To celebrate the ongoing sponsorship and relationship between Paul Smith and the Rapha Condor Sharp cycling team, Paul Smith created this film – London – featuring the team training at the Manchester Velodrome.
Originally leaked last week, the new Mercedes-Benz CLS is now being officially revealed, almost a month before the planned announcement during the 2010 Paris Motor Show. This new 4-door coupe is instantly one of the best looking in its class, mainly due to some mean design on the front full-LED headlights. Overall the CLS is exactly what you would expect out of an important Mercedes-Benz release; striking lines, brilliantly designed interior, stock full of technological innovations. Cars like this show you why Mercedes is light years ahead of the competition, as this CLS is in a class of its own.
After and incredible first day in Pebble Beach and after acclimatizing to the somewhat rarified air of the events, we were taken to Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. We checked out the cars being showcased and prepared in the pits while some of the worlds greatest and most storied cars held no caution as they flew around the track as they had during their glory days. The highlight of the day was the seeing the new Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport lead out no fewer than 30 Type 35c, which proceeded to battle it out at full speed on the course. Day 3 we started bright and early at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, while checking out even more exotic cars on the 18th hole of the golf course we were invited to drive the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG… Followed by a ride in the Bugatti Veyron, both incredible, both brutally fast, but so different as well.
Parmigiani Fleurier was nice enough to invite us down to Pebble Beach this week to see the release of their newest creation, the latest embodiment of their relationship with legendary car maker, Bugatti. We spent our first day at the Quail, a car show/garden party of sorts… drinking wine and discussing the technicalities of some of the most important cars in the world, which are scattered around us. Events of the day included the release of the latest and last iteration of the Bugatti Veyron, the Super Sport, which among being a cleaner overall design, includes a larger engine and was able to reclaim the fastest production car title again.
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The first folding bikes ever date back to WWII when British paratroopers required compact, folding bicycles for parachute jumps from aircraft. While folding bikes used to be more novelty than anything for city use, Dahon – who incidentally put out one of the first commercially successful folding bikes in the early 80′s – has been sticking it out and maintaing relevance for the past 25 odd years. The Mu Uno from Dahon is small enough to fit in a closet and light (22 lbs.) and compact enough to carry up stairs or onto public transit. Sticking to the basics, there are no gears, and simple back pedal brakes are all you need to stop. Available here.
Like the crush you always had that wandered in and out of your life, few cars conjure up the same emotions as an old Land Rover Defender – preferrably a 110 or 90. While not spotted often, when they do come into your life, you feel pretty special for having noticed and recognized the moment. Much like the same way Icon has breathed new life into the iconic Land Cruiser, Italian design house Aznom and tuners Romeo Ferraris, have teamed together on a gorgeous interpretation of the Defender. Forgoing the Defender’s roots in military service which is the official co-sign, from a purely aesthetic point of view, this version absolutely stuns with a matte two-tone white and black paintjob with red detailing and front and rear bumpers made of carbon fiber. Far from attainable, but never far from our minds and hearts. Until next time.
To complement the release of their full lineup of Hybrid cars, Lexus introduces the hybrid bicycle. Instead of using a combination of gas and electric power like hybrid automobiles, it converts power from the rider’s pedaling to run a 240W electric motor driving the front wheel. The carbon fiber frame helps keeps overall weight down to a minimum, the brake system uses innovative regenerative braking which converts heat energy to electric energy stored in the battery, and is completed with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Hands down the world’s most technologically advanced bicycle.
Let me first start off by admitting that all my preconceived notions of Ford stem from my first car ever, a ’93 Ford Aerostar minivan. In fact, it even had some racing stripes and “LA Star” decals – so you know it was serious. I did get some great enjoyment out of driving that van to the ground; donuts on the football field, sneak water-balloon attacks out of the side sliding-door, make-out sessions in the back on the pier, I even got it up on 2 wheels taking a turn at a very high speed (by the way, the engine cutoff is 112 mph). Other than those teenage memories, my perception of Ford is not all the great. To me they’re the Microsoft of car manufacturers; boring & conservative with no creative flair or styling. So it was with great apprehension that I accepted an offer to fly down to San Francisco for a day to test out the brand new 2011 Fiesta, Ford’s first forray into the subcompact market.
A long overdue idea that we first got wind of last year at previous visits to Trek in Waterloo, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Boulder, B-Cycle officially launches today – Earth Day. A concept first made popular in Paris with Vélib, B-Cycle is the largest bike sharing initiative to be launched in the U.S. with partners Trek, Humana and advertising powerhouse CP+B, who are looking to make bikes a permanent and readily accessible means of transportation to cities around the U.S. Simply, sign up, swipe your card, grab a bike, arrive at your destination, and return your bike to any of the B-stations in the area. Montrealers have been fortunate enough to have access to the smaller-scale Bixi system for the past two years which has already, quickly changed the urban transportation landscape for the better. It’s Earth Day, get your mind right.
To cast a vote for bike sharing in your local community, click here.
Long associated with Subaru, DC Shoes co-founder and internet sensation Ken Block recently jumped ship to the Ford Motor Company. This move has been a tremendous success both on the racing front for Block and for the North American Launch of Ford’s foray into the subcompact market, with the new Ford Fiesta (stay tuned for a full review of the Fiesta on April 26th). Fresh off a 36-hour journey from the World Rally Championship in Turkey, Block was in San Francisco to unveil his Gymkhana Three Fiesta, a beast of a custom-built Fiesta with a 650-horsepower engine with 660 pound-feet of torque. With help from the Swedish team at Olsbergs Motorsport Evolution, the Gymkhana Fiesta looks as fierce and aggressive as it will be driven in the upcoming video, set to be filmed and released this summer (though the location is a closely guarded secret).
Fixed gear bikes have been back in the spotlight for awhile now, made popular by hardcore bikers like city messengers. Their attraction lies in their simplicity. Fixed/single speed bikes are essentially track bikes, the type that are designed to be ridden on banked ovals, they have one speed and the rider to road connection is uncanny, something that you can’t quite explain until you’ve tried one. They are simple to maintain, since they only have one speed they have no gears to adjust and keep in order, and along with this they need little to no brakes as fixed gear means just that, no freewheeling here. They are easy to transport and secure since they are lighter than most bikes and have less “stuff” hanging off of them.
When most people get into the fixed gear game they usually choose to buy an old frame, fix it up, bolt on some nice anodized parts and splash on some paint. The T1 represents Treks aluminum track bike, which along with being a reasonably priced purchase, also comes spec’d with some descent parts such as a nice carbon fork and parts from Bontrager. This would be a great bike to get into the sport with, a city bike which is hassle free as well as looking very clean. Check out the Trek T1 here.
Together with Swiss watchmaker Jaegar-LeCoultre and after 18 months of arduous research and development, Aston Martin has released the AMVOX2 Rapide Transponder, the first mechanical watch developed with the ability to control access into a luxury sports car. Clearly, a step towards futuristic utopia.
The engineering on this timepiece is stunning: a miniature transmitter system integrated within the watch, serving to lock and unlock either the Aston Martin Rapide or the Aston Martin DBS, while maintaining the functions of a pushpiece-free chronograph. When approaching the car, the driver simply has to touch the OPEN position on the watch glass, between 8 and 9 o’clock, to activate the door-opening system, or press CLOSE positioned between 3 and 4 o’clock to lock. Simultaneously pressing both activates the“find me” function: the headlamps light up for several seconds, without unlocking the car, so as to enable the owner to find the car at a glance. Technological advancements aside, this watch is an absolute beauty. The two-tone casing is entirely made of satin-brushed 18-carat pink gold and brushed grade 5 titanium, which contrasts brilliantly with the black face and leather strap. It is masculine yet elegant, and perfectly captures the awe-inspiring feeling of driving an Aston-Martin. To sum up in three words: we want one. The AMVOX2 Rapide Transponder is issued exclusively for Aston Martin owners.
Take a closer look at Aston Martin’s new Rapide Luxury Sports Car after the jump.
