BMW had their Art Cars and Mini has specialty celebrity designed automobiles, but Bentley decided to take things a step further and recruit contemporary artist Romero Britto to create the centerpiece for their “Come to my world” exhibition in Germany. The English automaker provided Mr. Britto with a Continental GT as a canvas, prepared with a Bentley Blue base coat for the South Florida artist to get to work.
The car is covered in colorful, comic-like figures featuring a large multi colored flower on the hood, winged heart on the driver’s door, ladybug inspired door mirrors and a few orange and purple stars. The negative space is covered with Britto’s recognizable signature, similar to the mathematical symbol for pi; it is consists of a “T” followed by a squiggly line that sometimes goes down like a backwards “J” and other times is just a continuation of the character before it. The entire feeling of this piece of 200 MPH artwork is that it is as playful as the GT is fun to drive.
If there is one thing we can say about the 2009 Infiniti G37, it is that we liked it. We really liked it. Our Athens Blue Coupe could put a smile on your face and instantaneously make you forget about any troubles that might be clouding your day.
The car is beautiful on the inside and out, the handling is amazing and the exhaust note is nicer than the VQ35 powered Nissans, especially when you get higher up in the rev band. Our four passenger GT car is powered by a 3.7 Liter V6 with VVEL variable valve timing on both the intake and exhaust camshafts to make an astounding 330 HP and 270 lb-ft of torque and shifted through a 7 speed automatic transmission.
Once you are behind the wheel you forget about the 19 inch sport rims or the chrome front grill, even the HID headlamps won’t seem impressive when you are sitting in the Stone leather seats, gripping one of the most comfortable leather wrapped multifunction steering wheels on the market, because all you will be able to think about is the road. The G37 engages you in a way that only a fun car can.
When you think of setting speed records, there is only one place that comes to mind, the endless dried up lakebed in Utah, the Bonneville Salt Flats. However this is not the place where the most recent land speed record was broken. The English crew traveled to the northwest corner of Nevada in order for their Thrust SSC jet powered streamliner to hit 714 MPH, making it and Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green, the fastest man and machine of the planet.
The Thrust Super Sonic Car was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce turbine engines and after their initial record setting attempt and a little fine tuning, the team came back two weeks later to go 763 MPH. It would take the velocity of three Bugatti Veyrons just to come close to the Thrust SSC’s top speed run that was set on October 15, 1997. What is most impressive is that this record has stood uncontested for over a decade.
It is only fitting that the fastest man in the world will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, but it has also been announced that the 1000 MPH hopefuls, team Bloodhound SSC will be on hand as well to show off their super sonic machine for the thousands of automotive enthusiasts on hand.
Over the past few days we here at Top Speed has had the pleasure of getting to know Luciano Nakamura, Lead Exterior Designer for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. This up and coming designer started his career with the General at age 17 where he began an internship working for GM of Brazil. With a job that every boy dreams of, Luciano is very happy with his position at General Motors but most of all is proud to have penned the Camaro. In a brief design exercise, he let us watch him do some work.
This is a story about how something that we all take for granted everyday. The simple act and inherent freedom that comes along with being behind the wheel. For 62 year old Roger Keeney, this was only a dream, blinded over 20 years ago, Keeney is about to get behind the wheel once again with the help of a 2010 Ford Mustang.
In the world of high-performance automobiles there are two kinds of owners. First, there are those who buy an exclusive vehicle, only to hide it away, parked inside an enormous warehouse filled with the rest of their toys. Occasionally, those owners invite a friend or two inside to show off the pieces of automobile and maybe even take the classic out for a Sunday drive. Then there is the kind of sports car owner that just so happen to be a driver. These enthusiasts appreciate their vehicles in a way that the previous group only dreams of. There is nothing like fully stretching your super car’s legs or seeing just how deep into a turn your prized possession can go. For those drivers, there are these magical things called track days, a place where speed junkies can get full use out of their big boy toys.
Top Speed recently attended one of these Saturday afternoon visits to one of our local race tracks where we joined up with Henry Gilbert and got Hooked on Driving. The problem with most track days and even racing schools is the price. Not only is participating in one of these programs expensive, but the amount of actual seat time is rather limited. Most instruction programs will have you sitting in a class room for half of the day and then make you wait around amongst all the other pupils for your brief opportunity to make good on everything you learned earlier on in the day. Not at Hooked on Driving, they do conduct a brief chalk talk for first timers, which are always a good idea, but this track day program is geared towards giving clients the most seat time possible in a safe, responsible environment.
The Ford engineering team set out to build a vehicle that was engaging and fun to drive, they succeeded. Ford’s new flagship was designed by a group of cohesive engineers and was developed in the digital world, a process that cut 12 months off of the new car’s development cycle. The new Taurus offers the latest and greatest from the blue oval, and is a step in the right direction for any American automaker. Led by Chief Engineer Pete Reyes. The Exterior Design Manager Earl Lucas assured us that the 2010 Ford Taurus is more about me and less about we. Meant for the consumer who is past the Crossover phase of ownership and settling into a comfortable lifestyle. The new Ford Taurus is meant for the new car buyer who wants something that is fun to drive and nice to look at, with a touch of style from Ford’s European design team.
The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO is one engaging vehicle to drive, with its powerful Eco Boost engine and responsive all wheel drive system. The 3.5 Liter turbocharged V6 works like a V8, making 365 HP, while getting 25 MPG on the highway; this Super High Output model is the future of sport luxury sedans. The styling is 21st century and the forward thinking power plant is a must in todays conservation minded society.
The base Taurus will sell for around $30,000 and the high horsepower model will retail closer to $45,000. Ford has something for every price level with their new four door, but we recommend the SHO.
The Ford Focus RS is a Euro-only treat that both blue oval and sport compact enthusiasts would be happy to have in their garage, and would most certainly sell quite Focus hatchbacks destined to wear similar WRC inspired body kits just like the limited edition RS model wears. As we all know, lead car in the video is powered by a 2.5 Liter five cylinder boosted to 1.4 bar, making 300 HP and 325 lb-ft of torque. This little hot hatch can sprint to 60 MPH in just 5.8 seconds and has been compared with other turbocharged bargain super cars like the EVO and GT-R.
So this makes us wonder, what kind of car is chasing the RS?
Let us know what you think by posting a comment below.
No matter whether you are watching the race on television or are enjoying the aromas first hand, there is one essential tool that any race should have with them. Birdwatchers have their books from the Audubon Society to help them identify different species, well now the web site spotterguides.com is offering the same tool to enthusiasts free of charge. These fully color coded entrants list are very well designed and offer all the information you would need to know about a particular race team’s entrant. Best of all, Spotter Guides gives you a diagram of the race car which makes it all the more easier to identify when it is going around the track.
Spotter Guides is currently offering their wares for the American Le Mans Series, British Touring Car Championship, Formula 1 and of course the 24 Hours of Le Mans. So now when the announcer starts talking about an Audi R15 is being held up by a slower Porsche RS Spyder on the other side of the track, you will know exactly which cars they are talking about. Follow the link to download your own copies for this weekends race from Le Mans.
Aston Martin is releasing a convertible version of James Bond daily driver. It was in Miami for a special preview this morning and while we are still editing an interview with Aston Martin director of design Mr. Reichman, enjoy some pictures of the finest British convertible on the road today.
Picture Gallery
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