AI-assisted drifting, Tesla docs leaked, Street legal Bumper cars and more

The Most Expensive Ferrari…
ever!

…The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti.

This one-of-a-kind Prancing Horse sold for a staggering $51.7 million at an auction at RM Sotheby’s.

We all know that the 250 GTO is a sought-after collector’s car.

But what made this particular GTO sell for $14 million more than the last one?

• This is the car that was driven at the 24 Hours of Le Mans by Lorenzo Bandinin (the guy who tried to beat Christian Bale in Ford v Ferrari)

• It is also the only GTO that was originally equipped with a 4-liter engine before being replaced with a 3.0-litre Colombo V12 for racing

And if you’re looking for any more reasons to love the 250 GTO as a model, I’d strongly recommend the video below 👇️ 

What Comes After Formula E?

Well…Formula G.

Started by ex-F1 driver Nick Heidfeld and CEO of Mahindra Racing’s Formula E team Dilbagh Gill, it will be a support series with 10 teams, 20 cars, and 40 drivers!

How is it different from Formula E?

• Each team will run the cars in 2 states of tune

• Non-professional drivers will race in an F-G2 race

• Pro drivers will take over with a higher-tuned car in the full F-G1 championship

It’ll be launched next year, with independent championships in 4 regions.

Formula G's website has a get-in-touch form where you can submit your interest as a fan, engineer, or driver. I’ve linked it here.

A Street Legal Bumper Car

We’ve all loved bumper cars at some point in our childhood.

Well, Dan Hryhorcoff took this childhood memories and turned them into a road-legal giant bumper car.

• It’s based on the 1953-model bumper cars found at an amusement park in Elysburg

• It measures 13 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 5.5 feet wide

• Uses the engine from a Chevrolet Aveo mounted in the rear

• Has a motorcycle wheel at the front which allows it to be classified as a tricycle

Who says you’re too old to have a go in a bumper car? 😁

AI Will Teach You to Drift

They say “AI will take your job”.

Well, if you’re a drift instructor, it might. 😬

The Toyota Research Institute (TRI) developed the concept “Driving Sensei”.

It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help drivers improve their driving skills. 

To ensure that its autonomous technology is as capable as the best human drivers, they “installed” this AI into a Supra and programmed it to drift.

See for yourself.

These guys are absolute geniuses…

🍿Fails🍿 

1/ A fully self-driving Mercedes, but with a twist…

Just days after BMW announced that it could finally offer Level 3 autonomous driving tech, Mercedes said that it has 7 cars on sale that have Level 4 autonomous tech.

But… they only work in a single parking structure, garage P6, at Stuttgart Airport, and not on the road.

The self-driving crazy is picking up though, huh??

2/ Pay to find your child, says VW

A family is suing VW after the company refused to help find their carjacked vehicle - with their 2-year-old still inside!

VW requested that the $150 subscription fee be paid to enable the vehicle control and tracking Car-Net app.

Wild!! 😲

3/ Dodge Charger Crushed In Mid-Air By Bus

The Charger blew through a stop sign and hit a bump that launched in the air.

An oncoming bus couldn’t avoid hitting it.

Both vehicles crashed into a building.
Miraculously, everyone survived.

For some reason it reminded me of this scene:

4/ Mercedes doesn’t know window design???

Mercedes had to recall 7 cars in the U.S. because their windows and windshields might not be glued properly.

How could such an error happen?

Because a supplier mislabeled a batch of adhesive, meaning that it wasn’t up to the required specifications.

Imagine buying something like this and 10 miles down the road your window starts detaching itself 🤣 

⚡️EV⚡️ 

1/ A family hyper-EV that revs higher than an F1 car

It’s called the ‘A’, made by a Shangai-based company called HiPhi.

What makes it different from all the other Chinese EVs out there?
I’m glad you asked.

• It’s powered by 3 electric motors that have a carbon-fiber rotor and magnetic cylinder coil cooling technology

• This allows the motor to spin at 22,000rpm - twice that of an F1 car, giving:

  • 1,287bhp

  • 0-60mph in just over 2sec

  • Top speed of 186mph

The HiPhi A makes its debut today at the Guangzhou Auto Show, with official production set to commence on a limited-run basis from the first quarter of 2025.

Also, is it just me or it kind of looks like a GTR-R35??

2/ Hyper Hatches are making a comeback

Small. Affordable. Practical. Powerful (enough).

That’s what made hot hatches sell like…hot cakes.

Say hello to the Vandervell S - an all-electric hyper-hatch.

Stats?

• An entry-level 350bhp ‘S’ variant 

• A livelier ‘S Plus’ that’s limited to 500 units and has 650bhp 

• Both will be four-wheel drive and weigh around 4000 lbs (1800kg)

  • that’s quite heavy.
    For comparison: the 2023 Dodge Charger is 4270lbs!!

• Price? $136,000 before taxes 🥶 

I personally can’t see how people would buy these

3/ A Tesla Friend Turned Foe?

Friend?

In March 2019, Lukasz Krupski pulled a flaming charger from underneath a Model 3. He suffered bad burns but managed to prevent a major disaster.

CEO Elon Musk emailed him personally to say: “Congratulations for saving the day!”

Foe?

Krupski then replied back to Mr. Elon raising his concerns about the lack of fire extinguishers nearby on the day of the accident and that cardboard boxes and other flammable materials were lying around.

Krupski’s immediate bosses and co-workers weren’t too happy with his actions, though, and he started to receive threats.

He was fired in 2022.

Frustrated, he leaked the company’s internal documents about:

• problems with Tesla’s Autopilot software

• difficulties bringing the Cybertruck to market

• sensitive personnel info, including social security numbers.

Multiple lawsuits and legal investigations followed.

Krupski wants to sue Tesla for compensation.
His claim: he was unfairly treated.

What’s your take? (vote) 👇️ 

4/ Cybertruck interior revealed

Cybertruck deliveries are set to begin by the end of this month, but someone managed to leak a video of the interior.

A stark contrast to the opinion-splitting exterior, the interior seems pretty conventional.

😆Memes 😆 

You tell me guys - do your wives/girlfriends like it when you talk about cars??? 🤣 

Speaking of the Le Mans earlier 😆