Solar car

Lewis Hamilton says he and team mate George Russell urged Mercedes to consider rivals’ designs before they abandoned the unique ‘zero’ sidepod concept. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Mercedes have won just one race out of 28 since Formula 1 changed its technical regulations at the beginning of last season. At the previous round in Monaco the team finally replaced the W14’s distinctive sidepods with a new design closer to that used by Red Bull, who have won 23 times since the beginning of 2022. Hamilton said he and Russell had been eager to understand the reasons for the differences between their car and their rivals’ design. “The input that we’ve been having as a team, George and I, over the past year, it’s those constant conversations going like: ‘Why does that look like that and we look like this?’, ‘Have we tried that?'” “We now have the wider sidepods that are more in the direction of where the Red Bull is,” Hamilton told media including … [Read more...] about Hamilton and Russell asked Mercedes why W14 didn’t look like rivals’ cars · RaceFans

Fans of scale model cars and tiny race tracks will soon have a crazy cool slot car track available for purchase, but you better act fast and be ready to spend some money. Michigan-based Slot Mods has announced plans to build a limited number of 1:32-scale tracks nestled into replica Ford GT40 bodies. And this sticker price is $150,000 each. That's about $10,000 shy of an actual Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS , but we're talking about automotive art versus a functional car. And actually, the price is $50,000 less than a custom Porsche 917 track from Slot Mods recently sold for at auction , so one might call the new run a bargain. And with only five planned for this production run, it will be a very rare item. Like the Porsche track, the new GT40 design will feature a highly detailed race track with a distinct Le Mans theme. At Slot Mods, highly detailed translates to authentic-looking track surfaces meandering through landscaped … [Read more...] about Slot Mods Building Ford GT40-Based 1:32 Scale Slot Car Sets For $150K

The Motor1.com team is scattered all over the globe. Even here in the US, we have editors in Los Angeles, a couple in Detroit, folks in Florida, Ohio, and more. We all love talking about what we're driving. The Test Car Happy Hour on Thursdays at 2:30 PM Eastern (11:30 AM Pacific) is where we have a face-to-face digital car meet. You can be part of the conversation by joining us during the show on Facebook , Twitter , or YouTube . Your comments automatically go into our streaming feed where we can see, share, and respond to them. If you happen to be reading this after the live broadcast has ended, you can also find the audio version of The Test Car Happy Hour on all of your favorite streaming platforms, first thing every Monday morning. This week we have Managing Editor Brandon Turkus, Senior Editor Brett T. Evans, and Senior Editor Jeff Perez. Going alphabetically by automaker, Turkus is driving a BMW Z4 M40i this week. This range-topping model in the lineup has … [Read more...] about Motor1.com Test Car Happy Hour #45: Toyota Grand Highlander, Honda Accord, BMW Z4, Range Rover Sport

Volvo’s latest over-the-air update will improve the Apple CarPlay experience in more than 650,000 cars. The automaker will better integrate Apple’s features throughout the cabin, putting more information in the driver display while tweaking the feature’s layout on the center infotainment screen. The most significant update allows the driver display to natively support Apple Maps and other navigation applications, putting the information behind the steering wheel. The screen can also present call information, allowing drivers to answer, reject, and end calls using their vehicle’s steering wheel-mounted controls. Gallery: Volvo Apple CarPlay OTA Update 8 Photos The center screen isn’t left out, with Volvo offering a new call mute button on the display. The automaker also updates the CarPlay tile, which now displays media information and allows easy access to the … [Read more...] about 650,000 Volvo Cars Get Improved Apple CarPlay Experience With OTA Update

Sam Albert owns a 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI with a Ferrari V8 under the hood. It makes an incredible noise and is quite a rally car. It recently competed in the Oregon Trail Rally, and this exciting video recorded the run on the superspecial stage at Portland International Raceway. Albert built the car to exploit a loophole in the rules. The open four-wheel-drive class allowed naturally aspirated engines as large as 4.5 liters of displacement and had no other restrictions. He sourced a Ferrari F136 V8 powerplant out of a California from an exotic vehicle salvage yard. In the Ferrari, this 4.3-liter engine makes 454 horsepower and 358 pound-feet of torque. The setup allows for more linear power delivery than a turbocharged mill. In comparison, a stock 2004 WRX STI would have a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder producing 300 hp and 300 lb-ft. Albert makes the installation sound fairly straightforward. There was lots of room for the engine to fit between the frame … [Read more...] about Ferrari-Powered Subaru Rally Car Video Looks Like Real-Life Racing Game

The upgrade Ferrari has brought for its cars at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix was originally planned to appear much later in the season, according to Carlos Sainz Jnr . Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free Ferrari brought the upgrade forward following its disappointing start to the season. The team which led the early stages of last year’s world championship lies fourth in the standings and has only scored one podium so far this year. “You cannot imagine the effort Maranello has done in trying to bring this package forward,” said Sainz. “It was supposed to come a lot later in the season and the whole factory was just flat-out these last few months, because of the situation, to try and bring it earlier.” The changes to the SF-23 are “a bit of a new direction a bit into what we believe should be the right path into developing this car,” said Sainz. He is hoping it will make it “more of a drive-able car, more consistent, better in the race – that we know is … [Read more...] about Ferrari’s “new direction” upgrade was “supposed to come a lot later in the season” · RaceFans

The Spanish Grand Prix will have a slightly different look to it this weekend. After 16 races run with a slow, awkward chicane in the final sector, the original pair of fast right hand sweepers have been returned to their original glory. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The loss of the slow chicane has been greeted with delight by drivers – many of whom have openly admitted their dislike of the old chicane and are relishing the return of two fast corners taking their place. So with one of the most unpopular sections of any circuit on the F1 calendar seemingly gone for good, what are the other corners or segments of tracks that RaceFans’ regular writers want to see get similar treatment? Silverstone’s botched update I thought about the Hungaroring, which can be tedious in parts, and also Mexico City where spectators get to see so much of the track but the action in the opening corners tends to just involve collisions due to how the track goes from being … [Read more...] about Now Catalunya’s chicane is gone, which tracks would we ‘fix’? · RaceFans

Valtteri Bottas has been given a three-place grid penalty for spinning in the pit lane during today’s second practice session at the Red Bull Ring. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The stewards deemed the incident was “potentially dangerous”. Bottas lost control of his car as he pulled away from his pit box, and came to a stop near a group of McLaren mechanics. Following the session Bottas said the team had been trying something different when he left the pit box. The stewards noted Mercedes had been trying to improve the speed of their departure from the pits by using second gear instead of first. “When [Bottas] pulled away from his designated pit stop position, he lost control of the car when he turned into the fast lane. He oversteered, spun and came to a stop across the fast lane near the McLaren pits. “During the hearing [Bottas] stated that in the past they have been losing time in the pit departure. So they tried something new, which was to leave … [Read more...] about Bottas given three-place grid penalty for “potentially dangerous” pit lane spin · RaceFans

Honda has announced it will introduce a new specification of engine this weekend, meaning all four of its drivers will incur grid penalties. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free The Japanese engine manufacturer is running its new V6s for the first time ahead of its home race at Suzuka in two weeks’ time. All four Honda-powered drivers have already exceeded their maximum allocation of power unit parts. Therefore Max Verstappen , Alexander Albon and Pierre Gasly will each have a five-place grid penalty. The situation is worse for Daniil Kvyat , who is having more power unit parts replaced and will have to start from the back of the grid as a result. As well as a new engine, Kvyat will have a fresh turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K and control electronics. 2019 power unit parts used prior to the Russian Grand Prix No. Car Engine Driver ICE TC MGU-H MGU-K ES CE 10 Toro Rosso Honda Pierre Gasly 6 5 5 5 3 3 27 … [Read more...] about F1: Red Bull and Toro Rosso drivers to take grid penalties | RaceFans