Author Archives: Will@FluxAuto

Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro and Ultra Testing at Sebring by Drive

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This is an absolutely fascinating video posted by Drive on YouTube. They got an exclusive inside look at the Audi Le Mans racing program as they tested their new 2012 cars at Sebring. Audi will be fielding two cars this year, the R18 E-Tron Quattro and the R18 Ultra. Both cars use a V6 direct injection diesel engine to drive the rear axle. The only difference is that the E-Tron Quattro also has an electric motor that drives the front axle. For energy storage, the E-Tron is using the magnetic flywheel system that Porsche has been developing with the Williams F1 team in their 911 GT3 RS Hybrid endurance racer. Drive does an amazing job providing footage of the car as well as interviews with the drivers about how the cars have changed throughout the years and interviews with the team leaders about development of the cars as well as Audi’s Le Mans program.


Source: Drive

CTS-V Powered ’68 Camaro

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This is what being a car guy is all about. Meet Bob Hall. He’s the owner of this Pro Touring 1968 Chevrolet Camaro. It’s the car he’s wanted since he was 18 years old. After he picked up the project, he decided he wanted it be more potent than a stock restoration and the vision for how the car currently sits was born. Check out the video for a road test and the story behind the build.


Source: Drive

The Institution of the Bonneville Salt Flats by Motor Trend

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Motor Trend just posted this great video about the Bonneville Salt Flats. What makes it interesting is that they give you a picture of the culture built by the racers that convene there every year. What they do is not racing in the traditional sense. The competition is not a cutthroat head to head to race. It’s more accurate to think of it as a competition of the people against the salt and the clock. You get a really good feel for the mentality of the racers from the interviews in the video.


Source: Motor Trend YouTube Channel

Nitto Drift Team at Formula D Long Beach

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Here’s one more piece of media coming out Round 1 of the Formula D Drift Championship at The Streets of Long Beach. This one is from the Nitto drift team. Their lineup includes Matt Powers in the Need for Speed S14, Joon Maeng in a Mazda RX-8, Mike Essa in his GSR Motorsports BMW Z4, and Toshiki Yoshioka in the RSR S15. Their highest placing driver at Long Beach was Matt Powers in 4th place.


Source: Nitto Tire YouTube Channel

Why Build An Electric Car? Part 2: Engineering

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In the second part of our discussion on why we should build electric cars, we’re going to take a closer look at what it takes to use a combustion engine and where electric motors can improve on their performance. Much of the technology required for the use of engines is accepted simply because it’s the way we’ve done it for a long time. Take a minute to give this question some serious thought: What if the car had been invented today? Given what you now know about where we get our oil (covered in Part I), do you think the established automotive industry would look the same if was built from scratch right now? Let me show you some of the facts.

Efficiency
Combustion Engine
This one will probably surprise you. Your typical car engine achieves about 18-25% efficiency. That’s it. Only one quarter of the energy that is contained in the gasoline that you purchase actually goes to turning the crankshaft of your engine. Where does the other 80% of the energy go? Heat and friction. Gasoline contains so much energy that we’re still able to power our cars with it even though engines are so inefficient. Here’s another way to look at it: 75% of your gas money is just being thrown away.

Gasoline Energy Distribution

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