Believe it or Not Believe

Tsunami-2004

2010-01-12T22:05:00.003+07:00

Caterina-2005

2010-01-12T21:56:00.003+07:00

List of fastest-selling albums in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2009-02-08T11:11:00.002+07:00

List of fastest-selling albums in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Below are the highest-selling albums in the week of their release selling over 200,000.
Artist Album Sales
1. Oasis Be Here Now 696,389*
2. Coldplay X&Y 464,471
3. Take That The Circus 432,490
4. Dido Life for Rent 400,351
5. Leona Lewis Spirit 375,872**
6. Robbie Williams Intensive Care 373,832
7. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 363,735
8. U2 Rattle and Hum 360,000
9. Michael Jackson Bad 350,000
10. Oasis (What's the Story) Morning Glory? 347,000
11. Madonna The Immaculate Collection 340,000
12. Boyzone By Request 329,176
13. Robbie Williams Greatest Hits 320,081
14. The Beatles 1 319,126
15. The Prodigy The Fat of the Land 316,951
16. Robbie Williams Sing When You're Winning 313,585
17. Oasis Standing on the Shoulder of Giants 311,265
18. Hear'Say Popstars 306,631
19. Coldplay Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends 302,074***
20. Robbie Williams Swing When You're Winning 295,024
21. Simply Red Life 290,000
22. Scissor Sisters Ta-Dah 288,167
23. George Michael Older 281,000
24. George Michael Patience 274,816
25. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head 273,924
26"

Fastest lap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2009-01-22T10:54:00.000+07:00

Fastest lap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Fastest lap
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some series, like A1 Grand Prix and the GP2 series, award bonus points to the driver/team with the fastest lap. In Formula One, where until 1960 drivers were awarded a point for setting fastest lap, Michael Schumacher holds the current record for the most fastest laps with 76.

In Grand Prix motorcycle racing, which includes the 80cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc/MotoGP classes, no point is awarded for the fastest lap. Giacomo Agostini holds the current record for the most fastest laps with 117. Valentino Rossi, who still actively races in MotoGP, is in fourth place with 77 fastest laps.

[edit] Top ten drivers in Formula 1 with fastest laps

(drivers in bold are currently active)
Place Driver Fastest laps
1 Flag of Germany Michael Schumacher 76
2 Flag of France Alain Prost 41
3 Flag of Finland Kimi Räikkönen 35
4 Flag of the United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 30
5 Flag of the United Kingdom Jim Clark 28
6 Flag of Finland Mika Häkkinen 25
7 Flag of Austria Niki Lauda 24
8= Flag of Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 23
8= Flag of Brazil Nelson Piquet 23
10 Flag of Austria Gerhard Berg"

Fastest production car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2009-01-03T16:21:00.003+07:00

This is a history of the world's fastest mass produced, street-legal cars (as opposed to concept cars or modified cars).

The first automobile ever produced was the Benz Patent Motorwagen, built in 1885 and unveiled in 1886 by Karl Benz. Unique and consequently the fastest, it established a record speed of 16 km/h (10 mph). More than a century later, in September 2007, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT registered the latest record, for a production car, of 412 km/h (256.18 mph).

It is of note that the base model of many of the vehicles listed is vastly lower in maximum speed than limited edition or very rare production models, which may in themselves not fall into the category of 'production car'

Fastest production car - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Record holders
Date Car Speed
km/h mph
1901 Mercedes 35 hp 85 53
1903 Mercedes 60 hp 96 60
1921 Bentley 3 Litre Super Sports 160 100
1926 Bentley 4½ Litre 160 100
1929 Duesenberg Murphy Roadster 210 130.5
1929 Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged 222.02 137.96
1932 Duesenberg SJ 217 135[1]
1953 Pegaso Z-102 Supercharged 244.62 152[2]
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL 250 155[3]
1955 Ferrari 410 Superamerica 261 162.2 [4]
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO 279.06 173.4 [5] A homologation car of which just 36 were produced
1968 Ferrari Daytona GTB/4 281 175[6]
1970 Monteverdi Hai 450 283 176 [7]
1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV 288.07 179 150 built. (385HP)
1984 Ferrari 288 GTO 304 189[8] 272 built, was to compete in the new Group B Race series, but the series was soon abandoned and the 288 GTO never raced thus all 272 cars built remained purely road cars. (400HP)
1987 Ferrari F40 324 201[9] 1350 built, the F40 was the last car commissioned by Enzo before his death and was debuted during Ferrari's 40th anniversary. The F40 is also the first road legal production car to surpass the 200 mph (320 km/h) mark. (470HP)"

Hip hop

2008-12-23T13:00:00.001+07:00

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans.^[1][2] Hip Hop's four main elements are Mc'ing (often called rapping), DJing, graffiti writing, and breakdancing. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world.^[3]

When hip hop music began to emerge, it was based around DJs who created rhythmic beats by looping breaks (smalls portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables. This was later accompanied by "rapping" (a rhythmic style of chanting). An original form of dancing, and particular styles of dress, arose among followers of this new music. These elements experienced considerable refinement and development over the course of the history of the culture.

The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises from the appearance of new and increasingly elaborate and pervasive forms of the practice in areas where other elements of hip hop were evolving as art forms, with a heavy overlap between those who wrote and those who practiced other elements of the culture. Beatboxing is a mainly percussive vocal form in which various technical effects of hip hop DJs are imitated.

Etymology

The word "hip" was used as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) as early as 1904. The colloquial language meant "informed" or "current," and was likely derived from the earlier form hep.

The term "hip hop" had also been used as early as 1931 in Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy's novel The Emigres (1931) - Эмигранты (1931), referring to a musical group by the name Hips Hops (p. 189 - 1982 Pravda, Soviet Ed.), performing in Stokholm (Sweden), though it is unclear whether the name referred to an actual or fictional group.

Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins, a rapper with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five has been credited with the coining of the term hip hop in 1978 while teasing a friend who had just joined the US Army, by scat singing the words "hip/hop/hip/hop" in a way that mimicked the rhythmic cadence of marching soldiers. Cowboy later worked the "hip hop" cadence into a part of his stage performance. ^[4] The group frequently performed with disco artists who would refer to this new type of MC / DJ produced music by calling them "those hip-hoppers". The name was originally meant as a sign of disrespect, but soon come to identify this new music and culture. Other artists quickly copied the Furious Five and began using the term in their music; for example the opening of the song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang in addition the verse found on Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's own "Superrappin'", both released in 1979. Lovebug Starski and DJ Hollywood then began using the term when referring to this new disco rap music. Hip hop pioneer and South Bronx community leader Afrika Bambaataa also credits Lovebug Starski, a Bronx DJ who put out a single called "The Positive Life" in 1981, as the first to use the term "Hip Hop," as it relates to the culture. Bambaataa, a former Black Spades gang member also did much to further popularize the term. ^[5] ^[4] ^[6

History

Jamaican born DJ Clive "Kool Herc" Campbell is credited as originating hip hop music, in the Bronx, New York, after moving to New York at the age of thirteen. Herc created the blueprint for hip hop music and culture by building upon the Jamaican tradition of toasting, or boasting impromptu poetry and sayings over music, which he witnessed as a child in Jamaica. ^[7]

Herc and other DJs would tap into the power lines to connect their equipment and perform, at venues such as public basketball courts and the historic building "where hip hop was born," 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, Bronx, New York. ^[8] Their equipment was composed of huge stacks of speakers, turntables, and one or more microphones.^[9] In late 1979, Debbie Harry of Blondie took Chic co-founder and lead guitarist Nile Rodgers to such an event, as the main backing track used was the break from Chic's Good Times.^[10]

Herc was also the developer of break-beat deejaying, where the breaks of funk songs—the part most suited to dance, usually percussion-based—were isolated and repeated for the purpose of all-night dance parties. This breakbeat DJing, using hard funk, rock, and records with Latin percussion, formed the basis of hip hop music. Campbell's announcements and exhortations to dancers would lead to the syncopated, rhymed spoken accompaniment we now know as rapping. He dubbed his dancers break-boys and break-girls, or simply b-boys and b-girls. According to Herc, "breaking" was also street slang for "getting excited" and "acting energetically".^[11] Herc's terms b-boy, b-girl and breaking became part of the lexicon of hip hop culture, before that culture itself had developed a name.

Later DJs such as Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash and Jazzy Jay refined and developed the use of breakbeats, including cutting and scratching.^[12] The approach used by Herc was soon widely copied, and by the late 1970s DJs were releasing 12" records where they would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks", and The Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight."^[10]

Emceeing is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes and wordplay, delivered over a beat or without accompaniment. Rapping is derived from the griots (folk poets) of West Africa, and Jamaican-style toasting. Rap developed both inside and outside of hip hop culture, and began with the street parties thrown in the Bronx neighborhood of New York in the 1970s by Kool Herc and others. It originated as MCs would talk over the music to promote their DJ, promote other dance parties, take light-hearted jabs at other lyricists, or talk about problems in their areas and issues facing the community as a whole.

Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five, is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC".^[13]

Hip hop as a culture was further defined in 1983, when Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released a track called "Planet Rock." Instead of simply rapping over disco beats, Bambaataa created an innovative electronic sound, taking advantage of the rapidly improving drum machine and synthesizer technology. The appearance of music videos changed entertainment: they often glorified urban neighborhoods.^[14]. The music video for "Planet Rock" showcased the subculture of hip hop musicians, graffiti artists and breakdancers. Many hip hop-related films were released between 1983 and 1985, among them Wild Style, Beat Street, Krush Groove, Breakin, and the documentary Style Wars.

These films expanded the appeal of hip hop beyond the boundaries of New York. By 1985, youth worldwide were laying down scrap linoleum or cardboard, setting down portable "boombox" stereos and spinning on their backs in Adidas tracksuits and sneakers to music by Run DMC, LL Cool J, the Fat Boys, Herbie Hancock, EPMD, Soulsonic Force, Jazzy Jay, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and Stetsasonic, just to name a few. The hip hop artwork and "slang" of US urban communities quickly found its way to Europe and Asia, as the culture's global appeal took root.

The 1980s also saw many artists make social statements through hip hop. In 1982, Melle Mel and Duke Bootee recorded "The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five), a song that foreshadowed the socially conscious statements of Run-DMC's "It's like That" and Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos."^[15]

During the 1980s, hip hop also embraced the creation of rhythm by using the human body, via the vocal percussion technique of beatboxing. Early pioneers such as Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and Buffy from the Fat Boys made beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using their mouth, lips, tongue, voice, and other body parts. "Human Beatbox" artists would also sing or imitate turntablism scratching or other instrument sounds.

Legacy and social impact

Early hip hop has often been credited with helping to reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with dance and artwork battles. In the early 1970s, Kool DJ Herc began organizing dance parties in his home in the Bronx. The parties became so popular they were moved to outdoor venues to accommodate more people. City teenagers, after years of gang violence, were looking for new ways to express themselves. ^[16] These outdoor parties, hosted in parks, became a means of expression and an outlet for teenagers, where “Instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy.” ^[17]

Tony Tone, a member of the pioneering rap group the Cold Crush Brothers, noted that “Hip-hop saved a lot of lives.”^[18] Hip hop culture became an outlet and a way of dealing with the hardships of life as minorities within America, and an outlet to deal with violence and gang culture. MC Kid Lucky mentions that “people used to break-dance against each other instead of fighting.”^[19] Inspired by Kool DJ Herc, once-gang leader of the Black Spades, Afrika Bambaataa created a street organization called Universal Zulu Nation, centered around hip hop, as a means to draw teenagers out of gang life and violence.^[20]

Hip hop was not centered around violence, drugs, and weapons like most people thought in the early days. Many people used hip hop in positive ways. "Young black Americans coming out of the civil rights movement have used hip hop culture in the 1980s and 1990s to show the limitations of the movement."^[21] Hip hop gave young black Americans a voice to let their issues be noticed. It also gave young blacks a chance for financial gain by "reducing the rest of the world to consumers of its social concerns."^[22]

This shows that hip hop's social impacts on the country have not been all negative. It has positively affected many youth and encouraged them to voice their opinions on world and personal issues. "Like rock-and-roll, hip hop is vigorously opposed by conservatives because it romanticises violence, law-breaking, and gangs" ^[23]. Both hip hop and rock-and-roll were musical movements used by teens in order to express how they felt about certain issues. "Last night at the Waldorf-Astoria, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who proved that hip hop was more than party music with their 1982 hit “The Message,” became the first hip hop group to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" ^[24] Now hip hop and rock-and-roll are used together in many ways including rewriting songs where a rapper or rock band play with the other.

With the emergence of commercial and crime-related rap during the early 1990s, however, an emphasis on violence was incorporated, with many rappers boasting about drugs, weapons, misogyny, and violence. While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of gangsta rap.^[25]

Though created in the United States by African Americans and Latinos, hip hop culture and music is now global in scope. Youth culture and opinion is meted out in both Israeli hip hop and Palestinian hip hop, while France, Germany, the U.K., Brazil, Japan, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean have long-established hip hop followings. According to the U.S. Department of State, hip hop is "now the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world," that crosses social barriers and cuts across racial lines.^[26] National Geographic recognizes hip hop as "the world's favorite youth culture" in which "just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene."^[27] Through its international travels, hip hop is now acknowledged as a “global musical epidemic,”^[28] and has diverged from its ethnic roots by way of globalization and localization.

Although some non-American rappers may still relate with young black Americans, hip hop now transcends its original culture, and is appealing because it is “custom-made to combat the anomie that preys on adolescents wherever nobody knows their name.”^[29] Hip hop is attractive in its ability to give a voice to disenfranchised youth in any country, and as music with a message it is a form available to all societies worldwide.

Even in the face of growing global popularity, or perhaps because of it, hip hop has come under fire for being too commercial, too commodified, too much about money and bling-bling. Artist Nas said it himself in his 2006 album Hip Hop is Dead. While this of course stirs up controversy, a documentary called The Commodification of Hip Hop directed by Brooke Daniel interviews students at Satellite Academy in New York City. One girl talks about the epidemic of crime that she sees in urban black and Latino communities, relating it directly to the hip hop industry saying “When they can’t afford these kind of things, these things that celebrities have like jewelry and clothes and all that, they’ll go and sell drugs, some people will steal it…”^[30] Many students see this as a negative side effect of the hip hop industry, and indeed, hip hop has been criticized all over the world for spreading crime, violence, and American ideals of consumerism although much of the hip-hop dancing community still chooses to refer back to more "oldschool" types of hip-hop music that does not preach violence and drugs.

In an article for Village Voice, Greg Tate argues that the commercialization of hip hop is a negative and pervasive phenomenon, writing that "what we call hiphop is now inseparable from what we call the hiphop industry, in which the nouveau riche and the super-rich employers get richer" ^[31]. Ironically, this commercialization coincides with a decline in rap sales and pressure from critics of the genre ^[32]. However, in his book In Search Of Africa, Manthia Diawara explains that hip hop is really a voice of people who are down and out in modern society. He argues that the “worldwide spread of hip-hop as a market revolution” is actually global "expression of poor people’s desire for the good life,” and that this struggle aligns with “the nationalist struggle for citizenship and belonging, but also reveals the need to go beyond such struggles and celebrate the redemption of the black individual through tradition.” ^[33]

This connection to "tradition" however, is something that may be lacking according to one Satellite Academy staff member who says that in all of the focus on materialism, the hip hop community is “not leaving anything for the next generation, we’re not building.”^[34]

As the hip hop genre turns 30, a deeper analysis of the music’s impact is taking place. It has been viewed as a cultural sensation which changed the music industry around the world, but some believe commercialization and mass production have given it a darker side. Tate has described its recent manifestations as a marriage of “New World African ingenuity and that trick of the devil known as global-hypercapitalism”^[35], arguing it has joined the “mainstream that had once excluded its originators.” ^[36] While hip hop's values may have changed over time, the music continues to offer its followers and originators a shared identity which is instantly recognisable and much imitated around the world.

Global impact

From its early spread to Europe and Japan to an almost worldwide acceptance through Asia and South American countries such as Brazil, the musical influence has been global. Hip hop sounds and styles differ from region to region, but there is also a lot of crossbreeding. In each separate hip hop scene there is also constant struggle between “old school” hip hop and more localized, newer sounds.^[37] Regardless of where it is found, the music often targets local disaffected youth.^[38]

Hip hop has given people a voice to express themselves, from the "Bronx to Beirut, Kazakhstan to Cali, Hokkaido to Harare, Hip Hop is the new sound of a disaffected global youth culture."^[39] Though on the global scale there is a heavy influence from US culture, different cultures worldwide have transformed hip hop with their own traditions and beliefs. “Global Hip Hop succeeds best when it showcases...cultures that reside outside the main arteries of the African Diaspora.”^[40] Not all countries have embraced hip hop, where, “as can be expected in countries with strong local culture, the interloping wildstyle of hip hop is not always welcomed.”^[41]

As hip hop becomes globally-available, it is not a one-sided process that eradicates local cultures. Instead, global hip hop styles are often synthesized with local styles. Hartwig Vens argues that hip hop can also be viewed as a global learning experience. ^[42] Hip hop from countries outside the United States is often labeled "world music" for the American consumer. Author Jeff Chang argues that "the essence of hip hop is the cipher, born in the Bronx, where competition and community feed each other."^[43]

Hip hop has impacted many different countries culturally and socially in positive ways. "Thousands of organizers from Cape Town to Paris use hip hop in their communities to address environmental justice, policing and prisons, media justice, and education."^[44] Also, "young people in places as disparate as Chile, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Norway use hip hop to push their generation's views into the local conversation."^[45]

While hip hop music has been criticized as a music which creates a divide between western music and music from the rest of the world, a musical "cross pollination" has taken place, which strengthens the power of hip hop to influence different communities. ^[46]Hip hop's impact as a "world music" is also due to its translatability among different cultures in the world. Hip hop's messages allow the under-privileged and the mistreated to be heard.^[47] These cultural translations cross borders.^[48] While the music may be from a foreign country, the message is something that many people can relate to- something not "foreign" at all.^[49]

Even when hip hop is transplanted to other countries, it often retains its "vital progressive agenda that challenges the status quo." ^[50] Global hip hop is the meeting ground for progressive local activism, as many organizers use hip hop in their communities to address environmental injustice, policing and prisons, media justice, and education. In Gothenburg, Sweden, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) incorporate graffiti and dance to engage disaffected immigrant and working class youths. And indigenous young people in places as disparate as Chile, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Norway use hip hop to push their generation's views into local conversation.

Wealthiest Americans ever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2008-12-16T09:39:00.001+07:00

Wealthiest Americans ever - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:↓
1. John D. Rockefeller ( 1839-1937 ) US$192 billion
2. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877 ) US$143 billion
3. John Jacob Astor( 1763-1848 ) US$116 billion
4. Stephen Girard ( 1750-1831 ) US$83 billion
5. Andrew Carnegie( 1835-1919 ) US$75 billion
6. A. T. Stewart( 1803-1876 ) US$70 billion
7. Frederick Weyerhaeuser (1834-1914 ) US$68 billion
8. Jay Gould ( 1836-1892 ) US$67 billion
9. Stephen Van Rensselaer ( 1764-1839) US$64 billion
10. Warren E. Buffett( 1930-Present) US$62 billion
11. Marshall Field (1834-1906) US$61 billion
12. Bill Gates ( 1955-Present) US$58 billion
13. Henry Ford ( 1863-1947) US$54 billion
14. Sam Walton( 1918-1992) US$53 billion
15. Andrew W. Mellon( 1855-1937) US$48 billion
16. Richard B. Mellon( 1858-1933) US$48 billion
17. James G. Fair( 1831-1894 ) US$45 billion
18. William Weightman( 1813-1904 ) US$44 billion
19. Moses Taylor( 1806-1882) US$44 billion
20. Russell Sage (1816-1906) US$43 billion
21. John I. Blair( 1802-1899 ) US$43 billion
22. Edward Henry Harriman ( 1848-1909) US$39 billion
23. Henry Huttleston Rogers( 1840-1909) US$39 billion
24. J. P. Morgan( 1837-1913) US$38 billion

2008-12-10T09:51:00.001+07:00

Flight airspeed record

2008-12-10T09:19:00.002+07:00

Flight airspeed record

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Fastest aircraft)

The SR-71 Blackbird is the current record holder for a manned airbreathing jet aircraft.

An air speed record is the highest airspeed attained by an aircraft of a particular class.

The rules for all official aviation records are defined by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), and they also ratify any claims. Speed records are divided into multiple classes with sub-divisions. There are three classes of aircraft: landplanes, seaplanes and amphibians; then within these classes, there are records for aircraft in several mass bands. There are still further sub-divisions for piston-engined, turbojet, turboprop and rocket-engined aircraft. Within each of these groups, records are defined for speed over a straight course and for closed circuits of various sizes carrying various payloads. There are still further records for the speed between specified cities such as London to New York.

Official records versus unofficial

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird holds the official Air Speed Record for a manned airbreathing jet aircraft with a speed of 2,194 mph (3,529.56 km/h). It was capable of taking off and landing unassisted on conventional runways. The record was set on 28 July 1976 by Eldon W. Joersz near Beale Air Force Base, California, USA.^[8]

For a period of time, during and immediately following World War II, the unpublicised and unofficial speed record of 1004.5 km/h (623.8 mph) set by the Messerschmitt Me 163AV4(the third prototype) rocket aircraft, on October 2, 1941 was actually the fastest velocity any aircraft had been measured as traveling to that time. That figure, set during wartime when no records were being ratified, was achieved by the Me 163A V4 at altitude rather than sea-level as it had been towed by a Bf 110 to set the record. Many record attempts were stated as being "set" after World War II by such aircraft as the Gloster Meteor, which exceeded the 755 km/h (469 mph) velocity record of the pre-war holder (the Messerschmitt Me 209 V1 piston engined aircraft) but the first to actually exceed the Me 163 A V4 claim was the Douglas Skystreak on August 20, 1947.

The fastest manned atmospheric vehicle of all time was the Apollo command module as it returned from the moon, reaching speeds of around Mach 30. Although it used the air largely as a brake, it did also achieve a lift to drag ratio of around 0.368^[9] which was used to control the flight trajectory. However this is probably very different from most people's idea of an 'aircraft', and a L/D ratio of 1 or above is arguably the borderline of what may be considered flying.

World Fastest Sedan

2008-12-02T18:38:00.001+07:00

World Fastest Sedan

The title of Worlds Fastest Sedan has just exchanged hands... once again. It appears that every month or two, this prestigious title of who can make the fastest street legal sedan bounces back and forth between manufacturers and affiliated tuners. This time the winner goes to Brabus, the high-end Mercedes-Benz tuner, with their latest creation, the E V12 Biturbo, which grabbed the title during German magazine Auto Motor und Sports high-speed test in Nardo, Italy, and in so doing went where no other Mercedes-Benz, or at least no Mercedes-Benz sedan, has ever gone before, the far side of 217 mph.

Its designation a jumble of letters and numbers, the E V12 Biturbo is the newest generation (W 211) of the famous E V12 ultra performance sedan. Packing a twin-turbocharged V12 engine that produces 640-horsepower, it managed to smash the existing record by 18.8 mph.

The E V12 name is no stranger to holding a world record: the previous generation W/S 210 generation E V12 rocketed to an electronically limited 205 mph in 1996, obtaining the title of worlds fastest sedan then. The new car rolls in the tire-treads of the original, returning the title back to Brabus.

Making a heavy, full-size luxury sedan reach 217.4 mph is no easy task, requiring Brabus most powerful motor. The SV 12 biturbo was the engine of choice; however, modifications to the engine bay were required before the gigantic motor could be shoehorned in. The SV 12 Biturbo engine is a 6.3-liter twin-turbo V12, which started out life as the same twin-turbo motor that powers 600 series S, CL, and SL vehicles. From there, Brabus installed a longer-stroke sports crankshaft, new piston rods and larger bore pistons to increase power from 5.5 liters to a massive 6.3 liters. In addition to making a larger motor, re-machined cylinder heads, a high-performance stainless exhaust system and a reprogrammed engine management system help the E V12 Biturbo deliver a maximum punch of 640-horsepower produced at 5,100 rpm. Equally, if not more impressively is the torque figure, equaling 757 lb-ft of torque, which is produced from just 1,750 rpm. This enormous amount of power and torque is what helps the E-Class achieve its record-breaking top speed and acceleration times. The E V12 Biturbo can sprint to 60 mph in only 4.5 seconds, to 124 mph in 11.7 seconds, and as far as what is known, is one of only a handful of cars that can hit 186 mph within 30.6 seconds.

Countering this enormous straight-line potential is a completely reworked braking system. Brabus has fitted the E V12 Biturbo with lightweight, fade-resistant 14.8-inch carbon ceramic discs up front with twelve-piston calipers, and gigantic 14.0-inch cross-drilled steel discs with six-piston calipers in rear. In addition, the system uses the E-Classs electro-hydraulic SBC braking system and ABS to ensure that stops are safe, prompt and with consistent pedal feel. Brabus has also modified the E-Class stock suspension, fitting extra-stiff sway bars, and lowering the ride height by 1.2 inches with comfort-tuned sports springs which help b

World Fastest Sedan-02

2008-12-02T18:35:00.001+07:00

World Fastest Sedan-01

2008-12-02T18:32:00.001+07:00

World's Fastest Motorcycle

2008-11-25T14:02:00.001+07:00

World's Fastest Motorcycle

ENGINE

1. 500 bhp (372 kW) @ 5600 rpm (60.4 bhp/liter); 525 lb.-ft. (712 Nm) @ 4200 rpm

2. 10-cylinder 90-degree V-type, liquid-cooled, 505 cubic inches (8277 cc)

3. 356-T6 aluminum alloy block with cast-iron liners, aluminum alloy cylinder heads

4. Bore x Stroke: 4.03 inches x 3.96 inches (102.4 x 100.6)
5. Two pushrod-actuated overhead valves per cylinder with roller-type hydraulic lifters 6. Sequential, multi-port electronic fuel injection with individual runners

7. Compression Ratio: 9.6:1

8. Max Engine Speed: 6000 rpm

9. Fuel Requirement: Unleaded premium, 93 octane (R+M/2)

10. Oil System: Dry Sump; takes 8 quarts Mobil1 10W30 Synthetic
11. Cooling System: Twin aluminum radiators mounted atop engine intake manifolds, force-fed from front-mounted, belt-driven turbine fan.

12. Takes 11 quarts of antifreeze.

13. Exhaust System: Equal-length tubular stainless steel headers with dual collectors and central rear outlets.

SUSPENSION:

Front:

Outboard, single-sided parallel upper and lower control arms made from polished billet aluminum. Mounted via ball joint to aluminum steering uprights and hubs. Five degrees caster. Single, fully adjustable centrally located coil-over damper ( 2.25-inch coil with adjustable spring perch); pullrod and rocker-actuated mono linkage. Center-lock racing-style hubs.

Rear:

Hand-fabricated box-section steel inboard swing arms, incorporating “hydral-link” lockable recirculating hydraulic circuit parking stand. Single fully adjustable centrally located Koni coil-over damper ( 2.25-inch coil with adjustable spring perch); pushrod and rocker-actuated mono linkage. Center-lock racing-style hubs.

BRAKES:

Front:

20-inch perimeter-mounted drilled machined stainless steel rotors, one per wheel. Two four-piston fixed aluminum calipers per wheel (16 pistons total), custom designed. Blue anodized caliper finish. Hand-activated.
Rear:

20-inch perimeter-mounted drilled cast-iron rotors, one per wheel. One four-piston fixed aluminum caliper per wheel (8 pistons total), custom designed. Blue anodized caliper finish. Foot-activated.

The Tomahawk is a Viper V-10 based motorcycle, a 500 horsepower engine with four wheels beneath it.
Chrysler will be selling the original Tomahawk concept and nine replicas through Neiman Marcus, for up to $555,000 each. The motorcycles cannot be licensed, so they cannot be legally driven on public roads. A Chrysler spokesman told Reuters they were meant as rolling sculptures.
Rumors had the Tomahawk selling for under $200,000, most likely at a loss or breakeven price, for publicity purposes - but still fully drivable. Wolfgang Bernhard, Chrysler’s not particularly respected first mate, was said to be enthusiastic about that project, so much so that hundreds were projected to be built at under $200,000 each. They reportedly cost Chrysler over $100,000 to build (admittedly the work is outsourced).
The Dodge Tomahawk can reach 60 miles an hour in about 2.5 seconds, and has a theoretical top speed of nearly 400 mph. Each pair of wheels is separated by a few inches and each wheel has an independent suspension. Bernhard said four wheels were necessary to handle the power from the engine.

The Tomahawk remains on display at auto shows - though well out of reach of the general public, elevated on a special display.

PERFORMANCE:

0-60 mph: 2.5 seconds (est.)

Top Speed: 300+ mph (est.)

DIMENSIONS:
Length: 102 inches

Width: 27.7 inches

Height: 36.9 inches

Wheelbase: 76 inches

Seat Height: 29 inches

Weight: 1,500 lbs.

Track, Front: 8.75 in

Track, Rear: 10 in

Weight Dist: 49F/51R

Ground Clearance: 3 in

Fuel: 3.25 gallons

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:

Alternator: 136-amp high-speed

Battery : Leak-resistant, maintenance-free 600 CCALighting: Headlights consist of 12 five-watt LEDs, front, with beam-modifying optics and masked lenses.

Eight LEDs, rear. Headlamps articulate with wheels.

TRANSMISSION:

Manual, foot-shifted two-speed
Aluminum-cased two-speed, sequential racing-style with dog ring, straight-cut gearsGear Ratios: 1st 18:38; 2nd 23:25Clutch: Double-disc, dry-plate with organic friction materials, hand lever actuated with assistFinal drive: Dual 110-link motorcycle-style chains
Front Sprockets: 14 teethRear Sprockets: 35 teeth
Longitudinal, centrally mounted engine, rear-wheel drive layout; monocoque construction, engine is central, stressed member. Body of billet aluminum.

World's Fastest Motorcycle_2

2008-11-25T14:00:00.001+07:00

World's Fastest Motorcycle_1

2008-11-25T13:58:00.001+07:00

2008-11-19T15:54:00.002+07:00

McLaren F1 (240.14mph/392 km/h)

The McLaren F1 was the first production to use a complete carbon fiber chassis and body. Such lightweight construction, combined with the BMW S70/2, 620 horsepower engine, helped the McLaren achieve 240.14mph in its XP5 pre-production trim.The engine is a 6.1 litre quad-cam, 48-valve V12 which produces no less than 627 bph and a top speed of 231 mph.Some other features are the intelligent brake cooling and Ground-Plane Shear'suspension geometry'

McLaren F1

The McLaren F1 is one of the fastest, most powerful and most expensive road cars ever. It was developed by McLaren Cars Ltd, a subsidiary of one of the world's leading Formula One Teams. The philosophy behind the F1 road car was simple - to be the finest drivers car ever built, or ever likely to be built.
That is the opening statement McLaren Auto offers on their officle homepage. To make that statement true, McLaren set out to produce the McLaren F1;a car that would be suitable for everyday use plus weekend trips to the racetrack.
The F1 features an all carbon composite monocoque and body structure. McLaren chose this material because it offers lightweight for maximum speed and strength to protect its drivers.

McLaren F1 Data
Base Price	$1,050,000
Power	627 hp
Zero to 60 mph	3.4 s
Zero to 100 mph	7.7 s
Top speed	240.14 mph

History

Emphasis on the design was to get the highest power to weight ratio possible in a comfortable, road worthy machine. Lightweight F1 composites and metals were used throughout the car. Every detail, such as weight and response of the Kenwood stereo components, were given close attention.

The McLaren F1 was the first production to use a complete carbon fiber chassis and body. Such lightweight construction, combined with the BMW S70/2, 620 horsepower engine, helped the McLaren achieve 240.14mph in its XP5 pre-production trim. The success didn't stop on the road however, with special GTR versions winning Le Mans outright in 1995 and taking two FIA GT World Championships.

After the initial production run 100 cars, McLaren have continued to maintain and add custom appointments to customer cars. Treatments such as new aerodynamic packages and custom interiors have been ordered by customers and McLaren has been happy to comply for right price. One such car is chassis #073 which has recently been sold by Christies Inc.

Technology

To power the car McLaren uses the BMW S70/2 engine, designed and built specifically for the F1. The engine is a 6.1 litre quad-cam, 48-valve V12 which produces no less than 627 bph and a top speed of 231 mph.
Some interesting features included on the McLaren F1 are a central driving position which offers space for two passengers and one driver, of course. Some other features are the intelligent brake cooling and Ground-Plane Shear'suspension geometry'.

McLaren Cars official website

2008-11-19T15:51:00.001+07:00

McLaren F1 (240.14mph/392 km/h)

2008-11-19T15:48:00.001+07:00

Japan plans world's fastest maglev train: firm

2008-11-19T15:09:00.001+07:00

Japan plans world's fastest maglev train: firm

A Japanese rail operator said Wednesday it plans to introduce the world's fastest train in the next two decades, a next-generation maglev built at a cost of 45 billion US dollars.

"Maglev," or magnetically levitated, trains travel above ground through an electromagnetic pull. The only maglev train now in commercial operation is in Shanghai.

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) plans to build a maglev linear-motor train between Tokyo and central Japan at a cost of 5.1 trillion yen (44.7 billion US dollars) by the 2025 financial year, a company spokesman said.

"It will be the fastest train ever -- if it beats the one in Shanghai -- with a velocity of about 500 kilometres (310 miles) per hour, travelling a distance of 290 kilometres," he said.

The Shanghai train, launched in 2002, travels at 430 kph for the 30.5 kilometre run from Pudong airport to the financial district, according to the Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co.'s website.

JR Central's magnetic-levitated train hit 581 kph in 2003 in a trial run on a test course in Japan's central Yamanashi prefecture, the spokesman said.

The maglev train would enter service at a time when Japan looks for a successor to its famed "Shinkansen" bullet trains, which were first rolled out to the world's awe for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Japan's fasted train remains the Sanyo Shinkansen run by JR West in western Japan, which travels at 300 kph.

The world's fastest train using conventional railway technology is currently France's TGV, which runs at 320 kph.

While the JR Central did not specify the exact location for the maglev, the company in its last annual earnings report wrote of a "first phase" between Tokyo and the central industrial hub of Nagoya.

JR Central said at the time it envisioned eventually building a second phase to link Nagoya with Japan's second city of Osaka.

The company's board approved the plan this week and estimated that it would leave the company with a five trillion debt when the train goes into service in the financial year to March 2026.

The firm projects the train will bring in five percent additional revenue in the first year, shrinking JR Central's debt to the current level within eight years of operation, a statement said.

JR Central initially had waited on the plan in hopes of government subsidies.

"The reason why the plan has not moved even a bit is because the government isn't able to bankroll it," JR Central president Masayuki Matsumoto said, as quoted by the Nikkei business daily.

Market players were less convinced.

JR Central shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange plummeted 100,000 yen or 8.85 percent to 1.03 million yen, despite a gain of 0.65 percent on the benchmark Nikkei-225 index.

A series of other maglev projects are being planned around the world.

Bavaria, Germany's richest state, said in September that it would build the country's first commercial maglev train line by 2014, connecting Munich with its airport 37 kilometres (23 miles) away.

The approval of the maglev, made by engineering groups Siemens and ThyssenKrupp, came despite a test last year in which it crashed into a parked maintenance vehicle, killing 23 people.

China has planned to extend is maglev from Shanghai to Hangzhou, 170 kilometres (105 miles) away, by 2010, although state media reports this year said the project could be delayed or cancelled.

The United States has also been studying locations to build its first commercial maglev service, with one proposal to construct a line between Washington and Baltimore.

Aprilia's FV2 concept shows off new v-twin engine

2008-11-11T11:41:00.001+07:00

Aprilia’s FV2 concept shows off new v-twin engine, technology and style direction

Aprilia’s FV2 concept bike, which has been making the expo rounds, is here to showcase three things: first and foremost, the company’s home-cooked 1200cc, 90-degree v-twin engine, which we’ll probably be seeing in the RSV and Tuono in the next couple of years. With a bore and stroke of 106 x 67.8mm, it’s almost as oversquare as Moto Morini’s CorsaCorta motor, so it’s going to be a nice, quick-revving, racy powerplant. The company is claiming 134.5 metric horses and over 10.5 kgm of torque, which is in the ballpark for sporty streetbikes and nakeds these days.

2008-11-11T11:37:00.001+07:00

2008-11-04T10:50:00.000+07:00

Most Amazing Car Concepts for the Year 2057

2008-11-04T10:47:00.000+07:00

Most Amazing Car Concepts for the Year 2057
Posted November 18th, 2007 by George Delozier

For the last 3 years, the LA Auto Show Design Challenge has attracted amazing concepts from every major auto manufacturer, 2007 was no different. It gives designers a chance to present their visions without engineering or cost constraints. See if you agree with the judges number 1 pick.

The theme for this year was “Robocar 2057” It brought in a total of 8 designs from different manufacturers. They were told to base the designs on environmentally friendly vehicles that would help to solve the problems with congestion in heavily populated areas.