Car Design 2012: December 2010

Zaniest thing I've seen in a while, the Jade Warrior from 1985

drag racing, dragsters, unique, unusual 7:19 PM

Skip the first 30 seconds

Learned about it from http://zelastchancegaragedu78.blogspot.com/ information from http://www.dragzine.com/news/the-jade-warrior-a-truly-insane-and-one-of-a-kind-ride/

The creation of British motorcycle racer Angus MacPhail, who built it himself in his garage, it's called the “Jade Warrior,” did the quarter mile in under 8 seconds a quarter century ago without the use of nitromethane. That's riding on the tip of a bullet.

It was powered by an inline 4-cylinder that blended MacPhail’s own engineering with that of a Ford Cosworth and sported a Roots supercharger producing somewhere between 400 and 500 horsepower.

The frame was, obviously, a completely one-off piece that was built monocoque-style – with a main center section made of alloy and put together with Araldite adhesive and Monel rivets. A well-designed body with ground effects incorporated helped keep it stable and hooked up at close to 200 MPH. Angus claimed it was actually very easy to navigate down the track.

Coolest damn thing you'll see all week. 1913 Harley, heavily optioned,TANDEM !, unrestored, with a quick history and instructions how to start it. WOW

Harley, Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, option, rare 1:56 PM

the bike's options are discussed for the first 5 minutes, then the bike is started up and the procedure is wonderfully demonstrated, step by step. (starts at minute 5:30)
Thanks Mike! This is great!

The Camelback locomotive design, used in conjunction with the exceptionally wide Wooten firebox, not safe though

informative, steam locomotive, train 1:38 PM

The "Camelback" design, which straddled the cab over the center of the boiler, allowed the exceptional width of the Wooten firebox, which burned lower BTU anthracite coal from Eastern Pennsylvania.

The Locomotives in the picture were also called "Mother Hubbards" among other names. They were discontinued from freight service because if a side rod broke, it would wipe out the cab and if on the engineer's side, the engineer also. In yard service they were much safer because of the lower speed which was not so likely to break a rod and sling it through the cab.
photo from http://www.shorpy.com/node/9335?size=_original

2011 Mercedes C63 AMG leaked

12:59 AM

We've already seen the 2011 Mercedes C-Class, but we haven't seen the AMG variant - until now.
Leaked by Germany's EvoCars.de, the picture reveals the facelifted model will feature an aggressive front fascia, a single-bar grille, and new headlights. Inside, the cabin receives the same updates as the standard model but unique touches include heavy-bolstered sport seats, an AMG steering wheel and piano black trim on the center console.
Under the hood, the naturally-aspirated 6.3-liter (6208cc) V8 engine is expected to carryover with 451 hp (336 kW / 457 PS) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque. While it is interesting to note the C63 won't use the new 5.5-liter bi-turbo V8, it will eventually be offed in the Black Series coupe.

Sponsored By : CHAUDHRI ELECTRODE ENGINEERING. AL-MUQIT STEELS. Q.A.M INTERNATIONAL.
Manufacturing : welding electrodes, steel wirerope, wirerope, pvc cables, all sort of metal and hard ware tools.
Also trading in generators. load banks and all sort of metal.
Dealing in Real Estate (Turkey.Pakistan.Malaysia.Dubai)
For Contact: mustakeem@gmail.com Cell # +9(0531)9204077
Location :Istanbul /Lahore
www.topgearnew.blogspot.com

V8 engine-like Bullerjan furnace, courtesy Canadian lumberjacks

12:55 AM

Sponsored By : CHAUDHRI ELECTRODE ENGINEERING. AL-MUQIT STEELS. Q.A.M INTERNATIONAL.
Manufacturing : welding electrodes, steel wirerope, wirerope, pvc cables, all sort of metal and hard ware tools.
Also trading in generators. load banks and all sort of metal.
Dealing in Real Estate (Turkey.Pakistan.Malaysia.Dubai)
For Contact: mustakeem@gmail.com Cell # +9(0531)9204077
Location :Istanbul /Lahore

www.topgearnew.blogspot.com

Developed by Canadian lumberjacks, the Bullerjan (aka Free Flow) hot air furnace promises high heating capacity with a good heat circulation, fast heat distribution, an even burn-up, long glow retention and a low level of ash accumulation. The stove features a number of solid steel pipes that are bent to form a cylindrical, horizontal combustion chamber. Resembling a V8 engine, the Bullerjan hot air stove is available in four versions – the Classic, Design, Stone and Industry – all of which create a special, cozy atmosphere in your living room. Pricing for the Bullerjan hot air furnace starts at $2,000.

Free TG telly DVD in January’s Top Gear magazine

12:51 AM

This month's TopGear Magazine comes to you from 1972. Sort of. That was the year the first Lancia Stratos was given to the world, and now - 38 years later - it's back. And we've driven it. We've driven lots of other stuff too, which you can read all about once you've watched your free DVD that's all about cars with soul. Or you can read the mag first. It's a free world.

Dust off the remote, fire up the telly box and tune in to BBC2. The boys are back and we've got a big fat series 16 preview in the mag, including a little insight into life behind the scenes, plus much toilet talk, with exec producer Andy Wilman.

This month's news section is kicked off by the new BMW 1-Series M Coupe. An orange one. We snuck it into the TG studio and took some shiny pictures.

More orangeness comes in the shape of the Ford Escort Mexico, driven around the TG test track by a man called Hammond. It reminded him of peas, but you'll have to read the story to find out why.

Then it's off to France for a spin in the new Stratos. It's a custom-built special, based on one of our favourite Ferraris, with some cunning German engineering. But is it any good? Hmm... does James May like a pint?

It's been a while since Citroen made a proper hot hatch. So when the DS3R arrived, we begged for the keys and went for a drive. If anyone from Citroen is reading this, your car is fine. Well, it's ours now, but it's fine. Honest.

Stuck for a new year's resolution? TopGear is here to help! Have a flick through our feature on All the Cars Worth Caring About in 2011, then promise yourself you'll buy one. We've got the lowdown on all the good stuff.

If you grew up in Russia, you probably know about the Lada Niva. If you grew up in Rushden, allow us to enlighten you. Actually, allow James May to enlighten you - it's officially being imported into the UK and he's driven it. On some snow.

The Lambo Gallardo Performante and Porsche 911 Speedster are the ultimate playboy playthings. We arranged for them to meet in the Californian desert. Then we took some pics and wrote some words, because it's important to share the joy.

After all the supercar frolics, we put on our road-test flat caps and arranged a fight between the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso and the new Ford Grand C Max. Which one is worth your dosh? There's only one way to find out. Buy the mag. Go on. It's only £3.95.

Finally, we send a hairy man up a Glacier in the new KTM X-Bow R. Why? Because it was there. And because it looked fun. And dangerous. Which it was.

Sponsored By : CHAUDHRI ELECTRODE ENGINEERING. AL-MUQIT STEELS. Q.A.M INTERNATIONAL.
Manufacturing : welding electrodes, steel wirerope, wirerope, pvc cables, all sort of metal and hard ware tools.
Also trading in generators. load banks and all sort of metal.
Dealing in Real Estate (Turkey.Pakistan.Malaysia.Dubai)
For Contact: mustakeem@gmail.com Cell # +9(0531)9204077
Location :Istanbul /Lahore

www.topgearnew.blogspot.com

Top Gear’s guide to 2011’s GT3 cars

12:48 AM

We like GT3 cars. They sound a little bit like the beginning of the apocalypse, pack righteous horsepower and look really cool.
This year, we've seen quite a few carmakers throw their respective wings in the tornado of this ‘gentleman racer' series; a series which features cars most resembling their road car counterparts. Apparently.
See if you can see any resemblance between a hunkered down, shouty and mostly V8-powered Z4 GT3 compared to a 2.5 hair-colouring road variant. Then there's that McLaren...

Z4 GT3
The wing! Won't someone think of the wing! This Z4 packs BMW's 4.0-litre V8 chucking out 480bhp thanks to a new ECU and power control unit.
Also, have you seen the size of the wing?

Mercedes SLS GT3
The SLS lit up the F1 season this year as the pace car; a sort of disciplinarian father-type collecting misbehaving, highly strung F1 schoolchildren. You will remember it sounded amazing.
Thankfully, the GT3 version ups the ‘sounding amazing' part, and adds, predictably, a ruddy great rear wing, racing brakes, stiffer suspension, bodykit, blah blah blah... just listen to it here.

Porsche 911 GT3 R
1,200kg, 4.0-litre 480bhp engine, a wider track, adjustable suspension and the obligatory GT3 genitalia that is the monster adjustable rear wing: this is the 911 GT3 R, and it succeeds the 911 GT3 Cup S - itself an evolution of the 911 Cup.
Porsche 911 engineers must be knackered. Just sayin'

McLaren MP4-12C GT3
Oh. Yes. This is how McLaren sees its development programme - roll out the MP4-12C road car (above), then win lots of trophies with...

McLaren MP4-12C GT3
...this, the GT3 version.
McLaren has teamed up with CRS Racing and will contest this GT3 beauty throughout 2011, with team principal Martin Whitmarsh saying "racing is in our blood". Don't forget, the McLaren F1 GTR won the Le Mans 24hrs on its debut...