Jun 7, 2011 ~ Cars website, car news & car reviews | First drives & car information

Real Life Cars 2 Characters Dock at London’s Motorexpo

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The imposing fleet of 50 Jaguar E-Type models isn’t the only attraction to arrive today at London’s Canary Wharf for the free-to-visit Motorexpo as Disney and its Pixar studio sent two real life characters from the upcoming Cars 2 movie, which is set to hit UK theaters in 3D on July 22. The full-size film-star cars are the Lightning McQueen racer and the Finn McMissile Aston Martin, voiced in the movie by actors Owen Wilson and Michael Caine respectively.

Commenting on the appearance of the two real life Cars 2 charachters, Motorexpo’s CEO, Graeme Carver, said: “We’re delighted that Lightning McQueen and Finn McMissile chose Motorexpo to start their British ‘Cars 2’ promotional tour. Our show is the most interactive motoring event in the country and it’s only appropriate that we offer our younger visitors something to keep them entertained too.”

The good news for parents is that unlike the movie, a visit to the Motorexpo won’t cost them a penny as the show is completely free for all members of the public to attend. The show runs from Monday 6 to Saturday 11 June and is open daily from 10am to 6pm, and 11am to 5pm on Sunday 12 June.

source: carscoop.blogspot.com

Load Fail: Crashed Ferrari 355 Challenge Breaks free from Chains

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Today’s video find takes us to Saint Gouéno in Bretagne, northwestern France, for an incident involving a Ferrari F355 Challenge racecar, which had crashed during a hill climb that took place in the area this past weekend.

We do not know how the race-spec Italian supercar ended up on its rooftop, but the film shows us what when on after that when a service truck arrived to pickup (literally) the Ferrari. As you can see in the video after the break, all goes well until the red F355 Challenge begins its ascent on the truck’s flatbed when all of a sudden it appears that the chain pulling the vehicle breaks and, well, it is not hard to imagine what happened next...

Source: Youtube / RSM TV

Yuhan Zhang’s Aqua is the Personal VW Hovercraft Concept of Tomorrow

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Before budget airlines and the Channel Tunnel, the faster way to get from Britain to France was by hovercraft. The largest of these was the SNR4, a 300-ton behemoth capable of carrying 380 passengers and 40 cars at a speed of 70 mph (113 km/h). In the 1950s and ‘60s, magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics were predicting a future where we’d all be cruising around in affordable, personal hovercrafts. Sadly, it was not to be.

Now, some 11 years after the last SNR4 was retired, 21-year-old industrial design graduate Yuhan Zhang has resurrected the personal hovercraft in the form of her Volkswagen Aqua study.

A hydrogen fuel cell / electric-drive hovercraft with seating for two and a submarine-style rear hatch for entry and egress. Just look at it! It’s like a Vanair Vanguard had sex with the Audi RSQ and this was the result. Check out our gallery below as well as the designer’s description and video slideshow for more information.

By Tristan Hankins

From Yuhan Zhang:
“Aqua is based on the customized subject “Chinese off-road vehicle” by Volkswagen.
The Aqua offers an insight of futuristic vehicle powered by hydrogen and propelled by impeller.
Aqua is function with several engines, the main one drives the fan (or impeller) under the chases, which is responsible for lifting the vehicle by forcing high pressure air under the craft. The air inflates the "skirt" under the vehicle, causing it to rise above the surface. Additional engines provide thrust in order to propel the craft.
Aqua interprets the philosophy of Volkswagen Design with no single parting-line and laconic appearance, The door (hatch)locates on the back of Aqua. It features an electric drive train powered by a hydrogen fuel cell with no pollutant emissions.”

source: carscoop.blogspot.com

Mercedes Celebrates Unimog’s 60th Birthday with Impressive Design Study

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On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the presentation of the Unimog, the Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks (MBS) unit, which is responsible for the Unimog, Econic and Zetros range of models, created a special design concept that attempts to link the past and present together with the future.

Using the current Unimog U 5000’s chassis as a base, the German brand’s designers came up with a futuristic-looking yet distinctly retro-feeling styling for the body of their off-road workhouse. The concept vehicle features an open top design as a nod to the first Mercedes-Benz Unimog model that rolled off the assembly line on June 3, 1951.

“At Mercedes Benz Special Trucks we decided to construct a design concept because we are of the opinion that such a vehicle will act as a bridge between the progressive strength of self-renewal that has distinguished the Unimog programme for 60 years and the future design of the coming generations of products,” said Yaris Pürsün, Director of the Mercedes-Benz Plant at Wörth and Mercedes-Benz Special Trucks.

While there are no plans to produce the Unimog study, the German company said the concept’s expressive "face" corresponds to the future form language of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle design.

The Unimog Cabrio Concept was officially revealed during a special ceremony in the Customer Centre at the Mercedes-Benz Plant in Wörth, Germany, on June 3, 2011.