Most Weird Looking Formula 1 Car Designs Ever

 
Formula 1 cars are known for their hi-tech engines and futuristic technological innovations like split turbo system, blown diffusers, extremely aerodynamic designs etc etc. Cars are created by the best of the best but inspite of this F1 had its share of odd ball designs.

Here are 7 of the craziest looking Formula 1 cars ever made. These cars look bizarre, experimental and yes innovative but failed to leave their mark in the vast history of F1 racing. Some had six wheels, others had strange wing design while one came with an external fan to keep the engine cool...really!

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Tata Bolt Review : Exterior Design

 
The Bolt designers have kept the overall profile and stance of the new hatchback similar to earlier models from the Tata stable. Some believe this has been done deliberately to maintain the identity of the car as a Tata product.

Whatever may be the case, the truth is that all the components including the interior-exterior panels, powertrain and underpinnings have been thoroughly re-engineered to make Bolt, in effect, an almost brand new product. So we will try to review the exterior design of Tata Bolt without bringing Vista into picture but for those who want to pit Bolt against Vista, here is our comparison.

Tata Bolt Front Profile Review
Front is dominated by smoked headlamp housings which forms a nice background for the segment first low beam halogen projectors.

Tata Bolt Headlamp Pictorial Review

There is a neat chrome-look ring around the projector bulb giving it an eye like effect. Also there are large boomerang shaped chrome elements at the top and bottom of the lamp which looks like LEDs though these are just reflectors.

Tata Bolt Front Grill Pictorial Review

The smiley-face grill has a stretched honeycomb pattern and gets Tata emblem in the middle, chrome stripe on the top, and the bottom gets outlined by piano black surrounds only unlike Zest which get a layer of chrome as well.

Tata Bolt Bonnet Pictorial Review

The bonnet rises at both ends before falling to seamlessly merge with side fenders and comes with a V-shaped crease at the center creating an impression of a power bulge in the middle. Above the bonnet, there is a black plastic cladding that houses the two spray nozzles of windshield washer.

Tata Bolt Front Bumper Foglight Pictorial Review

Front bumper looks big with wide air intake being sculpted in an inverted smile shape. It also houses the fog lamp console with chrome inserts unlike the DRLs in Zest on the bottom edge to balance out the chrome in the headlamps. Overall it adds to the agile look of the front.

Tata Bolt Antenna Pictorial Review

For reasons best known to Tata, the Bolt comes with an extra-long radio antenna on the front which does not really gel with the overall aesthetic of the design. The Zest wears its antenna at the rear which looks to be a more appropriate place.

Tata Bolt Side Profile Review
Bolt’s side profile is similar to the Vista (oops..) but thanks to the blackened B and C pillars creating a floating roof effect along with the prominent shoulder & character lines and a relatively small gap in the wheel arches adding up to give the new hatchback a fresh and trendy look.

Tata Bolt Side/Silhouette Pictorial Review

The C pillar gets a matt black finish with graphic design on it that has been made possible by applying vinyl wrap instead of using the usual body paint or plastic cladding like in new Hyundai i20. Overall Bolt’s side profile looks clean with no plastic strips or claddings anywhere.

Tata Bolt Rear Profile Review
Rear looks modest in comparison to the relatively stylish front-end. But still the design is unlike any of the previous generation Tata cars.

Tata Bolt Rear Pictorial Review

Gone are the Christmas tree like vertical tail lamps, rightfully replaced with fresh looking flame-shaped units that gel very well with the overall proportion of the car. But unlike Zest they are non LED. To maintain design uniformity, a glossy black plastic panel has been added between the C pillar and the rear windscreen and a small body colour insert is present just above the tail lights.

Tata Bolt Rear Bumper Foglight Pictorial Review

Just like the front, the back bumper also looks fat but the black plastic cladding at the bottom succeeds in hiding the visual bulkiness and comes with a fog lamp mounted in the center. Going with the general trend, Tata has not provided a handle or recess to lift the tailgate up. So one needs to hold on to the chrome garnish above the number plate while opening the hatch, which does not feels very convenient.

Tata Bolt Rear Wiper Washer Pictorial Review

Sporty looking rear spoiler houses the stop lamp and is neatly attached to the roof. The back windscreen gets its own wiper with a washer spray nozzle integrated on it. Also the exhaust pipe is designed to hide behind the rear bumper. The combined effect of all these elements result in a very neat looking back-end for Bolt.

Final Words : Tata Bolt Exterior Review
The Bolt design is said to be a result of best ideas from Tata‘s design studios at India, UK and Italy. This effort definitely shows on the overall exterior design along with fit & finish of the Bolt, which is way ahead of Tata’s past cars. Panel gaps are tight and consistently spaced; the integration of the various new elements looks clean, no apparent cost cutting is visible anywhere and unlike its competitors, Bolt manages to looks mature and sporty at the same time.

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Future Of Tyres Is Air-Less, Literally

 
It may look silly but the weird tires on this electric golf-cart might just be the wave of future. This is Bridgestone's concept of air-free tyres which unlike conventional tyres don't get punctured or need air top-up and can be fully recycled once tread is worn out.

In the video below, CNET reporter explains how these Bridgestone air-free concept tyres have thermoplastic spokes with a special curve that enables them to flex effectively without twisting. It definately looks to be a promising idea but still needs work to address concerns like vibrations, sagging, high speed stability and what about cleaning those thousand spokes.

Bridgestone 2nd Generation Air-Free Concept Tyres
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A Ride In Google's Self Driving Car

 
For a long time Google has been retrofitting conventional cars/SUVs with lasers, radar, cameras and computers to learn how to convert them into self driving automobiles. And now Google has developed its own 2-seater electric self-driving prototype vehicle which hides most of the ugly sensors and gadgets under the surface and has a cute looking face.

This Google 'car of the future' has no steering wheel, accelerator or brake pedal and is designed to require no human intervention during travel, allowing the riders to relax and distract themselves. It feels scary to imagine being in such a car but guys at TheOatmeal.com were brave enough to allow themselves to be driven around in this machine and have survived to share their experience (here) which can be summed up as 'delightfully dull'. Also checkout the video below from a test ride event organized by Google earlier.

A First Ride : Google Self-Driving Car Project
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Vulcan - Most Insane Aston Martin HyperCar Revealed

 
British car maker Aston Martin has taken the covers off its most insane car ever, the Vulcan. Its a track-only supercar limited to 24 pieces and boasts of a 7.0-liter V12 engine producing more than 800 bhp and an estimated price tag of £1.5 million (Rs 14.5 crore only).

Aston Martin Vulcan is constructed around a two-seater carbon fibre monocoque with engine mounted front-midship. It joins the new mutant breed of hypercars like the Ferrari XX series and McLaren P1 GTR who do not conform to the rules of any race series, but they’re too extreme to be driven on the road. New owners will be offered a free program of intensive track driver training with instruction given by Aston Martin Racing drivers.

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Worlds Costliest Cars Selling Faster Than Others

 
Here's an eye popping comparison. During the past five years the worldwide car sales increased by a healthy 36% whereas the sales of seven largest ultra-premium car brands jumped by a mind boggling 154%. Beat that!

This automotive group of hyper luxury companies include Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Maserati and Porsche. According to Bloomberg this scorching pace of growth can be attributed to rising number of young millionares and the fancy car brands taking the risk of entering into new segments to cater to this clientele.

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Myths About Nitrogen Filled Tyres Busted: Video

 
Nitrogen vs Air Filled Tyres: Which is better? A lot of people believe that since nitrogen filled tyres are used in hi-tech products like space shuttles, aircrafts and race cars, so that makes them good for our modest automobiles as well.

Theoretically its correct but practically speaking, the nitrogen used in motor racing and other extreme applications is completely dry, meaning it has 0% humidity and such quality nitrogen can't be made available at local dealerships. So what we get instead is nitrogen with traces of water vapor which completely diminishes any benefits that we hoped to achieve except for less loss of air pressure over time.

In the video below, the guys at Fifth Gear drive and compare two identical Suzuki Swift, with tyres of one filled with compressed air and other with nitrogen in an attempt to find the truth behind the myth.


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Why Low Margin Car Industry Attracts Apple Inc

Apple is one of the most profitable company on the planet and now it wants to expand its profile of operation to build its own Apple iCar. But a lot of people are questioning this move and are terming it unwise since automobile industry is believed to run on very low margin/profits.

Apple vs Competitors photo-credit: Statista.com

Now Vox has come out with a counter point which seems to be pretty valid. It states that even the phone and pc manufacturing was traditionally thought to be a low margin business before Apple jumped into it and proved everyone wrong. This was made possible due to the twin strategy of efficient manufacturing and sacrificing market share to gain pricing power and has earned Apple billions of dollars that its competitors can only dream of. See the above chart comparing profits earned by Apple versus its closest competitors like Asus, Hp, Dell in the pc segment. We feel somehow Apple knows all the right tricks to run a money spinning business.

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Students Create Formula Car With Imported Engine

VF-05 Formula Car

The fourth edition of just concluded 2015 Hyderabad International Auto Show (HIAS) attracted about one lakh visitors, big auto brands and few not so famous innovators with high potential products. One such name is VF-05, a Formula car project of ‘The Milestones’, a team of engineering students from VJIET.

Costing Rs 10 lakhs and six months of hard work, VF-05 Fierce Formula is powered by an imported Honda CBR 600F4i cc bike engine making 110 bhp helping it reach upto 150 kmph speed. According to TheHindu report, the car received loads of attention at the expo and was also adjudged as the second most popular car at this years JK Tyres Formula Design Challenge (FDC). Hopefully things will only get better and faster from here with more sponsors willing to bet on it.

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Mahindra XUV500 Recalled For Airbag Issue

Mahindra XUV500 Recalled

Mahindra has initiated a voluntary recall for its XUV500 W4/W6/W8 manufactured on or before July 2014 to rectify an issue with the side curtain airbag software. The customers effected by the recall will be contacted individually by the company and the software will be upgraded free of cost. Also it has been confirmed that this service action does not include any part replacement for Mahindra XUV500.

The company has not disclosed exactly how many XUV500 models are being recalled but a rough estimate indicates that it will be limited to a few thousand vehicles as not all variants of Mahindra SUV come loaded with side curtain airbags. To check whether your XUV500 falls under the current recall or not can be verified by entering the serial number of the vehicle on the ‘Service Action’ section of the Mahindra's official website or you can speak directly to customer care department at 1800-209-6006 (24 hours, all days). To help you out we have published photos to indicate where you can find the serial number on your Mahindra XUV500.

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How Not To Apply Car's Hand Break

Engaging Parking Brake

Hand brake, also known as the parking brake is one of the most misunderstood brake mechanism in an automobile. It is widely believed that a hand brake is more of a backup thing and used only in emergencies. But this is a very wrong notion and can in some situations result in endangering the life of occupants of a vehicle. We normally tend to put the car into gear (or Park in an automatic) and then engage the handbrake. This is not the correct way as in this situation the transmission has to take most of the load and not the handbrake.

Whenever you are parking a car, especially on a hill, keep the foot-brake engaged to hold the car stationary, next disengage the gear to bring the car into neutral and then pull on the handbrake fully. Now you can select 1st gear in a manual or Park mode in an automatic for added security. Following this sequence ensures that the parking brake holds the car’s weight and prevents putting vehicles transmission under undue load. Also note that the correct way to apply the handbrake is to press the button in first as you are pulling the brake on.

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Cops Fail To Ride Harley Davidson Bikes

Harley On Police Duty

Recently Gujarat police department added two Harley-Davidson bikes to its fleet of vehicles inorder to escort the convoys of VIP's during the Vibrant Gujarat Summit-2015. This news received wide media coverage and some even felt that India has risen up to Dubai's standard where it's quite common for police force to use international superbikes. But a major twist in the story came on the D-day, when just few hours before the event the policemen failed to ride the new bikes during the trial run.

Harley Davidson Street 750 and the SuperLow were bought by police department at a cost of about Rs 10 lakhs. But to save themselves from an embarrassing position during the event, officers decided at the last moment to replace the Davidson bikes with police vans in the security convoy. According to IndianExpress report the problem occurred when policemen failed to maintain their balance while riding the heavy superbikes and were overwhelmed by its pickup and speed since they were not given adequate training.

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Hero Launches Updated 2015 HF Dawn

New Hero HF Dawn

Hero MotoCorp has launched an updated Hero HF Dawn model for the year 2015. The new bike continues to focus on functionality over looks and now comes with side-stand indicator added to the instrument cluster, new body graphics & colors, an adjustable rear suspension for more comfort and clear lens turn indicators. Also the headlamps have received power upgrade for better illumination and extra wide seat offering an upright riding position.

Price at Rs 39,370 (ex-showroom Delhi), the 2015 Hero HF Dawn motorcycle retains the recently updated 100cc engine from the outgoing model. This engine comes mated to a 4-speed gearbox and also performs duty on Splendor, Passion and HF Deluxe. The HF Dawn continues to be the most affordable Hero motorcycle and competes against other entry-level bikes like the Mahindra Pantero, Yamaha Crux, TVS Star City Plus and the Bajaj Discover 100.

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Why Low Price Datsun Go+ Fails To Impress Buyers

Poor Response To Go+

The value for money price of Nissan's new Datsun Go+ MPV starting at Rs 3.8 lakh has failed to attract India buyers. With averages sales of about 400 to 500 units a month, Go+ is way behind its direct competitors Maruti’s Ertiga (priced at Rs 5.8 lakh) selling on average 6000 units and Honda Mobilio (starts at Rs 6.79 lakh) finding 3000 buyers each month .

According to ETAuto's analysis Datsun Go+ is in the same situation as is Tata Nano since both cars have been positioned as cheap or low-cost alternatives which created an impression that these vehicles are of poor quality and unsafe and thus failed to meet the growing aspirations of the Indian automobile users.

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New Ford Mustang Speed Dating Prank TVC

Mustang Prank Video

Here's a new Ford commercial designed to tickles your funny bone. It involves three characters - a bunch of unwary guys, a beautiful professional stunt driver and the new 2015 Ford Mustang. Prank goes something like this - few unsuspecting guys are invited on a blind date with a pretty blonde who happens to be a professional stunt driver and what happens when she pretends to be barely able to drive and then suddenly switches mode to a professional driver while still chatting with guys during their drive. The guy's reaction to the sudden change of driving style are priceless. Checkout the 2015 Mustang Speed Dating prank video below.


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