1957 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing by Foose Design

The 1957 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is without question one of the most iconic vehicles in auto history so when you’re in the presence of one, it’s important to treat the car with utmost care and delicacy.

At the 2011 SEMA Auto Show, we saw a 300SL Gullwing at the BASF Booth, except that this particular one was fine-tuned by no less than Chip Foose/Foose Design in collaboration with the world leader in automotive OEM and refinish technologies. Before being sent off to Foose Design for the cursory aerodynamic improvements, BASF was already familiar with the 300SL, having spearheaded a restoration project that was actually featured in a 2008 episode of Dream Car Garage.

As far as Foose’s responsibility on the car was concerned, the man with the tuning Midas touch was tasked to give it some subtle, yet significant styling cues. To begin his work, Foose removed the 300SL’s front and rear bumpers, replacing them with custom fabricated units that have been redesigned to offer slimmer and more elegant trim. The company also took time to make enhancements on the rear bulge just above the rear wheel, making it symmetrical to the front wheel house bulge. The car’s grille and shell, together with the nose emblem, were all treated to minor modifications while the car’s new side trim was machined, milled, filed, and polished, just before undergoing final chrome plating. New headlights were also installed while the bezels were machined out of billet aluminum before being fit back to the front fenders. And finally, Foose outfitted the 300SL Gullwing with a clean set of Foose wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Nero tires.

Classsic car

One of the cars that really stood out to us at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show was this particular Porsche 911 (964) that was jointly built by two industry heavyweights, Mark Arcenal of Fatlace and RWB’s very own, Nakai-san.

The creation, called the RWB Porsche 911 Pandora One, is a testament to the highly influential skills of the two car builders. Before any modifications took place, RWB and Fatlace stripped down the car and all of its road equipment to give way for a new racing set-up, including a new full roll-cage. After that, two Recaro Pro-Racer SPG seats were installed and fitted along with Stack gauges. In addition, the 964’s exterior was treated to a full compliment of aerodynamic parts courtesy of Rauh-Welt Begriff, highlighted by the enormous wing on the rear of the sports race car. Other touches done on the 964 include a satin green paint finish by TNT, new KW V3 coilovers to replace the car’s standard springs and shocks, and a new set of 18" RWB wheels built by Rotiform wrapped in Falken tires on the front and Azenis tires on the back.

One unique feature of the Pandora One is a special remote-operated hydraulic lift system built by KW called the HLS System. The set-up allows the Porsche to create as much as 1.75" of additional ground clearance with just a push of a button.

Meanwhile, the car’s race-spec engine was handled by FFTEC Motorsports, which in turn took the turbo engine and tuned it to produce 6psi of boost and 398 horsepower. While that number is what’s underneath the hood of the 911 for now, the car is expected to back into FFTEC’s Mustang dyno, where the company is looking into pulling out 15psi of boost. Figure that out and you’ll probably get an output that’s near the 550-horsepower area.

The developer for speed

The good thing about technology these days, as far as video game developers are concerned, is the wide array of platforms they can come on. No longer are we limited to video game consoles now that smartphones and tablets have become a popular tool for the vast majority of the population.

EA Games, the developer of Need For Speed: The Run, is taking advantage of this wider access to video games with the release of the trailer for the game on the iPad and the iPhone.

You read that right, folks. We now have iPad and iPhone trailers.

Since the game is already out for the PS3 and Xbox platforms, the next step is to bring all the action to the iPad and iPhone. That’s what the trailer is for. And even if it doesn’t come with the same cutting edge graphics as that of the console versions, it still something that should be a good download.

Besides, the iPad and the iPhone have one thing going for them that the PS3 and the Xbox don’t: you can take those two anywhere you go, and in doing so, play NFS: The Run anytime and anywhere.

Car model line

Toyota’s New Prius v Expands Model Line with Larger Model

Prius fans who have been longing for a slightly larger version of their favorite ride now have a new choice in the Prius v. It’s roomer than the original with more functionality, while maintaining the Prius vibe.