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Official: 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante drops its mind-blowingly beautiful top

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Aston Martin, UK, Luxury

2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante - front three-quarter view, blue

Behold the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante in all its convertible glory. Like its hard top twin, the convertible Vanquish boasts a 5.9-liter V12 engine with 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. That thrust is good enough to push the car to a top speed of 183 miles per hour, and Aston Martin says the 2014 Vanquish Volante is the first of the company’s convertibles to bow with body panels comprised entirely of carbon fiber. It also offers the stiffest body structure in the history of the automaker’s droptop efforts.

The machine’s power three-layer top can be put up or down at speeds of up to 30 mph and can do its dance in around 14 seconds. Interestingly, designers went with a full-length windshield, which runs directly up to the cloth top. there is no sheetmetal (or in this case, carbon fiber) header between the glass and the roof. Very cool.

A six-speed automatic transmission handles shifting duties and a new set of springs and dampers help cope with altered dynamics of the convertible. Aston Martin claims the 2014 Vanquish Volante offers up a weight distribution of 51:49, and a set of carbon-ceramic brakes help bring the whole party down from speed. If you want one, get ready to shell out at least $297,995 for the pleasure. Deliveries are set to begin early next year. Check out the full press release below once you stop gawking at the gallery above.

Continue reading 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante drops its mind-blowingly beautiful top

2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante drops its mind-blowingly beautiful top originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Five Mind-Blowing Innovations from Mercedes-Benz

Filed under: Concept Cars, Plants/Manufacturing, Safety, Technology, Mercedes-Benz

Five Mind-Blowing Innovations from Mercedes-Benz

On a recent trek to Germany, Mercedes-Benz pulled back the veil on its tech strategy for the next few years and provided Autoblog with a glimpse into what we’ll find in its next generation of vehicles. With more than 2,000 patents filed in 2009 alone, the technologies range from the mind-blowing to the mundane, and we’ve handpicked the most innovative, forward-thinking features bound for future Benz models.

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Gallery: Five Mind-Blowing Technologies from Mercedes-Benz

Continue reading Five Mind-Blowing Innovations from Mercedes-Benz

Five Mind-Blowing Innovations from Mercedes-Benz originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Mark Monea’s new Carry On front flip will warp your mind

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Australia, Motorcycle

Mark Monea pulls off the carry on

Mark Monea pulls off the Carry On – Click above to watch video after the jump

We typically file motocross tricks somewhere between complete insanity and diabolical madness in the Dewey Decimal system that rules our minds, but we’re going to need to work up an all-new category for Mark Monea’s new stunt. The Australian has been working on a variation of the motorcycle front flip called the Carry On, and after four weeks of plopping himself bike-and-all into the foam pit, he finally took the trick to terra firma.

While ridiculously-skilled individuals have been pulling off front flips on bikes for the better part of two years now, Monea decided that going topsy-turvy face first was child’s play. So, he added a little bit of spice to the equation by throwing in a 360-degree flat spin in on top of the front flip.

If you’re having trouble wrapping your mind around the mechanics of such a feat, join the club. Fortunately, Monea and his crew were kind enough to record the whole shindig for prosperity and our twisted enjoyment. Hit the jump to check it out.

[Source: Hell For Leather]

Continue reading Video: Mark Monea’s new Carry On front flip will warp your mind

Video: Mark Monea’s new Carry On front flip will warp your mind originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geneva 2011: 1908 Fiat SB4 “Mephistoles” land speed record car baffles the mind

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Geneva Motor Show, Racing, Fiat

1908 Fiat SB4 Eldridge

1908 Fiat SB4 Eldridge “Mephistoles” – Click above for high-res image gallery

Way in the back of the Fiat booth at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, behind all of the shiny modern machinery with their tiny, fuel-sipping engines, sat a car that looks like one of those wood-carved models you see at every knick-knack store. Curious though it was, we knew right off the bat there is something far more significant to this car than met the eye. And indeed there is.

Nicknamed “Mephistoles” by the French public in the 1920s, this 1908 Fiat SB4 racer was, at the time, the fastest car in the world. Sir Ernest Eldridge bought it on the cheap after it crashed in a race at Brooklands in the UK, thereafter setting about turning it into a land speed record car. To get there, Sir Ernest and company replaced the engine with a 22-liter(!) inline six-cylinder aircraft engine that delivered 320 horsepower to the rear wheels via chain drive – a combination (hardly) kept in check by a single brake on the rear differential.

Mephistoles set a top speed of 143.26 miles per hour over a flying kilometer in Arpajob, France in 1924, but was later disqualified because the regulations stipulated the necessity of a reverse gear, which the Fiat lacked. Sir Ernest developed a system and came back, regulations satisfied, just days later to set a new record of 146 mph… the last such record achieved on a public road. To this day, according to the lore, nobody knows how Eldridge got the thing to go in reverse, but after over three years of restoration, Fiat is proudly exhibiting Mephistoles in Geneva, and we snapped a few photos to help you ponder the mystery and majesty for yourself.

Gallery: 1908 Fiat SB4 Eldridge “Mephistoles”: Geneva 2011

Geneva 2011: 1908 Fiat SB4 “Mephistoles” land speed record car baffles the mind originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Documentary provides a peek into the mind of controversial designer Chris Bangle

Filed under: Videos, BMW, Design/Style

Chris Bangle

Inframe interviews Chris Bangle – Click above to watch video after the jump

If you’ve ever wondered how former BMW design guru Chris Bangle’s mind works, you’re in luck. Inframe has rolled out a special documentary on the man behind some of the more controversial design elements in the BMW stable, and the site has even been so kind as to roll out a teaser video to give us an idea of what to expect from its documentary on Bangle.

Over the course of the quick five-minute clip, the designer touches on everything from his time with General Motors to the inner workings of the separate companies under the BMW banner when he arrived at the German manufacturer at age 35. Bangle also shares what he has tucked away in his own personal garage at the moment, including one very special classic. We won’t spoil it for you. Hit the jump to see the video for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Chris A!

[Source: BMW Blog]

Continue reading Video: Documentary provides a peek into the mind of controversial designer Chris Bangle

Video: Documentary provides a peek into the mind of controversial designer Chris Bangle originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Shin Kinoshita’s mind-warping bike control

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Motorcycle

Shin Kinoshita

Shin Kinoshita doing what he does best – Click above to watch video after the jump

Whether it’s wrestling a 3,000 lb NASCAR bruiser around a tri-oval for hours on end, sliding a rear-wheel drive Scion tC up Mulholland Drive or coaxing a GT350 around Laguna Seca with a flock of similarly vintage iron, knowing the limits of a vehicle better than anyone else on the track will earn our deference in a hurry.

It’s in that spirit that we bow down before Shin Kinoshita.

As one of the stunt riders with the Icon-sponsored Empire team, Kinoshita’s several notches above the rest of his crew in terms of the blatant insanity required to bend a motorcycle to one’s will. While each of his individual stunts are supremely impressive, it’s the transitions between them that will send your jaw skittering off your desk. Lest you think we exaggerate, please hit the jump and check out the promo video. Your concept of physics may never be the same. Thanks for the tip, Matt!

[Source: Icon via YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Shin Kinoshita’s mind-warping bike control

Video: Shin Kinoshita’s mind-warping bike control originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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