Les Mayhew of the Nitro America channel put together this awesome compilation of burnouts from the California Hot Rod Reunion. There’s no need for any more introduction than that:
Harry Metcalfe of evo magazine gets a chance to spend a day with Aston Martin’s current ultimate expression of the car, the One-77. We haven’t really seen too many of the details of the One-77 because Aston Martin didn’t let any reporters drive it since the entire production run was only 77 units; so this video is a bit of a treat. The One-77 is powered by a 650 horsepower naturally aspirated 7.3 liter V12 that starts out as the standard Aston Martin 6.0 liter bored out with special cylinder liners. Metcalfe says the variable valve timing and lighter flywheel give the engine a completely different attitude than the standard engine making the One-77 an edgy high rpm horsepower car. We also get a view of the beautiful carbon fiber enclosed engine bay and the pushrod suspension at all four corners. It’s another intimate look at one of the most exquisite cars in existence.
The comparison between the BMW M5 and M6 was one that I thought wasn’t going to be very interesting going into this video by Car and Driver’s European Correspondent, Jethro Bovingdon. The M5 and M6 share the same drivetrain and running gear, but the M6 is a two door coupe instead of a four door sedan (saloon car). Furthermore, the M5 is almost $20,000 cheaper than the M6. Can the M6 be that much better than the already very competent and fast M5? It turns out the M6 is a touch faster in a drag race but ends up being significantly faster around a track thanks to better turn in and a lower center of gravity. The combination of heavy weight with lots of turbo power, balance and grip draws the analogy of the M6 being called the rear-wheel drive version of the GT-R. Ultimately the M6 is a hard car to justify on paper, but Jethro seems to think the car is worth the premium from behind the wheel.
The MotoGP website put together this documentary about one of the most fierce and unique rivalries in the history of the series between Americans Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz. They raced against each other for 7 years in MotoGP, Rainey for Yamaha and Schwantz for Suzuki. Their relationship started off as hatred for each other as both riders had vastly different riding styles. Over the years, the guys started to learn from each other and develop a deep mutual respect that they still have to this day. Unfortunately embedding has been disabled so click over to YouTube to check out the video:
Rainey vs. Schwantz: An all-American duel
Source: MotoGP on YouTube
The updated version of the Morgan 3-Wheeler was without a doubt one of the most interesting cars to make it’s debut in 2012. The basic design remained the same but with some modern running gear including the transmission out of a Mazda MX-5. Everybody talked about how the new car payed homage to the old one, but now we get to see an original car thanks to Jay Leno. Leno’s 3-Wheeler’s parts were made in 1932 and then it was assembled in 1946 after the war and shipped to Australia. His car is a deluxe model with the same Matchless MX-4 V-Twin that powered the Brough Superior which was a British made motorcycle that was thought to be the best in the world during it’s time. Other options include the 3 speed transmission with a reverse gear and the barrel body that allowed the carrying of a spare tire. Very cool old little car.