Contributed
The Red Bull Formula One car coming soon to the streets of New Kingston.
Brian Carless, Gleaner Writer
Formula one car to drive in New Kingston
The high-energy drink company Red Bull will be staging a one-of-a-kind event. The 'Red Bull F1 Urban Run' will be held on Trafalgar Road in the heart of the busy business district of New Kingston on May 5.
The streets will come alive with the sounds, smells and sights of horsepower with 2005 Red Bull F1 car doing burn-outs, doughnuts and hot laps around New Kingston. The Jamaican F1 fans will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing a F1 car in their own backyard, to see the spectacle that is Formula one.
Eight hundred horsepower will be on display as Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull's test ace, will tame this almighty beast on the streets of New Kingston. The event will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also on hand will be shifter karts from the Jamaica Karting Association making a few demonstrations of their own along with a drag car and a few RC cars from the local club. Jamaica's Red Bull consumption is ranked 10th in the world, and being the high-energy company it is, this kind of event just suits their profile quite well. High Energy!
HUMMER HT2 cellphone
Like the previous HT1, the new HT2 is made for HUMMER by French telecom company ModeLabs. Unlike it slider predecessor, the HT2 has a solid candy-bar form factory with an all-metal case. The HUMMER HT2 phone boasts a 176x220 TFT display, a 2-megapixel camera, mp3/mp4 player, Java support (take that iPhone!), built-in 11MB memory, microSD slot, and a full pocket organiser suite plus quad-band GPRS and Bluetooth with A2DP connectivity. The HUMMER phones are sold principally overseas with the HT2 hitting markets in Russia and Latin America before it lands on.
Jenna's Lamborghini sold on eBay
For those who don't know who Jenna Jameson is, she's perhaps the world's most famous, "adult film star". The car was bought in 2002. Since then, Jenna's Lambo has done 11,658 miles. The Lambo is equipped with a six-speed manual (instead of smacking it around with the paddles) and decked out in black leather offset by blonde highlights (yellow topstitching). The car was sold for a price of US$182,900 on eBay Motors.
Toyota to double stake in Subaru parent, Fuji Heavy
Emerging reports indicate that Toyota is preparing to nearly double its stake in Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries. Toyota initially bought into Fuji when that other automotive giant, General Motors, sold its 8.7 per cent stake to its Japanese rival. The new share-grab, the door to which was opened by revised Japanese laws, would bring Toyota's partial ownership of Fuji up to 17 per cent, just short of doubling its current stake.
Since Toyota's buy-in of Fuji, cooperation between the two companies has only increased, ranging from new product development to manufacturing. Insiders predict that with the increased stake will come even more integrated collaboration between the two Japanese automakers, which, considering Toyota's enormous success worldwide, can only mean good things for Subaru's operations.
Meanwhile, it's worth noting that with Toyota reportedly considering following Honda into the sky, Fuji's other core business in aerospace could prove an invaluable asset
700 Nissan GT-Rsin 48 hours
Nearly 700 Brits put down pre-order deposits of £3,500 within the first 48 hours of Nissan's hot GT-R going on sale, proving demand for the latest Japanese supercar doesn't seem to be diminishing. Customers in the United Kingdom don't seem to be deterred by the GT-R's base sales price of £52,900, or the fact they won't see delivery until March 2009.
Nissan GT-R V-Spec lap times
Reports coming out of Germany are the prototype Nissan GT-R V-Spec has been caught lapping the famed Nrburgring at a simply unbelievable 7:25 per lap. This is according to persons at trackside. (Walter Rshrl lapped the Ring in 7:28 while driving a Porsche Carrera GT in 2004.) The standard Nissan GT-R, that made the run around the 'Ring in 7:38, the GT-R V-Spec has a new front splitter, modified rear spoiler, and different wheels. A more extensive use of carbon fibre has reportedly reduced the weight by upwards of 330 pounds. Of course, Nissan engineers also tweaked the twin-turbo power plant for another 70 hp. So Fidelity will be taking orders for this beast of a car? Who's gonna be like the next Doug Gore and be the first one in the Caribbean to have one for his/her very own?
Honda Civic Type R in 2010?
Honda is seriously thinking of bring the four-door Honda Civic Type R to American shores come 2010. The car will be based on Honda's JDM/ASEAN market Civic sedan, a 2.0-litre iVTEC engine putting out 220hp with limited slip differential and the usual upgrade suspension.
This should be a wise move, because as good as the current Civic Si in the States, it is outgunned by high-horsepower cars like the Mazdaspeed3 and Subaru WRX. The Japanese Civic sedan is close to its North American counterpart, it would be easier to federalise such a model than attempt to import the Euro-market Type R's hatchback. So will there be a case where Honda buyers will be going to the only dealer in Jamaica to place an early order?