Rock Bouncing is the name for a new genre of off-road vehicle that’s starting to emerge from the Southeastern Region of the US. They’re basically huge power and huge tire tube framed buggies made to go all out on terrain people would have a tough time climbing on foot. Here are some of them playing on some of the more technical trails at Dirty Turtle Offroad Park in Bedford, Kentucky.
BMW is going to release a new M3 in 2014 on the current 3-series chassis which has been criticized for not being as sporty as previous models. They will be replacing the current E92 M3’s V8 with a twin turbo inline 6 which could very well be a torque monster based on the performance of their latest engines. Steve Sutcliffe of Autocar takes the E30 M3, E46 M3 CSL and the E92 M3 out for a track day at Brands Hatch Circuit. He discusses what he likes and dislikes from what he says are the 3 three best generations of M3. Sutcliffe also discusses which of the cars and features that BMW need to emulate while designing the new model. It’s a nice guided tour of the M3 dynasty.
A couple of inventors in Missouri have figured out a way to convert combustion engines to run on solar power. Yes, you read that right. They are calling to the Hydro Internal Clean Engine (it’s a play on the common acronym for Internal Combustion Engine). Here is a diagram of how it works from their patent application:
The process involves using a parabolic mirror to focus sunlight in order to super heat oil to somewhere between 400 and 700 degrees Fahrenheit (205 to 371 degrees Celsius). The oil is then pumped into the cylinder of the engine while the piston is at the top of its stroke. A small amount of water is then injected into the cylinder. Once the water makes contact with the hot oil, it’s instantly vaporized into a cloud of steam which has the potential of having 3,000 times the volume. The steam expansion is what pushes the piston down the cylinder and turns the crank. The oil and water are then exhausted out of the cylinder, separated and reused. The brilliance of this idea is that it uses existing engine technology. Their prototype is a converted 31cc two stroke engine from a weed whacker. The overall efficiency isn’t projected to be better than current photovoltaic cells, but the HydroICE Engine will be significantly cheaper. The two inventors are planning to team up with the Missouri University of Science and Technology and Missouri State University to continue development of the HydroICE engine. They’re currently trying to raise money for the research and development on Indiegogo. Here is their investor pitch with a detailed animation of how the HydroICE engine will work featuring a cutaway version of their prototype:
Source: Missouri Sustainable Energy LLC via Gizmag
It’s looking like Ford has built something special with their new Focus ST. All of the reviews I’ve read so far have picked the ST over the standard benchmark of the hot hatch class, the Volkswagen GTI. The new Focus has a 2.0 liter direct injection EcoBoost engine that puts out 250 horsepower and 26 mpg combined. With a base MSRP of $23,700, the new ST achieves a phenomenal balance of sportiness, practicality and frugality that defines all hot hatches. Chris Harris’s latest video puts the Ford Focus ST up against a couple of Europe’s best hot hatch offerings, the Renaultsport Megane RS and the Vauxhall Astra VXR. He mentions that the test is a little unfair to the Focus because the other two cars are halo models more appropriate for the Focus RS. It ultimately works out for the ST because it manages to hold it’s own while punching above its weight class. The review starts out with seeing how the cars perform on British B-Roads and then ends with a lap around a pretty technical track. All of the driving was down in wet conditions.
The most useful bit of footage is watching Harris throw the cars around the track. All three cars dance around the turns without ever pushing into understeer which is a prominent problem with high power front wheel drive cars. The overall chassis balance on all the cars is well done with “mobile rear axles.” The key to great front wheel drive grip is a stiff rear anti-roll bar. This lifts the inside rear wheel on corner entry which drives the outside front wheel into the tarmac giving it a bit more grip and preventing dreaded understeer. You can really see this working in the Focus ST since it has more of a daily driver soft suspension when compared to the other two track focused cars. I’d say the Focus ST is the Ford product that I’d be most likely to buy new until they come out with a Mustang with the 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6.
This is probably one of the rowdier Car of the Year competitions that you’ll see. Basically evo rounded up the significant new performance cars of this year and got Tiff Needell and Dickie Meaden to pair them up and go head to head out on track. These are the matchups they ended up picking: