2013 Campagna T-Rex

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Campagna Motors of Quebec stops by Jay Leno’s garage to showcase the latest iteration of their reverse-trike T-Rex. New for 2013 is the 1.6 liter inline-6 BMW engine from their sport touring motorcycles. Campagna is able to work with BMW to buy crate engines instead of disassembling whole motorcycles like they did with their Kawasaki engines in previous years. The larger inline-6 produces more torque and power which makes it better suited for the T-Rex which weighs about twice as much as a motorcycle. It’s kind of funny, the exhaust tone still sounds similar to the inline-6 in BMW cars. The I6 is a very fascinating engine layout because it is naturally very balanced which lends itself to smooth revving and the ability to hold a lot of boost from forced induction. Unfortunately, many car makers have switched from inline-6’s to V6’s for packaging reasons. Inline-6’s are too long to be turned sideways to power front wheel drive cars. BMW still loves to use them because they only make rear wheel drive cars. Since BMW wisely overlaps many of their car and motorcycle development resources, it was only natural that they created this 1.6 liter inline-6 for their bread and butter sport touring motorcycles. It just so happens that it’s also an ideal engine for the many motorcycle/car hybrids coming to market like the T-Rex and the Monotracer. These types of vehicles are starting to get a lot more popular for their combination of motorcycle performance and gas mileage with car safety and practicality.


Source: Jay Leno’s Garage on YouTube

Gretchen the Tractor Powered Hot Rod

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Meet Gretchen, a hot rod with a 1931 Ford body, a 1952 Diamond-Reo tractor engine and a frame made from old light poles. It’s not a combination that many people would think of, but that’s the point. Gretchen represents what hot rodding should be about: reasonable priced cars that are cool because of the ingenuity of their builders. These are the cars that can be enjoyed and shared because their merit doesn’t come from sheer expense and perfection. I especially liked how the owner talks about being able to take the Gretchen to car shows and let kids climb all over it. In our world of the ever-growing skills gap, working with your hands is taboo and more and more chop classes are being cut from school budgets. We need cars like this to to expose the next generation to crazy gasoline engines that make more than 1600 foot-pounds of torque. It’s an uphill battle to inspire the engineers and fabricators of the future.


Source: DRIVE on YouTube

Mazda MX-5 Super20

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“The answer to everything is Miata” is a running joke over on the Grassroots Motorsports forum. It’s funny because it’s true: the Miata is the perfect blend of low cost of entry, performance potential and practicality. They’re simply fun little cars. Mazda built this MX-5 Super20 concept for the SEMA show in 2010 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Miata. All they had to do was turn to the prolific and enthusiast driven aftermarket that has built itself around the fun to drive nature of the car. The Super20 has a Cosworth engine being force fed by a Flyin’ Miata supercharger kit. Power output is estimated at 225 to 250 horsepower. Suspension has also been upgraded and really wide 16 inch Toyo racing tires fill the widened fender flares.

I really like Carlos’s analogy of music for sports cars. There are cars that perform well because they are designed to do so in a very specific way like the GT-R. He says cars like these represent Punk Rock. They’re in your face in terms of outright performance despite of what driving style you may have behind it’s wheel. Cars like the Miata are more about existing in harmony with the melody of the driver.


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube

Liberty Walk in Italy Part 1

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LB_Performance_Murcielago-Desktop-02 via Speedhunters.comLiberty Walk is a tuning shop in Japan that is best known for their work with Lamborghinis. The company was founded in 1993 to share a passion for cars with Japan’s younger generation. Liberty Walk’s owner, Kato, even has a vision of a super car amusement park for families to enjoy together:


Liberty Walk // Amusement Park from Maiham-Media.com on Vimeo.

The team from Liberty Walk took their widebody Murcielago (pictured at the top) to the Lamborghini 50th anniversary celebration in Italy. They documented the trip to showcase the generosity of the Italian people that they received on their quest to showcase Japanese spirit.


Source: LBPerformance on YouTube

The Troy Hartman Jetpack

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X-Games Skysurfing gold medalist and professional aerial stuntman Troy Hartman has created his own take on powered human flight. We still don’t have the technology to do a direct propulsion jetpack like The Rocketeer, but microturbines are now good enough for aerodynamic lift. Swiss pilot Yves Rossy decided to attack the problem with a rigid wing that he strapped to his back. Rossy’s goal was to be able to use his body as the control surface to steer his version of the jetpack. Hartman’s approach uses a traditional skydiving parachute for lift and steering while wearing two turbines on his back for power. Where Rossy is a human airplane, Hartman’s design is more akin to a human ultralight. Footage from Hartman’s phase 2 testing looks pretty promising. His design looks like it would be cheaper, safer and more intuitive to use for the average person who doesn’t have years of experience as a pilot.


Source: Troy Hartman on YouTube