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Boats are good at being in water, I'm told. But when two Nantucket men were thrown overboard from their 26-foot "pleasure boat" three years ago, they never expected to see her again. Until the boat was found — three years and 3,500 nautical miles later. More »
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Few things make your hair stand on end like the shout-howl of a 997 RSR getting its groove on. Jerez, artful editing, and Calexico's "Pepita" — real life is rarely this LOOK AT ME, but if it works, who cares? More »
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The bloom is officially off the new Lotus F1 effort — ex-McLaren F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen smacked his green and yellow T127 into a tire wall at Jerez during testing today. Lots Of Trouble, Usually... Scandanavian? More »
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The first Formula One test of 2010 took place this week in Spain. It concluded yesterday, but Sebastien Buemi's steely gaze is already piercing deep into the heart of our wire service. Eye-popping gallery time! More »
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With a 0-to-62 of 6.1-seconds, the SEAT Leon Cupra R is the quickest regular production SEAT ever, putting out 261 HP through a direct-injection TSI 2.0-liter fourbanger sitting behind a snout that only looks good after a few Estrella Damms. More »
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This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we see interesting street-parked cars in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. Dominick was car shopping in Malaga when he found these two. More »
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Is the Porsche Carrera GT the new Enzo? No, not performance, rather in the desire of owners to crack 'em up 'round curves. Exhibit A: Autogespot's shots of a Carrera GT crashed in Marbella, Spain. More »
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British car buyers felt alive in a Renault 5, the Germans rocked out in their 5s, but only the Spanish could drive a 5 right into a world of hieroglyphs and ancient Egyptian cassette decks. ¡Comprate un oasis! More »
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Having just read Mark Kurlansky's book about the Basques (after being dragged into Kurlansky-land by his excellent histories of cod and salt, the way marijuana leads to heroin), I thought it was pretty cool when LivingAbroad70 sent in these shots of an incredibly rare Citroën DS Palm Beach convertible found parked down on the Zarautz street. Make the jump to read LivingAbroad70's description. More »
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Would you believe two million Simca 1000s were made? Chrysler's little rear-engined machine was a hot seller all over Europe, including Spain, where we see a driving instructor and his student experiencing awe as a result of the incredibly luxurious features of the 1000. More »
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In keeping with the suspend-your-disbelief theme of 90s Peugeots in the American West, we now see a Spaniard's 106 rolling up to a stoplight in what appears to be the neutron-enhanced town of Upshot Knothole, Nevada. Naturally, there's some tattooed redneck in a tunnel-rammed truck representing the USA, sort of reminiscent of Lee Ving's character, Missoula, in Dudes, and it goes without saying that he ain't gonna let no damn frogmobile-driving' Yurpean eyeball his woman. You can see where this is going, right? More »
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There was a scary moment at yesterday's Spanish Grand Prix that may not have been as scary as Stephane Ortelli's car flying through the air with the greatest of ease, but was scary nonetheless. The fear factor began when some part of the front left tire wheel on Heikki Kovalainen' McLaren Mercedes exploded, sending the car straight into a wall. Race stewards at Barcelona worked for about 10 minutes to safely free the Finnish driver from the wreckage who was taken to the track's medical center wearing a neck brace. But all signs point to a full recovery as he gave a reassuring thumbs-up sign to spectators. Mike Utley did that too, right? Kovalainen is said to be in stable condition, which is more than can be said for the shredded McLaren MP4-23. [AP, Axis of Oversteer] More »
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Here's another creative ad from Renault that's just as the funny Renault Megane GT commercial, though with less big-bottomed girls on bikes. It involves talking leaves, dancing stars and one bewildered Production Assistant named Willy. Is this what a car commercial directed by Luis Bunuel would look like? Even better, we have a translation from M0L0TOV below the jump for those who do not speak Spanish. More »
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Scantily-clad babes on bikes? Lounge singers on rolling pianos? Elephant road crews? Procreating rocks? None of these things will bother you when you're driving Spain's roads in a Renault Mégane GT; in fact, you'll seek out such hallucinatory road hazards! More »
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Remember when we told you how Tomas Delgado was suing the parents of the boy he struck and killed to recoup bodyshop money? Well it seems the Spanish people got a little miffed by what would have to be considered one of the most ill-conceived legal actions in Iberian history. Local outrage has pressured Delgado-the-sleazy D-bag into withdrawing the suit. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the courthouse and the pending lynch mob convinced Delgado and his lawyer that continued litigation would be a bad idea. The latest coverage also brings to light additional details that make the case both more appalling, and more bizarre. More »
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Is an air-cooled Japanese cartruck both cooler and more hellish than an airbrushed Malaise Detroit Vantruck? According to almost two-thirds of you, it is! Today we're going to hit the mailbag again, adding yet another reader to the waiting list for the next run of PCH Tipster T-shirts, because McGyver managed to come up with a pair of totally irresistible choices. How about a Spanish-built French car with an air-cooled two-banger... versus a forward-control Jeepamino? The agony! More »
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In what can only be called the worst case of AADS (Asshole Audi Driver Syndrome) ever recorded, Tomas Delgado, a Spanish businessman, is suing the family of a boy he killed while speeding in his Audi A8. The accident caused 14,000 Euros of damage to the all-aluminum luxury car, and Delgado is also looking to cover the additional 6,000 Euros in transportation costs he incurred while the Audi was in the shop. He argues that his 17-year-old victim, Enaitz Iriondo, who was wearing dark clothes while cycling at night, caused the damage while he was in the process of having his young life snuffed out by Delgago's hurtling death chariot. Quoting Mr. Delgado—and please restrain your urge to vomit here: "I'm also a victim in all of this, you can't fix the lad's problems, but you can fix mine." His lawyer, Beelzebub, Esq., offered no comment on the case, which will see an expected verdict on January 30 and perhaps witness the Earth open up to swallow Delgado whole. [via The Mail] More »
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We again missed the Barcelona motor show due to a mixup between our trophy wives and the Spanish embassy, which wasn't anything a few hundred thousand 10-year Spanish government bonds couldn't fix. As such, we missed eyeballing Spanish motorsports firm Sunred's prototypical GT1-class racer — the SR08 — in the flesh. It's powered by a V10 producing 500 hp, with zero to 62 mph (100 km/h) taking only 3.5 seconds. Estimated top speed is 186 mph. It's a good time to be one of the Spanish Bourbon royals; the SR08 is going into production next year. A run of 10 will be built to satisfy FIA homologation rules. [Grazie to Stefano for the tip.] – Mike Spinelli More »
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Residents of the Spanish burg of Santiago del Teide are in a tizzy over law-enforcement agents making with the sexual action in patrol cars while on duty. Apparently, these officers enjoy the protection of the mayor, while other cops feel left out on the cold; reprimanded and punished for arriving late for work. According to the regional independent police union, there's little chance of change, as the mayor's got plenty of family in town, which means many votes in the upcoming elections. If Tom of Finland were still alive, we're sure he'd be on a plane for Spain right now — even in the rain. – Davey G. Johnson More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=250861&view=rss&microfeed=true I used to work with a guy who had been a factory driver for Triumph in the early 60s, and he kept his racing jones alive by driving a restored Simca-Abarth in the vintage-racing circuit. It was kinda cool seeing all his photos of sideways Simca action, trading paint with Porsche 356s and the like, and since then I've always liked the Simca 1000. So finding this stirringly macho Spanish ad- which seems to have an Ennio Morricone soundtrack- for the air-cooled French Chrysler has really made my morning. – Murilee Martin More »
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England is car hell. Let's forget about the expensively obvious for a moment (insane taxes, equally insane gas prices, doubly insane speed cameras on every corner and under your bed) and the plain daf (Clarkson thinks the Jaguar XK is cooler than the upcoming Dodge Challenger) and look at the cars themselves. They suck! Nine out of ten cars in Old Blighty are 1.9-Liter French diesels. The rest are Korean brands you don't even want to know about. (SsangYong Rexton II, anyone?) Sure, you will see an occasional large BMW "saloon," but closer inspection will reveal it to be a 520d SE with a 1995cc oil burner and tiny wheels (though, it does — slowly — get 41mpg). Audis sell pretty well in London, but the overwhelming majority of them are three-door A3s with puny engines. In other words, rebadged Golfs. (Jump baby, jump) More »
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I don't know anything about this little cutey except that it sounded diesel. I do know that the super narrow yet well kempt streets of Barcelona demand mini-garbage trucks. Which to our way of thinking, makes these the very coolest garbage trucks of all. Plus, like, somebody (no doubt an Italian) actually took the time to sculpt the fenders! Why? For flavor. And the wheels appear to be forged from scrap-iron and coated with a ceramic glaze. Anyhow, knock off the trash bin and that's one suave looking mini-van camino. Oh, and if you are in Barcelona, eat at Cal Pep — thank me later. More cute after the jump. – Jonny Lieberman More »
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What happens when you combine midget racing, shifter karting and the European Touring Cup? You get something known as Mitjet, a French-Spanish racing series that pits miniature versions of BMW M6, Porsche 911, Renault Megane and Dodge Viper racers against each other on a road course. The 1,345-lb cars, are built from tubular chassis and powered by 150-hp Yamaha 1300 XJR engines, cost around $30,000 each, making the series a far more affordable proposition for non-viscounts and other English majors. We smell Jalopnik Cup. – Mike Spinelli More »
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Yes, it's the Fiat 124, the car that didn't outlast the Beetle or the Mini, but nevertheless jumpstarted a number of automotive industries, including those of the Rodina (Lada Riva), Spain, (SEAT 124), India (Premier 118NE), Bulgaria (Pirin-Fiat) and Turkey. Meanwhile, we're really missing that prepackaged, boil-in-pack Indian food we found abandoned in our Apart-Hotel room in Paris, and hating the construction workers across the street who are using something that sounds roughly like a TIE Fighter sans Doppler effect. If a gat were handy, a gat would be at hand. – Davey G. Johnson More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=223896&view=rss&microfeed=true None but the most rabid of TV geeks remember the early 1970s show "Longstreet." It was about a blind insurance investigator whose life coach was an antique dealer and martial arts instructor, played by the late Bruce Lee. "Be formless, like water" was one of the instructor's tenets, as was "don't get run over" (well, that should have been one). Lee once related his character's philosophies in an interview whose origin had been lost to the wind of analog media. But BMW found and resurrected the interview for a spot promoting its X3 SUV in Spain. Would Bruce Lee drive a BMW X3? Actually, We think he would have ripped the X3's fuel pump out and showed it to it before its warranty expired. – Mike Spinelli More »
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It's no Galaxie 500, but we'd imagine Spanish crown royal Juan Carlos I is smilin' to himself and laughin' out loud nonetheless, having received a sporty, new 612 hp Maybach 57S (the driver's Maybach), delivered in person by DaimlerChrysler CEO, Dieter Zetsche. The King — a direct descendant of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V — received the custom 'Bach, which was fitted with enough sterling-silver interior accents to shame Queen Anne's tea set — at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Barcelona. No word on whether cheese and onions were served. More »
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Jeez, can news get any worse for Spain's auto industry? First it was VW's news early this morning about the potential shuttering of their Pamplona plant and now union sources are claiming DaimlerChrysler is looking to cut 750 jobs from their Vitoria and Barcelona plants. The only thing we can think is maybe FIFA's decision to extend Spain's futbol season may have cut into productivity — or maybe Dieter and Wolfgang have both seen too many showings of "My Fair Lady" recently — but that's totally conjecture on our part. More »
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We get a certain kind of chill thinking how trendy a Spanish-made SUV could be in certain parts of the US; in particular, Jalopnik ports of call, New York and LA. Imagine thousands of Spanophile hipsters sweating Ibiza, getting gored by Pamplona's bulls, enduring a K-hole in Madrid and rocking a Santana Anibal in Silverlake. Originally a licensee of Land Rover in the 1960s, the off-roaders have evolved somewhat over the years, with the new models sporting IVECO common-rail turbodiesels. The company showed off its new, Short Line prototype, which is its own version of the LR Defender 90. Santana plans to bring the short-wheelbase version to market by the end of the year. And maybe then some hipster's Congressman dad can get the company an import waiver. There's probably a dealership opening in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, not Colonial) as we speak. [Thanks, Mattias.] More »
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Ascari, the buy-a-car-get-test-track-free supercar builder of the UK and Spain, is launching the follow-up to its KZ1. Built to be an everyday driver (yeah, and a unicorn just stirred my coffee with his horn), the 2,822lb A10, will get a 600hp, five-liter quad-cam V8 sourced from BMW, hooked to a six speed manual or optional sequential gearbox, that will propel it to around 220mph. (The five-piece body is made, naturally, of carbon fiber.) Just like with the KZ1, buyers — who will pay in the realm of $600,000 for the A10 when it's launched in mid-2006 — will likely get access to a company's dedicated circuit and five-star resort in Ronda, Spain. Mmmm, tapas. More »
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After management announced plans to lay off 1,340 workers, the proles at VW-owned SEAT decided that they'd had enough and are planning a strike. The suits complain that other VW brands, including Skoda, whose cars are built in Eastern Europe and thus cost less to produce, are cutting into their sales, and thus the need to cut 8% of their workforce. Frankly, we wonder about the need for SEAT at all; it seems to us that VW's got enough brands to cover the mass-market spread in Europe with Skoda, Volkswagen and Audi. While SEAT posted a profit last year, they said they'll finish this one in the red if costs aren't cut ASAP. More »
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