While it may be a little bigger than the average 2×4 from Home Depot, this Supercar hopes to splinter to 240 mph.  This Lambo-like supercar will definitely give a new meaning to the coined term “Woody.”

Alright, enough puns…..all in all, this thing is powered by a 4.6 liter V8 that was pulled from a Cadillac Northstar.  I am sure the tree huggers will love it.  Not only will it get about 20mpg, but it will also get you to 60 in under 3 seconds.

The coolest thing about this insane supercar is that it is being built by a team of graduate students at NC state.  Joe Harmon, leader of this project, says

“We are building a high-performance, mid-engined supercar from wood composites as a graduate project at North Carolina State University. Wood will be used whereever possible, including the chassis, body, and large percentages of the suspension components and wheels. The car has a target weight of 2500lbs and a power goal of over 600 horsepower. We aren’t trying to sell anything; we aren’t trying to save the world, and we aren’t advocating that everyone should drive a wooden car. This project is a scholastic endeavour in which are simply trying to explore materials, learn, teach, share ideas, and stimulate creativity. This section details who we are and what we are doing. We hope you enjoy checking out what we are working on.”

Be sure to check on their progress at their Blog or their huge photo Flickr for real pictures of the progress.

 

They said the day would never come, but someone finally made a New Beetle look cool!  The amount of work in this Bug is phenomenal, but so was it’s cost.  This slick roadster was sold on Pistonheads for almost $40,000.  I guess that’s a pretty good bargain considering it cost almost $120,000 to finish.  How much “awesome” does $120,000 buy you?

For power, this bad boy has a 20 valve 1.8 turbo motor swapped in that puts out 381 horsepower.   Behind the TechArt wheels you will find Porsche Cayenne brakes up front and Audi TT brakes in the rear.  For comfort, this bug was fitted with full leather interior with a unique hand made aluminum tonneau cover.  For more pics, check out the gallery.

It kind of reminds me of a modern version of the Hebmuller….

When compared to the BNR34 GT-R, the new GT-R seems like a giant! The former already looks like a Civic placed next to a S Class Benz. I am sure the wider stance will do wonders for handling, but it reminded me of Pontiac’s ad campaign from back in the day, “Wider is Better.” Of course, I am not saying that there are any similarities between the GT-R and the Pontiac Gran Prix, but it just goes to show how cars get larger with time. The Honda Civic is another classic example of the growing beltline among cars. Today’s Civic is larger than the Accord, a few generations removed. The same thing can be said about the T-Bird back in the day.

It is a conspiracy, started by Paintless Dent Repair shops - gradually make cars wider, until they can’t help but dent cars in parking lots!

It could be a sad day for Macho Man trucks in Virginia if the newly proposed bill gets passed that would put a ban on the now infamous Truck Nuts. Delegate Lionell Spruill wants to put an end to “anything on a car that resembles human genetalia.” Spruill says “It comes to a point where there are certain things you just can’t do. And putting testicles on the back of a truck is just too much. So I am trying to stop it.” All this can be blamed on an innocent little girl who probably asked “what are those daddy? where do babies come from? Why are they so big?”

Does this mean lowriders with exotic murals painted on the hoods will also be banned in Virginia? I hope this guy gets smacked across the face with some real ones to slap some sense into him. Makes me sleep great at night knowing that our tax dollars are being used properly.

[WKTR News]

GM is already on the task of creating a driverless car according to Business Week. You may have read my last post regarding the future of the “spirited driver” if this sort of thing ever did come about.

It really does make you wonder when you can imagine hopping into your own KITT to go to school. Mom and Dad would no longer have to take you to school, drunk driving would be perfectly acceptable, and maybe our roads would no longer need stop signs or traffic signals.

Then comes the question, how much can we trust our lives to electronic devices? From Businessweek: “Much of the technology already exists for vehicles to take the wheel: radar-based cruise control, motion sensors, lane-change warning devices, electronic stability control and satellite-based digital mapping. And automated vehicles could dramatically improve life on the road, reducing crashes and congestion. If people are interested…the company plans to test driverless car technology by 2015 and have cars on the road around 2018″

I am sure “And it’s good!” was shouted a few times as Robbie Maddison flew through the field goal poles on a dirt bike 60 feet above the grass this new years. Right after Robbie beat the world record for the longest jump, he quickly turned around and said, “let’s do it again.” Could this be the next Evil Knievel? Soon after he sucessfully beat his own world record. He went on to dedicate his jump to the famous Evil Knievel.

This reminded me of the jumps from back in the day. Back in the day when they did not have dirt bikes with 14″ of suspension travel. I mean, look at it, Evil Knievel sure had some balls flying through the air with this thing.

I am always in awe when I run into true machines like the Ferrari 312PB. It was when the car was 100% machine and the only thing that could get it around the course was the driver. No traction control, no anti-lock brakes, just the bare bone essentials. I can only imagine the adrenaline rush accompanied with a lap, but this video should give you an idea. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that it was just yesterday when AC was an “option” on cars. Nowadays, it’s practically impossible to find a car without it. It is also common knowledge that just about every car is controlled by computers in some fashion. It started off with EFI, and has led to complex adaptive suspensions and multimode traction control that varies depending on weather conditions or your preset mode.

Read the rest of this entry »

The main reason why people these days are buying hybrids is because they save baby seals. Maybe that statement isn’t 100% true. Some people are duped into buying hybrids to save money on gas. They just use the baby seal connection so they have a good reason for owning such a goofy looking car.

On the other hand, it can be argued that these little struggling creatures helped our economy. They are part of the reason why people purchase the new and more expensive hybrid models vs. just the standard model. Both sides win right? Seals get more ice to slide around on, people feel all fuzzy inside, and our dependence on foreign oil is lowered. Heck, everything should be a hybrid! Hybrid scooters, hybrid lawnmowers, or how about a hybrid chainsaw?

Thats the mentality I see coming around when I see a company like Ferrari developing a hybrid. All Ferrari should think about is how to make their cars faster on the track. They are known for applying Formula 1 technology to their cars, but today it feels like they are falling into political hype. Are they genuine or just trying to get less paint thrown on their fur coats?