Car Culture

Automotive design is a tricky thing. There are regulations to meet and aerodynamics to consider, all while taking into account what looks good. However, sometimes designers can throw caution to the wind. Ken Okuyama is one of those designers and two of his creations are the subject of this week’s Want.

Car manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure that your new car stands the test of time. Their research and development facilities simulate years of use for components and mechanisms, so that a five-year old car still feels like a new one.

There’s a lot of really cool cars in film and TV. From the Flintstones’ foot-powered piece of ancient “history” to the flying DeLorean of the future, our four-wheeled friends can be icons.

January 3 is the day that Michael Schumacher turns 50. To mark the record-holding Ferrari world champion driver’s birthday, Ferrari has opened a new special exhibition dedicated to his life and achievements with the brand.

If we have one suggestion for a New Year’s resolution, it’s to buy a race car. Why? Because race car of course! If you share the same sentiment as us, then this Wednesday Want is for you. In it, we will take a look at a few vehicles currently for sale to help get you behind the wheel of a racing machine.

It seems like just yesterday we were looking at the 2017 Automotive Year in Review. Now in a blink of an eye, we’re closing in on the ending of 2018.

If you want to own a piece of Gran Turismo history, now’s your chance. At the upcoming Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) 3G Corvette will cross the block. This makes it a perfect candidate for this week’s Want.

GTPlanet’s editorial team recently spent a week in Monaco and, although most of our time was taken up by the FIA-Certified GT Sport World Finals, there was a little downtime too. After all, who wants to work on a Sunday morning, with all that Mediterranean sunshine beaming down?

When it comes to sim racing wheels, you’re presented with a ton of options. Now there’s a new wheel out but there’s a bit of a caveat… It only works for one game and you need to own a Tesla to get it.

If you’re as bad at planning gifts as us, you’ll face the same story every year. Even if you’ve picked up the presents you wanted, you won’t have wrapped them by the time NORAD says Santa’s at your chimney — and then you can’t find anything to wrap them with anyway.

Earlier this year Ford showed off the original 1968 Mustang GT-390 from Bullitt it found on a farm in California. Now, another classic Steve McQueen film car has resurfaced.

This week’s Wednesday Want once again zeros in on one of our favorite automotive genres, Group B rally cars. In the past, we’ve showcased the Porsche 959, Peugeot 205 T16, and the Toyota 222D. Now joining that list is the MG Metro 6R4.

If there’s a better way to get into the festive spirit than to attach a Christmas tree to a $140,000 sports car and take it drifting, we don’t know what it is. Fortunately Lotus agrees, and threw in a whistle-stop tour of its headquarters near Norwich too.

If you think you’re bored of F1, spare a thought for the chap in this video. He’s not only bored, he’s card-bored…

As you may have read previously on the site, back in May GTPlanet member Brad McClaren (McClarenDesign) made the trip from Oklahoma, USA to Auckland, NZ (a trip of over 7,500 miles) to race with Hooncorp in the New Zealand 24 Hours of Lemons. Driving the #137 Commodore, Brad managed to survive the dark, the rain, and the opposition, with the team finishing 22nd amongst a field of 53 starters. The second Hooncorp car on the track, the #37 Pulsar, came 15th.

Pull out the flat brim hat and crack open a Monster, it’s time for the latest edition of Ken Block’s Gymkhana videos.

It’s been looking bad for the Bloodhound team recently. A project to send a car to 1,000mph was never going to be easy, but with some big-name sponsors on board, all the pieces were nearly in place. After a decade of work, the track was ready, the car had performed well in its shakedown and Bloodhound had marked its calendar.

The Grand Tour’s third season is almost upon us but good news! Amazon has decided to renew the light entertainment motoring show for a fourth season.

You might recall a little while back that we covered a survey on the greatest movie cars ever. The cars on the list were… unusual to say the least, and GTPlanet’s forum members were quick with alternative suggestions.

Porsche has recently revived its “Top 5” series of videos, looking at some of the extraordinary cars it has made over its 70-year history.