Category: Rides

 

The Land Rover Defender is likely not the first vehicle you think of when you hear the term “rally car” but that’s exactly what this 2013 Defender 90 is. Not only is it a rally car, but it’s a successful rally car that’s taken two class wins (so far) in British rallies.

The reason this Defender is so quick is because it was built by Bowler, a British engineering firm that’s been building the world’s fastest Land Rovers since 1985. Bowler was founded by Drew Bowler due to popular demand back in the mid-1980s after he heavily modified a Land Rover Series 1 and starting winning events with it. Continue reading

 

This is the Tamiya Lotus Super 7 Series II, a 1:24 scale model of a car with one of the longest production runs in history, if not the longest outright.

Lotus famously came up with a clever scheme to get around new car tax when they released the original Lotus 7 as a kit car. If they sent an assembly manual with the car it would classify as a car sale and it would be taxable, so they sent each kit with a disassembly manual that the builder would follow in reverse.

The driving experience of the Lotus 7, and its modern licensed iteration the Caterham Seven, is one of the purest experiences you can have behind a steering wheel. The cars typically weigh in at around 545 kilograms or 1,200 pounds, they have excellent steering feel, firm suspension, and the experience is probably best described as driving a road-legal go kart. Continue reading

 

The Devil At Your Heels is a 1981 documentary about stuntman Ken Carter and his years long mission to build a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental and jump it a distance of one mile across the Saint Lawrence River from Canada into the United States, before crash landing it in a bed of roses on the other side.

As absurd as that sounds, Ken does a remarkable job at getting the ramp completed, getting the car built, getting the funding, getting the required permits to jump a car between two countries, which all eventually resulted in the car getting launched down the ramp by Ken and up into the air with the rocket engine blazing. Continue reading

 

This is an original Ferrari 3000 (044/1) V12 Formula 1 engine from the 1995 season, it’s listed as having been fitted to a 1995 Ferrari F412 T2 F1 car, a model driven by both Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.

The F412 T2 F1 car would be the final Formula 1 car to win a race with a V12 engine, and the final F1 car to be fitted with a V12.

The engine itself was an evolved version of the previous season’s V12, though now with a capacity of 3000cc rather than 3500cc due to new regulations. Continue reading