Motoring Con Brio

Our only regret about the new Mercedes A45 AMG..

•February 19, 2013 • 5 Comments

.. is that it isn’t RWD. We know, the garden-variety A-Class on which it’s based is FWD so it was never going to happen— not a chance. And objectively speaking, it’s probably all the better – not to mention faster – for its AWD. But you know, you just know, that it would have been enormously, hellaciously entertaining – and in the wrong hands with all electronic nannies turned off, probably lethal – had the car fed all 360 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque to just its rear wheels.

But that sort of thing is a relic of the distant past and doesn’t play well in the year 2013. Safety is where it’s at, safety is what sells, and AWD is nothing if not safe. And so it is with the A45 AMG. But one can dream, and in our dreams this thing is hanging its tail out and doing smoky burnouts with its bigger brothers all day long. After all, it’s the AMG way.

See and read more about it here.

Posted in Announcements, Editorial, Still images
Tags: a45 amg, amg, hot hatch, mercedes-benz

Assorted grab bag of stuff we like

•February 18, 2013 • 17 Comments

Getting right to it.

Posted in Grab bag, Still images

Guest contributor: Skorj on his 1970 Honda S800M coupe

•February 15, 2013 • 16 Comments

Most people outside of classic car enthusiast circles have probably never heard of Honda’s S600 and S800 cars. But for those who have (including some high-profile owners), it’s not hard for this little high-revving jewel of a car to quickly capture enthusiasts’ hearts and imaginations. MCB recurring contributor and Japan correspondent Skorj (himself no stranger to classics and exotics) is one such person, and about a year ago he took delivery of a 1970 S800M coupe, which he affectionately calls The Fastest Slow Car Built. This is his story.

MCB: Why the S800?

S: Looking for a weekend project, and living in Tokyo it made sense to look at Japanese classics – with the unconfirmed assumption if parts were to be needed, sourcing them here would be in theory easier. The list of Japanese classics with the type of period style I wanted though was very short – Nissan Hakosuka GT-R, Mazda Cosmo Sports, or perhaps a Toyota 2000GT.

The stratospheric price of a 2000GT had it quickly eliminated. The Cosmo Sports was in the right price bracket, but with no rotary experience it was just too scary. So I looked at Hako GT-R cars for more than a year, and though parts were plentiful, so were ‘spec’ cars built on lesser bodies, with lesser engines, still appealing but only perhaps by themselves. Attend any classic car, meeting, drive, or show, and the Hako GT-R is as common as <insert Jeremy Clarkson witticism>.

Like racing Jaguar and their ‘ripping silk’ however, the GT-R in either twin-cam, or worked over single-cam form sound glorious, and this set one aspect of what I was looking for in a weekend car, it had to sound great…

Walking the streets of Harajuku one day, we were passed by a little yellow roadster that was making a noise like it had just driven off an F1 grid. A shiver went down my engine noise loving spine. That’s it I thought, a twin-cam Honda. The complicated little engine, its remarkable specific output of near 100 bhp per liter, and its relationship with the GP-winning Honda of the era sealed the deal.

Posted in Guest contributor, Still images, What would you buy
Tags: honda, japan, s600, s800, s800m, s800mk2, tokyo

Flying cars by Renaud Marion

•February 14, 2013 • Comments Off

Yes, the future is here! In art form, anyway. The two Mercs in particular look like they belong on water.

Surreal stuff— we like.

More here by Renaud and also some homages here created by other people.

Posted in Art, Still images
Tags: flying cars, jaguar, mercedes-benz

Lower Wacker Drive, R32 and

•February 13, 2013 • 2 Comments

The R32, as you might recall, was the predecessor to the current generation Golf R.

Although we prefer the MkIV, it’s still a lovely car with one of the nicest six-cylinder exhaust notes to come straight from the factory:

As for Chicago’s Wacker Drive? You’ve probably seen it in the movies:

Wacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River. The street is a multilevel street that runs from 340 north at 400 east to 200 north at 340 west and along 360 west from 188 north to 424 south in the Chicago street address system in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The vast majority of it is double-decked; the upper level intended for local traffic, and the lower level for through-traffic and trucks servicing buildings on the road (and originally a dock). It is sometimes cited as a precursor to the modern freeway, though when it was built the idea was that pleasure vehicles would use the upper level. It is the only street in the city that has addresses on all four cardinal directions.

The upper level is normally known as Upper Wacker Drive and the lower level is Lower Wacker Drive. A short part has a third level, sometimes called Lower Lower Wacker Drive (source).

Check out Auto Neurotic Fixation for more on Lower Wacker.

(Image credit: Glenn Davis)

Posted in Film, Moving images, Roads, Still images
Tags: batman begins, blues brothers, chicago, golf, lower wacker drive, mk5, mkv, r32, volkswagen, vw, wacker drive

E30 racecar at night. Wow.

•February 12, 2013 • 1 Comment

Taken individually, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about either an E30 racecar or racing photography done at night, but when taken together and then given the distinctive, uh, lighting treatment that adorns this particular car, the photographic results are extraordinary:

Images by Halston Pitman. Kudos to both the photographer and to the creative mind(s) behind this brilliant idea.

Posted in Racing, Still images
Tags: bmw, chumpcar, e30, road atlanta

Your moment of zen

•February 12, 2013 • 5 Comments

Speechless. In awe. Without further comment:

From the same folks who brought you the EB110 burnout, F50 burnout, and Rolls Royce rally car, among other examples of expensive cars made to behave badly. Whoever these guys are, they have a wicked sense of humor, not to mention a willful disregard of automotive propriety.

Posted in Hoon, Moment of zen, Moving images
Tags: enzo, ferrari, hoon, hoonage, hooning, wrc

Assorted grab bag of stuff we like

•February 11, 2013 • 13 Comments

Getting right to it.

Posted in Grab bag, Still images

Guest contributor: A master class on 3D rendering by Ben O’Bro

•February 8, 2013 • 6 Comments

Ben O’Bro – Caterham owner, MCB recurring guest contributor, and professional visual artist – created this 3D render of a Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari 512TR from a conventional photograph using 3ds Max and V-ray software. Here, he walks us through how he did it.

I found my inspiration on the Internet, once again, when I wanted to make an image with a Countach and a 512 and I happened to find this image with the exact two cars I fancy! Then, because I’m not so great at creating something from nothing, I decided to make the same image in 3D, as a challenge to recreate the light mood, as well as the speed effect.

Here is the original image: