Beautiful painting by Meier, of the superb Panhard-Levassor CD #53 car which raced in the 1962 Le Mans. It also came in 1st place for the “Performance Index” (calculated by Performance: Energy ratio).
src: routeNational
Category Archives: iedei
the awkward: BMW Zagato Coupe.
Well this is an odd looking car isn’t it. The standard, current generation Z4 is not a bad looking car, however it has always seemed too long and a bit awkward. So how do you reckon making an already awkward car even more awkward can happen? Oh yes that would be the job of Zagato.
Zagato have always made strange looking cars, no question about it. Sometimes their madness pays off (Alfa Junior Z, Lancia Hyena, Lancia Fulvia Sport, Alfa Giuletta SZ), although it seems lately that everything they make sort of looks like a parody of the ‘old-school’ Zagato designs.
So Zagato have now rebodied a Z4 into what is know known as a BMW Zagato Coupe. I think it looks pretty subpar, if i’m honest…and I find the BMW-Zagato connection to be a little strange. That being said….it IS interesting—-although I think the previous generation Z4 Coupe would rather accomplish all of this in a far more attractive manner.
In the old days, these sorts of awkward body styles really did work—mainly because the bumpers were not ‘integrated’ as they are now, and the wheels weren’t absurdly large and bulky like they are today.
the BMW Zagato Coupe is debut’ing at this year’s Villa D’Esta.
the sketches actually looked pretty promising…
here’s a video discussing the idea and design of the car:
src: BMW
video of the day. Sidecars and Snow
Steeped in pre-war 1930s Russia, the origins of Ural Motorcycles is centered around them having sidecars and built with utilitarian, military-strength toughness! These days, the company still exists and has an enthusiastic following. This great video by Gear Patrol captures the essence of being into a specific make/type of machine, and driving it with pleasure. In this case, it is driving a Russian-built (built in Siberia) motorcycle through the mountains of Washington! It also really makes me miss the winter…
src: gearPatrol
foto of the day. the coolest rear view mirror!
The Audi R18‘s digital rear view mirror. The R18 has no rear visibility aside from the side-mounted mirrors. This is a very cool, tech solution is an active matrix OLED display with excellent image and screen quality. On top of that, there are NIGHT and DAY settings, to avoid headlights glaring at night and to avoid sun glare in the day.
src: Fourtitude
A110-50 around Monaco!
This car has already become a chameleon, donning at least 4 different types of wheels from all the photos i’ve seen so far. Well here are some great shots of it around the Monaco circuit today!
(click to get hi-resolution pics!)
src: Renault
L’Alpine has landed!
I will be posting lots of photos and videos (hopefully) from today’s Alpine A110-50 concept debut. As someone who is very excited and enthusiastic about the past and future of the Alpine marque—today should be a fascinating day!
Carlos Tavares, Chief Operating Officer at Renault….i dig the Alpine threads, man!
src: renault
foto of the day. Exige.
In light of today’s excitement with the ‘neu’ Alpine photos leaking, I’ve found myself considering what cars have carried the torch while Alpine has been away. The list is quite short, and what i’ve come to realise is that the Lotus Elise/Exige is basically the only car I can think of which truly carried the functionality and purposeful design in the manner in which Alpine did.
In summary…do want! especially in yellow. I drove one several years ago, and found it to be extraordinary to drive. There wasn’t much practicality, and as i’ve been told by a couple people who have owned them—the fiberglass body makes it quite tough to repair. But as a 2nd or 3rd car, I can’t think of another modern 21st century car that would be as enjoyable and as fascinating.
src: carAdvice
introducing: the Alpine A110-50!
In all its glory. I only have one word i can say right now: WANT
I am severely biased towards anything Alpine….but honestly lately i’ve REALLY been getting into ‘futuristic’ cars meeting ‘vintage’ in their philosophy…..and THIS is just brilliant. Magical, even. Renault read my mind.
big thanks to my friend Jon for tipping me about these photos! Unfortunately they are low-resolution; however i’m sure there will be plenty of high-res pics after tomorrow. Tomorrow there should be a lot more information about the technical specs, such as exact engine (400hp V6?)—but what we can confirm is that it is mid-engined.
src: autosblog.com.ar (via carstyling.ru)
foto of the day. mono.
between the Donkervoort D8 GTO and the unbelievably cool Bac Mono—-i can’t decide which one would be the ‘ultimate’ weapon! The Mono is just sinister futuristic goodness.
src: autocar
Alpine Zar/A110-50 design pretty much confirmed (+ video teaser)
So while i stand by my statement that the previous A110-50/Zar photo was indeed a photoshop, it appears the design itself is pretty much how the ‘new’ Alpine concept is going to look! (big thank you to Neo Luxembourg for these tips!)
this photo was published by Renault themselves!
And then there’s this photo of a bloke working on a clay model, which looks basically exactly like the photoshopped picture! This was published on Figaro and the photo is on Worldscoop HERE:
additionally, Renault have released a 30 second video clip ‘teaser’….which I am not able to embed on this site, however you can watch it here!
http://d.yimg.com/nl/autos/site/player.html#vid=29371440&lang=fr-FR
Truth in 24 II now a FREE download on iTunes.
I saw this film at an official Audi screening several weeks ago and it was fantastic. The 2011 Le Mans will go down in history as one of THE best Le Mans races—-extremely exciting to watch and unnerving after unexpected incidents. You don’t have to be an Audi fan to enjoy this—you just have to love racing. A must watch, in my humblest opinion.
Truth in 24 (original) is also still available for FREE download on iTunes, however Audi have just released Truth in 24 II—-which chronicles the last year’s heroic R18 win. The perfect price for a fantastic documentary. Go check it out!
iTunes link for Truth in 24 II
(note that the link above is for the US iTunes; please check your country’s iTunes to make sure if it is available)
foto of the day. D8 GTO.
The Donkervoort D8 GTO is easily one of my absolute favourite cars in production right now…..just amazing to look at, and transcends the idea of the Lotus Seven straight into the 21st century. The GT4 version won the GT4 class of the 24 hours of Dubai, so it is developing a racing pedigree all of its own.
To me, in my current state of mind—-mixing modern and vintage. This may be the perfect interior. The stuff daydreams are made of…
src: senseTheCar
music video of the day: “Art of Driving”
Luke Haines is a bit of a minor genius after his small-time successes with The Auteurs (who were indeed pretty excellent) and then his solo work as well as Black Box Recorder. Here’s a bit of an odd, interesting, and pleasing bit of music entitled “The Art of Driving” by Black Box Recorder.
Where are they now? Chris Bangle.
“It starts with drinking the cognac, it ends with drinking the cognac”
A couple videos about how ex-BMW design guru Chris Bangle was asked to redesign the Hennessey bottle. The real question here is, is there flame surfacing involved!?
src: youTube (simonSays)
foto of the day. the perfect morning.
This photo does really make you wish you were there….i’m thinking cool temperatures, misty windy roads…..and an unknown location.
video of the day. pure Stratos.
What a video of the legendary Lancia Stratos with no BS music to get in the way of the exhaust notes!
Thanks to Nicolas for the tip!
spy pics: MQB 5-door A3 Sportback
Well this is the new version of my beloved 8P A3 Sportback! The MQB version looks like a direct evolution, with a very similar overall look and a more chiseled rear bumper and taillight treatment. The overall proportions and profile are very similar, but modernised to current Audi design. Great stuff……I hope it comes to the US market again, and I hope this time they bring the damn RS3—although from my info feed, only the sedan will arrive here (if it arrives) as the RS model!
2013/2014 Audi A3 5-door Sportback
src: blogautomobile
Is this the new Alpine concept? well…a photoshop!
Ever since writing about the Alpine concept debut’ing at Monaco on May 25th, the Internet has been alight with articles about the Alpine resurrection. Less than a week to go! Pretty exciting times for the Alpine marque.
Here’s today’s buzz. Is this modified DeZir the actual Alpine “Zar” or as Motorsport Magazine call it “A110-50”. I honestly don’t know…..I would like to believe the Alpine concept will look different than the DeZir. So why I am I posting it? Because I really love the way this photo looks—looks like a proper race car as an Alpine should be.
Only a couple of more days to wait til the real deal peaks its head…will it look like this? Who knows!? Renault has keeped its lipped very tightly sealed so far!
after searching a bit through Dezir photos—-i’ve discovered this supposed “Alpine” photo (src: netcarshow) is just a photoshop. I doubt Renault would photoshop their Dezir concept to make an Alpine So my conclusion? I don’t believe this is the Alpine concept—I think it’s just a photoshop.
src: blogautomobile
foto(s) of the day. NYC 1973.
I do love living in NYC, particularly in Brooklyn! NYC has both stayed the same and changed so much over the last 30-50 years. It is quite enjoyable listening to city old-timers tell their version of how NYC was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Seeing photos is also great. Here are 2 fantastic photos taken by Wil Blanche in 1973 of cars entering the Manhattan side of the Battery Tunnel towards Brooklyn as part of the Documerica project. Can you recognize all the iron in these pics? I get a good number of them….but a couple here and there which are just guesses!
As much as things change—-looking at these photos remind me of my experiences driving here every day. So i guess not everything changes that much!
src: hemmings
video of the day. Ford styling and the experimental car.
What a great video from 1964; made by Ford explaining some of their recent concepts and ideas; including the pretty futuristic and influential (at the time) Ford Cougar II.
IEDEI 