Intel Penryn a welcome addition

Intel promises greater performance from the Penryn. Stating a 15 percent increase in image oriented applications; 25 percent for 3D rendering; An insane 40 percent increase for gaming.

These statistics are based on pre-production 45nm Hi-k Intel® quad core processor running at 3.33 Gigahertz (GHz) with a 1333 Megahertz (MHz) front side bus (FSB) and 12MB cache.

Get your wallets ready and warn your bankers these aren’t going to be cheap!

[Intel]

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The all new BMW M3

It may be one of the best looking M series cars that I have seen. When I woke up this morning I noticed an email in my inbox from BMW Canada. It was an FYI subject line with nothing else. I thought that it was beemer spam asking me to buy a car but I was wrong. It was an introduction to the sexy beast that you see above.

This new and improved M3 (2008) includes specs such as a V8 producing a whopping 420HP and a respectable 295lb-ft. A redline of 8400RPM is guaranteed to have hearts “racing” all over world. Not only that but this V8 monster accelerates from 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds.

Some of you may or may not have noticed the roof of this car? Yeah, that’s carbon fibre! I cannot control my drooling either.

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Faster Than a Speeding Bullet (train)?

Everyone has heard of the “bullet trains” used by nations such as France and Japan to rocket passengers across the countryside at ridiculous speeds, but I never realized just how quick these bullets fly! 

On Tuesday, France’s V150 train attempted to set a new train speed world record, but fell only 6 km/h short.  The current 361.01 mph world record holder is Japan’s JR-Maglev MLX01 magnetic levitation train which floats gracefully above its track by a magnetic field.  Tuesday’s run did, however, set a world record for the fastest conventional rail type train at 574.9 km/h (357.2 mph), a record previously held by another French TGV train set in 1990.  TGV stands for Train a Grande Vitesse, basically translated as “insanely fast train”.What powers this two story, five-car bullet you ask?  Engineers have chosen a 25,000 horsepower engine driving larger and newly designed wheels to propel it to superman like speeds.  The new and more powerful engine also required bumping the electrical potential in the overhead cable from 25,000 to 31,000 volts.  Passengers have described the experience as comparable to an aircraft takeoff, and I am sure if you attached wings it would become virtually identical! 

France is showing off its technology in hopes of selling it to the Chinese government over rivals from Germany and Japan.  The anticipated Chinese contracts for high speed trains in the upcoming years are estimated at being worth between $250 billion and $300 billion, according to Chinese state media.  Also in attendance for the record setting attempt was a delegation from California that is interested in creating a line from San Diego to Sacramento, stopping in several cities along the way such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Will we ever see passenger trains reaching the 10,430 km/h (Mach 8.5) already achieved by unmanned rocket sleds?  Maybe one day.  Until then, I will stick with my Honda CBR1000RR.

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The A5

Okay, if you were into the RS4 few years ago, like lots of car enthusiasts, then you were drooling when the R8 came out. And what were you going to do about it? Let me just pull the 100,000 out of my left pocket and I”ll be right back. No. You can’t afford it okay? And if you can, please buy one and drive to my house because I just want to smell it… to see it in real life… just to hear it.

Well now there’s something in between all of that. Kinda smack in the middle of A4′s, RS4′s and with a look that has a hint of R8 Gr8ness. It’s the A5.

Small aside: There was a huge rivalry between Yamaha and Honda brewing in the 70s… who was going to take the motorcycle market? They both produced great engines and great looking machines. So who did it and how? Tune in later to find out.

So now we have this 2 door thing from Audi. Like all of Audi’s designs, it’s elegant simplicity. It’s clean and business like but you know it goes fast. It’s the sleeper of the production car world. The S5 boasts a rev limited 250km/hr with its aluminium V8 Engine. And if it’s like any other Audi, I bet it sounds like a rottweiler who’s bone’s been stolen because they know how to make an engine sound mean.

Sol’n to the aside: So what happened? Where Yamaha and Honda were competing on maybe 3 different models, Honda decided to go ahead and make a half-dozen new models over the new few years.. Thus making Honda the industry standard; crushing Yamaha…. it became: “Who’s Yamaha?” Honda didn’t succeed by better technology, or marketing, they had room for expansion and flexed that manufacturing muscle to squeeze out the competition.

In the last 3 years, I’ve seen Audi introduce the R8 (although mainly concept), the Q7, the A3 hatchback series, and now the A5/S5 series just came out in March. And although they don’t really have to compete on reliability in their market sector, their A4 is becoming known as a reliable car. It seems that Audi is making a charge at the front runners, and they are building momentum. With large jumps in markets such as China (9.6% in 2006), they seem to be implementing the right strategies.

God I can’t wait to finish school and get a car.

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License To Race

A psychology research study was released on March 18th by researchers at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Allianz Center for Technology, which links dangerous driving habits with playing car racing video games. In the study, researchers studied 68 men and determined that riskier driving behavior resulted after participants played even one racing game. Similarly, in a group of 83 men who played various games, those that played car racing games claimed experiencing more risk-taking thoughts and feelings.

My question is this: Why is nobody researching the positive effects of such hyper-realistic car racing games?

I agree that some people probably drive faster and harder after having played these games, but I also think that they can have a positive effect. I for one, love the more “realistic” racing games, as opposed to the ones where your car has guns and missile launchers attached to the sides and you can take a 200 ft jump landing quite smoothly.

You may completely disagree with me, but I honestly feel that I have a better feel for how cars handle because I played these games as I grew up. Simple things like how to steer when you start spinning on ice, or gear shifting in and around corners are examples where I truly believe I am better due to the games. I think it helps gain an understanding of how the physics works in operating a car. Sure, we aren’t all going 180 mph through city streets in a McLaren F1, but the underlying physics is the same.

Whether you agree with me or not, you can’t disagree with the fact that car racing games are great fun!! Right Ant? That’s right I retire undefeated.

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BRP Can-Am Spyder Grand Sport Roadster

Canada’s very own Bombardier looks as if they are coming out with another innovative vehicle for the thrill-seeking crowd:  a 3-wheel motorcycle.  Officially, it is called the BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) Can-Am Spyder Grand Sport Roadster.  Several companies have done the 3-wheeler before but having 2 wheels in the front is a relatively untapped design idea.  Judging by the success of the company’s other products:  snowmobiles, small business aircraft and small trains, the new toy seems poised to become a collectors item.

(photo by Automedia) 

But just how powerful and fun will this thing be??

Well, for starters, it will be powered by the same engine as is used in the Aprilia RSV-R superbike; a 1000cc, 60-degree water-cooled V-twin.  From it’s performance in the Aprilia RSV-R, the one litre engine has proved it can easily crank out the claimed 106 bhp @ 9,200 rpm, surely enough for any speed junkie.  Rumours are circulating that you will be able to operate one of these machines without a motorcycle license in certain countries, but I doubt this will be the case in North America.  Prices should start around $15,000, but it is unclear when we will see any actually for sale in Canada.  For a video test drive, check out Ben Stewart reporting from San Diego: http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid507904792/bctid507310221

Bring it to Canada soon Bombardier, I love the sound of those Aprilia engines!

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