It’s Almost Here! Honda NSX to Debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed in June

In a month, the Goodwood Festival of Speed will be underway. This time around, Jenson Button will be getting behind the wheel of the new Honda NSX, which is making it’s second generation debut after the first was discontinued back in 2005. Glynn Williams of Business Car Manager predicts that the NSX will soon be the envy of high rolling car-collectors, joining the ranks of the coveted Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8, and McLaren 540C. Honda’s latest offering has similar performance specs to these classics, and is offered at about the same price.carl-turnley-Detroit_NAIAS_2015_2016_Acura_NSX

The Honda NSX is actually made in the USA (Ohio, to be exact), by a small team of 100 people. With 573 horsepower and top speeds of 191 miles/hour, the vehicle can sprint from 0-62 in under three seconds. Even though the car’s top competitors have higher top speeds, the NSX holds an advantage with its impressive acceleration, thanks to three electric motors. The car also features four different driving modes that can affect everything from the motor to the engine noise level.

Car enthusiasts have long waited for the return of the NSX, and given what we know so far it won’t be a let down.

Honda vs. Chevy

The 100th edition of the Indy 500 is fast approaching, and two teams are already embroiled in some serious beef. In the events leading up to the big day, Chevrolet has dominated the last three, leaving no victories for Honda. To make it worse, Chevy swept the podium on the qualifying stage, and only two Honda drivers placed in the top 11. And with IndyCar’s biggest event knocking, the hopes that Honda will win it are nothing short of slim.

Honda is not taking kindly to some of Chevrolet's racing tactics.

Honda is not taking kindly to some of Chevrolet’s racing tactics.

So what happened? It comes down to this: Honda is blaming the IndyCar establishment for giving Chevy an unfair advantage; Chevrolet is taking it in stride, arguing that Honda should have been better prepared. Since 2012, Chevy has won two Indy 500’s, and Honda has won the other two. The pair of manufacturers has always been competitive, but some recent events have taken their rivalry to new heights.

In 2015, the sport began to allow aerodynamic body kits. Eager to beat out the competition, Chevy jumped at the opportunity… but there was a problem. Several drivers went airborne during the Indy 500 practice runs, and the unofficial take was that Chevrolet’s design caused the malfunctions. What happened next is the crux of the rift. IndyCar changed the rules on pole day, allowing the Chevy cars to stay on the track. Honda saw the changes as being favorable only to Chevy; the organization bowed to the expectations of a manufacturer, not vice versa. What happened next was somewhat unpredictable in hindsight— Chevy grabbed the top four spots in last year’s Indy 500.

Michael Andretti, the owner of Team Honda, is voicing his disappointment because he feels that “two classes” of car are being allowed to compete. Not only that, but the gulf will also take away from the potential for an awesome show.

What do you think?

Roborace, Where Intelligence Meets Technology

Sports constantly evolve with technology. Instant replay, for instance, has been introduced to sports to review close plays. In tennis, line judges have the technology to review hotly contested calls in the most intense moments of the match. Even as medicine and sports science advance, the events become safer as the rules change to protect players— for instance, the NFL banning all chop blocks.

But what happens when technology changes the game so dramatically that it creates what amounts to a new sport altogether? Just look at RoboRace.

RoboRace, which is a partnership between investment fund Kinetic and electric racing organization Formula-E, hopes to bring autonomous vehicles to the race track The races would transfer the skill of the individual driver and pit crew to a team of engineers. Those teams would get the same vehicle machinery, but they would have to create their own algorithm to dictate how it behaves in a race.

With the organic human element taken out of the sport, would hundreds of fans pack raceways to see a race autonomous vehicles that only respond to a unique algorithm?

Ars Technica’s Jonathan M. Gitlin raises the point that this non-human element provides a unique opportunity. With essentially no need to be tethered to safety regulations— remember, there are no humans in these cars— the tracks themselves could be more experimental; the speeds could reach new highs. Or, as Gitlin puts it, the races could resemble the “wackier end of the Hot Wheels spectrum.”

The reaction is sure to be mixed, but what a conversation to have.

McLaren’s MP4-X

The trajectory of sports is defined by a battle between traditionalists and futurists. There’s those who remember the sport from their halcyon days of earlier fandom, and those who acknowledge that because society is constantly advancing, our new technologies should apply to even our athletic pastimes.

futuristic racing car

The MP4-X in all its majesty.

We’ve seen it with football and concussions, for example. But the gridiron isn’t the only place where this question is being asked— it’s made it’s way to auto-racing, too.

Now, I don’t know all the answers, but McLaren is positioning itself at the vanguard of racing development for the next generation. A lot of times, when we think fuel efficiency or safety, we think of cars that aren’t sleek or fun or even fast. But the British auto manufacturer is looking to change that with its newest concept car, the MP4-X.

It was recently profiled in Maxim, which notes that it looks like “a fighter jet with wheels”. The new vehicle is not only engineered to contend, but to be safe as well.

All while incorporating cutting edge developments in automotive technology.

Take, for instance, the battery. It’s pretty heavy, and weighs down the car. By its nature, it is antithetical to the sleek and nimble associations with F1. McLaren is currently working to change this by outfitting their car with the ability to be wirelessly charged as it zips around the track. And as if that weren’t enough, McLaren is proposing to add solar power cells onto the hood for an added boost.

On the safety front, they’ve made the decision to do away with the traditional open cockpit. While this is sacrilege to many F1 enthusiasts, they argue that today we know better, and shouldn’t resist an advancement in safety. This hits home for some, considering that the Indycar and F1 worlds were rocked by two deaths just this year.

It’s still a concept, true. But if this is just one part of the future of racing, I can be alone in wanting to see the rest.

Sidecar

Over at Petrolicious I bumped into a post that took a look at one of the more fascinating styles of racing automobiles: engine passengers. Obviously, we’re not talking about engine riding shotgun, and the reality is that it can be a bit hard to imagine for those who do have not seen one. So let’s take a look at some of the cars they’ve shared with the readers.

italian dalmonar car turning the corner

That’s the Nardi Bisiluro Damolnar. As you can see, the engine is fitted not under the hood, but in a section of the body that runs parallel to the driver’s side. Debuting in 1955, this particular vehicle was built with one thing in mind: endurance. Enrico Nardi wanted his car to compete with the best at the legendary Le Mans endurance race. One of the most important aspects of the dream vehicle was the emphasis on aerodynamics. This compact speedster actually required the driver to put their legs through the steering wheel, and the brake system was a work of genius in its own right. But while hopes were high, it ultimately did not finish due to suspension and weight problems— it met its end when it was blown off the track while being lapped. However, you’ve got to respect the ingenuity in the design.

While the Damolnar turned heads in its day, it certainly wasn’t the first vehicle to have that unique body design. That credit goes to 1951’s TARF II. The car was nicknamed “the twin torpedo”, and primarily competed in low-drag speed races. And speedy it was! It won a competition with an officially recorded rate of 185 mph, although it’s maximum speed was almost 200mph! Lucky for us, there has been video of this bad boy in action.

These cars aren’t only relics of the past. Honda is actually tinkering with a similar concept with their two cars aptly named Project 2 and Project 4. It’s pushing around 215 horsepower and weighs under 900 pounds. Again, this thing is a concept, so don’t expect to see it on the track anytime soon. But at least we know it’s out there.

The 2 Minutes of Le Mans

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the most fascinating and historic auto races across the entire sport. The race, held in the French town that bears its name, was founded in 1923. That makes it the oldest endurance race still being held. And yes, the duration of the race is a full, sustained 24 hours.

This year’s race began on June 10th and ended on the 14th, and Porsche emerged the victor. Tons of analysis about the race is ready for eager eyes to pour over, but something incredibly cool has popped up recently: the 24 hour marathon race has been condensed into two minutes. It makes sense that a shorter version should come up at some point. 24 hours is an incredibly long time, and you’d be hard pressed to find fans of any sport willing to forgo an entire days worth of productivity, sleep, and social obligations to devote that time to something they love (even parents have to sleep!). But two minutes? Now, that’s impressive.

So who’s the artist behind this miraculous optical feat? Camden Thrasher. And yes, that’s his real name. Thrasher is a racing enthusiast and self-taught photographer who seeks to ”capture the story and emotion of man and machine at speed in a still image”. He’s no stranger to Le Mans; he first attended in 2000. But his coverage of Team Audi presented an entirely new challenge.

While you may think that Thrasher was simply gliding along, taken shot after shot of Audi, it was much more intense than that. Though the race lasted 24 hours, Cameron was on the track for nearly 40. He also spent nearly a week preparing A huge portion of that was prep time– making sure all safety measures were in place, and practicing with coverage of the qualifying races.

When the race itself began, Thrasher went into full on artiste mode. He actually walked 19 miles during the first half of the race. When cars aren’t on the track and receiving pit stops, you may assume that he can catch a break. But you’d be assuming incorrectly. He made sure to capture images of the pit crews as they toiled in the garage.

Cameron’s four cameras places you right on the side of the action. 1,158 images later, the stop motion video instills you a sense of wonder and admiration for the bond between man and machine. Check out the video below: