racing modifications car is given to any vehicle that has been altered from its original state. The term denotes a car that has been significantly altered for the purpose of appearance or for increased engine or handling performance, the process by which this is carried out is known as car tuning. The term is generally used in reference to modern vehicles that have been altered, and not typically used to describe other types of racing modifications cars such as Hot rods
What you see here, in case you somehow didn't get it from the image, is a 1978 Porsche 935/78 "Moby Dick" racing car recreated as accurately as possible in Lego. Complete with Martini Racing colours. I've seen some cool stuff made out of Lego, but this is definitely up there...
A real 935/78
Malte Dorowski is the person responsible for this awesome creation, mimicking a car that was seriously fast in an era of resolutely untamed racing cars. Powered by a 3.2-litre turbocharged Flat-6 producing a massive 750 horsepower - around 50bhp more than a current F1 car - the "Moby Dick" got its nickname from the new streamlined bodywork that gave it a very, very long tail. Being white also helps. Compared to the 750kg 935/77 that went before it, the 1030kg '78 was a bit of a whale on the weighing scale, but with that kind of power and much-improved aerodynamics, it was no slouch. In a 6-hour race at Silverstone, it was 2 seconds quicker than anyone else in qualifying and won by 7 laps over 2nd place, setting a lap time only 4 seconds shy of James Hunt's winning car in the F1 British Grand Prix. At Le Mans, it frequently did 235mph down the Mulsanne straight (although early problems prevented a win). Mostly though, people remember it for the unique body style, which in LEGO form - like most cars - looks almost pixellated.
Nevertheless, it's all there - the drooping nose, the upright A-Pillars, the sloping roof, the whale tail, even the rear wing's the same shape. I've always liked the 935 racing cars. The thick extensions on the sides to acommodate massive tyres and smooth the airflow make them look like they're wearing body armour, especially when viewed from behind, where the normal 911 tail hides beneath. Because the FIA wouldn't let Porsche extend the doors outwards to match the absurdly wide bodykit, there's a big gap in the "armour" where the driver nervously inserts himself, although it is partially covered for aerodynamic reasons. Said extra bit is hinged on this Lego car to open with the door, although whether you have to close it separately, I don't know.
No description was provided with the car on MOCpages, where many more LEGO cars can be found, so coming up now is a Speedhunters-style captioned vertical gallery:
Two-part doors open to reveal complete interior.
The steering wheel was on the right, to improve the visibility and weight balance (and by extension handling) around the La Sarthe Circuit, which is run clockwise.
See? There's a 911 under there somewhere. The turbos are visible under the tail lights.
You have to give credit to Mr. Dorowski, that shape is pretty much dead-on, although the roof clearly proved difficult. Not that I could possibly do better.
Having left a weak spot in the proverbial armour, Porsche made a large air intake to cool that ferocious rear-mounted engine.
Bucket seat? No problem. This one's probably just as comfortable as the real one...
Cleverly, the gradual curve has been created by clipping pieces like you see here onto a flexible plastic cable. The fuel tank and either suspension parts or structural bars can also be seen here.
Here it is next to a 2010 911 GT3-R Hybrid, although the upright headlights make it look like an older 911.
Many more pictures of the car can be found on the creators MOCpages page. I also really like this 2010 Peugeot 908 he made:
Here is a glorious piece of old footage of the short-lived BMW Procar series. This is not to be confused with the Procar series using F1-powered silhouettes, as epic as that would've been with enough interest, but BMW M1s in full Group 4 GT-racer trim blasting around the Monaco Grand prix track. I would say more, but you've just clicked hurriedly on the play button, so I'll wait...
...welcome back to reading. So it wasn't a full race, but it may well be the only footage of it on YouTube, for all I know, and two minutes of M1 Procars racing around Monaco is better than none. Niki Lauda won the race, hence the pun in the title. Unfortunately, the series only ran for two years as a Formula 1 support series, from 1979-80, as after that BMW wanted to focus on Formula 1, but the M1 did survive briefly outside of the Procar series, managing 6th place in the 1979 24 Heures Du Mans. Alas, because BMW couldn't homologate the M1 in time for GT racing, it had to race in the prototype class, and when it was finally eligible in the right class, it was too late for it to be competitive. That doesn't stop it being beautiful, though.
Here's a link to some information on the other Procar series, which never evolved beyond this epic Alfa Romeo prototype.
Recently, Kia have released/leaked sketches of its upcoming flagship saloon, dubbed 'K9' for whatever reason, and while I can't tell you anything about it - because no-one else can, seeing as these pics are all we've got - I can at least speculate over their, er, styling inspiration:
Why would you copy this?
(Thoughts on this thought and more after the jump)
Now, I've said before that Korean joint company Hyundai/Kia have had a habit of copying European car makers, but went on to say that they are now moving it on to make their own styling direction, their own 'look', so hopefully the finished car won't look like a BMW 5-Series GT at the front, which it definitely does now. The Kia "bottle-opener" grille is not a new thing, but this one looks like they joined BMW's trademark "double kidneys" together in the middle. The headlights do all the same things, the side crease and door handles do the same thing (although the Kia also has some little side holes akin to a Maserati Quattroporte), even the shut-lines for the bonnet are in the same place!
It doesn't get terribly original at the back either, where either a 5-Series (F10) or a 7-Series (F01, pictured) has provided inspiration, with a thin chrome bar bridging the angular tail lights together and housing rectangular reverse lights at each end. The lights attached to it may follow the same basic forms, but to be fair they're not straight copies by any means. The window line looks roughly similar to the "Hoffmeister Kink", but that might just be me clutching at straws now to find more likenesses and pad this paragraph out a bit more. So, what more can I say? Ah yes, lasers. I mentioned lasers in the title because of the whole K9 thing, but actually BMW are looking into a new way of seeing in the dark. First lights, then infra-red cameras, now with lasers, the idea being that they're smaller, more efficient and 70 lumen lighter (as if an X5 with those stupid irritating Xenon lights wasn't annoying enough in the dark...), with another advantage apparently being the ability for the headlights to "highlight" a pedestrian by pointing at him/her with a focused beam. Presumably, if you drive with your high-beams on and encounter a pedestrian, you will shoot a perfect cylinder of light right through their torso before you run them over. It seems only right that BMW should be the ones to pioneer such technology (production laser beam headlights are expected within 5 years). Maybe Audi's rival to this will shoot four rings into pedestrians and speed cameras. While Mercedes-Benz's lasers would be perfectly good as well, I can't imagine what AMG lasers would be like. Forget night visibility, urban laser warfare would brake out, with massively overpowered and sideways AMG lasers cutting people in half and blowing tanks to smithereens.
OK, maybe I'm getting a little carried away now. Let's move from built-in death rays back to drawings of a Kia saloon. The K9, or KH or "Opirus" depending on where you read about it, will be rear-wheel-drive and borrow the platform and 5.0 V8 from the Hyundai Equus. Soon-Nam Lee, Kia’s Director of the Overseas Marketing Group, says of the K9: "Our all-new flagship sedan integrates all of our key capabilities such as design, performance, high-tech features and infotainment into one striking model." That's something that could be said by any car company making a big luxury car, so even the marketing statements are derivative. While the Equus that lends the K9 its DNA is on sale in North America, China and South Korea, the fact that this version was caught testing in Europe suggests it will be sold globally. Best of luck to it - there probably aren't that many people out there willing to boast about owning a V8 Kia, which would explain why the Equus isn't sold in the very proud continent of Europe.
Lastly, I'm perfectly confident that the lasers Kia uses in its headlights three or so years after BMW invents it will be perfectly acceptable... and in no way secret deadly weapons.
Most of the Western Hemisphere has now experienced a degree of snow. We've had two short bursts in Southern England, America has had plenty, and mainland Europe is clearly getting at least its fair share too, as recently there was enough snowfall to close the Nürburgring. Of course, the silly and dangerous thing to do if you work there is to take the car you use to instruct people with and lap the entire 15-mile course. As it happens, however, the awesome thing to do is to take the car you use to instruct people with and lap the entire 15-mile course on winter road tyres (by the looks of it), despite not even being able to see where the tarmac is.
Turns out this guy decided to do the awesome thing, and filmed his efforts. You don't see the whole lap, which makes me a little suspicious that he spun it a couple of times, but you see enough to assume he's not comfortable in there - how could he be when he has to squeeze his brass ones into a little Formula 3-sized car?
At least he didn't have a moment like Thierry Neuville had at Rally Sweden this week:
When I say modified, I don't mean in the way that cheap Japanese cars are normally modified by Western folk who like The Fast and The Furious, I mean modified as in the £16,200 is just the top of the pile of money you're going to spend making it into your very own racing car (or drifter, which is entirely likely of course). That's why the Subaru BRZ Type RA and Toyota 86 RC Spec don't come with alloy wheels, fog lights, metallic paint, or in the Toyota's case even painted bumpers and mirrors, because they know you're just going to throw it all away. Those piddly steel wheels are going to be swapped for some BBS racing wheels or white Volk TE37s (for drift monkeys). The front bumper is going to be swapped for one with big air intakes and room for an enlarged intercooler and a big front splitter on the bottom, while the rear one will be swapped for one with a big diffuser or holes for gigantic exhausts. The interior will be stripped out and fitted with a rollcage (on that note, why did they leave in those tiny rear seats? They've missed a trick there...), the list goes on and on. The new 2.0 boxer engine was always designed to be tuned up, but with Subaru mounting points some might just cut to the chase and put a Group N Impreza rally engine in there, or something similar. Tetsuo Tada, leader of the Toyota half of the project, said in an interview that he expects about 90% of owners to lower the suspension, which is something every version of this car could do with IMO, even if it's just a little bit. Basically, it's sold as a basic tuning base for you to spend all your savings on and go mad turning it into the racer or drifter you want it to be. If you needed a sign that this is a serious sports car for serious grease monkeys, here it is, shining as bright as unpainted steel.
As a tuning base, this car appears to be a very good choice, partly because of what you've just read, but also because the chassis you get for your small outlay is better than that of any other comparable car this side of a Porsche Cayman. If you've got time, here's evo's Chris Harris doing what I want to do:
Uploaded: 8/2/12
Running Time: 11:06
Views When Posted: 71,814
Yup. Loaded with your basic creature comforts and on Prius tyres (for extra slidey-ness), it's clearly quite a driving machine. A purely-focused version that's 40kg lighter with no frills at all, sports tyres and lowered suspension, perhaps with a boosted engine in it, could be something very special indeed. The MX-5 dimensions mean it would be an agile little racer, the chassis and balance are designed to make it a good drifter - exhibit A in the video - and like any cheap Japanese car, before long there will be more tuning parts for it than there are parts in the car. That's what these bare-bones versions allow you to do, and no other car company does that. Well, Mitsubishi used to do it with the Evo (because Rally Car), but I think they stopped doing that. People outside of Japan might not get it at first, which is perhaps why they won't sell these versions in Europe or America (whaddya mean no hubcaps, a/c or stereo? What is this, 1947?!), but as I say, it's targeted at pure and dedicated car-tuning fans, aspiring racing drivers and wannabe Dorikins. Of course, you could also put an aftermarket stereo in and go all Pimp My Ride, but if that's what you would do instead, step away. This is not for you. This is for driving enthusiasts.
And of course, if you want the thrills of the kind Chris Harris is clearly getting, but you want a radio and a/c, you can always have one of the normal versions. It's the same focused sports car, made liveable. All I need is £30k this June, assuming insurance is under £5k...
For more 86 drifting action, see this thread in the FT-86 Club forum, including some drifting action from project leader Tada-san himself. On mud!
'Sup. Just a quick post to say that I've added a dedicated Formula 1 page to the sidebar now. At the moment it's mainly links to F1-related articles, but final times from the current testing session are also appearing there day by day. It's just above the blog archive on the right.
I hope you find it useful! Every F1-related post is also there.
With the first testing day getting underway today at the Spanish circuit Jerez (that's pronounced "her-eth", by the way), Williams are finally ready to unveil their new FW34 to the world. Well, it was either that or just turn up at testing today and hope no-one notices, which is unlikely when the F1 world is so nosey. I've used this angle for the top picture because the front just looks like the 2011 nose has had a rolling pin taken to it in order to meet the new rule I've mentioned about five or six times this month. The rest of the car, though, is very pretty, with a simpler, darker version of the early '90s livery and nice curvy main body. The '90s touches don't end at white side stripes, though - unlike the last few years when they've been powered by Toyota or Cosworth, this is a Williams-Renault. People who have previously piloted a Williams-Renault include Damon Hill, David Coulthard, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna (if briefly). The latter name in that shortlist is causing a degree of rose-tinting in the glasses of the press, as in 2012 we have Senna in a blue Williams-Renault, alongside Pastor Maldonado, the Venezuelan pay-driver who may or may not still have braces on.
I'm not going to pretend that there's more to say about this car, as I've already gone on about pullrod suspension (this has pushers up front and pullers out back like 10 of the other 11 teams), but I will say that for one highly-praised Brazilian to take the wheel, another had to exit. Rubens Barrichello has no longer got a seat in F1, after being in the sport for nineteen straight seasons. I'm saddened that one of the nicest and most passionate guys in motorsport couldn't make it a nice round 20 seasons and has potentially left the sport for good, as it will be very hard for the 39-year-old to return to the sport in an age of young pay-drivers that can buy their way in. He has been testing an IndyCar in the mean time, so he may still get to race a top-flight single seater, but not a Formula 1 car. Despite starting 326 Grands Prix, Rubens has never won a championship, although that's mostly because his best chance to win one was when he was at Ferrari, where Michael Schumacher ended up calling the shots and Ferrari happily made Barrichello number two, a bit like like they are with Felipe Massa now that Alonso has been close to winning a championship (maybe Ferrari just don't like Brazilians?). His closest to winning the championship was actually in 2009 at Brawn GP, but with Jenson Button winning 6 of the first 7 races, and Red Bull coming on song in the second half of the season, even two race wins and many other competitive finishes weren't quite enough that year, which was followed by two lacklustre seasons at Williams. You can read more about him here. His optimism about staying in the sport meant he got no farewell party (as he didn't celebrate at the end of 2011 and was simply replaced at Williams last December) which seems unfair...
Anyway, Tuesday testing is underway, so for live timing you can go here or here, and for pictures of the FW34 and the testing session, you can go here or here.
EDIT (10:25) Also, the Caterham doesn't look so bad now. Perhaps it's because this is a real-life shot and not a studio photo, but having seen the other stepped noses, it's no worse than anyone else's:
Caterham CT01
EDIT 2 (17:00) It has come to my attention that the Red Bull RB8 has a vent in its nose bump. This may or may not have been present in the pictures/video in the previous post, and nobody knows what it's for. Popular guesses include KERS cooling, a secret air guide of some sort (the term "diffuser F-duct" popped up in one forum) or simply a dummy vent to confuse and annoy McLaren and Ferrari. Your guess is as good as mine:
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