MotorKicks - new stories

Top Gear Back In June Confirmed

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 12:21:34 GMT

We've had reports that Top Gear would be back this June and it's now been confirmed in the latest Top Gear magazine. 3-4 months to go!

VIDEO: Kia Soul reinterprets the Hampster Dance

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:47:23 GMT

Kia has come along and appropriated the domesticated rodents for a commercial promoting the new Soul. A compact, four-door, wagon-type vehicle in the vein of the Scion xB, the Soul fits four hamsters comfortably and they clearly enjoy the car's iPod connectivity. Those hamsters not riding in a Soul, however, get a hamster wheel, which obviously won't get them very far. The commercial is cute and playful, though we're suing Kia if our nightmares about giant hamsters comes back.

Lewis Hamilton controls F1 car via Blackberry Storm

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:40:06 GMT

After publishing a video of their office grand prix on the web, the team of programmers is invited to the garage of McLaren Mercedes where team engineers have adapted the system to control Lewis Hamilton's actual F1 car. Hilarity ensues when Hamilton himself takes the car out on the track, sans driver, and does a lap behind the wheel of the Blackberry Storm. It's an amusing viral video and halfway convincing if we weren't willing to swear on our mothers that McLaren Mercedes would never allow its multi-million dollar F1 car to be controlled via a phone, let alone outfit the car with enough servos to actually perform the functions of steering, braking and changing gears

VIDEO: Audi S4 vs. downhill slalom skier

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:29:42 GMT

To make the S4's downhill slalom interesting, Audi TV pitted it against an actual downhill skier. The skier was equipped with Audi-branded skis, so the automaker wins no matter what. Hit the jump to see this unusual race unfold, complete with a surprising winner.

Virtual Insanity - Jay Kay's Ferrari Enzo damaged by vandal

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:33:26 GMT

During a recent hotel stay, the Top Gear regular said something to rile up the joint's pastry chef while they were downing some drinks at the bar. Normally, such a quarrel would not amount to much attention, but if reality television has taught us anything, it is that English chefs have hot tempers and they like to hurl things in a fit of rage. In this instance, the young chef decided to release his anger by chucking stones at the singer's black Ferrari Enzo. The target practice amounted to about $40,000 worth of damage to the car's front windshield and driver's side window. While the repairs get underway, it looks like Jay Kay might have to make due by driving around in his Aston Martin DB5, Lamborghini Miura SV or even his Mercedes 300SL Roadster instead. Oh, the humanity. Thanks for the tips, everyone!

Aston Martin One-77 Uncovered: In-depth on what's under the skin

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:33:10 GMT

While the design is certainly attention grabbing, the machinery sitting next to it was perhaps even more so. On the first of two press days, the Aston stand was dominated by the first complete One-77 chassis laid bare for all the world to see. Resplendent in carbon-fiber and cast, forged and extruded aluminum, the skinless One-77 is an engineer's dream.

BMW X5 M and X6 M get official teaser site, source code reveals 550bhp

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 21:23:41 GMT

The now official X5 M and X6 M will certainly be something we've never read in the book of BMW high performance vehicles. Recent chapters have featured high-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive cars like the M3, M5 and M6 as their main protagonist, but these new Ms will be big, weigh over 5,000 lbs apiece and use all-wheel drive. In addition to the new teaser site that rounds up all available info on the two newest Ms, BMW has released a first official teaser video in which the M division's Bernd Limmer reveals that the X5 M and X6 M will be powered by versions of the existing twin-turbo 4.4L V8, likely tuned to around 500 horsepower

Geneva 2009: Aston Martin V12 Vantage packed with power

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:09:43 GMT

The upgraded V12 Vantage will receive Aston Martin's 6.0L V12 engine capable of 510 hp and 420 lb-ft. With the recent horsepower wars, it seems as though you can get 510 hp anywhere, but the V12 Vantage is more than just the world's most beautiful sports coupe. Ginormous ceramic brakes, liberal use of carbon fiber and vastly stiffened spring rates ensure that the V12 Vantage is more than just a gussied up version of its V8-powered sibling.

Scientists create bacteria that eat junk, produce oil

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:00:15 GMT

The "bugs" can be fed a variety of feedstock, from politically sensitive corn to Brazilian sugar cane to California wheat straw to Southern wood chips. The result is the same: crude oil that is almost ready to pour into your car. What's more: the enterprise is carbon negative, putting out less CO2 than the operation requires. At the moment it takes a 1,000-liter fermentation machine one week to make a 40-gallon drum of crude.

EDO Competition tweaks Ferrari Enzo to 700 hp - Autoblog

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:14:30 GMT

Edo began by replacing the intake with a revised ram-air system and a set of high-flow air filters, then worked its magic downstream with a set of headers similar to those in the FXX, along with a duo of high-flowing cats and a new exhaust system with remote-controlled, butterfly valves that allow the sound levels to be adjusted on the fly. All those bits are tuned through a modified ECU to produce 700 hp and 527 lb.-ft. of torque, which is sent through a heavy-duty clutch and on down to a retuned stock transmission that replicates the shift times of the FXX.

Hayabusa-powered go kart redefines the term overpowered

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:54:04 GMT

Anybody who's ever strapped themselves into a shifter-kart can attest to the fact that they are one of the most exhilarating rides available, and their capabilities are much higher than first expected. That being the case, when swapping the 125cc engine from the go kart with a 1300cc engine from a Suzuki Hayabusa, the resulting machine is nothing if not overpowered.

2008 Yamaha R6 - first 600 to break 170 mph

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:29:18 GMT

These changes have allowed the R6 to break the 170 mile-per-hour barrier, a first for a 600cc machine.

Rally champ Sebastien Loeb gets speeding ticket at Swedish Rally

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:16:13 GMT

It's pretty straightforward for most of us: drive above the speed limit and risk getting in trouble with the fuzz. Racing drivers usually get away with it - if only because they're on closed circuits - which makes it all the more interesting when the same fate befalls them as applies to the rest of us.

Irish politician wants country's drivers to move right

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:59:49 GMT

this is one of those ideas that is both stupid and amazingly stupid... Mind you, there are probably 1, maybe 2 good points... i cant think of them at the moment, but they could be there...

Officially Official: Mercedes-Benz unveils 2009 SL63 and SL65 AMG

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:17:45 GMT

SL63 AMG, which uses AMG's naturally-aspirated 6.2L V8 making 538 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. Mercedes also brings back the SL65 AMG, whose turbocharged V12 cranks out 604 horsepower and a BRABUS-like 738 lb-ft of torque.

G-Power Hurricane M5 takes the crown as fastest, road-legal BMW

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:09:14 GMT

The M5's V10, which normally produces 507 hp, was tweaked to the tune of 730 hp through the use of the firm's Evo II twin-supercharger setup. The duo of belt-driven compressors huff around seven pounds of boost into each one of the cylinder banks, and partnered with a higher differential, the G-Power crew maintains the Hurricane could have reached 250 mph if rain and light snow hadn't caused traction issues.

CarList.ie

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:53:05 GMT

from the guy who brought you the software that runs MotorKicks, comes CarList.ie. ITs a car buying and selling site, and its pretty impressive! already has 3,500 cars for sale! Congrads on the launch Gavin!

BMW Dial testing

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:54:29 GMT

testing the dials on my 523i BMW. Hold down the check button for a few seconds till test 01 shows up, click check to get to test 02 and click reset.

Rogue deer snatches victory from Pastrana at 2008 Snodrift Rally

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:48:59 GMT

All was well as they made their way through the forest roads and fresh powder until one of God's creatures decided that now would be a good time to cross the ice-covered stage road. As the 2007 WRX STI careened down the road at over 60 mph and Bambi colliding with Pastrana's left front bumper, causing irreparable damage to the engine and ending the team's race as the Subaru coasted to a stop.

BMW rolls out 5 millionth 5-Series - Autoblog

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:47:40 GMT

"Get out the beer steins and lederhosen: the Bavarians are celebrating! Yesterday the 5,000,000th BMW 5-Series rolled off the production line" I am on my Second 5 Series, an E39. both have been E39s and both have been 523i's. Congrads to BMW!

Speed bumps are bad for the planet

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:42:57 GMT

The findings correlate with those of the country's Transport Research Laboratory, which reported that "carbon monoxide emissions are increased by as much as 82% and nitrous oxide levels by 37% on roads with speed bumps."

Major air - Ken Block and his flying Subaru

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:56:12 GMT

Mother of pearl, a Subaru rally car flying through the air at a snowboard park. How is that even possible?

Private Dancer: Tina Turner's Mercedes-powered Lambo LM002

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:10:59 GMT

So Turner bought an LM002, the Lamborghini of sport-utility vehicles, and had the original Countach V12 ripped out and swapped for a V8 out of a Mercedes E500 with an automatic transmission.

Details emerge about BMW's new flagship sedan

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:10:13 GMT

The Gran Turismo would slot in above the 7-series, being both longer and wider than BMW's largest sedan, and is likely to pack either a V8 or V12 powerplant. CSM Worldwide pegs production of around 15,000 units annually with a cost of around $150,000. That puts it in the same realm as Porsche's soon-to-be-released Panamera, Audi's rumored A7 and the Aston Martin Rapide, all of which will create a new class of high-priced, high-powered sedans that have yet to be proven in the marketplace.

Detroit 2008: Live reveal of BMW's 335d and X5 xDrive35d - Autoblog

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 23:55:38 GMT

The 335d and exceedingly awkwardly named X5 xDrive35d are getting BMW's dual turbocharged 3.0L inline six diesel starting this fall. The 265-hp, 425-lb.ft. torque monster will make these vehicles among the most fuel-efficient and best performing vehicles in their class.