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F1 Driver Shwag Includes Jeep SRT8 and Many Italians

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

by Zack K

There’s nothing an F1 driver needs more than a free car. These guys make a peasant’s wage*, and finding reliable transportation has been an ailment of Formula 1 drivers since the 1960s. While some of us are lucky enough to get our first car from our parents, the rest we have to pay for. Of course, asking an F1 driver to buy a car would be ludicrous; they’re broke! They’re still wearing one-piece ski suits from the 1980s for god’s sake! Luckily, some kind souls have stepped up to the plate. In fact, they’ve really gone above and beyond. A few companies went to the Italian Goodwill and dropped off some cars (a  Ferrari 458 Italia, Fiat 695 Tributo (super speedy 500) and a Maserati Gran Carbio) , instructing the dull-eyed clerk they are for one Felipe Massa and one Fernando Alonso. Over the years these cars have been delivered to their sad excuses for domiciles. They may share a studio apartment, but at least they have reliable transportation, a requirement for any profession.

 

BUT, these cars are straight up dangerous in bad weather. Asking them to drive these cars on a snowy day? Why don’t you just give an Alaskan orphan a new pair of crocs in December and tell him to play outside. As usual, it’s the Team America, World Police to the rescue. Jeep rode in like a white knight, and delivered a pair of Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s to the Fiorano test track. I can imagine that brought some joy to their coal-miner-like jobs. Judging by the picture above it just in the nick of time. Without even a proper winter hat, these poor souls were sure to freeze to death. No more. With the gift of AWD and 6.4-Liter Hemis, we can sleep easy knowing these two borderline-homeless foreigners will navigate the winter months safely.

 

Or it’s good for business to have a race driver in your car. Potato, potahto.

 

*This term has been updated in the 21st century to mean “shit-load of money.”

** If you wrote an angry comment below, or posted their salary, click here.

02.02.2012 News 1 Comment

“Love for Life” Captures Why We Drive (video)

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

by Zack K

This is a YouTube video called, “Motorsport-Love for Life.” It’s a short film, by Antti Kalhola. It uses a compilation of racing footage – drivers, cars, rally, F1 teams, wins, losses, crashes, etc – but not simply strung together as eye candy. Paired with slow music and a voice over it starts with the question, “Why do we love?” to explain viewer why people race cars. Through images of broken cars, daunting elements, injured drivers or just the pain of defeat written on faces, this short film is about why we voluntarily put ourselves into a situation where we could lose-even die-yet we go back again the next day.

 

I think this video encapsulates the bigger passion of cars. It’s this kind of strange love that gets us up at 5AM for a show, or up all night wrenching, or working two jobs to buy parts and staying up late reading about suspension engineering or the latest crossover comparison. It’s why driving to us isn’t a chore or a simple means. We don’t know why we love, but we do. And to love is to live, and fo people like us, that means having cars in our life. This 4 minute film explains that, and all through the gorgeous imagery of incredibly fast cars doing what they do. Make the jump to watch.

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26.01.2012 Video 1 Comment

F1 Drivers Imitating Their Engines (Video)

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

by Zack K

We all make engine noises with our mouths. Admit it. You’ve either been describing a car, a race, trying to explain to your friends what your new exhaust sounds like (because surely MY skilled mouth can perfectly mimic the pitch differences between an Invidia exhaust and a Crawford one.) or you’re playing with your die-cast models. Either way, we do it, it’s fun and we don’t care how infantile it is or how many girls it confuses and horrifies.

 

F1 drivers are no different. Someone put them in front of a video camera and asked them to imitate their own cars. It’s pretty funny. And if you’re wondering “Do I sound that silly?” the answer is yes, yes you do.

22.01.2012 News, Video 3 Comments

Online Ferrari 458 Configurator Changes a Man

Monday, January 16th, 2012

by Zack K

The Ferrari 458 Spider configurator has confused me. I clicked the link, and immediately changed it from the dark Rosso mugello to the traditional Rossa Corsa, because if I’m going to buy a Ferrari I want it to be “Ferrari red.” But since this is the internet where you can find a picture that caters to your fantasy about having a threesome with a Halo truck and a furry I decided to click through the other colors, just to see how they looked. I started with the usual blue, black and white but then kept going: Grigio ingrid (like sand), Blue Abu Dhabi, even one resembling British Racing Green-which felt somewhat sacrilegious- looked good enough to drive daily. I questioned my taste, “What the hell is wrong with me? I don’t want a teal car!” (more…)

16.01.2012 News, Video 1 Comment

Ferrari 599 Fire. What Year is it Again?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

 

Last week a Ferrari 599 GTB spontaneously caught on fire. It didn’t quite melt itself (video after jump) like a dead vampire in From Dusk Til Dawn but it did catch on fucking fire. I’m sorry but WTF?  What year is it again? 2011? And cars are still catching on fire? And not just any cars, these are some of the best  and most expensive cars on the planet. A $7,000 Versa doesn’t catch on fire. The “smart” car doesn’t.  Even my  shitty ’95 Miata managed to drive 300 miles spitting oil out its CAS seal without turning me into Kosher rotisserie. So why are Ferraris and Lamborghinis bursting into flames? Make the jump for a buffet videos featuring exotics on fire. Maybe we can find a commonality? (more…)

12.12.2011 News, Photos, Video 3 Comments

5th Gear Wuvvvs the Ferrari Spider (Video Review)

Friday, November 11th, 2011

One thing that often lacks in video reviews or driving videos is driver emotion. Cruise youtube and you’ll see a lot of people talking about cars the way your professor taught you about economics: Factual, direct, maybe some trite joke about cost of beer versus volume to keep everyone awake. Or it’s regular people driving really fast, with the same Terminator face we all wear when we’re trying to not die at the hands of several hundred horsepower.

 

But something is missing. It’s the feeling cars give us. Simply sitting down in my ERA Cobra makes me smile, laugh and make engine sounds. (But if you watch this, you’ll understand I’m not normal).  To be fair, not every car gives your brain a blowjob. I’m not going to laugh like a maniac while driving a new Passat (probably more tears of shame). But I will in a Caterham. That kind of childish emotional display is part of what makes Top Gear UK so great. It’s the difference between watching Steven Hawking and Chris Tucker commenting on Sophia Vergara’s tits.

 

That’s why I love this video of Fifth Gear’s Vicky Henderson reviewing the new 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider. I’ve never seen her have so much fun in a car, and that visible emotion tells me this car must be unbelievable.

 

-Zack K

 

11.11.2011 Editorials, Video 1 Comment

Best Motoring Goes out with a Pricey Bang

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Let’s cut the fluff shall we? Best Motoring is cancelled, and for their last race, their lineup was awesome: Lexus LF-A vs. Porsche GT2 RS vs. Corvette ZR-1 vs. Nissan GTR vs. Ferrari F430 GT3. There’s street cars, super-cars and might-as-well-be-a race-cars. The price is all over the board, as are the cylinders and countries of origin. Each of our favorite countries is represented in a cool, if not the best, way. Thanks Best Motoring, for all your hard *cough* work over the years. You’ve put together some of the coolest and most expensive super-cars in wheel to wheel races.

 

Make the jump to see who won. (more…)

16.05.2011 News, Photos, Video 12 Comments

TST Dream Garage: The Entire ALMS GT2 Grid

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Text and Photos submitted by TST reader Nick Busato

Porsche 911 GT3 RS, F430 Scuderia, Corvette ZR1 and the M3 GTS are all names that will induce any automotive enthusiast’s mouth to water uncontrollably. Based on already ludicrously quick road cars, these thoroughbreds are seen as the ultimate track day toys. It seems to be an easy formula for any car manufacturer to follow; strip out unneeded bits, toss on some Brembos, coilovers and sticky tires, massage some more power out of the engine and for added bonus points put an “R” in the car’s badging. These are the speed machines that occupy the prised poster space of many car fanatics’ bedroom walls. If these cars are seen as the superior versions to their more limp wristed counterparts then surely an even more race bred car would be that much more illustrious.

Enter the realm of the American Le Mans Series GT2 class where you will find the dreamiest racing versions of road going sports cars. While other series like DTM, Nascar and Grand-Am may have fairly recognizable body shapes the cars actually share very little if any parts with their production counterparts. In contrast, the ALMS GT2 cars are based on their respective production variants and must use the same chassis and primary bodywork. What you are left with is a car with no comprises made in the interest of comfort, they have a single purpose: to go fast.

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27.01.2011 Editorials, News, Photos 7 Comments

Inaugural California Cars and Cockpits Event – Mega Photo Gallery!

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

The Smoking Tire was fortunate enough to be able to attend the first-ever “Cars and Cockpits” event at the Lyon Air Museum this past weekend. It was a great change of pace from the usual Cars and Coffee and Supercar Sunday, because not only were there several million dollars worth of metal in the parking lot, but also the museum opened its doors to us, so we could appreciate some fine vintage aircraft and military vehicles. Some highlights of the show included the famous “triple black” Ferrari Enzo (pictured above), many other Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Aston’s Bentley’s, Nissan GTR’s, BMW’s, Porsches, and crazy tuner cars, including the world’s ugliest vehicle, the Mansory Panamera Turbo. In the gallery, check out the yellow F430 Spider, which isn’t special except that it’s fitted with carbon fiber hand controls so its wheelchair-bound owner can wind out the 4.3L V8 using his right hand. Inside the Lyon Air museum, we were treated to some elegantly restored World War II-era aircraft and vehicles, my favorite of which was the minimally restored and completely functional 1934 Mercedes 6-wheel parade car, formerly owned by Adolf Hitler. Hit the jump for the 80-image mega gallery of the event.

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26.01.2011 News, Photos 3 Comments

P 4/5 Competizione is Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking. And Street Legal. (Update! Now With Video)

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

We’ve seen people piss their money away on some really stupid things here at The Smoking Tire, but others come up with some fantastically brilliant ideas to make a small fortune by starting with a large one. Like, for instance, personally re-founding the N.A.R.T. (that’s North American Racing Team, a non-factory Ferrari team from the 1960′s), and building a race car for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring? How about then making the race car look like a miniature copy of the Ferrari P4/5, Jim’s one-off, re-bodied Ferrari Enzo? Pretty crazy, right? It gets better. P 4/5 Competizione, the beautiful, 430 Scuderia based racing car pictured above, is street legal, and has the plates to prove it. More pictures and details (including the license plate photo)  after the jump.

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13.01.2011 News, Photos 6 Comments

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