Kief Cars

Top Gear Live is coming to South Africa. The exhibition will be held at Grand West Arena at Grand West Casino in Cape Town between the 28th of January and the 30th of January 2010 and at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg between the 4th of February and 7th of February 2010. Famed for their legendary globe-trotting antics, the 3 Top Gear presenters (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May) took inspiration from some of the world’s most famous explorers including Livingstone, Shackleton, Scott, Sir Edmund Hillary.
The Top Gear Live crew have been working hard on finding new ideas and welding things together that don’t match. The process involved a lot of nodding. The result is a completely new show featuring the world’s fastest cars pushed to their mechanical limits, acrobats laying their lives on the line and some middle aged men falling over and catching fire a bit. Fans can expect an edge-of-their-seats experience with flaming rally cars, extreme underground street racers and cars which change colour in the blink of an eye. Other sequences will feature the infamous Stig who will be leading our troop of international stunt drivers via a mix of hand gestures, sonic pulses and Morse code, showing audiences the ultimate in precision driving.

This definately sounds like an interesting exhibition / show. I’m sure that fans of the popular BBC TV series will not be disappointed. South African fans can acquire tickets from Computicket. More information can be obtained on the the show’s official website.

The Bentley Continental Supersports 2010 is a 2 Door 2 Seater Coupe. The All Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicle has a front four-link double wishbone, computer-controlled self-levelling air suspension and anti-roll bar and a rear trapezoidal multi-link, computer-controlled self-levelling air suspension and anti-roll bar. The car has a top speed of 204 mph (329 km/h). The Bentley Continental Supersports 2010 takes only 3.7 seconds to reach 60 mph and 8.9 seconds to reach 100 mph. What’s even more impressive is that it accelerates from 50-70 mph in just 2.1 seconds. The Bentley Continental Supersports is the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever. The secret of the Bentley Continental Supersports 2010’s speed is more power, of course, so the turbo boost has been turned up for this long-stroke, 48-valve 5,998cc W12 engine, and the result is a total of 621 hp at 6,000 rpm and 590 pound-feet between 1,700 and 5,600 rpm torque. The base prices for the Bentley Continental Supersports 2010 has not been released yet.

We’ve featured tons of posts about cars on this blog, but we’ve never featured something about Race Car drivers. I woke up this morning and thought that this would be a brilliant idea for a post. It’s a shame that there has not been a Formula One Grand Prix in South Africa since 1976, hopefully that will change one day.

Mario Andretti: He was born in 1940 in Italy. Mario Andretti has won races in Formula One, Indycar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR (the 2nd race car driver in history to do so). He’s the only person to be named driver of the decade in 3 different decades (1964, 1978 and 1984). Mario Andretti competed for the Lotus, March, Ferrari, Parnelli, Alfa Romeo & Williams teams when he was active in Formula One racing (from 1968 – 1972 and 1974 – 1982).

Here are a few quotes from him:

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

“Do it no matter what. If you believe in it, it is something very honorable. If somebody around you or your family does not understand it, then that’s their problem. But if you do have a passion, an honest passion, just do it.”

“Everything comes to those who wait… except a cat.”

“If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

“I don’t think I could have called my career complete without racing in IROC. You always compete against the best of the best.”

Damon Hill: A famous race car driver, born in the United Kingdom in 1960. He was Michael Schumacher’s main rival when he was active in Formula One racing between 1992 and 1999. Damon Hill won the Formula One championship in 1996. He’s the only Formula One driver in history to repeat his father’s Formula One championship success. Damon Hill’s father, Graham Hill, won the Formula One title in 1962 and 1968. During his career Damon Hill won 22 Formula One Grand Prix races and drove for the Brabham, Williams, Arrows and Jordan teams.

Here are a few quotes from Damon Hill:

“I think at times I appear to be miserable when I am not… I might be having quite a good thought at that moment, but it seems I look miserable. I am not.”

“If I am pushed I will push back, that is the way I am. I am very British. We don’t like to be pushed around. When the chips are down we might have to step into grey areas.”

“If I am treated fairly, I like to do things in a fair manner. That is the way I have been all my career. I haven’t tried to do things in an underhanded way.”

“The British tend to shy away from the spotlight. We don’t like being singled out in any way, and I think that is something which is important for me to learn to do.”

“The sport would not survive today if drivers were being killed at the rate they were in the 1960s and ’70s. It would have been taken off the air. It is beamed into people’s living rooms on Sunday afternoons, with children watching.”

“There are a lot of factors in the life of an F1 driver which can combine to make you believe that you are somehow above normality. I think that is a mistake to start believing that. But, at the same time, it is important to be confident.”

“You should never feel comfortable. There is something wrong if you are. You should always feel under threat, on the edge of your seat and pushing yourself. Win one and you want to win more. It’s never-ending.”

Related Links:
Damon Hill – Formula One Hall of Fame
Mario Andretti – Grand Prix Hall of Fame

On the 29th of April 1899 the La Jamais Contente (translated as “The Never Satisfied”) became the first car to go faster than 100 km/h. Camille Jenatzy (from Belgium) drove the car. The car reached a top speed of 105 km/h, breaking the land speed record. The La Jamais Contente broke the previous record (92 km/h) which was held by Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat. The La Jamais Contente was an electric vehicle with a light alloy torpedo shaped bodywork. The high position of the driver and the exposed chassis underneath spoiled much of the aerodynamics of the car. It’s hard to believe that we take driving over 100 km/h for granted nowadays in South Africa. Back then it was actually an achievement.

The Japanese Auto Manufacturer will introduce this concept vehicle at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The Toyota FT-86 has been nicknamed the “Toyobaru” because Toyota is actually developing this vehicle in conjunction with Subaru. This rear wheel drive sports car is rumored to be close to going to production. The Toyota FT-86 concept car design apparently draws from the dramatic Toyota FT-HS hybrid sports concept which was shown at the 2007 Detroit Motor Show. The Toyota FT-86 refers to the Toyota Corolla AE-86 (a rear-drive coupe that became Japan’s rally car in the 1980s). The Toyota FT-86 is fitted with a 2.0-litre boxer engine from the Subaru Impreza and a 6 speed gearbox. It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see this vehicle on the Toyota production line in South Africa soon.