Alfa Romeo TZ1
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Category Archives: design
foto of the day. 99 Turbo.
love these—i think they are timeless classics in every sense of the word!
foto taken from Trollhatten Saab
video of the day. a look around the 2011 Concorso Villa D’este
Again thanking Italiansupercar.net for this footage!
quattro Sport Concept @ Concorso D’eleganza Villa D’este
My favourite current concept car——i am full hope that this badboy gets produced. If it does, you bet every dollar I will be selling parts of my spleen to get myself one—-in BLACK thank you very much!
Photos courtesy of Italiansupercar.net
art of the day. A110
Got this from the fantastic Alpine Portugal page
BMW 328 Hommage.
Interesting—-i loved the Mille Miglia concept a few years ago—this continues the look back on history. I don’t feel it is particularly a nice design, however I like certain features which kick back to the past like the leather straps and the ‘bucktooth’ kidney grille in the front. BMW, design-wise, have become a shell of their former self in the past 10-15 years, in my opinion—-and I don’t think it will hurt them at all to look at their historical past for inspiration. Here’s hoping they bring the proper design cues which made them so glorious from the 60s through early 90s back.
This car weighs just around 1700+ pounds! Lightweight engineering, that is something to love.
FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE (registration required)
(IEDEI sepia tuned photos)
ever wonder what…
expensive camera gear looks like bisected? I’m not photography master, but i appreciate a good camera and I love my Leica D-Lux 3. Check out this bisected Leica lens!
thanks to Jmblur for sharing this foto!
the best looking 1988 911 you will ever see.
The owners of early 70s 911s who try to make their cars look ‘modern’ should be imprisoned. This guy, on the other hand has done the glorious thing and ‘backdated’ his 1988 911 into a 1971 Porsche 911 with upgraded parts and spec’d out.
The result is something which is quite simply…..wonderful.
click here to see the Craigslist AD ($38,000 in case you are obsessed)
http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/2360939304.html
(thanks to S. Carder for the tip!)
Noble M600 (now w/ video)
I absolutely love the shape of this car—i’m not exactly why this supercar speaks to me design-wise that few others do—maybe it is the ‘long’ tail feature or maybe it’s just the functional integrity of it being another insane Noble. But it is stunning….
I see bits of Lotus Elise, Audi R8, vague Lamborghini and Ferrari. But the end product is something fantastic.
Noble M600.
you can pick if the car should be 450, 550, 650hp—in the same car! nice.
Here’s the TOP GEAR review!
Mercedes-Benz C111-3
What a stunning concept this was—-in a series of MB “C” concepts. This one, in particular, reminds me of those 1930s Silver Arrow streamline design studies…
iPad: motoring stuff.
My lovely wife bought me an iPad last weekend. It’s an amazing device—-beautiful to use and full of utility. I am currently in the process of comprehensively reviewing a monumental amount of scientific knowledge for an upcoming examination—-and the iPad is like a saint that has come to help me out. It is brilliant. That being said—-there are tons of e-magazines available for the iPad related to cars—and i downloaded a few of the ‘free’ apps namely by BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche. I have to say that each one is entertaining and beautifully put together, especially for free. Apparently they will supply new issues as they are made….very cool. Here are some screencaps I took with the iPad of these 4 apps. BTW, the Mercedes application is just amazing—-it goes through their entire automotive history with photos and 2 minute audio summaries. Very cool, again.
i
IEDEI @ the NY Auto Show: press day megapost!
Well yes, this was the debut of IEDEI at a major auto show—I must thank JoshD from Quattroworld for setting me up with my media pass. Much appreciated indeed! at IEDEI you will not get photos of ‘every car’—-instead you will just get the ones i thought were interesting!
Some observations about the cars I saw at the Auto Show today:
A) I looked at and sat in A LOT of cars today and came up with a conclusion—–I like very few of them. I tried to only really take photos of the ones I either found interesting or appealing in some way.
B) The interior quality of most cars is quite frankly woeful. When I sat inside of a Boss 302 Mustang, I was quite frankly amazed at how badly made the interiors really are of these cars. I KNOW that this is not the point of them—and yes I know that none of this matters when one is aiming for lap times and stop light drag racing. However, IEDEI looks at the whole picture for inspiration—-and if a car has such a huge glaring gap in its merit, I simply cannot be bothered to care. After the show, i got into my Audi TT, and felt relieved to be in such a nice place! Not to say there were not nice interiors at the show, there were (Mercedes, Audi, GT-R, etc…) but most were lacking.
C) Surprises of the day? I sat in a Nissan GT-R for the first time in my life—–and you know what? I absolutely LOVED it. The interior felt like a true sports car, with amazingly high quality construction, fantastic seats, and the most amazing tactile paddle shifters I have ever felt on a car—–with raw brushed metal stalks. The car felt great to sit in—and to be honest I am compelled to take one for a test drive…soon hopefully!
D) the Kia Optima felt like an Audi—honestly the quality of their interior blew me away, and I think that Peter Schreyer (ex-Audi designer) has really upped Kia’s game when it comes to quality of product. I don’t care for Hyundai much—–but when i took a seat in the Kia Optima, it felt like an interior that was twice the price of the car. Nice one, Kia.
E) the Scion FR-S—-stunning.
F) VW Beetle: dissappointing. Terribly cheap and tacky interior. Not worth the hype.
some photos:
Fiat steering wheels:
Bentley random goods!
BMW 1-series M: just looked like a ‘modded’ 135i in person; a bit dissappointing to be honest. The interior, like the 135i, felt cheap and nasty. I really do like the 1-series as a car, however I think it never quite lives up to how much I want to like it. I’m sure it will still kick ass on a track though…
BMW M3 DTM: all types of wonderful.
Audi TT-RS – naturally better looking than the 1-series M, with a much MUCH nicer interior. Spoke with Johan De Nysschen (head of Audi Of America) about options and pricing. I was told the car will be about $60k in the US when it is launched this Autumn. 340hp version coming to the US, not the 360hp “plus” version as rumoured. This is the US-spec car.
the orgasm inducing Audi R8 GT: i couldn’t really get myself to leave sitting in this. So f*cking cool it pained me to leave it—-
the stunning Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in Gulf livery? Not sure I understand Mercedes & Gulf colours on the same car—–however I wasn’t arguing, as it looked splendid, although a little bit puzzling for sure!
Mercedes A-Class Concept: beautiful design, flows very well. striking concept features like the ‘inverted mesh grille’ are very cool. Slated for the US market in 2013—-if it looks anything like this, it will be so cool to see these on the street!
Nissan GT-R: dare i say i have been developing a great appreciation for the GT-R as a technological masterpiece; today my opinion of it greatly increased after I fell in love with the interior—–it felt like i belonged there. Yes I know it’s been around for a while, but I’ve only come to understand it. Respect.
Red Bull F1 Car it still annoys me that somehow Infiniti have blagged their way onto this car (probably by begging parent company Renault, who supply the Red Bull engines)—–however man these F1 cars are something else to see in person. So much detail.
Scion FR-S: This car is UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous—-so beautiful that I found myself shocked that Toyota has designed it. It takes many cues from the Audi quattro Sport concept, as well as one of the E-tron concepts—–but holy shit if Toyota/Scion can build this and price it at $25k as a small, RWD car which is under 3000 pounds—-this car is going to be massive! (note: this car was a mock up, with no working interior—-so i’m not holding my breath about this being the production design)
Saab Phoenix Concept – This was revealed at the Geneva Auto Show a few months back——I thought it looked like utter shit in those photos i saw of it then, BUT i will say the car looks MUCH better in person—-much lower and sleeker. In fact, while I was taking these photos, another person and I were having a conversation about how this car looks like crap in the camera, but much better in person—-very strange! Even still, it is NOT a pretty design, but I will say it is interesting. Yes, the rear lights look like a 90s Firebird, as my friend from Automobiliac.com mentioned…and next to the car in this photo is the designer Jason Castriota.
Volkswagen Golf R/”R20″– really liked the interior touches for this special edition AWD continuation of the Golf R series. Looked nice and aggressive in its classic R shade of blue as well!
Porsche GT3-R Hybrid – self explanatory cool, even as a hybrid!
I found myself accidentally in front of a Shelby GTS unveiling—–but the car bored me (looks like every other bloody Shelby tuned Mustang!), and the annoying automotive journalists irritated me even more. I have to say that auto journalists kinda suck—–pushy, a little impatient, and they take way too many photos of anything with wheels….as if they will never see it again if they don’t…
foto (s) of the day. R18!
The Audi R18 TDI is simply stunning—-the most striking race car i’ve seen in many, many years. I will be proud to be supporting Audi during the next Le Mans! Here it is in its full Audi Sport livery. All 3 cars! 1, 2, and 3.
alfa romeo junior z.
yes i love the Alfa Romeo Junior Z—–i know lots of people don’t like it, and i’ve had conversations with Alfisti who discredit its weird Zagato roots and shape—-however I find it to be quite unique, and in person it is very very tiny and compact! All types of cool! I did learn something new today though; that the Junior Z was made in 2 forms, a short tail 1300 and a ‘longer’ tail 1600. Also on the Alfa Workshop, there is a photo of a ‘mid-engined’ variant….
The Junior Z is quickly catching up to the Montreal when it comes to my favourite post WW2 Alfa Romeos.
these archival photos taken from the Alfa Workshop
These scans were found on the AlfaBB some time ago, and I had saved them. I’m not sure exactly who had scanned them.
CLICK TO ENLARGE (article is in English!)
Volvo Concept Universe.
I have a huge soft spot for Saab and Volvo. I’m really glad their designs are coming back to where they belong—-after years of both companies being lost and without an identity.
I absolutely LOVE this new, hypnotic, grumpy design that Volvo has sprung onto the world at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show. After the superb C30, Volvo really haven’t shown anything worth getting excited about til now! I love the minimalist front end, and the beautifully curved rear end.
There is definitely some Audi and Saab (new 9-5, specifically) design themes going on here, especially with the 2/3 & 1/3 ratio being present on side view—-but i think Volvo can turn this into an original theme with those stunning front lights and beautifully sculpted rears.
I am guessing the next ‘S80’-replacement will adorn many of the features on this concept—-here’s hoping they keep the style and minimalist presence which makes some features of this so special.
a belgian RS2.
The hottest wagon ever….in my favourite colour for an RS2. These pictures are from Simoni’s thread on the S2 Forum.
these are just so facking cool.
unknown car of the day. Goliath GP 700 Sport.
One of the post-war cars developed in Germany, loosely based on a VW Beetle platform (correction): upon further investigation, it seems that the most recent sole survivor was discovered with an older VW chassis transplant, however the original GP 700 Sport was based on an OEM original Borgward chassis design. —–with a LOT of design similarity to the Porsche 356 (also Beetle-based), the Goliath GP 700 Sport was built with lots of aluminium, and sported a mighty 36hp. The amount of parts that it actually shares with a VW is unclear, as it doesn’t use a rear-engined layout like the Beetle did. Very few of these cars exist (reportedly 3 are still in existence). Produced between 1950 and 1953, by Borgward. The car had Bosch Fuel Injection (!), front engined, front wheel drive, and a transversely mounted engine—-all revolutionary at the time and very unique.
Lots of information and photos here:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=406656&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
intro: 2012 VW Beetle.
I TOLD YOU all the blogs were wrong about the styling of the 2012 Beetle….funny how people argued that was how it was going to look….
It looks much better than I ever expected. I have never liked the Beetle—-never liked the original, never liked the ‘new’ Beetle of the late 90s. But they seem to have really thought this out well and have properly modernized an icon. I am sure it is going to sell like a free diamond.
more pics and info here:
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/article_2913.shtml
foto of the day. Fulvia.
a nice blue series-1 Lancia Fulvia
Worst engine bay ever…
I’m not a fan of Lexus cars—i think they are mind numbing and quite frankly soulless. Many years ago I test drove a Lexus LS with my father, and I still think of that car as one of the WORST cars I have ever driven. That being said—-take a look at the 2010 Lexus LS engine bay. I don’t think i’ve seen a worse example of an engine bay….well…ever.
IEDEI 