Lime Rock Historic Festival: Some words from Sir Stirling Moss
Posted: February 18, 2013 Filed under: EVENTS / PLACES | Tags: Lime Rock Historic Festival, Mind over motor, racing, Sir Stirling Moss, Speaking, Talk, video Leave a comment »Sir Stirling Moss was the guest of honor at this year’s Lime Rock Historic Festival, and we were fortunate enough to be in attendance for one of the evening events where he was a speaker. Sir Moss is famous for his sharp wit, and it’s clear he’s still got it despite being in his 80′s now. It was fascinating to hear a firsthand account of some of the great races of history from one of the most legendary drivers of all time. Put plainly, Sir Moss is a man among men, and any racing enthusiast will enjoy hearing what he has to say. The video is a little long, but it is totally worth the watch. I’m just sorry I didn’t have enough memory left in my camera to record the whole talk, however, I did catch most of the best moments. Enjoy.
-Nick Walker
Obscure Auto: Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale
Posted: June 27, 2012 Filed under: Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE | Tags: 18, 1967, 1968, 1969, 2.0, 230, 254, 270, 33, Alfa, Article, Auto, Autodelta, built, Car, curves, door, first, Fuel, Gull, hp, information, injection, Italian, Liter, made, Mind, motor, Nick, Obscure, Over, produced, Production, racing, Rare, Red, Road, Romeo, sexy, specs, SPICA, Stradale, Tipo, V8, Walker, wing Leave a comment »
Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale
This is the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale, and I’m sure your eyes have already informed you that it is one of the most beautiful cars ever built by anyone. The word “Stradale” of course means that it is street version of a racing car, and it is indeed. The Tipo 33 Stradale was made in 1967 as a road going version of Autodelta Alfa Romeo’s Tipo 33/2 racing car. Only 18 Stradales were ever built, making it one of the rarest, most sought after cars in the world. One that just gets more and more interesting with every new detail you uncover. Read the rest of this entry »
Dan Valanzola shoots a Lotus Europa at TWR
Posted: June 15, 2012 Filed under: Photography by Dan Valanzola | Tags: by, Car, Dan, Europa, Lotus, Mind, motor, NJ, Over, Photography, race, racing, Thomas, TWR, Valanzola, Walko 2 Comments »
It has been a long time in the works but we are pleased to announce the official addition of my long time friend, Dan Valanzola, to the Mind Over Motor team. Dan takes beautiful pictures, and his work has been featured on the site a few times in the past. With this new category we will be featuring Dan’s work specifically, starting with this gallery of a Lotus Europa racing car at Thomas Walko Racing in NJ. We met some of the TWR guys at a recent event and they were very cool, inviting us to come see their shop and maybe attend some events. Dan went to the shop and captured their Europa that we had heard so much about from the guys. It has some of the widest fender flares I have ever seen, really menacing on a car so small. Looking forward to more in the future for sure. Enjoy the pics.
-Nick
Twin Turbo Aventador……..
Posted: June 9, 2012 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: Aventador, Lamborghini, Mind, motor, Over, racing, turbo, Twin, Underground Leave a comment »Underground Racing is claiming 1200+whp from this car. Pretty insane power and speed. Bugatti owners be scared.
-Nick
Test Driven: 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8
Posted: April 19, 2012 Filed under: Road Review, TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: 2.0L, 2003, 2004, 2005, 280, 4G63, 8, all, BC, boost, Car, coilovers, controller, Domo, Drive, Dunlop, Enkei, Evo, evolution, Lancer, Mind, Mitsubishi, Momo, motor, Nick, Over, Pampena, racing, Rally, recaro, review, seat, Starspec, steering, Test, tires, tune, turbo, Walker, wheel, wheels, whp 1 Comment »
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 8
The Evo 8 was the first version of the famed Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution to hit US shores back in 2003, following the success of Subaru’s WRX Imprezas in years prior. The Evo was a different sort of animal though, offering 271hp to the WRX’s 227hp as well as a higher level of technology in its all wheel drive system. The Evo became the car to beat in 2003, so much so that Subaru decided to bring its WRX STi to the US for 2004. The Evo offers a simple but effective package; on the surface it is just a tweaked version of a Japanese economy sedan, but in its day it could also rival many serious performance cars like Porsche’s, M3s, and Corvettes. My friend Pete, has a 2005 Evo 8, and every so often he lets me get behind the wheel, so after a recent drive I finally felt like I had enough to put pen to paper on the car. Read the rest of this entry »
Cars 101: Video games and real driving
Posted: January 16, 2012 Filed under: CARS 101 | Tags: 2, 3, 360, a, aids, and, Best, child, Drive, Driver, driving, F1, Forza, Games, gaming, generation, Gran, How, kid, Learning, Mind, motor, Motorsport, new, Nick, Over, permit, person, Playstation, racing, real, reality, Road, Safety, school, simulation, student, teach, to, translate, Truth, Turismo, video, Walker, way, What, Xbox, young Leave a comment »
Forza's Kinect feature allows casual players to simply steer, and the game takes care of the rest. More hardcore players should stick with a controller though.
My generation was the first to grow up with video games that could really simulate reality to a high degree. There are titles out there now that can simulate the likes of ruthless combat, dog fighting a fighter jet, and of course racing a car. Every generation after us will continue to grow up with these simulating games, and will wind up trying to use the experience they have gained in these games when it comes time to get behind the wheel for real. Many people out there do not believe such games hold any real merit in such skills as driving a car, but they would be hugely mistaken. Much can be learned from experience in realistic video games, but it is important to understand what translates into reality and what does not. Read the rest of this entry »
Road Review: Nick’s 1993 Mazda MX5 Miata
Posted: December 15, 2011 Filed under: Photography by Dan Valanzola, Road Review, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 1.6, 1992, 1993, 4, 92, 93, Beat, Car, Cat, catback, Convertible, Cruising, driving, exhaust, Flyin, four, full, fun, girly, great, handling, HFC, Inline, joy, magnaflow, Mazda, Miata, Mind, mine, motor, my, N1, NA, Over, own, photos, racing, review, Roadster, Sport, Sports, stage 2, Suspension, Test, Thoughts 1 Comment »
My ’93 Mazda Miata
The Mazda Miata is, in many ways, a controversial car among auto enthusiasts. On one hand it has a huge enthusiast following and is one of the best selling sports cars of all time, and on the other hand there are many people who wouldn’t call it a sports car at all. The later often likes to stigmatize the Miata as a “girls car” that is more of a fashion accessory than a driving machine. For a while I was one of those people, I thought the Miata was too slow to offer any excitement. However, a few years ago, I got my hands on EVO Magazine’s piece on the 100 greatest driver’s cars of all time and I was shocked to see the Miata in the top ten. I read their reasoning on their choice, and their general thoughts on the car. They said it was like many faster sports cars, but the whole experience is in slow motion, and that it really allows you to both savor the experience of driving and work on your technique. My mind was forever changed about the Miata, so much so that I decided to buy one a few months later to have as a fun second car. I have now owned it for around a year and a half, and have tried to sum the car up for you below. Read the rest of this entry »
The business of renting your dream car: Part 2
Posted: November 9, 2011 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: area, Aston, attraction, Car, Cars, Classic, Dream, Exotic, Exotics, Ferrari, for, future, Gotham, hire, instruction, Jersey, Lamborghini, Las, Luxury, Market, Martin, Mclaren, Mind, motor, Motorsports, Muscle, Nevada, new, NJMP, NV, Over, Park, Porsche, race, racing, rent, Rental, review, school, Speedway, Sports, state, Superleggera, to, Track, tri, Vegas, where, York, your 1 Comment »
The Mercedes SLS AMG, you can have one for a day if you call up Gotham Dream Cars
After discussing some of the current realities in the exotic rental industry it is now time to consider what needs to be done in the industry and where it could be headed. Having experienced what two of the leading companies have to offer, I have thought for a while about this subject. These two companies, Exotics Racing and Gotham Dream Cars, are almost opposites in a few regards of their operations, and a lot of me believes that the best answer to the problems of this industry lie in between them. Read the rest of this entry »
The business of renting your dream car: Part 1
Posted: November 8, 2011 Filed under: AUTOMOTIVE INSIGHTS | Tags: Aston, Audi, Bear, Bentley, Car, Cars, critique, CT, Dream, East, Exotic, Exotics, Ferrari, Gotham, GTR, Jersey, Lamborghini, Las, Martin, Mclaren, Mind, motor, Mountain, Nevada, new, Nissan, North, NV, NYC, Over, R8, racing, Rental, school, south, Speedway, Tour, Vegas, west, York 1 Comment »
A photo from Gotham Dream Car's "Legends Tour", Lambos only with special guest Valentino Balboni
The sun shines brightly down on a sleek, sculpted shape; the rays reflecting outward with a voluptuous red hue. The car contrasts sharply with the restrained elegance of nature, imposing itself on all within view. This is your dream car; it is vastly expensive (more than you are ever likely to afford), insanely fast (capable of easily breaking the highest speed limit in just a few seconds), and quite rare (only a few hundred exist, and they are not seen often on the street). In the past it was accepted that only a lucky few would ever get to even drive an ultra-exotic car, and even fewer would ever own one; however in the last decade or so an industry has emerged that will let anyone get behind the wheel of the worlds auto exotica, for a price though, of course. I have been following this industry with great interest and have had some recent experiences with two leading companies. While there are more and more companies popping up out there, I still have yet to see an industry standard emerge, lets first look at what there is out there right now. Read the rest of this entry »
Some late night supercar fun: Zonda Cinque
Posted: November 7, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: awesome, Cinque, city, F430, Ferrari, hooning, Lamborghini, London, loud, Mind, motor, Murcielago, Over, Pagani, Paris, racing, sound, Street, video, Zonda Leave a comment »A Pagani Zonda Cinque fooling around with some Lambos and an F430 (camera car) late at night. Must be nice to have enough money to both afford those cars, and not care about getting caught driving like that by the police. Just listen to that Zonda though, perfection.
-Nick
Twin Turbo 458 Italia vs Lambo Aventador
Posted: October 26, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, SHOWCASE | Tags: 1, 458, Aventador, Ferrari, Highway, Italia, kit, Lamborghini, Mind, motor, Over, pull, racing, Stage, turbo, Twin, Underground, vs Leave a comment »Underground Racing’s twin turbo Ferrari Italia up against a stock Lamborghini Aventador. This is a good showing of the difference between wheel horsepower (whp) and brake horsepower (bhp). The Italia is making 700whp, whereas the Aventador’s V12 puts out 700hp before the power makes it’s way through the drivetrain. The difference is pretty evident during the highway pulls they do. You gotta love a company like UR, who isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty with the most expensive cars out there. Enjoy!
-Nick
1950 Abarth 205 at the Scarsdale Concours
Posted: October 19, 2011 Filed under: Auto Idolatry, EVENTS / PLACES, SHOWCASE | Tags: 205, Abarth, Abarth 205, Auto Idolatry, beauty, Best of Show, Mind over motor, NY, racing, Red and Black, Rosso, Scarsdale Concours Leave a comment »
This past Sunday, Nick and I attended the Scarsdale Concours, just a stone’s throw away from New York City. Started in 2003 by a pair of high-school students, this show has grown to a respectable size. This year, the Best of Show winner was this drop-dead gorgeous 1950 Abarth 205 berlinetta, one of only three ever built. This particular one was the last one produced, and the only one with a two-tone paint scheme. It was shown at the Turin Motor show as well, in this color scheme. Hit the jump for more pictures. This car, thanks to its absolute rarity, classy lines, and race car breeding, definitely deserved its award, and we hope to see it at other Concours in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
