Tag: video

Video: Ferrari 458 Challenge wrung out at Fiorano

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Videos, Ferrari, Racing

Ferrari 458 Italia caught testing – Click above to watch video after the jump

A video camera can do strange things to reality. While we’ve always heard that training a lens on a person can add 10 pounds to their figure, it’s also true that focusing on a moving car can subtract 20 mph. Watching a car scoot around a track on screen and seeing the same action in real life, or even worse, from the cockpit, are two entirely different things. At some point during the migration from the real world to digital representation, things just seem to slow down, which is exactly why this video of the Ferrari 458 Italia Challenge after the jump is so impressive. The beast looks down right fast on film, so we can only imagine the kind of tear in the space-time continuum it could develop here in the real world.

Ferrari has pulled something special with its newest track bully. While the car still breathes through the same 570-horsepower 4.5-liter V8 as its more civil sibling, the company shaved a considerable amount of weight and fitted it with the same globe-crushing brakes as the 599XX. The changes have been enough to give the 458 Italia Challenge the guts to lap the Fiorano circuit in a blistering 1:16.5. That’s a mere two-tenths of a second off of the lap time of the marginally more loco FXX.

That puddle on the floor? Yeah, that’s from our mouths watering. We’ll get someone on that.

[Source: Axis of Oversteer]

Continue reading Video: Ferrari 458 Challenge wrung out at Fiorano

Video: Ferrari 458 Challenge wrung out at Fiorano originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak run

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos

“Monster” Tajima’s Pikes Peak assault – Click above to watch video after the jump

This is the kind of video that should be in the core curriculum for auto enthusiasts: A 2,618-pound Suzuki SX4 with a 3.1-liter twin-turbo V6 blown out to 897 horsepower and 654 pound-feet of torque. The pilot: Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima. No theatrics, no gimmicks, just 11 straight minutes of speed, dirt, opposite lock and ghastly mechanical fury. Follow the jump to watch the vid.

[Source: Falken Tire]

Continue reading Video: Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak run

Video: Monster Tajima’s Suzuki SX4 Pikes Peak run originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Corvette Racing Series Episode 8: Cascade engineering

Filed under: Motorsports, Technology, Videos, Chevrolet, Racing

Click above to view the video after the jump

Episode eight of the Corvette Racing series is up and this installment delves into what the team calls “cascade engineering.” It covers some of the same ground we discussed back in March when we toured the Pratt & Miller race shop where the C6.Rs are built and prepared.

The race team works very closely with the production engineering team, using most of the same computer aided engineering tools, and the lessons learned from the 10 years of the race program have been fed back into street car program. Proof? The face of the C6 with its flush headlamps and wider grille opening for better breathing were all inspired by the race car. Similarly, the track-bound coupes now use a 5.5-liter version of the LS7 V8 from the production Z06. Because of the limited in-season testing available to American Le Mans Series teams, the Corvette Racing crew relies on tools like computational fluid dynamics to improve the car from race to race, which you learn more about in the video after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Corvette Racing Series Episode 8: Cascade engineering

Video: Corvette Racing Series Episode 8: Cascade engineering originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Riding shotgun in the BMW 1 Series M Coupe

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Videos, BMW

BMW 1 Series M Coupe prototype on track – Click above to watch video after the jump

It’s cool. We know you’ve already clicked past the jump and are well into watching one very lucky soul flog the snot out of a prototype of the oft-hyped BMW 1 Series M Coupe around the Ascari race track in Spain. We’re not offended. For those of you who are unfortunate enough to have YouTube blocked at your place of employment, allow us to share what you’re missing out on. The good people at M-Power somehow managed to secure a spot in the passenger seat of the second-coming of M during a hot lap. We’re not talking some pansy parade through the chicanes, either. It’s more of a kick the tail out, plop your foot onto the throttle and aim for the next curb sort of shindig.

If you’re looking for any details on the car other than just how well it can rivet a smile to you face, odds are you’re out of luck. Still, watching the little M blister around the course, we can’t wait to get our grubby journo paws on the pint-size coupe. The biggest question in our minds? How is BMW going to keep the M3 sharp enough to stay ahead of its meaner younger sibling?

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Riding shotgun in the BMW 1 Series M Coupe

Video: Riding shotgun in the BMW 1 Series M Coupe originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear!

Filed under: Videos, Cadillac, Celebrities

U.S. Top Gear trailer – Click above to watch the video after the jump

You all know that the long-awaited U.S. version of Top Gear is headed to The History Channel, and now it’s time to get your first taste of the show. The first trailer for the show is online, and if it’s any indication, Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara are going to win over viewers, and the program will not stray from the BBC original’s successful formula of cool tests and zany challenges.

In fact, one of the new show’s challenges is the trailer’s centerpiece. In involves the hosts determining the best $1,000 car by putting a trio of them through a punishing “moonshine run” dirt course. The ride selected for the teaser is Ferrara’s, the airborne 1976 Cadillac Deville Calais seen above (it could be a ’75, but we’re pretty certain that’s the ’76 grille pattern). How does a malaise-era Caddy handle a landing after catching that much air? About as well as you’d imagine – this isn’t the make-believe world of ’70s cop shows, after all. It’s hilarious.

Bottom line: The hosts exude great chemistry and the motoring action is pretty much everything you’d want and expect from a program calling itself Top Gear. Still under wraps, however, is the Stig. The suspense is killing us. This looks like a completely fun show. Hit the jump to see for yourselves. Thanks to Chris for the tip!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear!

Video: First trailer for U.S. Top Gear! originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: A vengeful Fangio in a Saab SPG?

Filed under: Classics, Etc., Videos, Celebrities


Peter Peter Hughes as Fangio. Click above to watch the music video after the jump.

An entire concept album born from a 23-year-old song imagining Juan Manuel Fangio piloting a Saab SPG through the Andes on a mission to assassinate former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet? The plot sounds like some mythical collaboration between Terry Gilliam and Sergio Leone. In fact, the artist behind it all is Peter Peter Hughes, whom you may know from his work as a member of The Mountain Goats.

The first two songs off Hughes’ new solo project, Fangio, will be released on August 10, both digitally and on vinyl (the 7″ will be available via Fayettenam Records). The complete LP follows on September 7 (vinyl again available via Fayettenam — and dig that album artwork). Preceding all that, however, is the music video for the track, “My God is an Angry God.” Directed by our great friend (and Jalopnik O.G.) Davey G. Johnson, the video – shot in true guerilla style using locales in upstate New York including the old Watkins Glen GP circuit – stars Hughes as Fangio and Hughes’ personal Saab SPG as itself.

Follow the jump to watch the video, and be sure to pick up the record once it’s officially released. For additional updates, you can follow Peter Peter Hughes at his website, Fivetools.com, and also be sure to check in on Davey at his place, the excellently-named Sofaleggera.com.

[Source: Fivetools.com, Sofaleggera.com]

Continue reading Video: A vengeful Fangio in a Saab SPG?

Video: A vengeful Fangio in a Saab SPG? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Aug 2010 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Dutch VW ‘RollGolf’ proves that Yankees don’t have a lock on junkyard creativity

Filed under: Europe, Videos, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Humor, Diesel

VW RollGolf – Click above to watch video after the jump

Never let it be said that this generation lacks imagination. Sure, these guys could have simply scrapped their diesel VW Golf when it started showing its age, but where’s the innovation? Instead, they did a fairly seamless job of shortening the wheelbase, bolted on a set of steel tube inverted rockers and called it a day.

What more could you ask for in terms of entertainment? Build up a head of steam, stab the brakes and watch as the sky and the ground switch places a few times. It’s very possibly the safest way to flip a car without having to answer to the law or your insurance company. And, to answer the inevitable question… why not?

According to the YouTube description, the builder still has a few tweaks to make to the design. We have to wonder exactly the mastermind behind the contraption has planned. If nothing else, it’d be a great way to get past those pesky tire strips on your next low-speed chase. Hit the jump to take a look at the video for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Joost!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Dutch VW ‘RollGolf’ proves that Yankees don’t have a lock on junkyard creativity

Video: Dutch VW ‘RollGolf’ proves that Yankees don’t have a lock on junkyard creativity originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Reverse-engineered Wipeout racing videogame is silly brilliance

Filed under: Etc., Europe, Videos, Toys/Games, Humor

Click above to watch the video after the jump

Leave it to the Germans to turn a real-life radio control car, a video camera with a wireless transmitter and an arcade box into the best 3D rendition of the old Playstation game Wipeout we’ve ever seen. If designer Malte Jehmlich and friends would have stopped after designing a massive multi-level carboard track for their remote control cars, we would have thought it was pretty cool. But the innovative crew attached a plate to their 1/28 scale car and mounted a video camera with a wireless transmitter that sends a video signal to an arcade racing cabinet to make this a truly multi-dimensional video game. The racing cabinet is equipped with a steering wheel and a monitor that displays the r/c car’s progress in real time. The whole project took them two months to put together.

Jehmlich and his friends are currently working on integrating force feedback and power-ups using sensors built into the track. Very cool, indeed. Hit the jump to watch video of the Great Room-sized arcade game in action. We’re thinking that we’d want one of these in the basement, but we’re not sure if our wives would approve.

[Source: Vimeo via Engadget]

Continue reading Video: Reverse-engineered Wipeout racing videogame is silly brilliance

Video: Reverse-engineered Wipeout racing videogame is silly brilliance originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Prong 3 trike stops in to Jay Leno’s Garage

Filed under: Aftermarket, Convertible, Performance, Specialty, Design/Style

Prong 3

Prong 3 on Jay Leno’s Garage – Click above to watch video after the jump

Jay Leno seems to have taken a shining to three-wheeled machines of late. We’ve seen a slew of tripod racers come through the car-obsessed comedian’s garage recently, including the insane Blastolene Rocket II and the similarly certifiable CanAm Spyder. The latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage features a creation based on the wild CanAm called the Prong 3. Its inventor, Hong Quan, wanted to build a machine with the same performance as the Spyder, but with a car-like seating position. The build required fabrication of a complete steel-tube chassis that was designed by Eric Gauthier of Lotus engineering fame.

Quan says that his original inspiration for the Prong 3 came from Volkswagen, of all places. As you may recall, ze people’s automaker rolled out the GX3 concept back in 2006. Unwilling to wait for VW to produce an interesting three-wheeler, Quan took matters into his own hands. Driveline wise, the Prong 3 uses the same 103-horsepower engine as the CanAm, so you can expect performance to be somewhat diminished. On the other hand, you can stow a few bags of groceries in the passenger seat. Hit the jump to see the video for yourself.

[Source: Jay Leno’s Garage]

Continue reading Video: Prong 3 trike stops in to Jay Leno’s Garage

Video: Prong 3 trike stops in to Jay Leno’s Garage originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Aprilia RSV4 tries to paint, fails

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Motorcycle

The canvas and the Aprilia RSV4 – Click above to watch video after the jump

The Aprilia RSV4 is taking the fight to all of its competition on in the World Superbike Championship, leading the manufacturer standings by a healthy sum. Off the track, Aprilia continues to take digs at the BMW S1000RR, first done with the tabelcloth video.

In light of BMW’s focus on art, Aprilia’s made another video proving that it can’t paint.. but it can win. Follow the jump to watch, and we’ve included another where Aprilia proves it can’t make deliveries either, unless you’re looking for a checkered flag…

[Source: Hell for Leather, Aprilia YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Aprilia RSV4 tries to paint, fails

Video: Aprilia RSV4 tries to paint, fails originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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