2014 [w/video]

J Mays: “Very cool Mustang” coming in 2014 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “J Mays: “Very cool Mustang” coming in 2014 [w/video]”

Steve McQueen cologne is what cool smells like

Filed under: Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Celebrities

Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen – Click above for high-res image gallery

Even though he’s long gone, Steve McQueen and his King of Cool attitude can be found all over the place. His name, likeness and films are licensed by numerous companies for the purpose of hawking everything from t-shirts, hoodies and watches up to full-size motorcycles and automobiles. The actor and accomplished racer can now add a new product to his long list of for-sale items – cologne.

If you’ve ever wanted to smell like one of the coolest guys to walk the Earth, you can do so as of September 20, 2010, when the new Steve McQueen cologne becomes available online.

The cost of smelling “cool” (which is, apparently, a top note of fresh green fruit, a hearty section of cardamom, sage and cinnamon and a base woody cedar tone) is hardly cheap; the listed price is €190, or almost $250 US. That’s before taxes and shipping, too. But hey, it comes in a limited-edition gift box

If you really want to smell like McQueen, your best bet is to find a Porsche 917 and spend a few hours behind the wheel until you reek of awesome. Wait – that’s too expensive as well. Truth is, no one will ever be like Steve McQueen, regardless of what they spray on themselves.

Gallery: Steve McQueen

[Source: Steve McQueen parfum d’homme]

Steve McQueen cologne is what cool smells like originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Steve McQueen cologne is what cool smells like”