Back in August some friends at Aston Martin and Gotham Dream Cars hooked me up with a brand new DB9 for the weekend (Thanks again guys!). I originally intended to write a blow by blow story of my experience but every time I put pen to paper I got nowhere but one single word. Perfection. Driving the DB9 was an absolute pleasure.
Fantastic pictures courtesy of my brother Micah Spear.
Rather than a narrative, I’ll share a couple things I’ll never forget:
The attention to detail inside these cars is incredible. No corner, crevice or surface was left without excruciating attention to the detail. Stitching, beautiful woods, fabrics, and so on. The craftsmanship was just gorgeous. I guess that’s what being hand built gets you.
There is no open road in New England that can handle this car. It’s built for speed. There was no straight away long enough, no hill windy enough. You need a race track or the European countryside to truly enjoy what’s under the hood. We did our best though. Promise.
Low clearance. Low clearance. I repeat, low clearance. Everywhere I went I was afraid I was going to scuff up the front lip. I didn’t!
I need to get me one of these. Unquestionably a dream car.
Legendary New York street artist Craig “KR” Costello customized a Mini Cooper S with his signature KRINK aesthetic. The car was shown today at Erste Liebe Bar in Hamburg, Germany. A vernissage takes place at Vicious Gallery on October 31st.
Our friend Jeff Staple was given two Kia cars to redesign. The first result: RAIN CAMO! Perfect for blending into urban rainscapes. Who knew a Kia could look so good. The car was created in part with the Kia Soul Collective tour and will be on display at each stop (today in Chicago). Check out Jeff’s site for a few more pictures and some of his inspiration.
Thanks to my friends at Aston Martin and Gotham Dream Cars, I wont be blogging much today. I’m on my way to pick up a DB9 Volante for the weekend. You can follow more constant updates of my experience on Twitter.
Yesterday, in an event that was surely meticulously planned by event organizers, the long awaited Stile Bertone Mantide (aka Project M), made it’s debut at the Shanghai Autoshow. The bespoke supercar, designed by American wunderkind Jason Castriota (of Pininfarina P4/5 fame), was originally thought to be GT-R based but we now know that the Corvette ZR1 lies at the heart of the beast. The large wheels, fluid body lines, and an aggressive almost angry rear reminds us of something a Dark Knight might drive, and that’s always a plus in our book. The engineers were able to reduce the already lightweight ZR1 by 220 lbs by using a carbon fiber body. It goes 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds with a 217mph top speed. For the latest information, including a series of episodes documenting this exciting car, following Bradley Farrell’s Inside Project M. We’ll take two, thanks.
Who ever thought something rolling on 30-inch bicycle wheels could look so good? Mercedes Benz has unveiled its F-Cell Roadster (the F stands for fuel, and yes, it’s a hybrid), an unconventionally attractive ride incorporating every era of the seasoned carmaker’s pioneering design style. The F-Cell embodies the company’s innovative technology with the simplicity of the first epoch of automobiles. While it may top out at 25 km per hour, it’s the progressive concept of this prototype that counts.
In the mid 70s BMW began asking artists to paint their cars, getting the likes of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Esther Mahlangu to turn racers into artwork. You can take a look at the art cars from 1975 to 1999 here. But now it’s 2009 and just splashing a 7 series with some paint isn’t quite enough. So Robin Rhode got the idea of painting with a car. Using BMW’s new Z4 Roadster he choreographed a run across a giant canvas, while he used remote controls to distribute paint on its tires from a tower 30-feet in the air. I vaguely remember having a similar experience in kindergarten involving my Hot Wheels and a couple of bottles of paint. Also, if you are in New York, head down to Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, (87 East 42nd St.) to check out four of the art cars and the full 30' x 40' canvas of Robin Rhode’s work. The exhibition runs from March 25 through April 6 and is free to the public.
The image of hybrid cars as boxy, efficient little travel pods is getting a makeover. At the Geneva Motor Show, Italdesign unveiled the Namir prototype, a 370-horsepower space rocket that can travel over 1,200 miles on a single charge. Namir is the world’s fastest hybrid to date, with a top speed of 187 mph, and releases lower emissions than any sports car on the U.S. market. We’re not sure if this particular whip is going to be available stateside, but it’s nice to see this trend forming.
The thought of being a lab rat never held much appeal for us, but if you were to replace running on that wheel for endless hours with riding in an innovative new vehicle, we just might bite. The Mini-E is looking for a few good drivers to take their groundbreaking, 100% electric, zero emissions model for a spin. Did we say a few? We meant 500. The Mini-E Field Trial offers environmental enthusiasts and technology fanatics the chance to get a first hand experience in shaping the electric car revolution by taking a year long test drive of this lithium-ion battery powered subcompact. By agreeing to lease the car for one year, participants will play an integral role in the improvement of technology by answering key questions related to how these cars could better complement our day to day lives. If you have the pioneering spirit and want to be a part of automotive history, we recommend heading over to the MINI website and filling out an application now.
The auto industry may be suffering, but quality product design isn’t. A line of bowls and coasters influenced by classic cars has been created by New York-based Ramnarace. Recycled aluminum is put to good use by someone who knows a thing or two about the metal. Designer Sid Ramnarace worked on projects for Ford, Aston Martin, and Lincoln before turning a few of his favorite forms into products for the home. The combination of sleek lines and dramatic design used in the Mika and Stirling bowls is eye-catching — not that we’d expect anything less from someone who had a hand in developing the look of the Thunderbird.
Sao Paulo has notorious traffic jams that can turn the most patient person into a spiky ball of nerves. You can head underground and take the metro, but because the city is so big, it oftentimes doesn’t get close to where you want. Enter Carona Chevrolet. “Carona” means “ride” in Portuguese, which goes to the heart of this program. Still in beta version, the site promotes the fabulous idea of carpooling — a concept that I don’t often see exercised here — by providing a forum for drivers and riders to connect. Rather than one-time hook-ups, users create and join communities based on the destination. Essentially, it’s a better organized Craigslist Rideshare section. For example, if groups of people are heading to the same club on Friday, they could split the gas and parking and avoid the headache of arranging to get there before the metro closes or the bus lines stop running. To ensure the program works in the best way possible, Chevrolet’s added a ride etiquette section. It’s too early to tell how well the program will take because trust is still a big issue, but if it gets to the point where the biggest problem is only teaching people to not put their feet on the dashboard, we’re halfway there to easing traffic and breathing cleaner air.
The slot car craze may have fizzled out 40 years ago, but The World’s Greatest Shelby Slot Car Racetrack might just get people excited again. This isn’t the same cheap track you had when you were ten. Ohhh no, this studio apartment sized monster has 64 feet of twisting, turning, looping, drooping, swooping, spiraling plastic track. To top it off, the cars are precise replicas of the 1964 24-Hours-of-Le-Mans winning Shelby Daytona Coupe. This bad boy will make a great centerpiece for any room or office. Plus, with the price of fuel these days, this is the only way you’ll be able to economically race your buddies.
Just about everything seems ripe for a makeover these days. There are reality shows that’ll revamp anything from your wardrobe to your aspirations. And even though Pimp My Ride has been unnecessarily adding XBoxes and juicers into Geo Metro’s for quite some time now, we’ve never seen them transform an environmentally exceptionable vehicle into one into one that induces the envy of the insecure (if you know what we mean). No one’s thought to make your favorite Smart Car into your favorite fast one … until now. We stumbled upon these Smart Cars with sportscar shells that turn your eco-friendly auto into something that resembles a race-ready roadster in the form of a Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini. Unfortunately, as far as we can tell, you won’t be turning your hybrid into a hot ride anytime soon, as these babies were cleverly photoshopped to raise our expectations and then crush them.
Half-BMX vert stunts. Half competitive team sport. All Nissan ad. The Japanese car company’s foreign export sport SUV Qashqai (the name refers a group of nomads living Iran) has spawned the Qashqai Car Games‘ Spanner League campaign. What? You haven’t heard of the premiere group of foreign daredevil race enthusiasts that flip, spin, and launch their vehicles with Matrix-like precision. Check out their latest attempt which, as always, ends in Wylie Coyote fashion.
