You would think that releasing a calendar wouldn’t become such a high-profile occasion, because really, who really would go out of their way to dress up for a calendar presentation?
Well, if it’s the launch of the world-famous Pirelli Calendar, then the answer is a lot of people.
To celebrate the 37th edition of the famed calendar, a host of celebrities from all walks of life were invited to attend the premier of the calendar at Old Billingsgate, a 19th century building on the banks of the Thames River in London.
To make the occasion all the more extravagant, the organizers of the event used Lamborghinis to chauffer guests to and from the destination. Among the Lambos that were used during the event included a Murcielago LP670-4 SV, a Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder, and the automaker’s newest toy – the Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni.
To pay homage to the 37th edition of the Italian tire maker’s calendar, the Lamborghinis in attendance were outfitted with LED lights under the wheel arches to illuminate the Pirelli insignia stretched across the rubber.
For this year’s Pirelli Calendar, the tire makers chose American photographer Terry Richardson to photograph the models with the theme of ‘Brazil’ and using his uncanny talent and eye for provocative yet classy photos. Among the models that were immortalized on the pages of the 37th edition of the calendar include Australians Catherine McNeil, Abbey Lee Kershaw and Miranda Kerr, Marloes Horst of the Netherlands, the UK’s Lily Cole, Daisy Lowe, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Georgina Stojilijkovic of Serbia, Gracie Carvalho and Ana Beatriz Barros of Brazil and Eniko Mihalik from Hungary.
John Surtees holds the distinction for being the only man in history to become world champion in two-wheel and four-wheel racing competitions by achieving this feat with a Grand Prix motorcycle road race championship and a Formula One championship.
And now, decades after his racing career ended, Surtees has achieved another distinction to add to an already impressive resume: becoming the first man to drive an electric sports car through the Channel Tunnel.
Surtees’ feat occurred as part of the 37th annual Beaujolais Burlington Run, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the opening of the tunnel that connects the United Kingdom with France and the rest of the European continent.
Surees’ car-of-choice was a Ginetta G50 EV electric sports car and he began his 31-mile run at the Folkestone terminal in the UK all the way to Calais terminal in France. Surees’ momentous achievement also marks the first time a production sports car – electric or not – has been given the opportunity to drive through the Channel’s service tunnel.
For anybody to accomplish that feat is remarkable enough, but for a 75-year old man - never mind that he’s a former F1 champ - to do it without even breaking a sweat is simply awe-inspiring.
Small cars are the perfect one for crowded cities. Expecially when you work for local authorities or police forces. Toyota UK will supply a number of 45 iQ for the Traffic Enforcement Systems that are responsible for traffic regulation and community safety.
Even if just a demonstrator car, the iQ will be equipped with a range of mobile CCTV and GPS systems, thermal-imaging cameras and numberplate-readers.
The iQ surveillance cars will be powered by a 1.0-litre engine coupled with the automatic transmission.
BMW has secured the rights to become the exclusive automotive sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic Games. As part of the partnership, BMW will be tasked to provide over 4,000 low-carbon vehicles to be used during the Olympic Games to transport, athletes, officials, media members, operations staff, Olympic committee members, the ISF, the IOC, and all of its other marketing partners.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games’ (LOCOG) choice of BMW as the official automotive partner for London 2012 came down to BMW’s capability to provide vehicles with low-carbon emissions, which coincides with the Games’ central theme of ‘healthy living’.
LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe stressed the importancfe of securing an automotive sponsor this early so that they could put forth a shared vision of staging a green and eco-friendly Olympics. “Operationally, an automotive deal is vital for any organising committee and so I’m thrilled BMW is on board,” Coe said. “They share our vision to stage a sustainable ‘Games’ in 2012 and will be a valued partner. We welcome BMW on board and look forward to working with them over the next three years.”
As if prowling around the streets of London in a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 Roadster isn’t stlyin’ and profilin’ enough, this man just had to take it over the top.
In the understatement of the millennium, this chrome-finished Murcielago is indeed eye-catching. We won’t pretend to try to dive into what the owner was thinking when he decided that the Murcielago he owned needed something to spice it up even more.
So instead of fine-tuning his supercar, he decided to go for the long ball and have it chrome-painted.
The result, as you can plainly see, is a car that you wouldn’t want to be staring at in broad daylight – unless, of course, you want to go blind - with the sun at its glorious peak.
One of Australia’s few supercar exports is now headed to the UK.
Coming in two different engine packages, the Australian rally car Skelta is
looking to the UK by storm. Named after the famous Beatles song “Helter Skelter”, the Skelta will make its formal debut in the UK at the Autosport International show in Birmingham, England in January of next year.
Among the car’s main selling points is the fact that prospective customers can choose what type of engine they want on their ride. They can choose from a supercharged, 2.0-liter Honda four-cylinder engine that can churn as much as 340 horsepower or opt for the more powerful option: a Hartley 3.0-liter V8-engine that pumps out as much as 480 horsepower.
While the engines are up for choice, the rest of the car comes with the same stylistic and technical packages, including a carbon fiber body that keeps the weight of the car to just around 750 kilos, making the car quick on its feet in and around the block. In addition to that, the Skelta also comes with a rear wing, a diffuser, and front air intakes that allows the car to pack 200 kilos of downforce to stabilize it when speeds reach 90 mph.
In addition to the engine choice, buyers can also choose the type of two-seat versions they’d want on the Skelta. The choice includes a gull-wing, removable targa top, called "G-Force" or a wide-bodied, open-topped two-seater, called the "Spyder."
No word yet as to how much the car’s are being sold so we’ll all have to wait for its official unveiling at next year’s Autosport International Show to find out how much the Skelta is going to cost.
The men and women behind Bentley will be holding an invitation-only art auction at the Bonhams auction house on December 1. The auction, which was organized to benefit the Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, will include a “vast array of sculptures, painting, digital art and photography. Created in many different media, from sculptures in bronze and set in wood, to metal and leather, to Perspex, to palette knife and brush paintings on canvas, the works showcase the imagination of the men and women who design Bentley cars."
The artistic minds of the Bentley designers – a total of 22 designers participated in the whole project – was evident after the Bentley brass proudly displayed 10 of the soon-to-be auctioned off pieces to international customers and press members during the Frankfurt Motor Show. According to Dirk van Braeckel, head designer, “the work embodies the best aesthetics possible, with advanced technology in the forefront, a combination of the work we do technically with a passion for the brand that is very very strong in this team.”
If you’re interested in any of the artworks and would like to post a bid on any of them, you can do so at their website until 12 noon of December 1. You can also check out the items up for bid at the same site.
Announced back in 2008, the British built Arash AF-10 super car is now an official production vehicle. The new sports car will go on sale for around $540,000 and if you want to park one in your driveway then you better hurry up, because over the 5 year production run only 70 units are scheduled to be produced.
The Arash super car is built with 100% carbon construction and uses an aluminum honeycomb complete with nomex panels to increase rigidity to provide the AF-10’s chassis with more strength. Instead of traditional glass the larger see through panels have been made out of lightweight non shatter and scratch resistant acrylic, however the much smaller side windows are made from laminated safety glass. All of the Arash AF-10’s body panels have been made using a carbon autoclave process which eliminates the need for excess resins and makes the parts even lighter and stiffer than ever.
Under the deck lid, the AF-10 is powered by a mid mounted 7.0 Liter LS7 sourced from a Corvette ZR-1 and is tuned to delivers a maximum output of 550 HP and 475 lb-ft of torque and is mounted to a six speed manual Graziano GT-ME1 gearbox. The way that it comes from the factory, the Arash AF-10 can hit a top speed of 205 MPH, however for those of you who crave more than the standard 550 HP offering, the British super car builder will also prepare an 800 HP and 1000 HP version. In order to satisfy the needs of super car enthusiasts who can’t afford the full size version, Arash is also preparing an AF-8 model.
If you’re a speed freak that has dreams of sitting behind the wheel of a car that has Veyron-like speeds but don’t have the moolah to spend for one, we now have a much cheaper alternative that has roughly the same power of the Veyron at a little over one-eighth the price.
The folks from Ariel, creators of the ultra-fast Atom, have released the price tag for the V8 production-ready Atom. As it stands, each car goes for around €134,000. With the power coming from a V8 engine based on two Hayabusa motorbike engines, the Ariel Atom is the literal and figurative definition of a rocket on wheels.
The production version of the Atom V8 can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just under 2.5 seconds, numbers that equal that of the more obscenely expensive Bugatti Veyron. For around €134,000, it’s a relatively cheap bargain for a car that’s not only obscenely fast, but extremely rare as well – only 25 units have been made with 19 already been sold.
So if you’re the lucky six that can pluck away the remaining Ariel Atoms, consider yourself lucky beyond measure.
No, it’s not just a guy’s rich imagination! It is in fact how the British version of the Chevrolet Camaro will look like! The car will be called Camaro VR and will debut in January 2010. If it’s bad or good, you decide!
Designed by the Danish design consultancy Hermann and Brandt, the VR Camaro features Lamborghini Reventon-style swollen nostrils and early ’70s wind-tunnel Trans-Am inspired ducktail spoiler. There are also re-sculpted bumpers, skirts and spoiler are made from carbon fibre and 22" wheels.
The VR Camaro will be powered by a new 6.2-litre V8 supercharged engine with a total output of 600 hp.
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