Apparently, even a crime fighter like Batman isn’t above the law, especially when it comes to having no tags on his Batmobile...err...Lamborghini.
As it turns out, Batman was cruising around in Maryland when he was pulled over by the Montgomery County Police Department because the car didn’t have any plates on it. While we understand the Caped Crusader doesn’t want people checking on his DMV records, it might still have been a good idea to abide by the law. Otherwise, you’re pretty much attracting police cars to your Lamborghini the same way you do to the Bat signal.
The photo comes courtesy of the Montgomery Country Police Department’s Twitter page and to their credit, they seemed to get a kick out of Batman’s folly more than anything else.
Let’s hope that the Dark Knight learns his lesson the next time he goes out in full garb and hammer. After all, he wouldn’t want more bad press now that his newest movie is coming out in a few months, right?
Every year, Jeep makes it a point to attend the Easter Safari event in Moab, Utah, to show off some of their outrageous concepts. Last year, we saw a number of them in the Cherokee Overland, the Wrangler Mojave, and the Wrangler Blue Crush, among others.
For this year’s festivities scheduled on March 31, 2012, Jeep is bringing a new line-up of concepts - six in total - headlined by the Mighty FC Concept, the Wrangler Apache, and the J-12.
Details behind all the concepts have not yet been revealed because Jeep is taking the slow and steady tease route to draw up some interest in the concepts leading up to the event at the end of the month.
All in all, Jeep released three teaser sketches of the concepts they’re bringing to Easter Safari. For our money, we think that the red Wrangler is the J-12, the blue Wrangler is the Apache, and the huge pick-up is the Mighty FC Concept.
Be sure to head back here because as soon as all the concepts are unveiled, we’ll be running our takes on all of them individually. For now, though, consume these teaser sketches, and let us know what you think of them.
Remember when we featured this record-breaking attempt last year in Australia, featuring 57 cars doing simultaneous burnouts?
It didn’t take long for that record to be eclipsed.
Earlier this week, 75 cars gathered at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California specifically for one purpose: break the almost year-old record that was set on the other side of the world in Australia.
The record attempt was to do simultaneous donuts for at least 15 seconds, which isn’t all that hard to do if you know the art of the burnout. Drivers from all over Northern California participated in the raceway’s weekly Sonoma Drift powered by NOS program. Now on its second year, the program provides drifters the perfect escape to hone their hooning skills in a safe, legal, and controlled environment.
The video was shot and sent over to the Guinness Book of World Records for confirmation, and should the governing body conclude that this attempt will stand, you can expect it to be hailed as the new record holder for most cars doing simultaneous burnouts.
Check out the video and see the record-breaking attempt for yourself.
Richard Hammond is stepping out of Jeremy Clarkson’s enormous shadow and heading over across the pond here to America for his own TV show.
Lest we forget what Hammond has done in the past when you put a crazy vehicle in front of him, all of that will be on full display with his new BBC show, "Crash Course." The premise of the show is pretty straight-forward. You take the Hamster and put him inside some of the "world’s toughest vehicles" and then you see what happens next.
This trailer for the show will at least tell you what to expect. Whether it’s an Abrams tank, a fire truck, or even a crane with a wrecking ball on it, Hammond will find a way to learn as much as he can about these machines without destroying everything around him. Of course, promises like that pretty much mean nothing when it comes to Richard Hammond.
And that’s exactly why Crash Course will soon be on our must-watch list when it makes its debut on April 16, 2012 over at BBC America.
California-based tuner Galpin Auto Sports has produced many tuning programs for the Ford Mustang, including past offerings like the Boss 302-X and the Shelby GT500 Super Snake.
Recently, the folks from Galpin took a stab at building their latest wide body kit for the Mustang, the first one to be done on the Mustang Convertible. If the chrome finish on the Mustang isn’t eye-catching - and really, why wouldn’t it be? - Galpin also fitted their latest aero components, including hand-built steel fenders that stretch the width of the car by nine inches, allowing for enough room for the tuner to fit a new set of Forgiato 3-piece wheels with wide Pirelli tires. In addition to that, GAS also added a new Ford Racing suspension system, a Magnaflow quad-tip exhaust system, Wilwood 14" cross-drilled and slotted brakes on the front and rear, and last but certainly not least, a custom Burgundy and Black leather interior.
The one-off Mustang was built by Galpin Auto Sports for a specific customer who knows a thing or two about collecting some fine muscle cars: Thomas duPont, co-founder of the dupont Registry.
As far as we’re concerned, we just hope that Galpin decides to make this program for the Mustang Convertible more than just a novel one-piece.
Alabama-based tuning company APR has made a nice reputation for being one of the best Porsche, Audi, and Volkswagen tuners in the States. For their latest offering, they’ve created an ECU upgrade for the all-new Audi TT RS.
While the TT-RS already sports a pretty impressive 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbocharged engine that delivers 340 horsepower and 332 lb/ft of torque. Feeling the need to increase the Audi sports coupe’s power, APR prepared the Stage 1 ECU modification pack that significantly raises the TT-RS’ power to a sweet 414 horsepower and 430 lb/ft of torque.
Best of all, APR is only charging $899 for the program, which, according to them, is the “the best power per dollar modification for the new 2.5 TFSI.”
Taking the Audi TT-RS, a car that we have high regard for, and giving it a performance boost is the kind of program that a lot of people can enjoy - and afford. And judging by the way APR is packaging the program, we won’t be surprised if we see a more powerful program sometime soon.
Every year, the New York Auto Show is home to a number of debuts for some of the greatest automobiles around the world, and at this year’s show, you could be there capturing those moments when automakers pull back the covers to reveal their latest masterpieces. As part of SnapMyLife’s auto show contest, one lucky person will be chosen as the roving photographer for SnapMyLife and will be able to attend the two press days of the 2012 New York Auto Show to take pictures of the vehicles as they are debuted. These pictures will then be streamed during the official photo stream of the New York Auto Show. The winner will also get a brand new EOS Rebel T3i Digital Camera.
So, here’s how you enter. Take a photograph of a car and submit it to SnapMyLife. Then tell your everyone you know to click on the Like button associated with your image. At the end of the contest, whichever picture has the most likes will be declared the winner.
The contest is open to anyone in the contiguous United States who is at least 21 years old, be it professional or amateur photographer. Only original photographs that have not been previously published, for which the entrant possesses all necessary rights will be accepted as valid entries. Photographs that have won awards or have been subjected to any previous form of judging process will not be accepted.
Check out SnapMyLife’s entree and photograph criteria after the jump. For full contest rules and to check out the competition, head on over to SnapMyLife, but you better hurry; contest ends March 20, 2012.
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A show like Top Gear invites so many risks, especially when it comes to doing stunts on moving objects traveling at great speeds on the road.
Or sometimes, in the sky.
What you are watching isn’t a stunt, nor is it the result of digital effects. That, ladies and gentlemen, is an actual AH1 Cobra military helicopter that’s on its way to crashing. The accident took place at the Coolidge Airport in Coolidge, Arizona while filming a high-profile stunt for the first episode of Top Gear Korea. You might be wondering what Top Gear Korea is doing filming in the US, but that’s inconsequential at this point.
What’s important is that while the scene looks incredibly scary, nobody was seriously injured or killed when the helicopter slammed into the ground. Everything was going smoothly until the pilot of the chopper lost control of his bird, sending it hurtling down the ground faster than anybody could yell "watch out!"
According to Coolidge Police Chief Joe Brugman, the pilots walked out of the crash relatively unscathed after helicopter’s safety gear sprung into action moments before the helicopter hit the ground. No word yet on whether there were any mechanical failures from the retired chopper that could have led to the accident, but at this point, we’re relieved that nobody was seriously harmed from the entire debacle.
A lot of today’s 30-something auto nuts today credit the DeLorean for giving birth to their obsession with cars. Even folks much younger than that will attest that when they first saw the car in those Back to the Future movies, a love for anything four-wheeled followed soon thereafter.
One of those people is Matt Farah, the host of TUNED. In one of their more recent episodes, Farah got the chance of a lifetime to take a tour of DMC California where he was able to chat with Don Steger, the owner of DMC and considered as the only DeLorean-certified mechanic working the US today.
During his time at DMC California, Farah managed to get behind the wheel of an engine-swapped DeLorean that now carried a 575-horsepower engine taken from a Buick Grand National, replacing the much-weaker 130-horsepower Volvo V6 powertrain that was part of the stock model.
What was initially an awesome idea to do an engine swap on the DeLorean turned sour when complications from the swap resulted in the car breaking down multiple times, leading to a pretty sobering realization when dealing with a unique car like the DeLorean.
Despite its substandard power, the car’s age and uniqueness makes for engine swaps - or any major tuning work, for that matter - on the DeLorean a risky proposition.
Check out the video and see how Farah’s visit to DMC California went.
After releasing a video showing off the sound of Bentley’s new V8 engine, the company has officially announced details on the new Continental GT V8 before its debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 9, 2012. The new 4.0 liter, twin turbocharged V8 engine will be offered for both the CT coupe and GTC convertible models and will go on sale in the summer of 2012.
The new V8 engine delivers 500 HP at 6000 rpm and 487 lb-ft of torque available between 1700 to 5000 rpm. The models equipped with this new engine will be offered with a new close-ratio 8-speed automatic transmission and will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, while top speed will go up to 180 mph. Fuel economy and CO2 emissions have been improved significantly, but official figures will be released in early 2012. Bentley has promised that when equipped with the new V8 engine, the Continental models will be capable of traveling over 500 miles (800km) on a single tank of fuel.
"With the new 4.0 liter V8 engine we are widening the appeal of the latest generation of Continentals, introducing a completely new driving experience. The new engine will have all the exhilarating power, drama and performance you would expect from a V8 engine sporting the famous Bentley wings, effortlessly delivered with our characteristic ‘wave of torque’. This is complemented by innovative powertrain technology that delivers exceptional fuel efficiency and emissions," said Wolfgang Dürheimer, Chairman and Chief Executive, Bentley Motors.
UPDATE 02/22/2012: Bentley has unveiled a series of new images of the Continental GT V8. Enjoy!
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