2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, RACE, streaming LIVE!

Yeah, this new Audi's paint job is horrible.

Anyway, first of all huge thanks to Peugeot and Peugeot for providing us with another excellent quality streaming to enjoy the race. Yeah, the commentary is in French, but can always rely on Radio Le Mans for a better comprehension of what's going on there.
As usual many channels to enjoy the race should be available, and when I find others to add I'll update the page, so if the streaming you're watching foes offline, try refreshing the page, OK?

Other than that, live timing is provided by the ACO itself, the suggested commentary is once again from the folks over Radio Le Mans, and hopefully as many videos as possible will be provided by other enthusiasts all around the world.

24 Hours of Le Mans, LIVE streaming of the whole race!
Will you last 24 hours of tight competition? You should.

For some chat activity, I'll reanimate my MSN account, drop me an email, if you're interested.

All links, videos and stuff after the jump!


RADIO LE MANS broadcasting: HERE

LIVE TIMING from ACO: ctrl + CLICK HERE!

AUDI's IN BOARD STREAMING

It may happen that your monitor is a bit too small for the width of this streaming,so you may loose a portion of it or even just the live timing on its side.
If that's the case here is the original link: PEUGEOT LIVE STREAMING OF THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS or TRY OVER HERE AT LE MANS' WEBSITE





SPEED TV STREAMING click here

Watch live video from Freddy49 on Justin.tv


Live video chat by Ustream

DIRECT LINK
SECOND DIRECT LINK
DIRECT LINK (spanish commentary)

Stream videos at Ustream

Free TV Show from Ustream

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

Webcam from the Corvette garage, GT2 category:

Watch live video from Corvette Le Mans 2010 on Justin.tv


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2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, Friday qualifying session, LIVE streaming

Two days left before of another mighty race from Le Mans.
This is the last qualifying session before of the warm-up Saturday in the morning.
So far, Peugeot is dominating the scene taking 1-2-3-4 provisionally, Audi took 5-6-7, with the first petrol powered cars the Lola-based Aston Martin taking 8-9-10.
Will it change, will the revised R15 TDI "plus" manage to beat to older 908 HDi FAP? Or perhaps AM will manage to storm the race and took petrol on the highest spots once again.
We can only wait an see.

Enjoy the LIVE streamings after the jump, many channels are available, and will be updated as soon as others come to the surface.

RADIO LE MANS broadcasting: HERE

DIRECT LINK
SECOND DIRECT LINK
DIRECT LINK (spanish commentary)

Live video chat by Ustream

Stream videos at Ustream

Free TV Show from Ustream

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

Webcam from the Corvette garage, GT2 category:

Watch live video from Corvette Le Mans 2010 on Justin.tv

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2010 ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring, LIVE!

So, yeah, I'm late, but I was fighting an infestation of parasite caterpillars in our garden... kinda cool, isn't it?!


Just make the jump for a LIVE streaming of the 12 Hours of Sebring race. Too bad Audi isn't there trying to fight against the Peugeot tea, so it's probably the fight between the GT cars to get the award for the most interesting category this time.


Since the streaming is in French, you should drop the volume of the streaming and turn on Radio Le Mans.
Just head HERE, and click on the "LISTEN LIVE" button on the top right corner.

Enjoy the race.

Watch live video from lefermier on Justin.tv

Justin.tv

LIVE timing: HERE


Watch live video from rolexx_tv on Justin.tv

Head here if the first fails: rolexx_tv


Image source: BMWblog
Video source: Justin.tv
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Seatbelts are made out of pure Love, 100% Guarantee

This is... POETIC, yes, that's the word.

The only question is, given his wife is involved, how are they going to simulate the airbags?
No, don't say it, I have to figure that out myself...

Source: Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, via Autoblog.com
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8.3 My two cents on the McLaren MP4-12C, as they won't get much more out of my wallet.

Let's have a look at the final result, the brand new McLaren MP4-12C.
It's actually McLaren Automotive, to distinguish it from the the other companies under the large umbrella of the McLaren Group. Whatever.
First thing I have to say is that this orange, no matter how historically important, doesn't suit it. It was barely OK on the road going F1, while the F1 LM was just right in that livery, probably because of its racing bodywork, and we are quite used to weird colors for racing cars, but not this time.

As for the car itself, the 12C seems to be actually larger and rounder than what it appears in those cold media shots. You can perceive this looking at the last images from test on the Nurburgring, where the car was wearing a matt black with white stripes paint job as the only camo. It seems so large you'd expect to glance a third central seat for the driver.
I've posted quite a few spyshots after the break, courtesy of Secret New Cars so that you can have a good idea of what the car looks like in the flesh.

Make the jump to read the rest of the story, have a look at the high resolution images and fall asleep watching some videos as well.

As for the look itself, it's growing on me little by little, and it raised from the “oh dear, leave that Lotus alone” level to the “kinda cool, I guess” one.
It looks pretty fluent and simple, which is good if you think of the hyper aggressive Ferrari F430 or even the hi-tech 458 Italia, still it look also a bit too simple, almost obvious.
It may be the color, and it may be the less than inspired photos, but it just fails to kidnap my childish inner side.
Now that I think about it, the child has to be grown as it doesn't happen very often lately, being intrigued by a new car...unless it's a Bertone Mantide that is.

My main concern about the MP4-12C (sounds like a new mp3 player to be honest) is that it doesn't look homogeneous at the end of the day. The front end and the side work together quite well, but the rear end and its LED taillights are just straight from another design. They just look too space age and hi-tech if compared to the rest of the car. I can see them working with the cockpit, which is quite nice I'd say, or with the engine bay, which isn't good at all since if there is something enthusiasts want is too see the engine and not a plastic box.

About the engine bay, just think about the F1's one, it was such a glorious view, with the dramatic add of the gold creating a suggestive background. Perhaps cars like the Subaru Impreza or the Porsche 911 look to have just a mechanical device of some sort giving them the right motivation, but then there are things of beauty as the Rolls Royce Phantom engine, or the chromed intake manifolds of the glorious Alfa Romeo V6 or the hydroformed aluminum ones in the Pagani Zonda F. That's the heart of the car after all, and it has to be passionate and exiting not only in the substance, but in the look as well.
This on the other hand looks once again cold and made of plastic, too focused on an uncommunicative design. It may looks good as an object, but it doesn't look like something capable of 600 bhp and endless smiles on your face.

Back at the tail, the black lines running horizontally try to mimic those at the front end, but they don't work as good as the others. The exhaust pipes appear to be in a completely wrong place, and just a gimmick to the Formula 1 cars' layout.
All in all, the rear end quite remembers me what a 16 years old boy would have drawn in his spare time. Not really intriguing considering this is the real deal.
Even less good thinking that, while in eighties and nineties cars' tails were among the most ignored part in the loom compartment with the omni present black horizontal grilles, right now the tail has a huge importance, as much as the front, helping the car to achieve its own image and personality.

The rest of the car is OK, nothing out of the ordinary, the double air intakes in front of the rear tires are a bit, well, fishy, but they manage to recall a Formula 1 spirit.
The headlights aren't the best in the world, still an improvement over many over complicated ones, affected by the new LED mania. Looking at you 458 Italia.
Now I can see the point of using LED technology to achieve new results in the design of this element, but right now the results are either inexistent (Audi) or too busy (Ferrari).
Simplicity should be a good path to follow.

That said with the interior, a few words on the technical side.
Marketing BSs aside, it strikes me that McLaren eventually opted for an in house designed engine. Not that I'm sure on that, but they never quoted another manufacturer as even a collaborator in this aspect.
The choice of a twin turbo layout is quite sensible, an easy way to achieve both good specs and low emissions at the same time. It is also what all cool kids do now it seems.
What actually surprised me is the power. Not that 600 bhp are an irrelevant figure. On the contrary it is a level of power that managed to propel the older F1 to the historical limit of 386 km/h (with a peak of 391 km/h).
One of the main point of this car and if its press release it's the new revolutionary single piece lower part of the central monocoque, a component usually made welding and joining more parts together.
It is called Carbon MonoCell.
This obviously allows for a more rigid component, and it also seems to save a lot of weight.
They are proud of this lightness, they are “obsessed” with it, so...did you really need of 600 bhp?
Considering all the contenders, from the brand new Ferrari 458 Italia to the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, all of them are using an aluminum chassis, or steel in other cases, the MP4-12C is the only one with a carbon fiber chassis, something usually reserved to supercars like the Ferrari Enzo, Maserati MC12, Bugatti 16.4 Veyron, Pagani Zonda, Koenigsegg CCX and so on.
Regardless of this, the 12C is also the most powerful of its class, by about 25 bhp.
I understand that when you release or just design a new car, you are doing that to “beat” the contenders and not just be exactly like them, still I suspect this is once another car in the wrong direction.
Seems like “more with less” a difficult to be learned lesson.

And then there is the gearbox. Once another time it's a dual clutch unit, and it may even be one of the last new units will see on the market as the new automatic transmissions from ZF proved to be easier to design, adopt and run, while being capable to sustain even higher inputs from the engine they are matched with.
It also adopts a technology, or rather a name, derived from the units developed for Formula 1 cars. That's to say, this is a seamless shift gearbox. Uhm...it means that virtually there won't be torque interruption anymore.
By the way, what bothers me aren't its paddles behind the steering wheels and the chronic lack of a shifter between the seats, but rather a new function of its electronic counterpart, which is called Pre-Cog.
Minority Report, here we come.
Basically the system allows you pre-engage a gear way before of actually changing it, so that when it's time for the new gear to be engaged, it is already there.
How does it work? Say that you're accelerating from idle. You obviously know that sooner or later you're going to need to change into second. So when you are at about 4.000 rpm, for instance, you activate the paddle by half of its allowed movement, and the system prepares the second clutch and the specific gear, second in this case, so when you reach the red line or the point at which you actually want to change gear, the new gear is ready to be engaged, saving “milliseconds”, say the PR.

Just WOW, I mean, for real?! Does it work with my PS2, or Xbox360?

There is more though: this new pseudo feature is called Brake Steer. Oh, and what's this?
It's a fancy ESP. It basically brakes the inner wheels if the trajectory of the car doesn't coincide with the one requested by the driver. In case of acceleration out of a corner, if the inner wheel tends to spin, it brakes it again. It's a kind of magic even small compact cars can have, but it's secret don't tell them.

So, what's this, the ultimate driving machinery, or a full-size car for playing with you're favorite gaming console?
At the moment it is none, as the car won't be available until 2011, and it's right now going under testing and development, so many things could change until then. Basically McLaren showcased the car so early to look for new investors (money, as if they were short on that), and to start re-creating a name in the big-players market.
Oh, you better start saving your coins, this is going to be much more expensive of the competition.

Since after all I'm not a super renowned designer or critic, please welcome McLaren Automotive Managing Director Antony Sheriff, in these three videos courtesy of EVO Magazine, in which he will explain us what we are looking at and how that it works. Be afraid, boring chatting inside.
Well, we'll see how it ends up.

All images Copyright: McLaren Automotive
excepr for the spyshots, copyright: Secret New Cars
Videos copyright: EVO Magazine
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Wild Ferrari 458 Italia, into the wild as well!

This video is something I wasn't expecting from Ferrari.
Even if the video looks a bit Hollywood-ish, and the action looks pretentious, it's something quite far from the sedate, polite and cold image I had of Ferrari.
The exact second I though, "ok, it's all cool and all, but there is no oversteering going on there", the yellow car starts a long right corner oversteering with the same ease of a drift car.
It's definitely a video for the enthusiasts out there, somethinh I honestly wasn'y expecting from Ferrari at all.
Well done.

I'm still not sold on the car, the front is almost ok, as the side vents are barely invisible and I'm getting used to the intakes on the inner side of the lights.
The rear still looks too fuzzy and busy though, especially in the lower part, too many lines going on and the rear itself it's also too vertical compared to the fluent and soft shape of the car.

The green house is a bit too high, but the more I see the car moving the less I notice it, so it's probably a problem of the early shots than of the car itself.

Looking forward to see it in the flesh, but right now I can say this: that sound is pretty familiar...stop testing the car while I'm studying!

PS Loved the last images of the two cars running away, like two wild horses in the middle of a prairie...droll

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6.3 Big, blue and Italian - Faralli & Mazzanti Antas V8

This is the Faralli & Mazzanti first creation, the Antas.
If you're one of those who went to see the “Speed Racer” movie from the Wachowski Brothers, perhaps you should remember this car as it was featured sometime in the movie. I didn't see it, and probably won't in the near future, so I'm not going to talk about this.

You should also remember about this car as it was unveiled 3 years ago.
At that time, the car had a simpler look but nonetheless it raised quite some discussions about its look, and its importance, somehow.
you know where to click for the full story, pics and videos too!

Aesthetically, smaller rims (then present ones) were present, the exhausts were completely hidden in the longerons under the doors, and there wasn't any sort of wing or diffuser at the back.
The main featured were its retrò look, curvaceous lines reminding of the drophead era, a long bonnet home of a old school carburetor fed V8 Maserati, the fin at the back for a split window effect and those tacky Lexus-like rear lights.
All in all I thought that I was liking this car, except the rear lights. The interior was a simple and opulent at the same time, covered in metal panels (or maybe those are plastic panels, I don't know) of the same color of the body except for the central console raw metal part on the upper part, and by leather on the lower one. The original mechanics being tipped by the weird position of the gear shifter, a bit too modern steering wheel showing off the brand's badge.

What was really interesting me was its nature of a new kind of coachbuild car. The donor car was a 1966 Maserati Quattroporte, the first series of the famous Italian exotic sedan. Then an aluminum handcrafted bodywork was sculpted around the adapteed chassis, the interior completely redesigned, and the mighty engine left untouched.
No matter what you think about it, Faralli & Mazzanti was out to make a point: if you think there is no car on the market that can suit you, they have the answer for you.
Whatever your tastes are, you just have to choose the donor car according to your preferences about the brand the the mechanical to be used. You can either bring a car of your own or let F&M find it for you once you decided for a specific model.
After a donor is available, the design starts. The style is developed according to your inputs and tastes and penned by their designers. When even this choice is taken, it's time to build your Antas.
First a light wired scheleton is made around the chassis just to give you an idea of what the actual product will look like in the flesh, then the body panels are hand made out of aluminum, and the car starts to take form.
Everynow and then, when significant improvement on the project are made, you will be invited in the middle of Tuscany, Italy, to see with your own eyes the stage of the project. Your residence will be an awesome Villa in the middle of countryside, and when you aren't busy staring at the car, tours of the area will be organized so to enjoy the world famous Tuscany. This will probably be a memorable year for you lucky...
There use to be only one requirement made by Faralli & Mazzanti: the donor car has to be a front engined rear wheel drive one. No matter if a coupe, a sedan or an open top.
Recently, the customization process has been available for mid engined cars as well, so if you're willing for a custom and more exclusive F430, here is your chance.

The result, their first creation is here for you to enjoy, with a couple of videos as well (new features at The Italian Junkyard!).

By the time the car reached the Top Marques for the second time in 2007, new rims by OZ found home in those mighty wheel arches, while new and exposed exhausts were visible under the doors.
A new air vents appeared right after the front wheels, as well as new rear view mirrors and a modified front spoiler in raw carbon fiber. The real news actually was the rear wing in carbon fiber as well.
Honestly, the rear wing isn't as bad as you might think, but overall the car was getting a little too busy now. The new chromed and 20” large rims weren't exactly cutting it, but in the Top Marques atmosphere they seemed right. Here is another video and few shots of the updated style.

The car was also present as the usual “Grande Parade Des Pilotes” at the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans. At this event new rims were fitting the car, and these I think are pretty ugly by themselves, not even considering them coupled with the car, They are just too much race inspired for a road car, let alone for a classic looking car like this.
I think they ruined the car a little, definitely making it too much busy now. Rims are a small detail in a car, but they have a huge weight in its look.
Take a look at that Zonda...do you recognize it?

In 2008 plans for a brand new car were unveiled, the Vulca, and the Antas somehow faded into the background, at least in my mind.
We'll talk about the Vulca in a dedicated post of course.

Fast forward to 2009 and here we are the Salone Internazionale del Lusso, in Vicenza.
The Antas seems to be as it appeared at the Parade des Pilotes two years ago.
It's huge, you can really see the Quattroporte presence under its skin right for this, but it's quite elegant from the lateral view. The main point is the door, were lines come to mix themselves and create a strong and muscular area. It really gives power and dynamism to the whole side.
The rear has two issues, I think. The rear wing is a bit out of place, maybe just because the car is styled after an era when wings belonged just to planes, but probably a less busy design, more integrated with the body and perhaps even painted would do the job.
It's rather then fin to seem out of place, as there isn't another similar element on the rest of the car, as it happens for instance on some models of the famous Bugatti Type 57. This fin is not bad, but either the right feature for the rear end. Together with the carbon fiber wing, they create a bit too much extravagant detail.
The main issue remain the lights though. The transparent cover is simply wrong, and from the ¾ shots even their bubble form is a bit out of place. I'd suggest keeping the whole rear end much simpler, with perhaps drop shaped lights with a colored cover, and an accentuated drop shape for the whole back, especially the lower part where a diffuser is integrated.
I say this because the rear end makes the front almost dull, as it's too simple and plain compared to its “antagonist”. It isn't a bad design, but it isn't working with the rear part, and you couldn't say they belongs to the same car at a first glance. I have the feeling I may like the front a lot if it wasn't for the rear.
Personal opinions aside, the interior still looks perfect I think. It's what you were expecting in a Bentley 15 years ago, but with an exotic (or Italian?) touch. I definitely like it, especially the gear shifter inclined as it used to be in the old days.

If you are wondering if there are more Antas around the world, I don't know.
As it's a customization program, if another one exists, it won't look like this, and as I know a lot of you didn't like this design, perhaps this sounds like a good news for you. I don't mind this car really.
I recommend seeing the video were the car is driven on the road, it really helps getting the right perspective on its shape and look.
While if your wondering about where F&M came from, why you should trust them or the quality of their work, their credential is a tradition and experience on restoring classic cars the Cisitalia 202 or the Maserati 450 Zagato.
Regardless of what you think about this car though, now you know there is another coachbuilder to add to you list for when you'll be rich enough to own your own exclusive awesome car.

Images and videos, Copyright: F&M Auto Srl
Last two images of the 2007 Grande Parades des Pilotes
All other images Copyright: Damiano Garro
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