Take a car (or truck, or motorcycle, or Hummer, or R/C car, or whatever), paint it matte black (to reduce glare), add in aftermarket performance upgrades, elaborate electronics, exotic materials, and gyro-stabilizers, and what do you get?
Camera cars, that’s what.
Oobject has put together a list of 12 of the coolest movie industry camera cars to date, including those from Pursuit Systems, AP Cam Cars, Go Stunts and more, and it’s a must see if you’d enjoy a look behind the scenes of some of your favorite on screen automotive moments.
What’s the highest you can jump a motorcycle out of a quarter pipe?
Ronnie Renner and the Red Bull Experiment decided to find out, and on July 11, in front of thousands of fans on the Santa Monica pier, he sailed some 59’2” trough the air and upside down to set a new world record:
The Uno is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.
By using gyroscope technology similar to the Segway, it balances on two wheels that sit right next to each other. The Uno goes forward when you push your body weight forward, and backwards when you push your body weight backward. The further you lean, the more the Uno tilts, and the faster it accelerates.
Apparently it’s so simple to operate that there are no controls except for an on-off switch. The gyro tells the ECU how much to accelerate automatically, and the proper amount of power is delivered to the wheels through electric motors, one for each wheel.
The body and frame are both custom designed, with a Yamaha R1 serving as the starting point. After prepping the frame, the molding took just six weeks to complete.
And if that’s not enough for you, then keep in mind that the entire thing was designed by Ben J. Poss Gulak, an 18-year-old who taught himself CAD on a home computer using Google’s free SketchUp tool to create the initial idea.
At the Crusty Demons Night of World Records, six new records were set, including Robbie Maddison setting the longest distance ever jumped on a motorcycle record with 351 feet.
To put that in perspective, he hit the ramp at over 100 mph, and rose more than 70 feet in the air before heading back towards Earth.
Other records broken include the longest backflip ramp to ramp by Cameron Sinclair at 129 feet, 7 inches, the longest mini bike distance jump by Brent Brady at 104 feet 7 inches, the longest distance jump ramp to ramp by a quad by John Guetter at 176 feet 11 inches, the most swords swallowed by Chayne Hultgren at 17, and the heaviest weight lifted while swallowing a sword by Cheyne again at 20.1kg.
The TriRod is a “three-wheeled straddle-mount motorcycle with two wheels in front and one in the back”.
Want the thrill of a motorcycle without the danger of dying?
This is it.
The F3 Adrenaline features carbon fiber bodywork, a 120 cubic inch Harley-Davidson V-Twin (120 horsepower), unequal length A-Arm front suspension, power steering, and a large helping of street cred.
The world lost a legend on Friday, as Robert Craig “Evil” Knievel died at age 69.
Always a self-promoter, Evil’s Caesars Palace jump is a great example of the type of man he was:
While in Las Vegas, Nevada, to watch Dick Tiger fight a middleweight title fight, Knievel first saw the fountains at Caesars Palace and decided to jump them. To get an audience with the casino’s CEO Jay Sarno, Knievel created a fictitious corporation called Evel Knievel Enterprises and three fictitious lawyers to make phone calls to Sarno. Knievel also placed phone calls to Sarno claiming to be from ABC-TV and Sports Illustrated inquiring about the jump. Sarno finally agreed to meet Knievel and the deal was set for Knievel to jump the fountains on December 31, 1967. After the deal was set, Knievel tried to get ABC to air the event live on Wide World of Sports. ABC declined, but said that if Knievel had the jump filmed and it was as spectacular as he said it would be, they would consider using it later.
Knievel used his own money to have actor/director John Derek produce a film of the Caesars’ jump. To keep costs low, Derek used his then-wife, Linda Evans, as one of the camera operators. It was Evans who filmed Knievel’s famous landing. On the morning of the jump, Knievel stopped in the casino and placed a single $100 dollar bet on the blackjack table (which he lost), stopped by the bar and got a shot of Wild Turkey and then headed outside where he was joined by several members of the Caesars staff, as well as two scantily clad showgirls. After doing his normal pre-jump show and a few warm up approaches, Knievel began his real approach. When he hit the takeoff ramp, he felt the motorcycle unexpectedly decelerate. The sudden loss of power on the takeoff caused Knievel to come up short and land on the safety ramp which was supported by a van. This caused the handlebars to be ripped out of his hands as he tumbled over them onto the pavement where he skidded into the Dunes parking lot. As a result of the crash, Knievel suffered a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion that kept him in a coma for 29 days.
Why would anyone spend three years building an 11-foot tall, 20-foot long, 10.5-foot wide motorcycle that weighs 6,500 pounds?
Why not?
Gregory Dunham is the man behind this ‘world’s tallest rideable motorcycle’, and has spent over $300,000 bringing his dream to life.
Plus, with a 502 cubic inch big block powering this beast to a top speed of 65 mph, it’s a ride that can keep up with traffic while everyone stops to stare.
On Saturday, I had the chance to go and see Formula D’s “The Finals” at Irwindale Speedway (yes, I did get stuck on Interstate 5 on the way down from San Francisco due to that massive accident), and I must say, if you’re at all a fan of the four wheeled machine, make sure you check out one of Formula Drift’s events at a track near you.
If you’re not familiar with the sport, think of drifting as two automotive ballerinas battling it out in a boxing match. It’s gracefully controlled mayhem, and in my opinion, it’s easily the best form of four-wheeled entertainment on the planet. Continue reading ‘…It’s Tuner Tuesday: Formula Drift?’
Because jumping motorcycles and rally racing isn’t enough, Travis Pastrana tries to find new ways to die in his latest video, called Thrillbillies.
In the photo above, you can see him 12,500 feet above the ground without a parachute. Instead, Travis jumped with sunglasses, board shorts, and a can of Red Bull.
What more could you need, right?
Oh yeah…A parachute.
During the dive, Travis’ three jumping partners attached their parachute to the harness that he was wearing underneath his shorts, and parachuted everyone safely to the ground.
Proving that even a beautiful car can look badass in matte black, the Novitec Rosso F430 TuNero doesn’t just stop at good looks.
Twin compressors force feed the V8 through a new intake system and twin air-to-water inercoolers to produce 707 hp and 525 lb.-ft. of torque. Novitec Race exhaust lets the engine breathe easier for a sweet sound, an integrated aluminum roll cage keeps things safe, and the custom interior, wheels and carbon fiber engine compartment complete the sinister style.
Alongside the dark horse, Walz Hardcore Cycles built a bike to match, and let it share the TuNero name. Featuring a matching matte black paint scheme, a 120 hp RevTech engine, and plenty of sinister style of its own, this bike is sure to draw stares wherever it goes.
Put the two together, and it’s a dark force that not many are ready to handle.
