Saturday, May 19, 2007

Jalopnik Finds Out Why VW Built a 650hp GTI (Automotive)

Updated with new photos 5/23/07


Pictured above is an insane engineering exercise from VW. Mounted midship in this mutant GTI is a twin turbo 6.0 liter W12 putting out 650hp and 750nm of torque. Clearly the modifications are extensive, and include changing the vehicle to rwd. 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 325km/h (202mph for us yanks) As amazing as all this is, it forces the question why? What made Volkswagen engineers build this monster? Top Gear again proves it dominance over automotive destiny. Jeremy Clarkson can provoke the creation of insanity like no other. Watch the clip below to understand. The official VW press release and footage from the unveiling follow.


Leave conventions behind and let ypur passion awake - since the beginning these were the roots of the GTI idea. Until today they got more than 1.67 million drivers into their spell. Long has the Golf GTI been an icon. A mark for itself.



Since 1982 Golf GTI celebrate it annually in the Austrian Land at the Wörthersee. Thousands come.Volkswagen placed a Golf before them: the Golf GTI W12-650 showcar. This sports car is a inclination before the GTI friends at the Wörthersee, people for whom the GTI is a myth.Stronger, broader, faster A Golf was never stronger, broader or faster. It seems that the Golf GTI W12-650 comes directly from the racing course. A Golf that runs like the Pace Car of the 24 hours of Le Mans. Its name means: W12-Cylinder, 650 HP (477 KW with 6.000 rpm). A Show car, not more, not less. Nevertheless it shows what enormous potential the Golf has to offer.



3.7 seconds, 325 km/h, 750 Newtonmeters Its 6,0 Liter Biturbo engine is longitudinal and placed directly behind the driver and the front seat passenger. The Golf GTI W12-650 differentiate itself in this way from the classical central engine car. A 6-speed automatic transmission transfers 750 Newtonmeters (at 4.500 rpm) to the rear axle. It catapults the Golf GTI W12-650 to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. With a maximum speed of 325 km/h the Golf GTI W12-650 leaves behind nearly all of the world's supercars.



Width 1.88 m, 235er tire in front, 295er tire in the back Automotive engineers and designers united under Volkswagen Golf GTI W12 650its 1.88 meters (series: 1.76 meters) spread and 1.42 meters (series: 1.50 meters) flatten body. The chassis components of the Golf GTI W12-650 were adapted directly from supersports cars. The wheels are of course made from a light alloy and because of the gigantic wheel dimensions a specially engineered tire had to be made.
70 millimeters lower, 160 millimeters broader The goal was clearly defined - despite the partially dramatic technical changes the study should remain completely clear that this is a Golf GTI. Therefore as much parts as possible were taken from tha classical GTI like: the headlights, the doors, the front hood and the tail lamps. The axles were pushed 70 millimeters into the body.



The largest problem was to supply the 6-litre central engine with sufficient air and to produce sufficient drift at the rear axle without watering the silhouette of the Golf GTI W12-650. Therefore the C-columns were re-designed in such a way that they lead air to the engine. The rear side windows run inward, so that two channels develop between the disks and the C-columns on the left and on the right to drive air to the engine.The Carbon fiber roof is a diffuser Innovative building of the body also prevented that the lines of the Golf GTI W12-650 to get ruined by a putting on a roof wing. The study carries the wing inward. The roof is part of an enormous diffuser, which provides sufficient drift to the rear axle. It's made from carbon fiber and leads air under the normal tail spoiler.



Interior with racing ambitions The leather is Alcantara. On the middle range of the armatures are Three rows of auxiliary instruments. Transparent "Flip UP" switch guards for central functions like the disconnectible ESP look like taken directly from the race track.
Fire extinguishers are integrated in the place of the glove compartment to also remind us of the race. Because of weight reasons "stripped" the door linings are complete; only lattices are used, which grant a complete view of the interior mechanics of the door.



Special thanks to http://www.jalopnik.com/, http://www.zercustoms.com/, and http://www.autoblog.com/ for first bringing this thing to my attention.

Rare Photo Inside the BMW M3 Laboratory (Automotive)

Nearly every automotive enthusiasts imaginable is excited about the new BMW M3, even if some don't want to admit to it. BMW's reputation for amazing M cars sets expectations high, but their exhaustive engineering and R and D delivers. Inside the June 2007 issue of CAR magazine is an article about the new M3 and the M division in general. Included are some rare photos from inside the M workshop. As a car junkie, these are just plain cool. I've never seen a bunch of M3 is various stages of assembly. For fear of being attacked by European automotive journalists I won't post all the pictures from the article, so go find this issue in Barnes and Noble or your local newstand. The other articles inside the issue, including The Greatest Ferraris, is worth the extreme UK price. Have a good weekend.

Friday, May 18, 2007

For Sale: My OEM 2005 STi 17" x 8" Gold BBS's and Tires

I apologize for using my blog as a sales forum. : )
$1400 OBO Available for pickup in Newport Beach
2005 Sti BBS's in Gold with Factory Equipped Tires (Bridgestone Potenzas RE070 in 225/45-17) with a lot of tread left, lugs included. Cleaned them up today.
Email me at matt.talbot@gmail.com or contact me through
nasioc.com and iwsti.com - whiteguyblacksti



Super Small nic in the pain, only visible on englarged image

The only sizable mark on all four rims

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Teaser Picture of New Rims for my STi

Click to enlarge

18 x 8.5 Advan RS's in Gold (50 offset). g-Force T/A KDW-2 in 235/40-18

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

NSX Modified Type R style (Automotive)

NSX Modified Type R style (Automotive)

Lucky Rabbit's Foot, Hilarious Commercial (Advertising Non-Automotive)

I wanted to share this commercial with all of you, despite no automotive relevance. Everyone needs a laugh on a Wednesday to get through the week, right?

30 Second Spot


60 Second Spot

Thick Skin Consumers, So Push the Limits! (Advertising)

Article of Inspiration: http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=116600

I came across this article in on adage.com today that talks about how consumers have much thicker skin than advertisers think. I rather you spend your time reading the article, than what I have to say, but there are a few short comments. Consumers do have thick skin, but it only pertains to content they choose to watch. Commercials are forced upon them, so anything they don't want to see is very offensive. However, advertising creatives need to take risk to try new things. Pushing the limits can be very dangerous with certain products that can have claimed effects on behavior. (Car ads that show aggressive driving and then get blamed for an accident) I'm not for advertising that causes accidents or injury, but agencies must take more creative risks, especially in the automotive industry where status quo is so strong.

Saab and Saturn should be a perfect example of a companies with new and improved product coming out and coming, that has a great back story, and some niche following already. They could really push advertising in some innovative directions, especially Saab. I hope something special comes out of it.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Transcontinental Car Run Record Broken...to Glorify Speeding


For the hard facts of this story, check out these links.

Jalopnik 1 here
Jalopnik 2 here

From Autoblog here

Nothing gets your adrenaline going like a cross country race against time, but all this positive coverage on something that involves a ridiculous amount of speeding is a little hypocritical. This comes a short time after the deaths occurring during the Gumball Rally which may or may not have been the fault of the Gumball driver. (I would assume it was, but that probably isn't fair) I really want to love this record breaking story, but in a country were speeding and the following higher level charge of reckless driving is such a big deal, I can't cheer on naively.

To make it cross country in the time stated, their Ferrari 550 would need to average 87mph, including any and all stops. While their vehicle was equipped with extra fuel cells, I imagine at least three or four stops were made for fuel, at a minimum. Regardless, it's safe to say they were traveling above 150mph for a good portion of the run. I am a car and speed nut as much as the next guy, but glorifying speeding of such epic proportions might have some negative effects on enthusiasts driving nature and perception of it's consequences. It's strange that we can read numerous exciting stories of drivers greatly exceeding the speed limit for almost 3,000 miles, but can be put in jail from driving 100mph on an open freeway. Or maybe I'm just jealous.

Ferrari 599 GTB Spotted! (Automotive)

Had to snap a picture of this 599 GTB today. It looks great in this silver car, but it looks great in every color. Not a bad 200mph daily driver for the trip to the gym. If you want some more information check out this first drive from Edmunds here and a Road and Track article here.

Audi RS5 to Follow BMW 335i Method for Power (Automotive)

Thanks to those sexy European journalists over at Car magazine, we now have some quality renderings of the new Audi RS5. Switch out those overly bling rims for those multi spoke RS4 pieces pictured below, and we may just have the production version.







The big news however is the power boost the the RS4 sedans V8 engine for the RS5 couple. Rumor is Audi's adding two small turbochargers to the motor increasing hp to approx. 450 but torque to 500ft lbs. It's easy to scoff at the modest 30 hp gain from TWO turbo chargers over the NA RS4 motor. However the torque gain, 183 ft lbs, is just ridiculous and a perfect match for the traction friendly awd. In my own personal experience, I gained 70 ft lbs with my Stage 2 modifications on my Sti and the difference was immediate and smile inducing. An increase of two and a half times that is hard to imagine.

For all those skeptics out there, check out the jump in performance from a BMW 330i to the twin turbocharged 335i. It is a proportionally similar 45hp and 80 ft lbs gain, but makes for an absolutely awesome and very well reviewed vehicle, that has hit 0-60 in 4.8 seconds with a quarter mile time of 13.5 seconds at 106mph conservatively compared to a 0-60 time of 5.5 seconds and quarter mile time of 14 seconds at 100.3 (Taken from Motor Trend) for the 330i.


In short, I think the small hp and huge torque gain twin turbo idea for the RS5 is brilliant!


Original Car Magazine Article (here)

Monday, May 14, 2007

An Awesome Evian Ad (Advertising)



This is an awesome piece of advertising. (non-conventional as it's much longer than a 60 second TV spot) It was created for Evian way back in 2003, but it's just as good today as it was then. It has absolutely nothing to do with cars, so I apologize to those bent solely on motoring, but it is worth a viewing.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Ferrari F430 conv. Spotted (Automotive)


Came across a hot F430 today at the same location as the LM002 a few days ago. It had an absolutely gorgeous color combination of charcoal gray exterior, with a deep red interior. If this gets you going, check out Miami Vice, the movie . It gets a fair amount of screen time in the beginning, with flames shooting out of the exhaust and all.

Happy Mother's Day