Style & Culture
Hammerdown
Tue Oct 22 2013 19:47:35 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Watching This Rolls Royce Become Ugly Is Stupefyingly Mesmerizing.
Wraps are a big thing these days when it comes to car customizing. It's an easy way to change a color without paint, which makes them ideal for when you want to sell the car and people don't want a teal and chartreuse Ferrari 430. It's also entrancing to watch them getting applied.
This time lapse shows MS Motors transforming a Rolls Royce Ghost into a Rolls Royce Ghost "Gold Edition." That means they apply a gold and black wrap to a nicely understated silver Ghost and then throw on some giant wheels because every car needs giant wheels.
Duh.
Now, I'm not one to judge a personal taste in cars. You want a gold Ghost with huge wheels? I find it ugly, but if it makes you happy then you keep on being you.
What I find amazing is the application of the wrap and watching them do it. There is such care and precision with this that you just don't see when the finished product rolls by you on the street. I find it truly fascinating and could watch it for hours. It almost relaxes me in some weird, car pervert sort of way.
Hammerdown
Fri Oct 11 2013 14:40:39 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
The Singer 911: All You Ever Wanted to Know.
To some people, mainly Porsche people, this is the most desirable car you could own. Its creators are a bunch of zany, brilliant Porsche-files who have invested their lives in re-imagining the classic Porsche 911 shape for the year 2013. Chris Harris tours the factory, speaks to the team and drives it on road and track.
Hammerdown
Thu Sep 05 2013 14:53:36 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
1937 Mercedes-Benz 230 N Roadster
55 bhp, 2,229 cc overhead-valve inline six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, transverse leaf-spring front suspension, dual half swing axle rear suspension, and four-wheel drum brakes. Wheelbase: 2,700 mm
In many ways, Mercedes-Benz was amongst the most democratic of the European auto manufacturers in the 1930s. No matter what model was selected, whether it was the smaller 230, the mid-range 320, or the massive top-of-the-line 500 K or 540 K, it combined innovative, sophisticated engineering with a wide range of striking, beautifully built bodywork. The buyer who could not afford a 540 K could instead purchase a 230 N and order it with factory-built roadster bodywork that was sporty and even sexy.
The 230 N of 1937 that is offered here, delivered through the Daimler-Benz Munich branch in September 1937, is one such car, and it incorporates several features new to that year’s model, including all-round independent suspension, a longer wheelbase, and an enlarged, more powerful engine that enabled a top speed of 116 km/h. It is one of the very nicest restorations in this collection, and it appears to have been done to European concours standards, with excellent glossy scarlet paint, red steel wheels with classic Mercedes-Benz star hubcaps, cream leather upholstery, and a tan top and carpeting, all of which are in very good condition throughout. Typical of German cars of this era, the dashboard is beautifully appointed with clear, well-laid out gauges that are surrounded by a Bakelite switchgear. The wheels are shod in Excelsior tyres, the engine breathes through a stainless steel exhaust, and a rumble seat provides the opportunity for sporty passengers to ride along.
All of the work on this ground-up restoration was executed to extremely high standards, which is obvious upon examination. Only detailing would be required to continue to prepare the car for future showing as one of the most dashing offerings from Mercedes-Benz in this period.
Hammerdown
Wed Jan 23 2013 00:41:41 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Canadian photographer Patrice Laroche surely will have no trouble explaining to his kids about the birds and the bees. During his wife Sandra Denis’ pregnancy, the artist created hilarious explanatory photo series titled "How to Make a Baby”.
The creative couple planned and carried out their project throughout the whole period of 9 months, taking pictures in the exact same settings as Sandra’s belly expanded.
The pregnancy saga of Sandra and Patrice basically denounces all the traditional cabbage and the stork stories.