Elemental RP1 sports car (2014): first pictures of Britain's newest ...

Elemental RP1 sports car (2014): first pictures of Britain's newest ...
Moose Collides with Car in Maine with Gruesome Result | Mediaite
First picture: Pirelli begin 18-inch wheel test - F1 Fanatic
1983 Ferrari 308 GTS (2014-07-07-14G6956) - CarPictures.com

Posted: 23 Jun 2014 09:58 AM PDT

By Jonny Edge

First Official Pictures

23 June 2014 15:58

The frighteningly lightweight Elemental RP1 emerged fully for the first time today, ahead of its public debut at this weekâ€™s Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014.

At its heart, the 450kg RP1 has a unique carbon-composite tub based on the designs of contemporary race cars.

The driver will sit 'feet up', allowing for greater underfloor downforce, which goes some way to explaining how the car achieves a quoted 200kg of downforce at 100mph.

Whatâ€™s powering the Elemental RP1?

You can pick from any one of three engines to power your RP1. There is a tuned version of the 1.0-litre Ford Ecoboost engine, as well as a 2.0 version and a 999cc Honda Fireblade powerplant will be available, but only in a Superlight track-focussed model.

All variants will be come with a Hewland six-speed sequential gearbox, which is the same gearbox youâ€™ll find inside a Formula Three car. Additionally, a limited slip differential and an alternative gear set are available as options for customers who wish to race their Elemental RP1 on track.

What will I find inside the RP1â€™s cockpit?

You should expect the dash to be formed around the driver and the occupant, for a true race car feel. The dash display itself features an array of customisable options supported by GPS, data logging, G-load sensors, and a data feed straight from the RP1â€™s ECU, allowing the driver to monitor a whole host of variables within the powertrain.

On the quick-release steering wheel, youâ€™ll find backlit buttons for the indicators, main beam, horn, electronic gearshift paddles, and two unique switches for owners to select a function of their choosing (a bit like on BMWâ€™s M button).

Elemental is a new start-up company staffed by people from the motorsport arena. Which explains why drivers will be strapped into bespoke carbonfibre race seats via four-point racing harnesses. Removable seat pads will - along with adjustable pedals â€" free up enough space to fit drivers up to 6ft 6in in height, making the RP1 unique in its class, according to Elemental.

When can I buy an Elemental RP1?

Elemental is planning to roll out a limited number of GT Cup-spec race cars for the 2015 season before road car production is slated to start by early summer 2015.
Prices are still yet to be confirmed but Elemental promises they will be competitive with its track-day rivals.

Until then, you can catch it at the First Glance tent at this weekâ€™s Goodwood Festival of Speed 2014.

Moose Collides with Car in Maine with Gruesome Result | Mediaite

Posted: 08 Jul 2014 05:59 PM PDT

A Maine man is currently in the hospital after his car collided with a moose. Yes, a moose. There aren't that many details about what happened, but someone on the scene snapped a couple of pretty gruesome pictures of the aftermath.

And I do mean gruesome. If you're faint of heart, you might not want to see these.

Yikes.

The driver, identified as one David Richards, sustained a number of injuries but is currently listed as in good condition in the hospital.

[h/t Boston.com]
[image via Denali National Park and Preserve]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

First picture: Pirelli begin 18-inch wheel test - F1 Fanatic

Posted: 09 Jul 2014 01:27 AM PDT

Pirelli and Lotus have begun their test of 18-inch wheels and tyres at Silverstone.

The team's E22 chassis is running on the prototype rubber for the second day of testing today. It will be driven by Charles Pic.

Formula One rules currently stipulate the use of 13-inch wheels. Pirelli have said they only intend to pursue the idea providing there is agreement from "the teams, promoter and other stakeholders" to do so.

Although the new rubber has the same width as the 13-inch tyres, its diameter is 30mm larger. The total weight of the tyre plus wheel is 4kg heavier.

The main advantage of the lower profile rubber, according to Pirelli, is that as it contains less air the pressure within it remains more consistent.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery says he was pleased with the test and response to it. "In our view, the new tyres looked stunning fitted to the Lotus, and the reaction has already been felt all over the world," he said.

"These are just a prototype concept, but if the teams decided that they wanted us to proceed in this direction, we have the capability to carry on development in this area and come up with a production-ready version in a comparatively short space of time. We've heard a lot of opinions already and we look forward to canvassing other opinions in the coming weeks and months.

"Even though performance wasn't by any means priority here, the new tyres still behaved exactly in line with our expectations, so we're clearly potentially at the beginning of a huge development curve, with the wheel and tyre size rules having remained unaltered for many years."

Pic gave his impression of driving on the new wheels: "It was a very early evaluation test and the different tyres and wheels affect the aerodynamics of the car quite a lot," he said, "but you could certainly feel that the tyres felt different to those we're used to on an F1 car".