Always dreamed of driving in a rally, but never had the car or the finances to do it?
Then check out the Rental Car Rally, a 36-hour race from NYC to Montreal that encourages you to rent a car, grab a friend, pay just $150 per team, and be on your way to automotive action and adventure.
All of the standard rally rules still apply (don’t speed, don’t kill pedestrians, etc.) but the financial burden is definitely lessened to let everyone get a shot at the action.
If you’re interested, check out the site for more information (and be sure to read the rules, since they were obviously written by someone with enough of a sense of humor to put on a rally made of rental cars).
Orange is hosting the World’s first Internet Balloon Race, and DidntYouHear is taking part.
I’ve entered P-Nut the raccoon into the race (you should be able to see him in the bottom left of the screen), and DidntYouHear.com is a destination that racers can stop at to earn “miles” during the race. Then, the person with the most miles at the end of the wins a trip to Ibiza.
If you’d like to participate in the race, just click on P-Nut and it should take you to the Orange site where you can sign up and get your own balloon to race.
Hurry though, because the race ends in just four days.
It might not be pretty, and you may only be able to race around the track forever against your two CPU opponents with no weapons or anything else to break up the monotony, but Nihilogic Labs has managed to create a working JavaScript demo of Super Mario Kart that includes three playable drivers and two different maps.
At this point, it’s just an experiment, and basically exists as a technical demo/proof-of-concept, but hey, it works, so go check it out.
This has got to be one of the craziest pictures ever!
What you see here is the crash that killed one and left 10 others injured after the driver, who apparently had been using cocaine before this crash, fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into a bicycle race taking place in Monterrey, Mexico.
There really isn’t anything else to say besides “Wow!” and “Pay attention when driving near a bicycle race!”
Two news vans arrived at the same local drag strip in El Paso, Texas at the same time to cover a death at the strip due to legal drag racing, and then proceeded to do the obvious thing: Race their fully loaded news vans against each other.
Thankfully, no one is getting fired because of this stunt (since I think it’s awesome) but “disciplinary” action will be taken.
Remember: If you’re going to race your news van against the rival’s news van, make sure you ask the crowd not to put the video up onto YouTube first.
Threadless is going to be hosting a Pinewood Derby race called the Threadlemanss 48 Heures Derby, and it’s your chance to speed your way to a stylish victory.
Anyone can design and submit a car, and then the Threadless staff will race them on May 16-17.
First through Fourth place will each receive Threadless gift certificate, and the “Best in Show” award (the best looking car, though not necessarily the fastest) will also receive a GC.
There’s a few rules to follow, so be sure to check out the site, but other than that, it’s up to you.
The veteran of numerous rallies, races, and records, he recently drove from New York to Santa Monica in 31 hours and 4 minutes, beating the previous transcontinental record by over an hour. To give you an idea of the kind of speed it takes to break a record like that, think about this: Roy needed a sustained speed of almost 90 miles per hour.
For 31 hours!
So what kind of technology does it take to pilot a four-wheel rocket through 31,000 highly trained highway patrol?
Tasco 8 x 40 binoculars with a Kenyon KS-2 gyro stabilizer
Military spec Steiner 7 x 50 binoculars
Bumper-mounted L-3 Raytheon NightDriver thermal camera
Flush, bumper-mounted Blinder M40 laser jammers
Redundant Garmin StreetPilot 2650 GPS units
Preprogrammed Uniden police radio scanners
Ceiling-mounted Uniden CB radio with high-gain whip antenna
And last but not least, a Valentine One radar/laser detector
Since 1992, Valentine has been making a radar detector that refuses to loose. It’s a company that only makes radar detectors, only make ones model of radar detector (constantly upgraded with the latest technology), and only makes the best radar detector, so you know that they mean business.
On my recent trip to Las Vegas for the SEMA show, I had a chance to check out the capabilities of my newly purchased V1, and I must say, I was beyond impressed. Not only did it constantly keep me aware of what was going on around me (the patented arrows tell you with amazing accuracy if the radar is in front of, beside, or behind you), but it also saved me from at least one sure-fire ticket.
Coming down a hill with a clear lane and a tailwind, my car was more than happy to break the posted speed limit, and trusting in the powers of the V1, I was more than happy to oblige.
Suddenly, the V1 flashed Ka band, and maxed out the signal strength indicator, showing sure signs of a cop ahead. Heading the warning, I quickly brought the car down to posted speeds, and peered ahead for the awaiting cruiser. After about a mile of driving, I came upon the hidden cruiser, tucked neatly under an overpass with his radar gun pointed directly down the road that I had just traveled. Just past him though, there were three other cruisers parked and waiting to pick up what the radar gun picked off. It was a speed trap, and thanks to the V1, I had easily avoided it.
Chock one up in the V1 win column.
Though you can’t exactly call the Valentine One cheap, it’s a definite case of you get what you pay for. (And it’s also probably cheaper than getting a ticket.) Plus, if Alex Roy trusts it to drive across the country, shouldn’t you trust it to drive the kids to soccer? (Quickly.)
Also, having tested out a few other radar detectors over the years, I can confirm Valentine’s claims that the V1 is the easiest to use, most reliable, and gave the best warning time out of the bunch.
Your driving record will thank you.
(For more information about Alex Roy’s record run, check out his book, The Driver, and his documentary, 32 Hours 7 Minutes.)
Refusing to leave well enough alone, Mercedes-McLaren have taken their SLR supercar and turned it into a club-racing monster, called the SLR 722 GT.
Developed in conjunction with British motorsports company RML Group, and designed for the handful of very rich drivers who can afford to pony up the one million pounds it takes to get behind the wheel of one of the 21 being made, the 722 GT features modifications to the suspension, braking, aerodynamics, interior and exhaust of a normal SLR. In total, more than 400 components have been either replaced or redesigned.
Power comes in the form of a supercharged AMG 5.5L V8 that is rated at 671 hp and 612 lb-ft of torque.
Eye appeal upgrades include a new front apron with front splitter, wide wings, prominent side skirts, a rear diffuser, and an airplane sized wing on the back.
Now, you’ve just got to track down one of those Ferrari FXX Evoluzione owners and challenge him to a race.
Ever wonder what they do with the giant pumpkins that compete in contests after they do the weigh-in?
I had always assumed that they made a ginormous pumpkin pie, but apparently, some crafty pumpkineers have turned the gourds into hollowed out Halloween rafts that they can then race down the river.
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?’
Ever wonder what they do with the giant pumpkins that compete in contests after they do the weigh-in?
