McLaren X-1 photographed at Bahrain GP

Based on MP4-12C

The McLaren X-1 one-off was seen last weekend at the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix.

As you might remember, this truly uniqueX-1 was developed by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) and is based on the MP4-12C. The vehicle tips the scales at around 3,086 lbs (1,400 kg) and "shares the same major mechanical components as the 12C, including the twin-turbo 616 bhp (460 kW) engine."

It was conceived for a wealthy client who already owned a McLaren F1, an MP4-12C and a Mercedes-Benz SLR. The client wanted MSO to implement styling cues from a 1953 Chrysler D'Elegance Ghia, 1961 Facel Vega, 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K, 1959 Buick Electra and a 1971 Citroën SM, mixed with a grand piano, Airstream trailer, Jaeger-LeCoultre clock, Thomas Mann Montblanc pen and an eggplant - resulting in something that only Batman would drive.

An additional photo is available at the source link below.

Source: teamspeed.com

via Worldcarfans

Coma takes win in opening stage in Sealine Rally

KTM factory rider and three times Dakar winner Marc Coma of Spain was the pace setter on the opening day of the Sealine Rally in Qatar to win the first of four hard stages in this, the second round of the World Cross Countries Rally Championship.

Fresh from his victory in the Desert Challenge, Coma said it was a difficult but satisfying day. “I am happy with the stage and I’m in a good position but it was a tough day with difficult navigation and it was necessary to stay focused. I had a good starting position and after I caught the riders in front I was able to open the race. It was perfect.”

Riders are in a bivouac in the desert near Doha and completed the first of four very long loop tracks that make up this year’s second edition of the Sealine Rally. In a new format this year, riders have one day less but a very heavy program with the timed special each day representing at least 97 percent of the total kilometers. Tuesday’s stage, which featured a range of fast and stony desert terrain and dunes, had a timed special of 405.12 km from a total distance of 415.11 km.

After an early morning start to avoid the searing heat desert heat, Coma completed the first stage in four hours 58.46 and crossed the line with a 2.04 advantage over Portugal’s Paolo Goncalves. KTM’s Norwegian rider Pal Anders Ullevalseter was third and Coma’s two KTM factory teammates Jakub Przygonski of Poland and Chaleco Lopez of Chile were fourth and fifth. The top five riders, all veterans of the Dakar Rally have already distanced themselves from the next group and there is 19-minute gap between Lopez and the sixth placed rider. Coma, Przygonski and Lopez are all riding the KTM 450 Dakar-winning Rally bike

Coma is looking to build on the world championship points he picked up in the Desert Challenge as he lays the foundation stone to retain his world title. Making a welcome return to racing after a shoulder injury kept him out of the Dakar 2013, Coma considers the early season as important confidence builders. Speaking to journalists after the ceremonial start on Monday evening Coma said: “I’m pleased with my riding. My navigation is strong, my speed is good and I know my fitness will be fine,” Coma said. “I will try to win again like last year. I feel that there’s a perfect route for a perfect race here.”

Wednesday’s Stage Two is the longest of this year’s edition with a total distance of 423.28 km including 413.19 km of timed special, relating to 99.5% of the total distance.

Photos by Chytka M.

KTM Results
Sealine Rally at Doha, Qatar
Stage One total distance 415.11 km – including timed special of 405.12 km

1, Marc Coma, Spain, KTM 4 hours 58.46
2, Paolo Goncalves, Portugal, Speedbrain at 2.04
3, Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM at 4.00
4, Jakub Przygonski, Poland, KTM at 6.02
5, Chaleco Lopez, Chile, KTM at 12.01
6, Juan Carlos Salvatierra, Bolivia, Honda at 31.15
7, Khalid Khammis Ozair, Honda, 50.47
8, Mohammed Al Balooshi, KTM, 52.07
9, Rafal Sonic, Poland, Honda, 56.22
10, Quin Cody, USA, Speedbrain, 1:15.23

Rally concludes Friday after four stages

Volkswagen Taigun almost ready for production

Polo-based SUV also planned

A production version of the Volkswagen Taigun Concept is about to arrive in dealerships soon.

VW's chief designer Klaus Bischoff "deeply believes" the Taigun will reach the market in the near future. Although it was presented in Brazil last year, the small SUV will be sold in Europe and other markets as well since "it would be stupid to sell it in just South America."

As a reminder, the concept is 81mm taller and 83mm wider than the up! and comes with a 50mm longer wheelbase. Power is expected to come from the same engines as the city car, including a turbocharged, direct-injection 3-cylinder 1.0-liter seen in the up! GT Concept. That engine generates 109 bhp (81 kW) and 162 Nm (120 lb-ft) of torque.

Besides the new-gen Tiguan due in 2014 and Touareg scheduled for a 2015 release, Volkswagen is likely to introduce next year a crossover based on the Polo platform which will be positioned below the Tiguan as a smaller and more affordable alternative.

Source: autoexpress.co.uk

via Worlcarfans

Valentino Rossi drives Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Toyota

from Twowheelsblog

Following the Austin GP Valentino Rossi flew to North Carolina with Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis to take part in a promotional event for sponsor Monster Energy with three time NASCAR champion Kyle Busch at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The MotoGP champion got a chance to drive Busch’s V8 650hp Toyota Camry after getting instructions and pointers from Busch on how to handle the powerful car - Rossi has tested a Ferrari F1 a few times, driven a Ferrari 458 Italia in several endurance races, and driven a Subaru Impreza WRC, a Ford car and he also tested a Mercedes C-Klasse DTM car - but driving along 24-degree banked turns was a first for the Italian who was able to get up to around 185 miles per hour and actually able to drop his lap times.

Talking about the fascinating experience Rossi said, “At the beginning it was a bit strange because it’s difficult to go straight. But after some laps, I had a lot of confidence and I was able to go faster and faster and faster. I must say I got along very well with Kyle. He’s a good guy. I like him and he gave me a lot of important advice.”

“It was so cool to understand the feeling!I have a lot of friends from Europe and Italy who follow NASCAR. It looks like it’s a completely different type of racing than what we do in Europe and I expected something more like this –exciting, high speed and a great feeling in the corner. In the bank you have a lot of grip, so you are glued on the racetrack. It was great, I enjoyed it a lot. I love driving the race car, and I always have, so it was exciting to drive a NASCAR,” concluded Rossi.

Busch was impressed by Rossi’s talent on four wheels and said, “I thought it was a really cool experience and it also helps when you have two guys who are enthusiastic about their sport and have a good mantra about it. I think Rossi is a really cool dude. We were just having fun, hanging out together. To me, I thought the experience was awesome. It’s cool Monster Energy brought us together, it was a lot of fun. Just getting the feeling of asking him about his sport and him asking me about NASCAR a little bit. Just having the dialogue there was good. And as far as driving the car, I thought he did pretty good. He started out a little slow, which is fine, but every lap he picked it up a lot. He got to where he was running some competitive lap speeds – times that would put him in the top-15 in Nationwide Series practice. That’s pretty good for a guy in his first start, who is just coming over and getting used to things and someone that is used to driving on two wheels.”

1988 Suzuki S40 Boulevard - Studio Motor

It's amazing what you can do with limited resources and a whole bunch of commitment; that's got to be the mantra of Studio Motor's Donny Ariyanto. He's a builder that's based in South Jakarta, and if there's anyone in the world that will be able to make a mountain out of any anonymous, out-of-favour, ill-advised motorcycling mole hill, it's this man. In the past he's worked miracles on Yamaha Scorpios and Suzuki Thunders, but we're thinking the he's really outdone himself this time. Feast your eyes on Studio Motor's latest single cylinder miracle, the “Naughty Red.”

The bike was built for a customer who works as a film director in Jakarta. His brief was decided upon after much surfing and some close study of the city's custom bikes. It was as clear as it was tricky. “I want to have a custom bobber that is simple and practical, but it should also have a bad ass, naughty streak.”

The Studio Motor lads began by stripping, overhauling, and re-assembling the bike, with a follow-up of powder coating and polishing for the core elements. They then fabricated the bike's tank, seat, rear fender, and battery box themselves. As we've learnt in the past, the Studio boys like nothing more than pummelling metal, and will do so at a moment's notice. They finished it off with a Sikkens matt candy apple red.

Next came a new set of forks, a custom triple trees, and custom rims paired with a set of inimitable Firestone Duluxes. A bespoke swing arm was added to give the bike a more muscular stance, and a Keihin PWK 41 carby was used to replace the stock fuel atomisation set-up which, when combined with the Flash custom muffler exhaust, apparently makes quite a pleasant roar when so provoked. And, yes, it has pipewrap.

Donny says that there was a lot of lessons learnt from the engine rebuild on the bike, but obviously the end result was well worth all the bother. Apparently the client couldn't wait to ride it to his next shoot. And could you blame him? Lucky bugger.

from Pipeburn

Honda DCB750 by Instrument

Being in Australia when the One Motorcycle Show is happening over in Portland USA is like not getting any presents at Christmas time. Thankfully a flood of social media posts from the lucky sods who attended has helped to bring the show to me. As I waded through the hundreds of photos I noted several bikes that I've been searching the show happened and this one finally popped up on David Mucci's awesome blog Moto Mucci.

Built by Toby Grubb and Justin Lewis the 'DigitalCraftBike750' or DCB750 for short, represents an opportunity for two guys who specialise in the digital space to spend some time with real world mechanics, which in this case happened to be a '73 Honda CB750.

This isn't the guys first encounter with a custom motorcycle. Justin and Toby are part of the crew at Instrument, the digital agency that recently released 'Build' the interactive motorcycle movie. Inspired by some of Portlands top custom builders they set out to utilise their skills in digital design to create their own vision of a custom motorcycle. Starting with a "dust-collecting" CB donor bike owned by a fellow Instrument team member, the guys began the build where they felt most comfortable, on a computer screen. Working in Illustrator they created a schematic and 3D model that was influenced by Cafe Racer styling and mimicked the finish and form of Apple's iconic G5.

"We make beautiful things. Most of the time, these things live in the digital realm, but every once in awhile we get to mix our digital craft with real world blood, sweat, and tears. Instrument's DigitalCraftBike750 is the quintessential example of that."

To assist with the build the boys called in Ian Halcott from House on Fire and the team at TwinlineMotorcycles. Using their 3D model as a guide Ian used 090 aluminium to hand form the bikes gas tank and tail section which houses an integrated oil tank. Using the perforated panel from the front of an old G5 case a rear hatch was designed to conceal the oil filler cap and an LED tail light. A custom pair of rear sets were also fabricated by Twinline and a Nostalgia Speed & Cycle, Yoshimura style exhaust was bolted into place.



Electrics on the bike received a major overhaul with all new LED lighting from Daytona and Revival Cyclesand a truly unique instrument cluster was developed. The boys got together with the Instrument team to create a mobile dash app they call 'The Instrument™' (coming soon to iTunes). Using the built in GPS of an iphone and some very clever programming the app features a ground speed indicator, engine RPM readout, an odometer, trip meter and integrated navigation maps. The rider simply plugs their iphone into the cradle on the triple tree, launches the app and they're ready to roll. To bike fires into life using a G5 power button at the rear of the tank and a headphone jack gives its rider the ability to enjoy some tunes straight from their iphone/dashboard. The bike was finished in a G5 style paint scheme by Coachman Auto Body and a custom covered seat by Ginger McCabe at New Church Moto.  Apple fan boy jokes aside this is one of the most unique approaches to a custom build I've seen in some time.

Instrument     |     via Moto Mucci

Somethings missing, but I can't quite put my finger on it? 

from  return of the cafe racers

formula 1 simulator. race at monaco for $140,000

How would you like to race an F1 car at the Monaco Grand Prix for $140,000 and from the comfort of your own home? Have a word with FMCG International.

How much would it take to race in Formula 1 (that’s just to be on the starting grid for one race, by the way)? $2 million per week? A VERY generous gift from Santa Claus? A sizeable mortgage and your soul on a piece of paper forever indebted to HSBC?

Nope, you’re way out. It’s actually a ‘mere’ $140,000, give or take a cent or two.

Okay, yes, in the grand scheme of things, that’s still a hefty bundle of cash: for not much more, you could buy your own showroom-fresh Nissan GTR. Still, considering that some considerable amount of overtime will buy you visible carbon fibre wishbones, magnesium alloy wheel rims, F1 Pirelli tyres, Brembo brake callipers and composite front and rear wings, it’s actually surprisingly reasonable. You can even choose your own livery.

The only slight downside is that your newly bought F1 single-seater doesn’t move.

This particular model from FMCG International is another step into the simulated world of motorsport (you may remember that not too long ago we had a play around on the CXC Motion Pro 2 at AUH Motorsports in Dubai, the realism of which pretty much wiped out our afternoon). And this is one we are particularly keen to have in the crankandpiston office. Negotiations for that Espresso Veloce V12 coffee maker have so far got us nowhere.

For your nearly $140,000, you receive a composite F1 chassis (finished in carbon fibre) as well as three 23-inch TFT screens with 5.1 digital surround sound that bring you a full driver’s side perspective of Monaco, Silverstone, Yas Marina, Spa-Francorchamps and pretty much anywhere else your racing heart desires on the current calendar.

Be warned though, racing driver’s excuses are not included…