ACE CAFE RADIO

    lundi 22 avril 2013

    Groovy Retro Gear: Racing & Emotion Art Egg & Art Ball Collections


    Pink Pig Art Ball
    If you’d asked me what I was planning on writing about when I sat down this morning, I very much doubt that I would’ve replied with “Art eggs!” And yet here we are, because these groovy eggs are off the chain.
    So – what on earth are we blathering on about, with this egg and ball malarkey? The Egg Chair was originally designed by Arne Jacobsen for the lobby and reception areas in the Royal Hotel back in 1958. A few years later, in 1963, a young designer named Eero Aarnio designed the Ball Chair. These two designs, very retro-chic these days, aimed to take a fresh look at a very simple and commonplace piece of furniture.
    The ‘Art Egg‘ and ‘Art Ball‘ collections from Racing & Emotion take these iconic designs and marry them to another set of iconic designs – the great racing liveries of motorsport’s history.
    And they’re amazing. The ‘Art Ball’ collection is the most prolific, and my personal preference, with liveries from Gulf to Jim Clark’s Lotus 25 to Martini’s famous and unusual 917/20 ‘Pink Pig’ represented.
    The Gulf livery makes a return in the ‘Art Egg’ collection, and joins the likes of John Player and more.
    These design masterpieces don’t come cheap, however, and will set you back anywhere from US$5,500.00 to US$5,785.00 for an Art Ball to US$6,485.00 for the Art Eggs.
    Check out the full collections over on R&E’s website here.
    Images via Racing & Emotion

    Bull-Headed: The art of naming Lamborghinis



    With so many taking their names from powerful bulls, Lamborghinis are appropriately titled for the arduous task of locking horns with Ferrari. We take a look at the namesakes of the Miura, the Islero, and others of that ilk.


    Breeding Bravado: Lamborghini Miura



    Self-confident entrepreneur Ferruccio Lamborghini was born on 28 April 1916, which made him a Taurus: combative, stubborn (his relationship with Enzo Ferrari, for a start), and every bit a bull. If the latter had not already subliminally sown a seed in his mind, then it was visiting his friend Don Eduardo Miura’s cattle ranch which confirmed his choice of name for what is now often called the first supercar. The fascination with these belligerent beasts also led to the new company’s emblem being that of a charging bull.

    See car in the Classic Driver Marketplace >>

    Toro Grande: Lamborghini Islero



    After a brief spell of christening models with numerical digits, Lamborghini began naming cars after individual bulls rather than species. In 1968, the Islero grand tourer was named after a particularly resilient Miura from 1947. Islero had killed star matador Manolete in 1947, but contrary to the tradition of sparing the bull in these cases, he was tragically put to the sword soon afterwards.

    See car in the Classic Driver Marketplace >>

    Horns of the Devil: Lamborghini Diablo



    In 1990, an automotive devil arrived on the world stage – the Lamborghini Diablo. The diabolical road car bore the name of an equally legendary fighting bull bred by the Spanish nobleman, the Duke of Veragua, in 1867. The powerful bull became famous for lasting many hours in a ferocious fight with the matador ‘El Chicorro’.

    See car in the Classic Driver Marketplace >>

    Mythical Bull: Lamborghini Murciélago

    There’s much disagreement over the truth of the story, but the Murciélago was named after a fighting bull that was said to have survived 24 sword strokes in a bullfight in Córdoba, Spain, in 1879. Such was the bull’s courage that the matador let it live – and, supposedly, it was later presented as a gift to Don Antonio Miura, a well-known breeder, hence it went on to father the famous Miura line of fighting bulls.

    See car in the Classic Driver Marketplace >>

    Finally, we emphasise that this article is intended to describe the origins of Lamborghini model names, and in no way supports the cruel tradition of bullfighting. It is the view of the Classic Driver team that these powerful and impressive animals should not be tortured and killed for people’s entertainment. 

    Text: Classic Driver
    Photos: Dealers / Getty Images

    Icona Vulcano races into Auto Shanghai


    Icona Vulcano 21.04.2013

    0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 2.9s

    Icona has finally revealed the Vulcano at Auto Shanghai, after a couple of teasersreleased in the last weeks.
    Set to remain most likely as a one-off designed exclusively for a buyer willing to pay about 2M EUR (2.6M USD / 1.7M GBP), the Vulcano is a supercar created by coachbuilder Cecomp (founding partner in Icona) who also worked on the BMW Z4 Zagato and Ferrari 575M SuperAmerica. In addition, Cecomp provided engineering support for the limited edition Alfa Romeo 8C.
    The vehicle is 4450mm long, 1940mm wide and tips the scales at 1,595 kg (3,516 lbs). Its styling was created by designer Samuel Chaffart who most likely has a soft spot for the Ferrari California and Lexus LFA, as well as other cars.
    Icona Vulcano 21.04.2013
    Although just one car will probably be made, former Ferrari F1 technical director Claudio Lombardi created two powertrains for the Vulcano. The first one is called H-Turismo V12 and provides a rear-wheel drive hybrid configuration with a V12 engine producing 790 bhp (589 kW) and an electric motor rated at 160 bhp (119 kW). Linked to an automatic gearbox, Vulcano reaches 62 mph (100 km/h) in three seconds and 124 mph (200 km/h) in 9.2 seconds, en route to a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h).
    Icona Vulcano 21.04.2013
    The more potent H-Competizione model has a twin-turbo V6 with 550 bhp (410 kW), a 160 bhp (119 kW) electric motor powering the front axle and another 160 bhp electric motor to drive the rear axle, turning the Vulcano into a four-wheel drive supercar. In this configuration, 0-62 mph takes 2.9 seconds, 0-124 mph is done in 8.9 seconds, while the top speed remains at 217 mph.
    Icona Vulcano 21.04.2013
    Since both of them have an electric motor, they can be driven on electric power alone but only for a very short distance.
    Source: Icona
    via Worldcarfans

    vespa ............