32 Hours 7 Minutes refers to the record set in 1983 for a cross-America trip in a road car.

32 Hours 7 Minutes is somewhat enigmatic as a title for a documentary. What could it be about? Why so specific? Who is involved?

If you’re someone who knows a bit about the history of the Cannonball Run, though, it’s a historic set of numbers. That’s what this film is all about: the all-American dream to beat the record for driving coast to coast on public roads.

The film begins with a myriad of interviews with drivers who ran in the original Cannonball Runs in the 1970s- the ones the popular films were based on- as well as drivers in the more secretive and exclusive ‘US Express’. This race ran into the 1980s, the same race in all but name, until in 1983 one duo set an astonishing time of 32 hours and 7 minutes from New York to Los Angeles.

David Diem and Doug Turner set the time using a modified Ferrari 308, to the astonishment of their fellow racers. Some still say it was impossible- and that there was some foul play involved.

32 Hours 7 Minutes takes views from virtually everyone involved in the race, including the record-breakers themselves. The interviews are interesting and often funny, with a great cast of former Cannonball drivers. The film doesn’t do a brilliant job of making it clear who everyone is, however, and I often felt a little lost as to who was talking to me.

Before long, though, the doc shifts focus away from the past and into the present. This is where the film really comes into its own, however, and moves from a fairly traditional documentary into a really surprising and thrilling true story. Here we begin to follow Alex Roy’s incredible attempt to break the record- in modern traffic, using a largely standard BMW M5.

Roy takes a whole tree’s worth of leaves from Turner and Diem’s book when it comes to setting the record. You might think it’s possible to avoid a local speed camera by spotting it on the sat-nav, but if your average speed for a cross-country trip needs to exceed 90mph you need a bit more tech than that. It’s rather interesting to see all of the gadgets used to avoid the law in a country with freeway speed limit of 55mph, so I won’t spoilt the fun by listing them.

The documentary follows Roy’s set-up of the car with the gadgets into his record attempt by following him the entire way across America. This is really exhilarating stuff, and the film really gives the feeling that these people are driving in the tyre-tracks of those 1970s outlaws on the Cannonball Run. There’s definitely something C’etait un Rendez-Vouz-esque about it. It really was great to experience that thrill in a documentary like this.

It’s the kind of thing you wished you could do, but never would- and that’s what makes 32 Hours 7 Minutes such a great documentary. That’s not to say there aren’t issues- the film was made so long ago now that the production quality is a bit dated, and I’m not a fan of the music used- but I cannot deny that it had me gripped throughout.

This isn’t just a film for those who love speed, but a film for those who are looking for a taste of what it might be like to be a real outlaw.

You can buy 32 Hours 7 Minutes here.

Finally, here’s a second opinion from Joe:

32 Hours 7 Minutes is a thoroughly enjoyable look on what is almost an underworld of motor racing and rallying. The film does a brilliant job of capturing the thrill and pressure of the US Express races, as well as Alex Roy’s attempt a few years ago. Whilst the music isn’t the best, the film is very well made overall despite the slightly dated feel, and  I’d definitely recommend any motoring fan watch this whether you enjoy motor racing or not.

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The Ghibli is set for the UK in October this year. Click to enlarge.

After a leak earlier today, Maserati have revealed the first details of their E-class/5-series rivalling model, the Ghibli.

This is Maserati’s first foray in to this area, and the car is set to be the cheapest Maserati on offer. Not to say it’s actually ‘cheap’- the bottom of the range version will still probably come in just below £50k.

Whilst we don’t have any performance figures yet- homologationof the final model hasn’t actually been completed yet- we do know some technical specs. The bottom of the range model will contain a diesel engine- a first for Maserati and no doubt the least exciting of all the specs we’ve been given.

This is the first time Maserati have ever produced a car with a diesel engine. Click to enlarge.

The other two engines are more interesting, however. These will both be turbocharged V6s (the diesel is also a V6 turbo), with the range topping engine fine tuned for better performance. Each model will have a 8-speed flappy-paddle gearbox, and come in either rear or all-wheel drive. If like us you’re in the UK, however, rear-wheel drive is your only option.

This is part of Maserati’s push for 50,000 sales target, and it is expected to be quite a big part of it too- maybe as much as half.

The Ghibli is set for a full reveal at the Shanghai Motor Show, after which it will tour all the car festivals of the year, and we will probably see it at Goodwood Festival of Speed later this year- stay tuned for our coverage of that.

Via autocar

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The Venom GT- the fastest car you can buy today. Click to enlarge.

Hennessey has claimed that it’s smashed the speed record for production cars, one formally owned by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Well- sort of. The Venom GT got all the way up to 265.7mph, but there wasn’t quite enough runway to reach the dizzying heights of the Veyron’s 267.8mph. How can Hennessey claim the record then? Simple: the Bugatti is electronically limited to 258mph in production form, so the Venom will technically beat it on the road. Where you will find a road to reach that sort of speed without getting caught we can’t quite figure out…

It is an astonishing feat, however. The Venom had just two miles to reach that speed, whilst the Super Sport had five- getting up to 266mph is mental by itself, but in only two miles? Absolutely ridiculous. The Venom produces 1,261hp and 852lb ft from a 7.0-litre twin-turbo V8, and so we reckon it’ll easily smash the record if it can find itself a few more miles of runway next time, something that Hennessey have not ruled out doing.

Check out the video below if you want to see it in action.

Via Pistonheads

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Jaguar’s stunning new track-focused XKR-S GT. Click to enlarge.

Jaguar has announced a brand new version of their flagship XK, the XKR-S GT- which they call “ultimate road-going, track-ready XK coupe.”

The aero package, including this huge rear wing, adds 145kg of downforce. Clock to enlarge.

The main differences over the XKR-S include track suspension, aerodynamic aids, more mad styling and a huge rear wing.

The new aero parts, which contribute to the track focus of the car, include an extended front splitter, dive-planes and elevated rear wing (all carbon fibre). The 550bhp supercharged V8 from the XKR-S remains, but the GT uses it to great effect with a 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds (down from 4.2) and a limited top speed of 186mph.

There’s the obligatory trim and styling updates as well as a 25kg weight saving, but the real headline feature is that all those fancy aero bits add 145kg of downforce- definitely a cool addition for a track car like this. It might be a track car but it’s not going to be cheap- the car will cost around £130,000.

More track-based additions include carbon ceramic brake discs, revised sharper suspension and the new steering rack from the F-Type.

It’s really all that we could ask from Jaguar. I wondered how they could make the XKR-S even madder but they appear to have done so. This is real dream car stuff now.

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Vettel and Hamilton on one of the frostiest podiums for a long time. Click to enlarge.

Sebastian Vettel is undoubtedly one of the fastest drivers competing in modern Forumla 1- but does that justify his pass on Webber this weekend?

If you’re not familiar with yesterday’s event at the Malaysian Grand Prix, I’ll recount it as briefly as I can. Mark Webber was leading the race, having managed his tyres very well in changing conditions. He had turned his engine to the ‘conservation’ mode that F1 engines run to keep them in as good shape as possible. Vettel, despite orders from his team, closed the gap with Webber and overtook him.

Who knew that the Malaysian Grand Prix would be host to so much drama? Click to enlarge.

That resulted in a very grumpy podium- even third place man Lewis Hamilton felt his team-mate Nico Rosberg should have been there instead of him. Vettel clearly knew he had not done the right thing after the race and apologised to both his team and to Webber:

“I messed up today. I would love to come up with a nice excuse as to why I did it, but I can’t. I can understand Mark’s frustration and the team not being happy with what I did today; I owe an explanation to him and the whole team.”

It’s a thorny issue, though. On the BBC coverage David Coulthard repeated many times that it was a mistake and we should accept his apology, and to be honest I totally agree with him. Vettel is a young man, desperate to gather another world championship title, and he made a mistake in the heat of the moment. We should accept his apology.

However I don’t think this should go unpunished. I would hope that Red Bull do something to show him that he can’t get away with this sort of disrespect by just shuffling his feet and saying sorry. Webber is right to worry that Vettel has protection from the head honcho Helmut Marko- but this incident is so visible that I can’t see him getting away with it.

The problem with this whole situation is that most of us as race fans hate team orders. We want to see the drivers race each other, no matter who against. It was an exciting part of the race- seeing the two Red Bulls tussle for the lead. The problem with this incident is that Vettel was going all out, whereas Webber was doing his job and settling down for a comfortable win. It wasn’t a fair fight, and that’s why I’m on Webber’s side for this one.

In the same race we saw Rosberg desperate to overtake Hamilton- and I think in that case they should have been allowed to race. From a fan’s perspective I would love to see a fight this year between those two drivers, but it looks like that is not going to happen. It’s a safe result for Mercedes but it’s just less fun to watch for us.

If the race is fair, then let them have at it- but when Vettel took advantage of Webber yesterday I couldn’t help but feel like he cheated his way to victory.

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The Veneno is based on the Avendator. Click to enlarge.

Lambo has continued its tradition of producing mad hypercars with this, the Veneno.

It costs £3.12 million and only 3 have been made- all have been sold. Possibly not a viable alternative to the P1 or LaFerrari then.

What Lamborghini call a ‘street-legal racing car,’ it holds the same 6.5 litre V12 as the brilliant Aventador. For this though it’s been tuned to produce another 50bhp. That’s right, 740bhp in total.

Lambo have a reputation for bonkers auto-mobiles. Click to enlarge.

The body is moulded completely out of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer, and is all about aerodynamics- the front wings are separated from the body, just like on prototype racers, and the underside of the car is all designed so as to get air in to the large diffuser which contains four exhaust pipes. Its also got an adjustable rear wing, 20 and 21 inch alloys, massive air intakes for the engine, and a better exhaust system.

What this all equates to is extreme performance. Have no doubt about it, this car was made to be put on the wall of bedrooms, not for public consumption. The fact it looks so stupid is brilliant- Lamborghinis are meant to be absolutely mental, and this is just that.

Via autocar.

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The LaFerrari features notable F1 aesthetics, yet hardly looks beautiful. Click to enlarge.

Ferrari has revealed its Enzo-replacing, McLaren P1- rivaling car- named ‘LaFerrari’.

The Geneva reveal is the first we’ve seen of the car, and 1 thing comes straight to mind- why isn’t it beautiful? In recent years we’ve seen, in our opinion, a decline in the beauty of Ferraris, and this seems to embody that. The Pininfarina design house that is responsible for most Ferrari designs hasn’t been used for this one, instead being developed in-house with heavy use of a wind tunnel. It seems to somewhat embody some F1 features (as does the P1), but in our opinion here at Unlimited Mileageit is not good looking.

The P1 matches the Ferrari blow-for-blow until higher speeds. Click to enlarge.

Putting that aside though, this will no doubt be a magnificent car. Its name says it all- ‘The Ferrari’, created to embody the Ferrari brand. Coming in at over £1,000,000 however, not many will get the chance to own the top of the range car made by the ultimate Italian manufacturer. Whilst most have sold out, however, there are still a few of the limited run of 499 still available.

Lets get on to the stats- it follows the notably cheaper McLaren P1 (£866,000) closely, going from 0-60mphin under 3 seconds, and reaching a top speed of well over 215mph (although Ferrari have said that top speed ‘does not matter’. It does however do 0-300km/h (186mph) in 15.5sec, which is 1.5sec faster than the P1.

Only 499 LaFerraris will be made, and most have already been sold. Click to enlarge.

Like the P1 its a hybrid engine, also featuring a KERS system derived from the F1 technology named ‘HY-KERS’, which adds on another 161bhp. Whilst the P1 features a twin-turbo 3.8-litre V8, the LaFerrari has a normally aspirated 6.3 litre V12, producing 789bhp. That brings the total bhp up to 950bhp. It also revs to 9250rpm, and has a peak torque of 715lb ft. Whilst the P1 does have that smaller engine and subsequently produces lower stats- 903bhp the official figure- the effects aren’t likely to be felt unless you are going really, really fast.

The Ferrari slightly edges the Mclaren in weight as well, coming in at 1255kg whilst the P1 is 1400kg. The Ferrari is also shorter height and width wise, along with a shorter wheel-base too. Make of that what you will.

All in all the LaFerrari (the ‘the Ferrari’?) seems ever so slightly better stats wise. Which one will be faster round a track we don’t know, neither will we probably ever be able to form our own opinion on which feels better to drive. Both however are amazing cars, and pieces of engineering brilliance which we mustn’t forget will usher in the latest age of technology transferring from F1 to normal road cars, just as it has done in the past- and we think that’s bloody brilliant.

Via autocar.

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The Mclaren P1 is this year’s most hotly anticipated supercar. Click to enlarge.

As the Geneva launch of McLaren‘s new flagship model draws closer more and more information has been made available- all the industry rumour and teasing pictures have now been brought together for the final press release before the Geneva reveal.

With an electronically limited top speed of 350km/h- that’s 217mph- McLaren boast some very, very tasty stats. 0-60mph will be under 3 seconds, 0-120mph under 7 seconds and 0-180mph in under 17 seconds. That’s a whopping 5 seconds faster than its predecessor, the now legendary Mclaren F1.

The P1 has hardly changed from concept to production. Click to enlarge.

This all comes from a combined power of 903bhp. A completely mental figure, but lets not forget this is a hybrid- it has a 3.8 litre V8, along with two of what McLaren describe as ‘highly-efficient powerplants’. It’s also got larger turbo chargers to give it that massive power figure. Its electric motor also means if you really want to be green you can go full-electric mode. If not, McLaren quote a carbon output of 200g/km. This means if you’re lucky enough to have one, you needn’t feel too bad about global warming.

McLaren’s Formula 1 involvement has clearly paid dividends in the P1′s development too- it features DRS and IPAS technologies, Akebono ceramic brakes and Pirelli tyres.

There are more cosmetic things to wet our appetites too. The car itself is stunning- McLaren say pretty much nothing has changed from concept to production. They also placed the price at £866,000 with a limited run of just  375 units. Exclusivity at its best, and a proper dream car that most of us will never even see on the road, let alone get a ride in.

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This classic Rolls-Royce isn’t quite as innocent as it may seem.

Say you’ve got an 8.3-Litre V10 engine from a Dodge Viper lying around. What do you do with it? Obviously, you stick it in a 1930s Rolls-Royce.

The huge Viper V10. Click to enlarge.

Brought to our attention by this post on the Viper forums, it’s a magnificent looking beast. And with about 500 bhp from that huge V10, it’ll probably kick you in the back given any opportunity.

The work on the powertrain- as well as engine management, powertrain wiring, and tuning- was all done by New York-based Viper Specialty Performance.

It’s a full restoration built on a tube frame chassis, with loads of brand new and improved bits to make the car better to drive than the original. It’s even got modern air conditioning.

There’s something brilliant about this- it’s essentially a hot rod without the tasteless huge flame paint job.

Part-way through the build.

Thanks to Dan at Viper Specialty Performance for permission to use the photographs.

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The 4C hasn’t changed much, retaining its beautiful shape. Click to enlarge.

Alfa Romeo have revealed today the first pictures of the 4C, and it’s as beautiful as ever.

The 4C is a tiny car, and will probably weigh under 1000kg. Click to enlarge.

These are the latest shots of the 4C, which show the actual production model for the first time. Luckily it hasn’t really changed too noticeably from the concept version, and is still absolutely stunning. Some of the minor details have changed- for example the wing-mirrors and the lights- but the shape remains pretty much exactly the same.

The car retains its figure in more ways than one- Alfa have confirmed it will have a wheelbase of 2.4 metres, as well as being less than 4 metres in length, 200 cm wide and just 118 cm high. It’ll also only weigh (according to industry rumours) around 950kg. If this is right, the power to weight ratio that Alfa have given us (4kg/hp or 250hp/tonne) indicates a total output of 237bhp.

This power comes from a 4 cylinder 1750 turbo petrol engine. Alfa boast direct fuel injection and “revolutionary” scavenging control system that should eliminate turbo lag.

The new tail lights are a welcome edition. Click to enlarge.

However rumours are that the car will be more expensive than first thought- around the £50,000 mark. The timing of the release only strengthens this rumour- if it were this expensive it would be

a direct competitor to the new Cayman. It just so happens the Cayman is being revealed about now as well- coincidence or tactic?

We’ll find this out, and more, when the car is fully debuted at Geneva next month.

Via Piston Heads

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