CAFÉ RACER 76: 12/10/14

mercredi 10 décembre 2014

SINGER: PORSCHE 911 RE-IMAGINED

Singer Vehicle Design is a company that produces what is inarguably the greatest reimagining of the Porsche 911 ever attempted. Rob Dickinson, the founder of Singer, describes his 911s as being like four-wheel cafe racers and I think this analogy is quite apt – they’re lightened, more performance-oriented versions of the mass produced originals with a significant dose of additional power.

The film is the work of XCAR, a film production house that has turned out a variety of short films on a huge cross-section of both new and vintage automobiles. Once you’ve seen the film featured above I suggest you take a look at the official XCAR YouTube channel here.

Singer Porsche 911 Interior 2 Singer: Porsche 911 Re Imagined

Singer Porsche 911 Interior 1480x1110 Singer: Porsche 911 Re Imagined

Singer Porsche 911 Back Singer: Porsche 911 Re Imagined

Singer Porsche 911 Front Singer: Porsche 911 Re Imagined

Singer Porsche 911 Rear 740x491 Singer: Porsche 911 Re Imagined

via SILODROME

SHINYA KIMURA - "Motorcycle Mechanic"

"In his own words, Shinya Kimura is a motorcycle mechanic. To the rest of the world, Shinya is an artist, building kinetic sculptures that are and very labor intensive, one-of-a-kind, and ultimately utilitarian. Raised in Tokyo, he moved to LA about a decade ago to actually escape his growing fame and to quietly go on with his life as a mechanic. Acclaim has annoyingly still followed him. His bikes are tough, perfectly made machines that are thrilling to ride. In this film, Danielle explores briefly why motorcycles and what makes the work compelling for Shinya, and the feeling he gets while riding. The film is a supplement to the third issue of On Paper Magazine."

SHINYA KIMURA - "Motorcycle Mechanic" from Evan Scott on Vimeo.

A dirtbike adventure though the Great British countryside

12 days, 2000 miles, no map, no GPS, no backup van, just a few telephone numbers and a bucket load of 'what's the worst that could happen?'

Can you legally ride off road from Newcastle to London and back through England and Wales solely relying on the goodness of strangers to help you on your way?

The trip starts and almost ends on the first day in Northumberland.

A dirtbike adventure though the Great British countryside from Greg Villalobos on Vimeo.

2014 SEMA Week day 4

R nineT: The blank canvas from BMW Motorrad

The R nineT is a brand-new motorbike intended from the outset to be customised. BMW Motorrad describes its as “pure and original”, with a “casually cool look” – and quickly points out that the bike’s bare minimalism is perfect for customisation. What a clever marketing concept…

It’s a strange reversal of roles when a huge, highly respected, mainstream motorcycle manufacturer hops onto the customisation bandwagon by launching a bike that few owners will leave intact. In a curious case of ‘life imitates art’, the retro-styled R nineT boasts a removable rear frame and enough space for 6-inch rims, clearly anticipating that – rather than settling for BMW’s purist design – buyers will tear apart their new bike and make it their own.

A magnificent Italian job

Few could manage a better job than Officine Sbrannetti (a company so young that its website is still ‘under construction’), however. The company consists of five friends who took on BMW Italy’s challenge to turn the R nineT, with its air/oil-cooled, 1170cc, 4-stroke boxer engine, into the best custom bike. Officine Sbrannetti apparently took inspiration from the BMW RS54 Rennsport that came second in the 1956 500cc World Championship (ridden by Walter Zeller).

We think they’ve made a magnificent job of the customisation, especially the level of attention to detail. We’re told that the tank was given a slightly worn look where the rider’s legs and arms would rub against the paintwork, and the seat was upholstered in carefully aged leather. Perhaps it will inspire other buyers to try their hand at their own custom special.

PUREBREED MCS CB360

1. WHO ARE YOU?

I’m from the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Canada
I founded Purebreed Fine Motorcycles two years ago – this is my (mega) full time occupation.
I got inspired by late 1970’s Porsche 911s, from which the color scheme is taken. I’ve always found that dark metallic brown with black accent was so “macho”, so austere!
I’m Guillaume Brochu
I own the shop with my wife, and we do have very helpful people coming to help us every now and then such as Eric Lajeunesse, the photographer who took those beautiful shots..

‘ll forward you the emails from my photographer with all the hi-res pictures from the CB360 build.

Here’s the story about it:

My dear and lovely girlfriend Maude, who had never ridden a bike before, loved me enough not only to take her motorcycle driving course, but to also support me and join me in my craziness of owning and running a Cafe Racer build shop. She then kinda deserved the neatest, sleekest and fastest little bike I could build!

It started with a pristine – sorry purists

– 1975 CB360 that she intended to ride as is for the last season before building it, but sadly the engine’s head got starved of oil before that and that was it with the stock bike.. so here we went!

I wanted a super light and nimble bike, but with grunt enough to not be let behind when her riding skills improve – especially given the other Purebreed’s bike she’ll be riding with

Here’s the lowdown on the build:

378CC big bore, 10.5″ compression forged Wiseco pistons
Ported and polished head by JPrecision, stage 4
Web-camshaft and hardwelded followers
Electronic ignition by Pamco
Mikuni VM30 carbs with the intake ported to match
2-1 100% custom stainless steel exhaust, by Jason Hunt
Barnett clutch

Rear sets
FOX Podium R rear shocks
RaceTech cartridge emulators in the forks, with progressive springs
Machined bits here and there
MOTOGADGET Motoscope classic meter
Magura master cylinder
CRG mirrors
Tarrozzi clip ons
Tomaselli grips

Continental Conti Road Attack 2 CLASSIC RACE tyres, ultra sticky!!
Custom seat in Ultra Leather with integrated tail light
Custom headlight brackets with LSL Scrambler headlight.

via The Bike Shed

Scratching in the Dirt featuring Guy Martin

Mr Porky Presents Dirtquake III: Scratching in the Dirt featuring Guy Martin. Guy gets to race something oddball in the dirt and he's not the only one. Dirtquake is Guy's favourite motorbike event and this is a look at why. Film shot in the perfect British summer of 2014. Thanks to Mr Porkys, Sideburn and of course the riders for making a great show.

Cars we love: Maserati Ghibli

At one time, it was the fastest and most expensive series-production sports car in the world. Its Giugiaro body was gorgeous, and it epitomised sophisticated style in the late 60s and early 70s. It’s now time to pay tribute to this great gentleman’s GT: the first-generation Maserati Ghibli…

Expensive taste

Those who purchased a Maserati Ghibli between 1967 and 1973 demonstrated not only excellent taste, but also that they were in good financial health: the pretty Italian coupé was priced on a par with the Lamborghini Miura and Ferrari Daytona. The Ghibli offered everything a discerning driver could want from a Gran Turismo at the time: purposeful yet elegant lines, luxury furnishings and – thanks to the 450S-derived V8 – plenty of power. Fitted with four Weber carbs, the 4.7-litre, dry-sumped engine produced 330bhp. When it was enlarged to 4.9 litres for the SS version in 1970, power increased a little, but more significant was that top speed was supposedly nudged beyond 170mph. A heady figure at the start of the Seventies, even if it was only believed by the marketing department.

More to come?

Despite this, the Maserati Ghibli Tipo AM115 doesn’t yet enjoy the widespread appreciation of its contemporaries. Yes, prices have risen since our last market report – good SS coupés now command in excess of €150,000 – but values remain more modest than those of the Miura and Daytona, both of which it outsold in period. The super-rare Spiders (125 of which were built) have operated in their own stratosphere for some time.

Boasting just enough creature comforts to make it an effective, comfortable, modern-day cruiser, the kamm-backed Italian queen can only enjoy heightened desirability in the future.

Photos: Mathieu Bonnevie

Bid on these classic Panerai watches

Invest in a classic watch from Patek or Rolex and you can’t go wrong, but other brands are beginning to arouse the interest of collectors, such as vintage timepieces from Panerai. The Panerai Only sale by Artcurial demonstrates the level of interest this brand is now generating…

For Paneristi, Christmas will be taking place on 8 December this year. This is the date when French auction house Artcurial will hold a sale in Paris dedicated exclusively to historic Panerai watches and, for this unusual auction, the Artcurial specialists have gathered together some rare models from Panerai’s history. From the legendary Radiomir Egiziano of 1956 (estimate: 100,000 to 150,000 euros), through to a selection of the coveted Panerai with Rolex workings, there is a wide range of legendary divers’ watches. We have compiled a selection of interesting pieces, or you can view all lots from the Panerai Only sale in the Classic Driver auction area.