When the BMW X5M was launched AUSmotive said the car had a heart of gold. This was a label based on the strength of the engine found beneath the skin that insidious beast. Well, sadly, now someone from Russia has given the X5M a matching coat. The part gangster, part short film, and, let’s hope, part ironic comedy, can be viewed after the jump.
Format67 bring us this remarkable short film. It features a Honda NSX moving through the streets of Frankfurt en route to its ultimate destination—the ultimate destination—the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
The credits at the end of the film say it was inspired by Ayrton Senna. Throughout the clip the following quotes from Senna are featured:
“The main thing is to be yourself. Many times its through a mistake that you learn. And the main thing is to make sure you learn through your mistakes and get better.
You should know, that, by being a racing driver you are at the risk all the time. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you’re no longer a racing driver. Because we are competing, we are competing to win. And the main motivation, to all of us, is to compete for victory. It’s not to come third, fourth, fifth or sixth. I race to win, as long as I feel it’s possible.
Designed to win. And as long as I can live by it. Some people agree, some don’t. I can only do what speaks for my mind.”
It is brilliant. Check it out after the break. For more Ayrton Senna guidance click here.
[Source: Format67]
Ever considered how a Porsche Cayenne Turbo would go against a 911 Carerra 4S around a test track? No, neither have I, to be honest. That said, the Cayenne and its ilk are behemoths that tend to defy the laws of physics by being quite capable handlers. But can a big truck like this really get within cooee of the revered 911?
Take the jump, watch the video (with thanks to Autocar) and find out.
[Thanks to Wayne for the tip]
Back in May we learned an Audi R8 V10 and an empty El Toro Marine Base were a match made in heaven. Now, we get an encore performance. Bravo, I hear you say.
WebRidesTV have published this behind the scenes footage to YouTube and rather than reading more padding here, just take the jump and watch the clip for yourself right now!
Ever wondered what you would do if your car caught fire and you didn’t know until it was almost too late. Imagine some Benny Hill music with this clip from last weekend’s Nürburgring 24 hour race and you could almost consider it amusing at first. That is, until you put yourself in the shoes of the driver, Evo journo Richard Green. This is one lucky escape and thankfully Green suffered no lasting effects from his dramas. The same can’t be said for the Lotus Exige, though, which ended up a molten mess.
The Nürburgring Nordschleife (or north loop) is one of the greatest stretches of tarmac in the world. Without doubt. As you know the Nürburgring 24 hour race was held last weekend and it has kept AUSmotive HQ busy posting articles for AUSringers.
So, to help share the love AUSmotive invites you on a YouTube lap of the Nordschleife after the break. The car is an Audi R8, the driver is experienced Nürburgring racer Willie Moore. It’s one of the better clips around as Willie gives some great advice while driving the circuit.
The video was posted by Kiwi Team Nürburgring. They’re a bunch of guys that make the trek to the Ring every year to compete in the 24 hour race. This year they piloted their two Honda Civic Type Rs to a one-two class win. Well done them!
CraneCar have published this nifty YouTube video of the Audi R8 V10. The clip was produced by The Famous Group and features numerous stunning fly over angles of Audi’s supercar. You can see a pic below from the CraneCar website showing the rig used to capture all those crazy angles. Take the jump now to see the video.
[Source: The German Car Blog]
Apologies for what has to be one of the cheesiest and least successful puns ever on AUSmotive, but, well, those white socks don’t leave a lot to work with. Stand back, though, and you see those white feet belong to the late, great Ayrton Senna. He is at the wheel of the Honda NS-X and is flogging the bejeezus out of it around the Suzuka race track. Got your attention now?
You can see the clip after the jump and learn the art of sportiv driving from the master. Speaking of which, note the Yoda-like inspection of the car prior to Senna’s drive, and the amount of cameras capturing his svelte moves prior to heading out on the track.
Actually, Senna’s mid-corner throttle modulation is very interesting to watch.
[via Steve Pizzati]
If you know a little bit about the competitive drifting scene then you’ll know the name Tanner Foust. If you’ve never heard of him, watch and learn as he drifts his 600hp V8 powered Scion tC around a two-mile closed section of LA’s renowned Mulholland Drive.
If you didn’t know, the Scion tC is actually a Toyota, would you believe. Why don’t we get these in Australia?
Anyway, you might remember Jay Leno included Mulholland Drive in his home-grown Nürburgring clip. It’s a great looking piece of road, as the aerial shots from the Tanner Foust video show.
Tanner’s video is burning up after the jump. Just remember kids, this film was completed on a closed road with Police supervision, so don’t go trying this at home, okay.
If you were a fan of the video ‘This is rallying’, then you will love this clip as well. There’s eight minutes of thrills, spills and non-stop action. All your favourites are featured including Audi, Datsun, Ford, Lancia, Porshe, Toyota, many more. The video is all yours after the break.
[Thanks to Tom for the tip]
Clash Production make some damn nice post-production videos of motorsport scenes. One such production is their Titan Movie project, which has been orbiting the blogosphere for a while now. So far, there’s been only been a couple of preview clips released, and a lot of the footage features racing from the Nürburgring.
However, until recently, most of the footage released had only featured action from the Grand Prix track at the Ring. Having a racing film showcasing the Nürburgring without having any action from the Nordschleife makes about as much sense as the Aston Martin Cygnet. It’d be little more than trading off the name for cynical and ulterior motives. It’s a good thing, then, that Clash have put things right with their latest teaser of Titan Movie which includes snippets of footage from the 2009 Nürburgring 24 hour race. There’s still not a lot from the Nordschleife, but we now have hope that there will be more to come.
You can see that, and the other clips after the jump. Enjoy!
After 40 years service for the one company the traditional gift at retirement, supposedly, is a gold watch. Lamborghini, though, do things a little bit differently. Valentino Blaboni, the company’s chief test driver for a total of four decades, was presented with his own Gallardo.
Cool, imagine getting a supercar given to you when you retire. Nice, huh. But, Lamborghini actually went one step further by making a special limited edition run of the Gallardo adorned with Balboni’s name. Just 250 have been made—its full title, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni.
Taking the honour further the Italian manufacturer did away with the Gallardo’s all-wheel drive system and decided to send every one of the car’s 550 horsepower to the rear wheels. Now, that is some retirement present!
The above still is taken from a brief YouTube clip produced by Danish car mag Bil Magasinet. You can see that after the jump, along with more images of Balboni and his car.
In the clip Balboni talks of trying to capture the spirit of the Miura and Countach in “his” Gallardo. He seems like a great guy, as well. The video is available in 1080p, so I suggest watching in full screen with the volume turned up to eleven.
[Thanks to Paul for the tip]