Tag Archives: MimboloveConcepts

Own A Sort Of Official Oldsmobile Quad 4 Aerotech Go Kart

Written by admin

Sometimes the internet provides you with a post so good that a frisson of joy can wash over you. That monkey smelling his finger, that panda scared by its cub sneezing, this Oldsmobile Quad 4 Aerotech go kart.

And unlike those stupid international laws preventing me from owning that panda, I could theoretically own this go kart. And boy do I want to. Because not only does it look amazing, it actually is tied to the experimental race car.

According to the ad, this is one of just 70 go karts made for Oldsmobile dealers by Bird Manufacturing! That makes this kind of official and, in my demented mind, gives it provenance. Pebble Beach, here I come!

Read Also: This $1,500 Ninebot GoKart Pro Lamborghini Edition Is All-Electric With Supercar Sounds

The ad seems to indicate that the kart runs and it powered by a 3 hp Briggs and Stratton engine, all of which makes sense.

If you aren’t aware of the Oldsmobile Aerotech Quad 4, it was one of a series of high-speed test cars designed to test the bounds of Oldsmobile tech. The Quad 4 was named after the engine: an inline 4 that had 4 valves per cylinder. All of which was pretty fancy when development started in 1984.

The engineers were pretty proud of themselves, so they asked that a special test vehicle be designed to show it off. And they got it. Top brass okayed a carbon-fiber car designed to be as light and aerodynamic as possible.

They slapped a turbo on the I4, which boosted powered up from 150 hp all the way up to 900 hp. All of which allowed AJ Foyt to hit 218 mph in Mesa, Arizona in 1986. Future iterations of the Aerotech would run all the way up to 275 mph.

And although the body may look a little primitive to our eyes, it was actually very clever. Oldsmobile knew that just pushing the coefficient of drag ever farther into the thousandth could only get them so far.

The team added movable veins under the car allowed it to change the shape of its underbody tunnels. This meant the car could generate huge downforce, but could be optimized for different circuits.

I presume the shape is less aerodynamic when your head and torso are popping out of the top of it, but hey, that won’t prevent you from pretending.

more photos…

Secret Porsche Concepts: The Vision 918 RS Takes The Hybrid Hypercar To The Extreme

Written by admin

After two years and 918 units made, production of the 918 Spyder ended in 2015, leaving a gap in Porsche’s lineup that still hasn’t been filled.

The hybrid hypercar set new standards with its carbon fiber body, active aerodynamics and jaw-dropping performance and became the first production model to lap the Nurburgring Nordschleife in under 7 minutes in the track’s old configuration.

Looking to create an evolution of the 918 that would have felt at home at the track and at the same time retain its road-legal status, Porsche’s design team in Weissach conceived the Vision 918 RS Concept. Presented alongside other never-before-seen studies, it is an extreme proposition with enhanced drivetrain and chassis technology.

Video: Watch This Porsche 918 Spyder Hit Its 214 MPH (345 km/h) Vmax

The aerodynamically optimized body has little in common with the original 918, as it sports lots of sharp and soft creases and large air intakes. There are two fins on the widened rear fenders, another one on the roof, a big diffuser at the back, enlarged side skirts, reshaped front hood and new front and rear lights.

Since this is merely a concept, there are no details about a possible powertrain. If it were produced, though, it’d have pretty big shoes to fill; the 918 Spyder featured a naturally aspirated 4.6-liter V8 and two electric motors for a combined 875 HP and 944 lb-ft (1,280 Nm) of torque. This allowed it to rocket to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 2.5 seconds, and up to a 214 mph (344 km/h) top speed.

more photos…

Ex Bugatti Design Intern Reveals Vision GT Successor, Shares How A Little Luck Landed Him A Career

Written by admin

Five years ago, Andries van Overbeeke created some futuristic renderings of Formula 1 race cars and posted them online.

They received a lot of attention and we covered them that summer. Thanks to the publicity and the quality of the renderings, Overbeeke was offered an internship at Bugatti.

While the internship occurred in 2015, Overbeeke has finally revealed what he was working on at the time. As he explained to Carscoops, the model is a successor to the Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo aimed to be raced in PlayStation’s Gran Turismo and which draws inspiration from the Type 35 which is billed as the “most successful race car in history.” Five years later, Bugatti has allowed Overbeeke to share his work with the world.

The Bugatti Vision GT successor project was executed under the guardianship of Achim Anscheidt – Head of Design, Sasha Selipanov (check out one of his studies here) – Head of Exterior Design Creative Development, Etienne Salomé – Head of Interior Design and Frank Heyl – Head of Exterior Design Production Development.

Also Read: Bugatti Vision Gran Turismo Stuns At Pebble Beach

As you can see, the model is an aggressive race car that features a jet-like canopy and a minimalist horseshoe grille. The car also has a plethora of front splitters and partially enclosed wheels which help to minimize drag.

Moving further back, there’s a slender cockpit which is flanked by two massive air intakes. The model also has a protruding carbon fiber floor, exposed carbon fiber supports and a stylish rear wing. Other notable highlights include a minimalist rear fin, a massive exhaust tip and a carbon fiber diffuser.

What is Overbeeke up to now?

Since his internship at Bugatti, Overbeeke has been keeping busy as aside from working at Genesis as an exterior designer at their Global Advanced Design studio in Frankfurt, Germany, he’s been involved in a number of different projects ranging from race cars to movie cars. While a number of these projects are confidential, he’s had a hand in designing the Dendrobium hypercar and the all-new Batmobile which will appear in The Batman which is due out next year.

You can check out his other work on Instagram and Behance.

more photos…