Jay Leno is known for his incredible car collection and his latest addition includes a $230,000 McLaren MP4-12C which he chose to unveil at the Supercar Sunday show, held at Westfield Promenade Mall 6100 Topanga Canyon Boulevard Woodland Hills. Luckily, and not surprisingly, someone was on hand to videotape the unveiling.
Leno took all precautions necessary in the development of his MP4-12C, even heading over to the McLaren Test Center in Britain a few months ago to pay a visit. He also had the chance to test the car before actually buying it. So, apparently there are a few advantages to being a huge car collector and late night talk show host.
Leno’s McLaren is painted in a very cool orange and is powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 weighing only 439 lbs. The engine produces 592hp at 7,000rpm and 443 lb-ft. of torque between 3,000 and 7,000rpm. It can hit a top speed of 205 mph.
Okay, so it may not exactly be appropriate to pick the best crash of the year, but considering many will be ringing in the new year in a drunken stupor, we think it best to remind everyone of the consequences of drinking and driving. Most of the drivers in the crashes we are featuring were not under the influence when these crashes occurred, but if these guys can get into a massive accident when they’re sober, chances are a drunk YOU will suffer consequences that are much worse.
This year actually brought out the worst in many drivers, some of which instigated accidents with multiple supercars, a vehicular dip into the Atlantic Ocean, and high speed rough and tumbles. Unfortunately, not all of these drivers survived these horrific crashes, which only drives home the point that we have to be extremely careful when operating our motor vehicles.
Remember to have a SAFE and fun New Year.
Hit the jump for the list of the most famous crashes of 2011.
Jay-Z is known to be a car addict, even though he’s trashed luxury cars in the past, but the latest vehicle on his wish list is more for protection than luxury or sport. The well-known rapper is in the market for an armored Dartz Prombron, not to protect him against the onslaught of fans that undoubtedly shower him with attention on a daily basis, but more than likely to protect his bootylicious wife, Beyonce, and their unborn child.
The Prombron is an armored SUV created by eccentric Latvian car maker Dartz that offers protection against AK-47s and rocket launchers. We sure hope Jay-Z isn’t letting his family get anywhere near this kind of danger, but it looks like the expectant dad is leaving no stone unturned in protecting his family. This vehicle offers multiple protection levels and, for aesthetics, a range of interior and exterior trims.
A standard Prombron comes with ten interior treatments, including a choice of snake, crocodile, whale, skat, chameleon, or elephant skins, and different "standard" carbon fiber or matte trims. The car is equipped with eight cameras and comes void of a door behind the driver.
Safety is obviously a big concern for the rapper, but we’d protect our families in the same fashion if we could, and we don’t have millions of adoring fans crowding us or our spouses.
The movie franchise may not have some of the most compelling story lines, but when it comes to raking in the moolah, NBC Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise is certified box-office gold.
Fans of F&F will then be ecstatic to know that producers are currently developing not just one, but two follow-up movies to Fast Five, which by the way grossed a delightful $626 million in the cinemas all over the world.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dominic Toretto...err...Vin Diesel was quoted as saying that with the inclusion of new characters and the deepening plot line of the movie, there wasn’t enough space to fit everything together in the "sixth-quel," hence the decision to spread the story out to accommodate a "seventh-quel."
Though nothing has been finalized, screenwriter Chris Morgan is currently writing the storyline with the intention of covering two movies, giving director Justin Lin the option to shoot the two movies simultaneously.
Should this end up being the case, we expect a lot of the race boy fans of the Fast & Furious franchise to be jumping up and down right now.
Jesse James is well-known for his romantic rendezvous behind the back of his then-wife and actress, Sandra Bullock, but before his sexual trysts became a topic of media concern, James was better known as the builder behind West Coast Choppers. Now it seems as though James is taking a break from infidelity and motorcycle builds to take his Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo for a bit of a rougher ride.
On a road that has been dubbed a "super twisty lane" by a source that was at the location, Jesse James lost control of his 1000 HP supercar and crashed it into a neighbor’s yard near his house in Austin, Texas. The funny thing about the incident is that Hennessey seems to be pleased with the incident. They spoke with fellow automotive site, Jalopnik, and stated, "It’s nice to know that Jesse drives his Hennessey GT hard enough to find the limit. After all, if you don’t crash or break every now and then you’re not going fast enough."
Jesse James seems to take a lot of things to their breaking point. At least his Henessey GT1000 is covered by insurance.
Reminder: The Hennessey GT1000 Twin Turbo is powered by a 5.4-liter supercharged V-8 engine that produces 1,000 horsepower at 6,600 rpm with a 0-60 mph time of 2.8 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 10.6 seconds at 142 mph, and an increased top speed of 245 mph.
