Nissan Leaf on Racing Slicks

Car and Driver teamed up with Tire Rack to see if they could get a Nissan Leaf to pull a full 1.00 G on the skid pad. They work their way up from the stock Bridgestone Ecopia tires to full racing slicks. It seems kind of overkill, but a lot of people run racing slicks on stock cars for autocrossing. Normally I would say coilovers and anti-sway bars would be a key component to this process, but nobody makes them for the Leaf. The final result may surprise you. The cool part is they say that electric sports cars might be pretty fun.


Source: Car and Driver on a YouTube

Sauber Cutaway F1 Race Car

The Sauber F1 Team has spent the last two years working on this project: the cutaway F1 car. It sounds simple, but I’m sure it was immensely complicated. It’s just like a biology  exhibit you might find at a museum. The car is cut into two halves to allow you to see how the internal components are packaged. It’s an absolutely fascinating and slightly frightening look at where everything goes and it lives up to the old adage “If you want to find out how something works, push that $*%@#% through a band saw.”


Mercedes released a video last month that delves deeper into the construction of the F1 seat and the crazy seating position the guys have inside the cars. The very personable Nico Rosberg explains what it’s like to sit inside a modern Formula 1 car.


Sources: Sauber Motorsport and Mercedes Benz TV on YouTube

Duel in the Desert: Ford SVT Raptor vs. Mopar Ram Runner

Pickuptrucks.com ran this head to head comparison of the two top factory built offroad pickup trucks, the Ford SVT Raptor vs. the Mopar Ram Rummer. It’s an important to make the distinction that the Ram Rummer is built by Mopar and not by Dodge. The guys over at Pickuptrucks.com say it’s almost like a factory vs. aftermarket comparison. The Raptor is something that you buy off of the showroom floor whereas the Ram Runner is a purpose built vehicle assembled with a Dodge Ram and lots of MOPAR add-on parts. They turn both trucks over to champion desert racer Chad Ragland to take them through a pretty gnarly timed course. Head over to Pikcuptrucks.com for all the detailed specs and results.


Source: Pickuptrucks.com

Hummingbird Aerodynamics

Here’s another interesting video by Smarter Everyday on how hummingbirds manage to hover. Most birds have wings that function similar to those on airplanes. They rely on airflow over the wing shape to produce lift. But what happens when you hover and don’t have that airflow? Destin shows us some high speed footage of hummingbirds from a camera he set up in his backyard. It turns out hummingbirds are able to generate vortexes with the flapping of their wings that keeps them in the air. Take a close look at the flow field he posts, it gives a good visual of how the whole thing works.


Source: Smarter Everyday on YouTube

The Paganai Huayra Story

It’s pretty rare for an automaker to produce a background story video that’s as in-depth as this on that Pagani has made for the new Huayra. Then again, not many cars have as interesting back stories as Paganis and I don’t think anybody else could produce an equivalent car even if given access to the entire production process. Horacia Pagani says that he follows one of Leonardo da Vinci’s philosophies of art and science developing in unison. You can really see that in the functional design of the Huayra and the innovations like the titanium laced carbon fiber used in its chassis.


Source: Pagani Automobili on YouTube