Bling-tastic cars owned by footballer El-Hadji Diouf
Cool cars
Facel Vega HK 500 Gran Turismo
The best car you've probably never heard of is luxurious, French and very fast.
Jasper Gerard
26 May 2010
But the pleasure of its speed lay in knowing it was there. Facel Vega man left his henchmen to flee police; he would burble over at his leisure to pick up the proceeds. He would only push his slip-on Italian leather shoes to the floor if he was late to meet his consorts at a discreet hostess bar off Jermyn Street, with its blood-red walls and faint hint of menace.
The Facel advertising slogan? "For the few who own the finest".
An immaculate gunmetal example resides in my village and when its owner, Bob Dockerty, proprietor of Larkin's Brewery, takes it for a blast it always sparks the question: "What the hell is that?" When I reply "a Facel Vega, dummkopfs", the admiring crowd remains mystified. These are as well crafted as Bristols, but with the sexy exoticism of a dancer in that club off St James's. "It's so well made," says Bob, turning to the deep red interior with its myriad buttons and silver gear stick. "It even has electric windows. These cars were more expensive than Rolls-Royces."
We don't think of the French as doing fast, but before the war Hispano and Bugatti were the apogee of express sophistication. Facel was conceived in 1939 but occupying Germans converted the factory to build aircraft. Car production started in 1954. The Gran Turismo was the marque's finest flowering, its extreme oomph coming courtesy of a monster 6.3-litre Chrysler V8 engine.
Bob bought his in 1970 and uncovered a curious history. This car's first owner had a scrap yard in Glasgow. "Every few months he'd order a new, identical Facel. They even had to have the same registration," Bob says, pointing to the registration plate 2 RPC.
He describes its speed as "frightening". Certainly its potency combined with its weight make cornering lively, though it feels a solid beast. "I've only managed one wheelie," he says self-reproachfully. "With windows closed it's totally silent; open them and you are assailed by the roar."
Other owners included Dean Martin, Ringo Starr and Fred Astaire; Albert Camus died in one. But Facel Vega man, one likes to think, is still living it up, perhaps in Barbados, leaving behind a string of broken hearts and several unsolved crimes.
Facel Vega HK500 Gran Turismo
Production 1958-1962
Price now £70,000
Dress Italian suit
On the radio Sympathy For The Devil, The Rolling Stones
1000hp Cult Challenger SRT-8 reflects the American muscles
Vinod
Americans are the diehard lovers of the muscle cars. It’s been, every now and then, reflected by some of the most amazing creations that cater well to their senses. Here is one that many freaks excessively in love with the road wrecking beasts will surely appreciate. Dodge challenger with 425hp already has decent power figures but it has been tweaked, overhauled and the result comes in the form of a car that boasts over 1000hp. Custom built by the Cult energy drink manufacturer, this awesome beauty is the part of the Cult Challenger SRT-8 project and the work started on it in the summer of 2009. And, in order to give shape to this car and boost its power figures, the 6.1-liter HEMI block has been replaced with an 8.3 liter large specimen. The hot rod challenger will be shown at the SEMA.
Last edited by faceless on Thu Apr 10, 2014 12:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Lambo to the slaughter
After arguing with bosses, the owner paid the men to wreck the car to draw attention to his grievances in Qingdao, China. A Gallardo costs £140,000 in the UK, but the price is higher in China due to import taxes.
-------------------
What an arsehole.
Last edited by faceless on Thu Apr 10, 2014 1:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Introducing Kestrel, The First Road-Ready Car Built Out Of Hemp
Steven Kotler
17th Feb 2011
popsci.com
Whereas a comparably sized Ford Fusion weighs 3,720 pounds, the Kestrel will be just 2,500 pounds with the battery. this “might be the sweet spot for electric vehicles,” Armstrong says, because the car’s low tonnage means a fuel-efficiency increase of 25 to 30 percent.
To make this resilient, lightweight compound, hemp stalks are combed and rolled into a mat that is infused with a polymer resin. the hemp makes the biocomposite’s flexibility similar to the carbon fiber used in racecars.
Hemp grows fast and it’s cheap, which should keep the Kestrel’s production price around $25,000. A prototype is nearly complete, Armstrong says, and Motive plans to have thousands of its hemp-mobiles on the road by 2012.
Meet the car of the future that can drive on roads, sand, ice - and even water
An inventor has come up with a new design for a car that will drive on roads, sand, ice - and even water.
The all-terrain vehicle, which has a top speed of 62mph and works like a hovercraft, can move seamlessly between different surfaces.
Designer Yuhan Zhang, 21, created the amazing machine - called the Volkswagen Aqua - for a competition sponsored by the German car manufacturer.
Aqua: The incredible new concept car can travel on road, sand, ice and even water
The vehicle's sleek sportscar-like design incorporates four high-powered fans and integrated airbags that inflate to lift it from the ground.
A large windscreen stretches above the front seats to give a panoramic view of the landscape ahead.
Based on technology that is currently available, the Aqua uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power two motors - with zero carbon emissions.
One motor inflates the skirt around the vehicle to make it hover, while the second drives it forwards and controls its direction.
Car of the future: The Aqua would free drivers from the roads
'There is no better form of transport than an air cushion vehicle because it travels equally well over land, ice, and water,' said Mr Yuhan.
The mechanic design graduate, from China, added: 'I hope Aqua will become an affordable supercar that is available to the general public one day.'
The competition asked designers to come up with a 'Chinese off-road vehicle'.
All terrain: The car was was the winning entry to a Volkswagen-sponsored competition that asked designers to come up with a 'Chinese off-road vehicle'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... water.html
An inventor has come up with a new design for a car that will drive on roads, sand, ice - and even water.
The all-terrain vehicle, which has a top speed of 62mph and works like a hovercraft, can move seamlessly between different surfaces.
Designer Yuhan Zhang, 21, created the amazing machine - called the Volkswagen Aqua - for a competition sponsored by the German car manufacturer.
Aqua: The incredible new concept car can travel on road, sand, ice and even water
The vehicle's sleek sportscar-like design incorporates four high-powered fans and integrated airbags that inflate to lift it from the ground.
A large windscreen stretches above the front seats to give a panoramic view of the landscape ahead.
Based on technology that is currently available, the Aqua uses a hydrogen fuel cell to power two motors - with zero carbon emissions.
One motor inflates the skirt around the vehicle to make it hover, while the second drives it forwards and controls its direction.
Car of the future: The Aqua would free drivers from the roads
'There is no better form of transport than an air cushion vehicle because it travels equally well over land, ice, and water,' said Mr Yuhan.
The mechanic design graduate, from China, added: 'I hope Aqua will become an affordable supercar that is available to the general public one day.'
The competition asked designers to come up with a 'Chinese off-road vehicle'.
All terrain: The car was was the winning entry to a Volkswagen-sponsored competition that asked designers to come up with a 'Chinese off-road vehicle'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... water.html
Last remaining 'Ghost Car' expected to fetch up to £300,000 at auction
America's first transparent car – billed as a vision of the future more than 60 years ago – is expected to fetch up to £300,000 at auction.
‘This motor still turns heads as much as it ever did,’ said a spokesman for RM Auctions which is selling the vehicle in Michigan on July 30. 'The car is in a remarkable state of preservation. It's a testament to the longevity of Plexiglas in an era when automotive plastics tended to self-destruct within a few years. Although it has acquired a few chips and cracks, it is structurally sound and cosmetically clear, showing off the Ghost Car's innards as it did in 1939. It is not, obviously, suited for touring but as a unique artefact from automotive and cultural history.'
The car made its public debut at the New York World Fair in 1939-40 and is just one of two ever made. The model which comes with a three-speed manual gearbox is thought to be the last of its kind.
Ferrari's F12 Berlinetta
Ferrari reveals 211mph, 730bhp F12berlinetta ahead of next week's Geneva motor show.
Chris Knapman
29 Feb 2012
The two-seater can accelerate from 0-62mph in 3.1sec and from 0-124mph in 8.5sec and has lapped Ferrari's Fiorano test track in 1min 23sec - that's faster than any other Ferrari road car. Top speed is quoted as over 211mph. Compared with the 599 which it replaces, the F12berlinetta has a shorter wheelbase, while the engine, seats and dashboard are all mounted lower in the chassis. A new layout of rear suspension and gearbox has also helped to keep the new car compact; at 4,618mm long and 1,942mm wide it is significantly smaller than its rival from Sant'Agata, the Lamborghini Aventador.
Rather than using a carbon-fibre monocoque to keep weight down, as Lamborghini has with the Aventador and McLaren with its MP4-12C, Ferrari has instead worked with Scalietti to design an all-new spaceframe chassis using 12 different kinds of alloy and new assembly and joining techniques. The result, according to the Italian car-maker, is a 20 per cent increase in structural rigidity as well as a 70kg reduction in weight (when the car is specified with "lightweight options") to 1,525kg.
The aggressive styling is the result of a collaboration between the Ferrari Styling Centre and Pininfarina and is said to offer "exceptional" in-car space and comfort, despite the car's compact exterior dimensions. On the outside, two new aerodynamic devices help to boost downforce by 76 per cent compared to the 599, as well as cut drag (Ferrari quotes a Cd figure of 0.299). The first is an "Aero Bridge", which consists of two small bonnet mounted flaps that channel air away from the upper part of the car to its flanks where it helps to decrease drag. The second is "Active Brake Cooling", whereby the brake cooling ducts in the front bumper only open when high operating temperatures are sensed, again reducing drag.
Carbon-ceramic brakes, adaptive damping and Ferrari's now familiar electronic control systems (E-Diff, ESP Premium and F1-Trac) complete the package. Ferrari is yet to announce prices, but expect a figure in the region of £250,000. The first cars are due to arrive with customers at the end of this year or beginning of 2013.
Palestinians design solar car to avoid buying petrol from Israel
rt.com
23 August, 2012
“This car was the first step, and now we are working on two other cars. If the work is successful, then we will do a lot of cars and sell them”, says Nabel Az-Zagheer, chairman of the Royal Industrial Trading Company. Based in the town of Al-Khalil, the company specialises in sanitation and water supply products, and adapted them to create the new vehicle.
A greater use of solar energy could help the people of the West Bank escape escalating energy prices. Israel has control over the fuel supply to the Palestinian population, and according to the Oslo agreements, the Palestinian Authority is obliged not to sell its gasoline for less than 15 percent of Israel’s market price, reports the The Electronic Intifada. "Such supply monopolies are a form of power. They provide easy ways to exert political pressure on the Palestinian Authority and ordinary Palestinians and to enforce their compliance with Israel’s interests", Charles Shamas, a founder of the Mattin Group, a Ramallah-based research and advocacy organization told the Middle East Media Center.
The Palestinians are also heavily dependent on electric power provided by Israel. A power station in Gaza provides some 40% percent of the Strip’s electricity; the rest has to be purchased from Israel. Some small amounts are also sold by Egypt and Jordan. “We want to lower as much as possible our dependence on Israel, because we won’t be able to reach a reasonable level of national security if Israel can, at any point, disconnect our electricity, and even harm the power plant in Gaza, as it did in 2006 as punishment for the abduction of Gilad Shalit,” Hanna Siniora, chairperson of the Palestinian-American Chamber of Commerce, has told Al-Monitor.com
Constantly rising fuel prices affect the cost of basic foodstuffs such as maize, vegetable oil and bread. Palestinian efforts to reduce its dependency on Israeli energy have met strong opposition from Tel Aviv. In March RT reported on Israel’s plans to bulldoze eight solar panels in the West Bank. They were donated by a number of international charities in 2009, yet have were deemed “illegal” by Israeli authorities due to the lack of an appropriate building permit.
The 62% of the West Bank controlled by Israel is not connected to the national energy grid. On the other hand, the Jewish settlements in the area are connected to national energy and water grids, reports the Guardian.
-------------
now that's especially cool.