He calls himself, Proximacentuari, and he did this by hand. Using a CAD model of a real Ariel Atom frame, the tubes were shaped for him by a local Utah fabricator but he did all the welding and sourced all the parts, many of which came from junk. The stainless-steel panels came from old appliances. There are also parts of a kayak in there. The engine, trans and instrument cluster come from a wrecked Acura RSX and the rear suspension uses shocks from a Yamaha R1. He also re-designed and made some parts to fit his parameters. It took him 800 hours and he finished it just before going to college. Here’s his Flickr page for a full set of photos. (Source: Motorcities.com)
Gordon Murray, designer of the Brabham BT46B "Fan Car", Ayrton Senna’s MP4/4, the McLaren F1, the Rocket and soon the T-25 city car, answered questions from NYTimes readers. A couple of the highlights from the Q&A include him saying that it’s the twilight of performance cars and that he would only change the brakes and headlights of the F1 in order to compete with today’s supercars.
And you thought the nationwide surveillance story was bad news? The National Motorists Assoc. just posted this story about tests being carried out in the UK involving satellites being used as a speed-limiting device. Currently, three types of systems are being evaluated: an advisory mode that informs or reminds the motorist of the speed limit, another version that would apply the brakes or limit fuel, but that can be overidden and, lastly, a system that would take over complete control and not allow for driver over-ride. Thankfully, it would be a voluntary system, but, according the Telegraph UK, 54% of those asked said they’d opt for some type of system.
The Newspaper.com reported that nation’s two largest red light camera vendors both have plans to turn their photo-ticketing cameras into a nationwide surveillance system. "We are moving into areas such as homeland security on a national level and on a local level," Redflex regional director Cherif Elsadek said. And in a proposal to the Arizona state police, ATS, the second-largest vendor, told the agency that their cameras could be integrated into a national vehicle tracking database. This is similar to the plan in the UK that will utilize their average speed cameras to help police "keep tabs on criminals and political opponents."
"This is designed to be the best software to defeat that 32:07 record that now stands." Isn’t the record 31:04? In this video Mark Nicholson of EyePatch Films, introduces a software package that integrates essentially all the systems that were used in 144A, with some new additions, in an attempt to break the Roy/Maher NY-LA record by using a ‘07 BMW Z4 M Coupe. We’re not sure it’s particularly wise to announce that you’re going to break the record lest you want to invite surveillance by numerous law enforcement agencies. We’re waiting for the record-breaking announcement and the data and the toll receipts and the witnesses, etc.. BTW, Alex doesn’t believe any of this is real.
Perhaps this trucker mis-interpreted the meaning of EZ Pass. When asked later about his disappearing plate, the trucker said he didn’t know anything about it. Apparently the wire (that was connected to the hinged plate) that stuck out of the cigarette lighter socket didn’t seem out of place. He would probably still be using it had it not been for a Port Authority cop driving alonside him.
Pirelliplans to introduce two tires in 2010 with computer chips either glued to the inner liner (Cyber Lean) or embedded into the carcass (Cyber Tyre). The simpler Cyber Lean will gather data such as pressure, temperature and average load. Data can then be sent to the car’s on-board computer to inform the driver. The chip will be powered by the mechanical vibrations from the tire as it turns, perhaps like a self-winding watch. The Cyber Tyre will feature a chip with a triaxial acclerometer and will be able to give data actual on potential friction coefficients, the force of contact and load. Pirelli engineers are trying to integrate this data with a car’s safety systems such as traction, ABS and stability control to help "correct wrong behaviour in advance."
Two-hundred-and-forty mph is the projected top speed, but that’s not really the point. The point is the designer and engineer, Joe Harmon, is using wood in every area possible to build this car, which he calls, the Splinter. He’ll be using a twin-supercharged Northstar V8 to push the 2500lb. car, so if it’s got a small frontal area and proper gearing, 200-plus shouldn’t be a problem. On his site and blog, Harmon states he’s using wood in ways similar to carbon fiber (weaving) and that wood has a strength-to-weight integrity that’s better than steel or aluminum. He also addresses heat and other issues in his FAQ section.
