We’ve seen a lot of exhibits done throughout the years of models made from the most random of objects. There’s been a Lego-made Empire State Building, an Eiffel Tower replica made from paperclips and a house of cards that was inevitably became the Taj Mahal.
What we haven’t seen though is someone create an actual replica of something using only Styrofoam. That is, until this week.
Michael Salter, a name many of us ought to become familiar with for his uncanny knack of producing life-sized replicas of objects using only Styrofoam. His latest work of art is a life-sized model of a Formula One car he made exclusively from styro scraps, wall paintings and digital drawings.
It seems easy to think about doing some of these things but when you see the actual product, you realize just how tough, not to mention tedious, a task like this can be.
Check out the photos to see Salter’s work of art, which by all accounts, is a virtual styro-masterpiece.
The Japanese automaker Toyota will bring a handful of their remarkable racing cars to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 3-5. The three day event is Europe’s answer to Monterey Historic Races that take place every year at Laguna Seca. The event allows racing enthusiasts to get an up close look at everything from classic competition cars to the racecars of tomorrow and allows these machines the opportunity to do what it is that they do best when they race against the clock and the hill.
The sombrero wearing import carmaker will be showing off a Lexus LF-A super car and a TF108, last year’s unrestricted F1 car complete with the German Timo Glock behind the controls. Making almost as much power as the F1 machine, Toyota will also bring a four wheel drive Celica GT4-X developed by English based tuners Fensport. The Celica makes 700 HP and can make consistent 10 second quarter mile passes all day long.
Rally enthusiasts will be happy to know that their will be a pair of classic Group B Celicas as well as the car that won them the Manufacturer’s Championship in 1999, a WRC Corolla. Alain Prost’s championship ice racing Toyota Auris will also be on hand, the car is built to look like the compact city car, except the racecar is built from carbon fiber and features a tuned 3.0 Liter V6. There will also be a couple of Can-Am and Le Mans racers on hand as well.
However, it will be Gazoo Racing’s V10-powered Lexus LF-A endurance racer, coming straight from competing in the Nurburgring 24, along with an IS-F that competed in the same race twice around the clock, that will be one of the main attractions on the hill climb course, making an appearance at the Earl of March’s annual gathering.
Sebastian Vettel has always been one of Formula One’s young and promising drivers and in past seasons, has shown glimpses of brilliance that has ‘future World Champion’ written all over it. And now that he has a car that is as competitive as its ever been in a long time, Vettel is finally proving that those lofty praises showered his way was more than just hype.
Vettel’s latest moment of glory came last weekend at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, where he put on a racing clinic in front of a partisan British crowd on his way to dominating the race from start to finish.
Starting on pole position, Vettel made a fantastic start, breaking away from the pack and leaving every other driver – including season point’s leader Jenson Button – eating his gravel. From the get-go, nobody seemed to even get in sight of Vettel’s side-view mirrors. Even Mark Webber, Vettel’s teammate with the Red Bull Renault racing team, who came in second, wasn’t able to catch up to the speedy German.
With more and more factory backed teams preparing to make a break from Formula One in 2010 due to conflicts regarding rule regulations and budget disagreements, it’s a welcome relief that there are a host of new entires for next season, like the USF1 effort, or a champion of the past like Lotus.
Last seen in 1994, Lotus is potentially seeking a comeback in Formula One to recapture some of that old glory it had back in its heyday when it won a total of seven world championships and boasted a field of Hall of Fame drivers that included world class drivers like Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti.
The principal behind Lotus’ re-entry into Formula 1 is no other than Mike Gascoyne, the venerable F1 veteran who is now part of the Litespeed Formula 3 team that was able to secure the rights to use the Lotus brand in its bid to re-enter the prestigious world of F1.
British racing fans have a new reason to watch Formula One this season, despite the low point that was reached when last year’s champion got caught up in an embarrassing scandal with the rest of the McLaren team, putting a cloud over the capital of motor racing. Well out with the new and in with the old, because Great Britain has a new favorite son. Jensen Button, the driver who couldn’t buy a win, and took a pay cut to ride in the Brawn GP chassis for 2009 has just set a record winning 6 of the first 7 races of the season after finishing first at the Turkish Grand Prix this past Sunday.
This is quite a turnaround for Button, who has driven Benettons, Renaults and quite a few Hondas. His previous highlights included finishing 3rd in the points behind the wheel of a BAR in 2004 before he had to wait until 2006 for his first win, also coming in a Honda this time at the Hungaroring. Until the start of this season, Jensen just wasn’t as fast as the rest of the Formula 1 field. So where did all this speed suddenly come from?
With the ultra exotic teams of F1 running in Istanbul this weekend in the Turkish Grand Prix, we thought that it was only fitting to show you this F1 inspired video. Have a look at how all the parts come together to create the BMW Sauber F1.09.
Formula 1 drivers live a fast paced life filled with exotic race cars beautiful women and the finest luxuries, especially in Monaco. So it is very surprising to hear that a model was causing such a distraction for the men behind the wheel at this year’s Grand Prix, but maybe you would too if you were coming out of the slowest corner in F1 only to look up and see the face of an angel staring back at you with a five foot wide smile. The race’s winner, Jensen Button, said that "every time you passed her, it was as though she was looking right at you."
It was the San Francisco native, and face of Martini’s advertising campaign, Jessiqa Pace, whose image was strung up in the air just after the Lowes hairpin, promoting the Italian winemaker’s iconic vermouth. Last year’s champion Lewis Hamilton had an incident around the banner during the Saturday qualifying session that left the mechanics rebuilding the Mercedes chassis all night and the youngest F1 Champion of all time starting from the back of the grid on Sunday.
Pace happened to be in Monaco for the race weekend, and when she learned of the unfortunate incident told reporters that "obviously it’s very flattering that I’m distracting the drivers so much, but I’d feel terrible if someone got hurt." This just goes to show, the 2009 Formula 1 season has turned the sport on its head. First Button starts winning races for Brawn GP the major manufacturers can’t find the podium and now beautiful women will have to be removed from the racetrack. At least Ferrari showed they has a little more pep in their step, coming in third and fourth at the grand prix.
The way Formula 1 is going this season, with the privateer upstart, Brawn GP team dominating in a field of experienced manufacturers; it looks like things will never be the same again. The ex-Ferrari/Honda technical director and now team owner, Ross Brawn, is showing makes like Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW, Toyota and even Renault a thing or two about how to put together and F1 racecar. The Brawn BGP 001 must be good, because it has made Britain’s lost son, Jensen Button, a driver who couldn’t even find the podium for the last two years absolutely unstoppable, winning 5 of the 6 races so far this season.
Normally it takes about 10 to 15 years for F1 technology to trickle down onto the streets, but hopefully in this age of automotive independents, it won’t take that long. This independent spirit could just so happen to be what this ailing automotive economy needs. This kind of innovative thinking, is making car companies like the all electric auto maker Tesla sound more and more like Tucker
Apart from being an incredibly beautiful machine, Alain Prost’s 1990 Ferrari F1 car is piece of racing history. The year before the Frenchman left McLaren to race for Ferrari he won the driver’s title after a championship deciding collision with then teammate Ayerton Senna.
The videogame makers Codemasters are the proud owners of Formula 1 licensing. So with the approval of Bernie Ecclestone the game developers are teasing the public with this trailer for their latest racing creation. Although the video reveals almost nothing about the game, it made me anctious to run out and buy a Nintendo Wii. But not to worry it apears that Codemasters will also be bringing Formula 1 action to the PSP portable gaming device later on this year, and shortly after on the PS3, Xbox and PC platforms.
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