Month: November 2013

   

Fabien Oefner’s Disintegrating Cars

Ferrari 330 P4

Wow…

Not a particularly great line to open an article with but it was the first thing I uttered when I saw this genius’ art. The ‘wow’ quickly transformed into pure awe as I read how Oefner created his pieces – there’s no Photoshop going on here.

Jaguar E-Type

This dedicated and insanely patient artist takes hundreds of individual shots and pieces them together over a period of 2 months. Every car is totally dismantled and then photographed component by component in a specific position to create the illusion of an exploding car.

Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe

I have always been fascinated by the clean, crisp looks of 3D renderings. So I tried to use that certain type of aesthetic and combine it with the strength of real photography. These images are also about capturing time: either in stopping it as in the Hatch series or inventing it as in the Disintegrating series. – Fabien Oefner

 

   

Kanjo Racers: Highly Illegal But Fun

Japan bought us the world of highly tunable turbo cars and gymkhana. They also popularised many of their insane cars in the Fast & Furious franchise, where modding your car and driving like a bat out of hell was a way of life, a culture in the same vein as skating and surfing.

I love the Japanese scene, especially drifting and touge. However, this article touches upon the highly-illegal practices that take place in Kanjo racing.

Before I compound further on the subject, the devil on my left shoulder loves the fact I’m about the praise these kamikaze Honda lunatics, whilst the angel on my right is trying to convince me these racers shouldn’t be given any page space at all.

So what is Kanjo?

Yep, the devil won.

Kanjo is a circular road in Osaka, Japan. The younger generation have taken their love for modifying their Hondas to another level by testing and racing their rides around this public highway… when it’s busy with commuting traffic.

The masked racers start at an unspecified location and hit the roads in a group as many as twenty. They will then race each other around the likes of you and I who are either shopping or commuting – personally, I’d take them up on it in my modded WRX, sticking to the speed limit of course.

Kazuhiro Furukawa pictured above believes Kanjo is the perfect place for Honda enthusiasts to go out and test their handy work. Whilst it is obviously dangerous, he also points out that it is extremely good fun.

Furukawa has been arrested numerous times and claims should he be caught again, he’d have to close up shop.

Furukawa is the president of Car Craft Boon, a place dedicated to modifying cars, mostly Hondas. He can turn your car into a show piece, a time attack racer, or a Kanjo street machine (how cool do those little Hondas look with white lettered tyres?).

I think this is amazing and would like to see it for real. The only thing that niggles me is the fact it endangers the public, but then again, do I really care? Of course not. Why?

Because race car, that’s why.

Video    

Drifting… Arab Style

We all know most Arabs aren’t short of a bob or two and own some of the most expensive cars in the world, showing them off in the globe’s biggest cities and car events such as the Gumball 3000 Rally. However, this video I stumbled across on YouTube reveals they are also A: Competent drivers, B: Utter maniacs, C: Not bothered about what car they use to drift, and D: Have a death wish.

Take a look for yourself and behold the lack of public safety, the AK-47s, and the total misuse of Toyota 4-door saloons.

I have to say I am very impressed with all this and now see Arabs in a completely different light. They may come from a completely different world and culture, but damn they can Hoon with the best of them.

   

Do Reality Celebs Deserve The Fame… And The Cars?

Of course they don’t – I’ll put that out there from the beginning because those who disagree can simply stop reading.

These so-called C-list celebrities have found fame and fortune simply being on reality programs, where they, themselves go about fulfilling a series of scripted scenes. There are a lot of these soul-sucking, train crash, car wreck programs but the worst has to be the States’ Jersey Shore… hang on a minute, I stand corrected as we in the UK were subjected to an equally trite Geordie Shore.

Despite being separated by the Atlantic, these two groups of people (if you can call them that) are filmed going about their daily lives together in a house much like the idiotic Big Brother, which mainly involves partying, arguing, talking at length about emotions, crying (there’s lots of that from the Snooki freak pictured above), fighting, falling down drunk and many lurid sexual encounters that scream STD.

When all is said and done these creatures are plastered over magazines and force-fed ludicrous amounts of money. One creature in particular is an orange pug-faced thing that calls himself “The Situation” (above) – if this arrogance isn’t enough to want to hurt a person, I don’t know what is. This talentless “Guido” (I think this means c**t in Italian) currently owns an M5, a Ferrari California and F430, a Caddy Escalade, a Bentley, a custom Jeep Wrangler, and a Lamborghini Gallardo… and for what?

When you see someone like Tom Cruise or Nicole Kidman cruising around in supercars, it’s a given – they are hardworking actors who’ve been entertaining us for years. But these useless waste of spaces?

Not only have they been given this money, but they just buy the flashiest cars without any thought as to their heritage or future collectability. And what true petrolhead would buy both a Ferrari and a Lamborghini as convertible?

“Oh but you’re just jealous…”

YES, yes I am bloody jealous!

Right, I’m off to watch the Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying as I’ve managed to wind myself up.

And remember: A book dies every time you watch reality TV.

   

JDM Dream Concept From Nissan

JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) fans and petrolheads into retro styling will trip over their tongues when they see the latest concept from Nissan and tuner gods NISMO. As soon as I spotted this I felt a pang of dread as I realised this was a concept and, although a similar model may hit the market in the next few years, it wouldn’t be exactly the same as the above… I want that one! I want I want I want!

Nissan are using the proportions and straight stance of a simple three-box shaped car design in their IDx Nismo, aiming to meet the needs of the younger generation. I love the idea and the fact all the latest technology is housed in a body reminiscent of the 70s Nissan Bluebird (Datsun 190B) or an early GT-R.

There is a similar model that wears its sensible trousers, but that isn’t worth talking about. It’s this sporty IDx Nismo that looks like something that’s just crashed out from from a gamer’s TV screen. Just check out those side mufflers! With a direct injection 1.6-L turbocharged engine and a six-speed CVT box, this little car should boast some satisfactory figures. And because Nismo have tinkered with it, it’s going to handle well on those gorgeous 225/40 19-inch rims.

One feature that stands out the most is the reverse-slanted nose seen on some muscle cars – it gives the IDx Nismo an aggressive and fast look. Those ultra cool side mufflers offer a pleasing exhaust note. The car also features modern touches such as front/rear and right/left aerodynamic spoilers and lightweight 225/40 19-inch tyres.

Overall I think this car will more than appeal to the younger generation; I reckon owners of the old school variety will also like a big slice of this car. JDM enthusiasts will revel in the upgrades and the potential for custom mods and body wraps. A turbo-charged 1.6-L engine should produce around 180-200-bhp, and combined with its light weight and compact size, it should attract the likes of the tuners.

I love this concept and really hope we see something like this from other big brands in the future.

   

Graveyard Carz

Thanks to the introduction of reality TV we’ve seen a million shows dedicated to the ins and outs of everyday life from the view of a million different types of people. Some are good, but most are diabolical train wreck programs dedicated to helping the end of society and mankind  –  don’t get me started on this one.

Even some of the shows dedicated to cars aren’t all that. However, there’s one that’s head and shoulders above the rest for both entertainment and education. There’s no major arguing or drama or pretty models co hosting the show. No, what this show offers is something stripped of all that rubbish the TV execs THINK viewers want and what we’re left with is a simple format showing the everyday runnings of a muscle car restoration garage.

The show is called Graveyard Carz. Situated in Springfield, Oregon, Mark Worman’s collision shop, Welby’s Car Care go about researching and extensively documenting old Chrysler muscle cars. Mark Worman pretty much hosts the show and provides an interesting, informative and amusing commentary. His colleagues obviously know their stuff, but Mark usually picks holes as his knowledge and experience about OEM Chrysler cars and parts is mind-blowing.

Graveyard Carz is a refreshing take on the reality format, a show I really look forward to, knowing I’ll take a little bit of car knowledge away with me. Mark Worman is a real inspiration, and I love his genuine passion and almost child-like excitement about original Chrysler cars. I think he must be slightly autistic, as his ability to memorise every single OEM part number for an entire fleet of cars isn’t exactly normal.

Out the back of the shop is an actual car graveyard full of donor cars. Mark and his team will try and keep a car as original as humanly possible and will only use OEM parts to bring a muscle car back to its former glory.

There’s no bling alloys and modern interiors with TVs here. What Mark, Daren Kirkpatrick, Royal Yoakum and Josh Rose (Worman’s son-in-law) all achieve is taking a tired Chrysler and working their magic until it is exactly how it would’ve been the day it rolled off the production line.

My favourite is the Phantasm Cuda, the car that featured in the 1971 movie Phantasm. The finished result is sheer beauty, automotive pornography.

cuda2

So if you like your car viewing stripped of all the needless glitz and glam and replaced with no nonsense muscle cars, tune into Graveyard Carz… you won’t be disappointed.

   

Love At First Sight: Buick Grand National

I’m a 35 year old man who’s feeling like a teenager because of a car. Thanks to this 80s piece of automotive evil, I’m in love, bowled over, but I fear she’s a little out of my league. You see, she’s younger than me, outrageously sexy, and she’d eat me for breakfast. But a man can dream, right?

The car in question is the all black Buick Grand National. For the mid-eighties, this 3.8-L Turbo V6 could hit 60 in 4.8 seconds – that’s fast by today’s standards. She could murder Corvettes and beat the Ferrari Testarossa. But let’s forget power, as her reputation is one of pure street racing slaughter.

Just look at her – damn it, I haven’t felt this away about a car since the Mk 1 Dodge Viper. People say she’s a sleeper but I’m not so sure. I think this Grand National looks like it means business, and only people with pure menace in mind would buy one of these black bullets. But then considering the mean looks, people still wouldn’t guess as to how fast this car actually is. It looks like it could hit 60 in around 7 to 8 seconds, not 4.8. Nearly 3 decades on and I could list a lot of modern cars slower than this gorgeous Buick:

Porsche 911 Targa 4

Porsche Boxster S

Honda S2000

Subaru Impreza WRX

Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ-300

Audi TTS Roadster

Toyota GT86

And so on…

So you get an idea as to how revolutionary the Buick Grand National was for the early to mid-eighties.

 

The above picture is a superb example that captures the Grand National’s evil aura and menacing looks.

 

And as for her rear… perfect. I expect most people who dared to race her saw a lot of this back in the day.

The main question is: Do I dare even think about looking at prices etc? Well, it is cheaper than the Viper, a car not totally out of the question to own as a Sunday driver or show car. She’s definitely in my Top 5 now, and in a few years time and a little spare ££££, who knows? It could be the start of a very dangerous relationship.

 

   

Automotive Ink

They say beauty is only skin deep, and in most cases this is true. In this short piece I prove that beauty is not only skin deep, but in the cases below skin represents true love and passion.

I haven’t had any tattoos, but if I ever did it would no doubt be a car, probably a slammed 67 Caddy Deville. I know I would never regret it and 50 years down the line it would still hold true to my heart.

Check out these amazing automotive tattoos and comment on which is your favourite.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

So, what’s your favourite piece of art? Mine’s a toss up between the 68 Charger and the turbo skull.