All posts in “Videos”

Pikes Peak Hill Climb Record | Behind the Wheel S02 // E09

“Behind the Wheel” is a video series that shows you a bit of what it’s like to work at Autoblog. The editors and video producers will show you the cars we have in our fleet, and you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the personalities who help make the site run. 

In this episode, Senior Producer Christopher McGraw packed up his bags, got in the car and moved out to the fantastic state of Colorado. After getting settled in the mountains, his first assignment was to cover VW’s attempt at setting the course record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. What followed was one of his favorite days on the job.

Where are you traveling to in 2020? We’d love to hear from you, so please comment below!

Gear used to make this: 

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Watch Rimac test the C_Two’s active aerodynamics on track

The founder of electric sports car builder Rimac Automobili, Mate Rimac, when not helping create new cars, creates YouTube series about those cars. They include series such as Discover Rimac Today and Mondays with Mate. One of the more intriguing series is the documentary-style look at the C_Two electric supercar‘s ongoing development, and the latest episode shows two C_Two prototypes testing new upgraded suspension and active aerodynamics as part of testing announced back in December

The two vehicles seen sharpening their senses at the Automotodrom Grobnik track outside Rijeka, Croatia, look similar but have significant differences underneath. One has an old suspension setup and no active aerodynamic technology, while the other has an upgraded and improved suspension and Rimac’s full active aero kit. The most noticeable feature of the system is the rear wing that moves up and down. Meanwhile, hearing the cars whir about is fascinating in its own right.

If you’re craving more footage of the C_Two, Rimac has you covered. The EV builder has captured the car’s aerodynamic wind tunnel testing, the crash testing, as well as the computational methods used throughout the process.

When the C_Two finally launches, it will immediately become one of the most advanced vehicles on the market. At its conceptual debut in 2018, Rimac claimed the C_Two would have four electric motors at each wheel and would be powered by a 120-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. In total, the C_Two is said to make 1,888 horsepower and 1,696 lb-ft of torque, and it still claimed 404 miles of range on a single charge (by the New European Driving Cycle standards). The four-digit power pushes the car from zero mph to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, down a quarter-mile in 9.1 seconds, and all the way up to a 258-mph top speed. Only 150 examples of the car will be produced.

Glickenhaus SCG 004C gets its first track shakedown in Italy

It can be hard to keep track of the various Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus vehicles on the way because we read about them for years before seeing them. No matter, when they do show, they are welcome sights. The SCG 004C, hardcore racer that’s successor to the Nürburgring pole-sitting 003C, is the next to make the transition from text coverage to track footage. Developed to ultimately serve as a platform for GTE, GTLM, GT3, and GT4 categories as well as Germany’s NLS series, SCG put the first example to test on Italy’s Cremona Circuit. Years ago, SCG’s plan was to have Nissan’s 3.8-liter twin turbo VR38DETT V6 from GT-R placed amidships. That plan morphed into using a 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated pushrod V8 based on GM’s LT4 block, developed by Autotechnica Motori.

Fellow Italian company Podium Advanced Technologies is helping with overall vehicle engineering, SCG saying the 004 chassis — which will get an 004S road version, 004CS road/track version, and the 004C track-specific car — has already been through 35,000 hours of development work. As to the engine, James Glickenhaus told Sportscar365, “It can’t rev very high, but GT3 engines can’t rev very high anyway with the restrictors. You get a very low center of gravity and it’s a very compact engine, so there’s a tremendous amount of space around it to blow air around and keep it cool.” The 003C used a 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged Honda HR35TT V6 built for IMSA’s Daytona Prototype category. Glickenhaus said the change in philosophy with the 004C meant that “with the low-end torque, we’re going to be able to be faster coming out of the turns than we were with the 003C.”

On the first shakedown and improvements compared to the 003C, the owner explained that two more inches of suspension travel in the 004C would translate into softer landings on the high-flying Nordschleife, and the new nose results in improved downforce and better aero balance. The 004C is also about 220 pounds lighter than its 2,976-pound forebear.

The 004C will of course be restricted to series power limits. Since the road-going cars won’t be limited, customers will get about 680 hp out of the V8 in the 004S, and around 850 hp out of the 004CS with the help of a supercharger bolted to that V8. Estimated price for the hand-built, carbon-fiber bodied 004S is $485,000, the 004CS will start around $650,000. As with the racer, all versions will employ a three-seater cockpit with a central driver’s seat, the choice of a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch transmission; the race car fits an Xtrac sequential transmission.

After its first test at Cremona, the 004C heads to Aragon, Spain, for a 30-hour endurance test. Its first race comes next month in the Experimental Class in the NLS series, before racing again in April, and a tilt at the Nürburgring 24 in May. Check out the sound from the outside in the clip above, and the on-board views below.

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Czinger preparing 21C hybrid hypercar for Geneva debut

Kevin Czinger — with a silent C — has spent the past 11 years that we know of trying out various automotive concepts in Southern California. The Yale Law School graduate who built hot rods as a youth in Cleveland co-founded Coda Automotive in 2009, which tried to get off the ground with a re-engineered Chinese sedan converted to an all-electric powertrain. Coda went under in 2013. In 2014. The next year, Czinger started Divergent 3d, which revealed the Blade supercar in 2015. Czinger’s point with the Blade was to convert automakers to novel production techniques, the Blade’s chassis and body created with 3D-printed aluminum alloy. In 2019, Czinger formed an eponymous company taking the Blade as the inspiration for the Czinger 21C hybrid hypercar. In a previous interview with Road and Track, which deserves a read, Czinger said, “We’re looking to combine computing power, science, and additive manufacturing into one system.”  

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The 21C could be that blend, having clearly come a long way from the Blade. We don’t know much about the coupe, Czinger preferring to wait for details until its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The moody reveal video shows off the suite of hypercar cues like diminutive overhangs, the fulsome fenders, angry LED headlights, plenty of vents, center-lock wheels twirling around giant carbon ceramic rotors and beefy calipers, a serious wing hanging off the back, and what looks like a top-mount dual exhaust. Tandem seating — passenger behind driver — carries over from the Blade, and the copious exposed carbon fiber bodywork hides plenty of 3D-printed components. The brace connecting the carbon fiber steering column housing to the instrument panel, for instance, looks a prime culprit for additive manufacturing. The full-width roller coaster brake light ensures everyone behind the 21C will remember what they’ve just seen. 

The powertrain is an unknown beyond the descriptive that it’s a “strong hybrid” developed in-house to deliver “dominating performance.” Strong would be the correct word if the video can be trusted; at the 0:28 mark, the digital rev counter shows a redline beyond 10,000 rpm. We’ll know more come Geneva.

Related Video:

Race a Type S Concept and an 8-bit 1991 NSX in Acura’s new video game

Acura has unveiled a new mobile video game that features a variety of the brand’s notable cars from throughout the past three decades. The game is a spin-off of the brand’s “Beat That” commercial, and each level is programmed to look how video games looked when the different cars were in production. Players have the option to drive a race car, new and old Acura sports cars, or a crossover.

As part of the “Less Talk, More Drive” advertising campaign, Acura has released a series of commercials with the catchphrase, “Beat That.” They’re meant to demonstrate the company’s competitive spirit, and now Honda’s luxury brand has brought about a new way to get those fiery juices going. In the same week as the 2020 Chicago Auto Show, Acura has launched “Beat That” the mobile video game.

The game has six levels, each of which features a different car. Each race is a time trial, and the graphics are designed in a way that they match the years of the vehicles. Level 1 takes place at the 8-Bit Beach and features the 1991 Acura NSX. Level 2 takes place at the Warehouse Complex and features the 1998 Acura Integra Type R. Level 3 features a Snowy Summit stage an includes the 2020 Acura RDX A-Spec, while Level 3 is at a Grand Prix Circuit with the ARX-05 Daytona Prototype racecar. A 2020 NSX drives on the Super Skyway in Level 5, and the Type S Concept can be driven in a Cyber Tunnel in Level 6. 

The only way to reach the next level within the game is to beat a specific lap time designated for each level. Users can play against themselves, or they can send challenges to friends through social media or other chat platforms. To compete against the best of the best, users can click on a leaderboard time and compete against ghost cars from the previous record laps. 

To play the game on a mobile device, click here.

‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – A Love Letter To Making Movies’ Takes You Behind the Scenes of the Film

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino’s acclaimed 9th movie, was inarguably one of of the best movies of 2019. With over 100 wins and 300 nominations from the Academy Awards and the Golden…

The 15 Best Office Chairs of 2020

This definitive guide to the best office chairs of 2020 explores everything you need to know to find an office chair best suited to your needs, including ergonomics, price, aesthetics and features.

Long has the doom of sitting been forecasted. Published papers aplenty have argued that a stationary life is shorter and trouble-ridden, and the primary workarounds are many — standing desks, frequent breaks, stretching, taking walks and so on. But none address the simple fact that, sometimes, to get shit done, we simply need to plant ourselves in a chair and get after it.

Luckily, a number of companies are working to beat each other at building the best office chairs, even though they all know it’s not possible. No one chair is the best for everyone, so take our guide with lots of salt. If you can, go to stores and showrooms in your area and sit down, lean back, lean forward, pull levers and ask questions about everything. Your back, muscles, various joints and brain will thank you.

The Short List

Best All-Around Office Chair: Knoll ReGeneration


Beyond taking our “Best Value” category by way of a price most people can swallow mixed with smart design, it received one of the most valuable recognitions in product design — a Good Design Award — after it’s release in 2012.

The ReGeneration is the affordable update to the legendary Generation chair. It adjusts to your weight, posture and weird leaning tendencies on the fly (up to 270 degrees of posture change). It’s also warrantied for a whopping 12 years. It’s the proud owner of various highly-touted sustainability acronyms.

Knoll is the master of the office chair, and the more accessible version of its lauded office seating boasts the most useful functionality, comfort, extra options and looks at the most reasonable price point we found. Make sure to get the mesh-backed version if you run hot, and adding in the lumbar support comes highly-recommended by reviewers (though you may have to contact Knoll or the outlet you intend to purchase from to arrange this).

Best Budget Office Chair: Alera Elusion


Being on a budget does not mean settling for design of a lower quality; it means identifying smart engineering at price points don’t trigger panic attacks. The Alera Elusion, which is also our best option under $200, is just that. It’s mesh-backed and features loads of recline and tension adjustment options for just $190.

If your definition of budget is a bit more expansive, we recommend Herman Miller’s Sayl chair, which is made with better materials and has a better warranty behind it — not to mention a company with a legendary reputation. That said, the extra $200 to $250 you’ll need to shell out for a Sayl makes an impact large enough to favor the more affordable, impressively-built Elusion chair.

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Best Office Chair Brands

Humanscale

An extreme and praise-worthy focus on sustainable, eco-friendly design and gorgeous aesthetics come together with research-backed ergonomics at Humanscale. A through-line can be seen in all Humanscale’s more recent products — simplicity. Simplicity urged forward by the late American industrial designer Niels Diffrient in his partnership with Humanscale, which yielded two of the most notable and respected chairs ever — the Freedom and Diffrient World.

Herman Miller

Herman Miller is the company behind many of the most iconic pieces in the era of mid-century modern but its catalog has far more to offer than famous lounge chairs. When Herman Miller released the Aeron office chair, it instantly became the, or at least one of the, best makers of office seating the world over. The American brand’s most notable office chairs are likely the Aeron, Embody and the newly released Cosm, a fully passive ergonomic chair with a few unique-unto-itself features.

Steelcase

Where Herman Miller and others work in a variety of furniture areas, Steelcase narrows its gaze to furniture with a performance and sustainability bend. The 105-year-old company is unrelenting in its focus on research-guided design, and it is most known for the Gesture, Leap and its auto-adjusting (and fairly new) SILQ.

Allsteel

Allsteel is function and performance driven above all else. It bullied its way into office gear in the early 20th century making steel electrical boxes and lockers (it would take until the middle of the century to add its first chairs) Not all of its seating is beautiful looking (except for the Acuity, which is), but it is all based on the science of ergonomics.

Knoll

Like Herman Miller, Knoll was (and has become again) mid-century royalty. Also like Herman Miller, it didn’t fall off the face of the earth. Knoll still peddles high-end, luxurious home furniture aplenty, but its office seating, the Generation line in particular, is a revelation. Ergonomic, good looking and sold at price points low and high, Knoll covers the spectrum of what you need now and in the future.

Best Budget Office Chairs

As with most products of the budget variety, temper your expectations. There is no sub-$100, $200 or even $500 office chair that does all things for all people, or performs equally to premium chairs. Expect materials that don’t necessarily ensure a long life and may not look stellar. That said, these chairs are ergonomic. Our budget picks are simply the most affordable you can go without sacrificing your health and wellbeing at work.

Best Office Chair Under $100: Flash Furniture High Back Mesh Chair


This mesh-bodied, high-back chair from Flash Furniture is the best and most versatile chair we’ve found under $100. It has an adjustable headrest (ideal for those who like to lean back), holds more weight than most dirt cheap options, has a tilt tension adjustment knob, offers firm lumbar support and isn’t absolutely atrocious to look at. If it’s missing anything (other than quality materials that would drive the price up), it’s adjustable armrests, but that’s the lowest number of serious compromises you’ll find out of seating in this price category.

Best Office Chair Under $200: Alera Elusion Chair


It looks as simple as any other chair you’d run into at Staples, but it isn’t. Alera’s Elusion chair borrows features like a full mesh back for breathability, a waterfall-edge seat cushion to maintain regular levels of leg circulation and more comfort customization than chairs fives times its price.

Its only limiting factors are aesthetics (it is rather boring to look at) and the use of cheap materials, which means it’s likely not a great long-term seating option.

Best Office Chair Under $500: Herman Miller Sayl


This is an affordable take on Herman Miller’s manually-adjusted office chair. The webbed, unframed back is supported by a suspension tower (and inspired by the a notable landmark in the designer’s home city of San Francisco), which allows for a twisting and turning in the chair to remain both comfortable and well-supported.

The arms slide up and down, the recline tension is adjustable, the chair is certified to seat a person up to 350 pounds and it does all this for just south of $500. When the chair released, it took home a flurry of “bests” from judging panels and events, including the Industrial Designers Society of America, International Design Awards and FX International Interior Design Awards. This is no ordinary budget seating.

Best Ergonomic Office Chairs

Ergonomic design, to some extent, is present in all seating, but not all chairs can be called ergonomical. By way of built-in automatic adjustments or manually turning knobs and pulling levers, great ergonomical chairs are the ones that conform to the human body, and the best do that to specific human bodies, no matter their weight, height or posture. These are those chairs, in every specific taste and style we could think of.

Best Value Office Chair: Knoll ReGeneration


Value is a function bound to the holy price-quality balance. Our choice is Knoll’s affordable, somewhat recent addition to its line of Generation seating — the ReGeneration. Starting just north of $500, ReGeneration adjusts to your weight, posture and weird leaning tendencies on the fly (up to 270 degrees of posture change).

Knoll is the master of the office chair, and the more accessible version of its lauded office seating boasts the most useful functionality, comfort, extra options and looks at the most reasonable price point. Make sure to get the mesh-backed version if you run hot, and adding in the lumbar support comes highly-recommended by reviewers (though you may have to contact Knoll or the outlet you intend to purchase from to arrange this).

Best Office Chair for a Standing Desk: HAG Capisco Puls


As illogical as it sounds, standing and raising desks do need seats of their own. Portland-based Fully specializes in supplying only the best ergonomic seating for the modern workspace (it’s most known for the Jarvis adjustable height desk), and the Capisco was the very first product it stocked.

It allows for seating in any way that’s comfortable to you — stool seating, cross-legged, side sitting, sitting backwards and so on. Essentially, it encourages non-static working and provides the means to act on that comfortably.

The Capisco Puls is the slimmer, newer and more affordable version ($300 cheaper) of the chair. Looking at the greater standing desk chair market, you could settle for less, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice.

Best Office Chair for Gaming: Vertagear Triigger 275


The proliferation of the racing-style chair as the defacto “gaming” chair is sad and dumb. The best gaming chair is not about immersing the sitter in the game or looking cool — it’s about support, customization and the ability to remain cool for hours.

Vertagear’s Triigger series of chairs is just this, and the 275 model is the best balance of price and useful features. Though we’ve praised chairs that automatically adjust to all users in this guide, gaming requires a chair fine-tuned to the player. The Trigger 275 allows you to adjust armrest height, seat height, backrest height and lumbar support. And because it’s a mesh chair, you remain cooler for longer, and it doesn’t look juvenile (though you can get it with white, red and blue accents).

The brand offers a premium option, too — the Vertagears 350 comes with an aluminum frame and calfskin leather accents for a couple hundred dollars more.

Best Office Chair for Home Use: Blu Dot Daily Task Chair


Blu Dot’s mantra: bring good design to as many people as possible. As such, the Midwestern company’s designs ride the “I could afford that if I wanted to” line more than any modern furniture brand, and it’s all original, sturdy and hardwearing. The Daily Task Chair isn’t a loud or boastful piece to bring into your own home, but it’s interesting, a bit retro and comes with a few foundational ergonomic perks.

Best Mid-Century Modern Office Chair: Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair


The Eames Management chair is from a time gone by, when office hierarchy was defined by corner offices, over-sized desks and, in this case, a luxe mid-back desk chair. What does that mean? It’s behind some others on this list in the ergonomics department, but it’s miles ahead in style. An aluminum frame, MCL leather and a distinctly mid-century look define the Eameses instantly recognizable seat. (Note: if you regularly spend working hours in your home office chair, we recommend leaning toward the more ergonomic-focused options in this guide.)

Best Office Chair for Conference Rooms: Steelcase Silq


A lack of fiddling with knobs and levers is what separates a good conference room chair from the chair at your desk. When people are coming in and out, there’s no time to pull out a manual to adjust the secondary recline tension. Steelcase’s conference room-minded Silq chair is one of the few examples of affordable passive ergonomics. Other than height, everything about the chair adjusts to the sitter automatically.

Best Office Chair with a Headrest: EuroTech Ergohuman


Truth be told, if you’re serious about you’re reclining, you better be serious about having a chair equipped with a headrest. Thinking about reclining sequentially, you press your back against the chair, lean back and your head loses the natural support of your neck and body. This causes you to tense your neck, which creates soreness and leads to further problems down the line.

That’s what chairs like Eurotech’s Ergohuman aim to solve, while limiting sacrifices to the chair’s comfort level. The superb lumbar support, various tension and height adjustments, a very handy pneumatic lift system that raises and lowers the chair smoothly and a supportive (but still comfortable) headrest brought together on the Ergohuman make for office seating that’s equal parts impressive and satisfying to take a seat in (hint: get the all mesh version if it’s available — it’ll stay far cooler than a faux leather seat cushion one).

Best Passive Ergonomic Office Chair: Herman Miller Cosm


The success of Herman Miller’s office seating line is unquestioned (just look at our list), but this might be the largest departure from that line since it began. Where our “Best Value” choice was of the old school of passive ergonomics, Cosm is of the new.

Apart from aesthetics and sizing options (the high-backed Cosm is stunning online and in person), the primary functional difference between the two is a single, completely unique innovation — the ability to use your weight to adjust tension to you without the need to slide your body forward or lift you up at all. This sliding and lifting lifts your legs ever so slightly up, resulting in added tension to the body.

It’s a subtle difference, but one no other company had managed until Cosm. In fact, the only reason Herman Miller didn’t release an auto-adjusting chair prior was its inability to solve the riddle of the lifting legs.

Best Leather Office Chair: Humanscale Freedom


American industrial design legend Niels Diffrient authored many products of great importance, but this was his magnum opus. The Freedom chair marks the beginning of the shift away from manually-adjustable office seating (primarily because most people don’t actually know how to adjust the chairs properly) and to self-adjusting chairs.

Specifically, the Freedom chair handles all recline tension and tilt functionality itself, while still allowing you to slide the seat backward or forward and the armrest up and down. Since its release, a hundred or more self-adjusting chairs have cropped up, but few have done so as elegantly as the Freedom chair.

Its base model ships in a PU leather upholstery (as almost all “leather” office chairs do) with a die-cast aluminum frame, but you can special order real leather upon request.

Best Office Chair for Small Work Spaces: Humanscale Diffrient World Chair


Few manufacturers set out to make office chairs specifically for small spaces. This chair, also designed by Diffrient, has armrests that can be lifted or lowered to slide under a desk when not in use, a back high enough to allow for comfortable reclining and a width on the slimmer end.

Instead of chairs requiring manual adjustment via knobs and levers like most task chairs before it, the Diffrient World adapts to the sitter automatically (it was one of the earlier task chairs to do this). It uses your body weight as a counterbalance to allow for seamless and steady reclining and the whole thing is a springy mesh that’s just tight enough to sink into, but not so much to the point of sagging and stretching. It’s also guaranteed to last for 10 years.

Best Luxury Office Chair: Herman Miller Embody


This is not luxury in the plush leather, animal skin, bedazzled sense; it’s luxury in just how effective it is at what it does. Herman Miller puts it this way: “so intelligent, it makes you think.” It prioritizes and glorifies movement above all else — movement lessens muscle tension and increases blood flow, thereby increasing the amount of time your brain operates at a high level, which in turn makes for better work.

Thought up by the late and great Bill Stumpf (father of the Aeron chair) and designed by Jeff Weber with the guidance of a team of 20 physicians and doctors in physical therapy, ergonomics and biomechanics, it uses the human body as its blueprint — a spine with a flexible rib cage bends and turns are you do, and redistributes pressure to lessen tension.

All told, it’s an expensive, luxury office chair, but not because of whims of fanciness and wealth, but because it is a throne built on the idea that a chair doesn’t have to be a health-negative.

Honorable Mention: Herman Miller Aeron


The Aeron is the chair against which all other chairs are measured. Not even the worthy competition on this list challenge its status as the most influential office chair of the modern era.

Released in 1994, Aeron is the chair that bookended a shift in task seating design, from a form-first to function-first industry. Its critical, commercial and cultural successes are many. It ushered out clean lines in favor of shapes contouring to the human body, and was the first hugely successful mesh chair. It is among the most customizable designs ever conceived. It’s earned a permanent place in the Museum of Modern Art. It’s even 94 percent recyclable, a feature years ahead of its time.

Though the Aeron chair is no longer seating du jour, in style and function, its importance and power is unrivaled.

Will Price

Will Price is Gear Patrol’s home and drinks editor. He’s from Atlanta and lives in Brooklyn. He’s interested in bourbon, houseplants, cheap Japanese pens, and cast-iron skillets — maybe a little too much.

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Cast-Iron Buying Advice: Everything You Should Know Before You Purchase

Essential cast iron buying advice for cooks of any skill level. Cast iron cookware is simple, must-have kitchen gear – here’s how to figure out what kind of pan you really need.

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Try to spot the new Porsche 911 GT3 in this Super Bowl commercial

When Porsche chose YouTube for the reveal of its Super Bowl commercial, the biggest news was the Stuttgart sports car maker returning to The Big Game after 24 years away. Depending on whether you’re more interested in the annual commercial-palooza or the products therein, Porsche hid even bigger newness inside “The Heist:” A sneak peek of the 992-series 911 GT3. As far as we can tell, Motor1 was first to catch the trickery, a Porsche rep confirming the subterfuge to Motor Trend. The presentation begins at 43 seconds in the video above, ending at 49, the culprit being the blue coupe on the lift above the yellow GT2 RS.

What can we tell from these snapshots? That the prototypes haven’t lied. It’s real busy in back, with a high-rise wing above a ducktail spoiler. The current 911 GT3 uses a pair of solid supports at the base of the engine cover supporting the wing from the bottom. Prototypes we’ve seen of the new GT3 fit a pair of thick stanchions set higher up on the body, next to the backlight, that clamp the wing top and bottom. Our guess is engineers needed to make room for the ducktail spoiler across the width of the car. We can’t quite make out the arrangement on the GT3 in the commercial, but it looks like the prototype plinths have been shaved down to a pair of thin braces next to the rear glass. Beneath all that, the rear bumper shows the same recessed section across its width. And an inordinate amount of the coupe’s flanks is taken up by big, 10-spoke, center-lock wheels fronting giant rotors.

Curiously, the GT3 Touring prototypes spotted at the Nürburgring lack both the big rear wing and the ducktail spoiler.   

Don’t be surprised at a Geneva Motor Show reveal in March. Technical specs have homed in on a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six with up to 550 horsepower, the choice of a manual transmission, and a speculated ‘Ring lap time of around seven minutes, which would take about 12 seconds off the current car’s time.

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This Small Crew in Ohio Handmakes All 216 Official Super Bowl Footballs

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There aren’t many things more classically American than Football, so it’s only appropriate that the namesake of America’s favorite sport would be made somewhere in the country that founded it. That place is the Wilson Football Factory in Ada Ohio, situated just 150 miles from where the National Football League was originally formed in Canton. Ada is a small town even by small-town standards, occupying an area of just 2 square miles with about 6,000 residents. The Wilson Factory was built in 1955, and each and every NFL football that’s been used since was made right there in Ada.

Wilson makes their patented footballs with leather sourced from Horween Leather Company in Chicago – one of the oldest continuously operating tanneries in America. Unlike many automated factories, each step of the Wilson process is expertly guided by the hands of an Ada resident, several of whom were taught by their own parents who worked in the same factory. The staff is close-knit; the workers are quick to describe the team’s dynamic as a family. A large portion of the staff grew up together, and they make it a point to be there for each other both inside the factory and out.

For the employees at the Wilson Factory, there is an enormous level of pride that goes into making an NFL football. Every year the Super Bowl is the single most-watched television broadcast in America, and the Wilson Factory employees take satisfaction in knowing that they made the ball that’s being watched by hundreds of millions of viewers across America.

11 Products Made for Cold Weather Fly Fishing

For many anglers, the winter months are spent tying flies, patching waders and dreaming about the first hatch of spring. But with the right gear – and mindset – angling can carry through the cold months and can oftentimes produce serious fish. Here is a breakdown of some cold-weather fly fishing essentials that will help extend your season and increase your catch count.

Apparel

Filson Henley Guide Sweater


The Henley Guide Sweater is made from soft yet robust merino wool and features a water-resistant reinforced layer on the yoke and arms. The heavy-duty weave resists pulls and is great in all kinds of cold and inclement conditions. The oil-finished canvas helps to protect when working through tight brush and briars. Performance is best if paired with a wicking base layer and light thermal undershirt. The cut is a bit boxy and runs a little large to size; keep this in mind when planning to wear under a shell or with additional layers.

Filson Ultralight Jacket


The Ultralight Jacket is stuffed with 60g PrimaLoft Gold insulation and finished in a 1.5-ounce ripstop shell, making this jacket an extremely lightweight option that works equally well as an outer layer or a mid-layer under a shell. The jacket packs down small and retains up to 98 percent of its warmth even when wet. Moleskin collar facing and hand warmer pockets keep the chill out and elastic hem and cuff keep the fit comfortable when layering up or down.

Kynsho Crossover Cowl


Kynsho’s Crossover Cowl is a game changer for winter fishing. With a fleece lining and a heavy-duty weatherproof exterior, the cowl keeps heat locked in around your vital neck/nape area without adding bulky material or ungainly scarf tails. Secured via two magnetically-aided snaps, the cowl is easy to don and remove, even while wearing gloves. A generous amount of material make it easy to wear up over the chin and face too, providing warm and protective coverage when the wind picks up.

Accessories

Gerber Linedriver


The Gerber Linedriver is a fishing-specific multi-tool that brings a number of helpful tools into a single, simple piece of kit. Featuring nippers, hook-clearing spike, hook threader and crimper, the Linedriver saves your fingers from fumbling with wet flies in the cold with a rotating tip that holds your fly for easier tying. It comes with a handle-mounted all-purpose clip and lashing point so you’ll never lose track of it while on the water.

Smith Optics Guide’s Choice Sunglasses with Green Mirror Lens


Smith Optics has long been at the forefront of eye protection for anglers. At the heart of Smith is an incredible lens technology; TLT polarized glass lenses with anti-reflective and hydroleophobic coatings for unparalleled clarify and precision in a wide range of environments. The Guide’s Choice frames are a perennial favorite for anglers, thanks to the wrap-around design with excellent side coverage. These were fitted with the new Green Mirror lens which make in-shore, sight fishing, river and stream use even more comfortable, available in the Guide’s Choice and new Redding sunglass models.

Smith Caravan MAG with Ignitor Lens


Smith’s new Caravan MAG sunglasses are a great choice when fishing long days with changing weather and light conditions. They come stock with a pair of ChromaPop Ignitor lenses that thrive in low-light conditions, giving you polarization while letting in more light for incredible clarity in early morning and evening situations. Once the sun comes up, get added light and UV protection while retaining Smith’s precise polarized optics with a second set of lenses that pop into the magnetically-closed frames in seconds. They even come with a lens storage bag that will stow easily in a breast pocket, making it easy to have the right optics on the water all day long without having to carry a second set of frames.

Yeti Rambler


Yeti has become synonymous with the outdoors precisely because of products like the Rambler, an 18-ounce, double-wall vacuum insulated thermos that keeps all your beverages hot for hours. Equipped with Yet’s TripleHaul Cap, the Rambler can be clipped or lashed to your gear easily. Simply a must-have for a cold day on the water.

Equipment

Orvis PRO Wading Boot


The new PRO Wading Boot from the longtime fishing outfitter builds on Orvis’s commitment to quality and performance with a brand new approach to tread technology. Through a partnership with Michelin, Orvis has created an outsole that claims a 25 percent better abrasion resistance and a 43 percent improvement in wet rubber traction. Additionally, the boot’s upper has been retooled to remove seams and pinch points, making these lightweight boots incredibly comfortable both in and out of the water, making them ideal for long days. Pair them with PosiGrip screw-in studs for unmatched traction.

Orvis Pro Wader


For most, a pair of waders is little more than a waterproof pair of overalls that do their best to keep you dry from your feet to your chest. But Orvis’s new PRO Wader changes the games. With an athletic cut, ergonomic neoprene booties, and a gusseted crotch, the PRO Waders are designed to be comfortable in any use case. The upper features a four-layer Cordura shell, while a five-layer Cordura shell covers the lower legs boasting incredible abrasion and puncture resistance. An elastic wading belt and shoulder straps, combined with a fleece-lined kangaroo front pocket and removable OrthoLite knee pads keep you comfortable, warm and protected all day long.

Orvis Clearwater 10′ 3wt


The popularity of Euro-style tight-line nymphing techniques has made many rod manufacturers, including Orvis, rethink their rod lineups. In the case of the Clearwater, which has traditionally been Orvis’s entry-level tier, those techniques have catalyzed the creation of a rod designed from the tip to butt for tight-line nymphing – at an incredibly approachable price. The 10-foot, 3-weight Clearwater features a highly sensitive tip-top section and robust butt section – complete with small fighting butt – to help you reach runs, feel even the subtlest takes and bring big fish right to the net.

Ross Gunnison 5wt Reel


Anyone familiar with Ross Reels likely has heard of the Gunnison, a revered reel made right in Montrose, Colorado only a few miles from the Gunnison River. The new Gunnison reel retains the aesthetics of the original – Ross has retained the octagonal machining, round porting, and a leader groove on the frame – but adds the new stacked-disc drag system for extreme pressure and precision in a small package. The drag makes fighting larger fish easier while the new large arbor design holds plenty of line for hot fish.

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Lamborghini loans an Aventador S to father and son building 3D-printed replica

In October we shared the story of Sterling Backus, the physicist in Erie, Colo., who was building a Lamborghini Aventador replica with his 11-year-old son Xander. In progress for nearly two years, Backus — who designs lasers as his day job — fabricated a steel chassis, sourced an LS1 V8 from a Chevrolet Corvette for power, bought lights on eBay and 3D-printed the body panels that were then encapsulated in carbon fiber. Backus and son call the coupe the Interceptor, and Sterling said he subtly changed every exterior panel to avoid legal issues with Lamborghini. The Sant’Agata automaker was paying attention to the Interceptor, though, as an exec phoned Sterling about it before Christmas. The subject of the call: Lamborghini’s marketing chief wanted to know if he and Xander would like to borrow an Aventador S for a couple of weeks and shoot a video.

The Italian automaker has been known to go on hunts for deep-down Lamborghini fans. Last year Lamborghini had a surprise for one lucky kid going Christmas shopping at a store in Italy; kids that said they wanted a model Lamborghini were told the store was out, and almost all the kids accepted a different model instead. One child made it clear he didn’t want a substitute if he couldn’t have the Lamborghini, so he not only got a the model he wanted, he got it delivered in a Lamborghini driven by factory driver Marco Mapelli.

Xander’s devotion to the Aventador in “Forza Horizon 3″ is what compelled him to ask his father if they could build a real-life version. For that, Xander and Sterling earned Lamborghini’s #RealLover distinction this year. Katia Bassi, Lamborghini’s CMO, said, “Automobili Lamborghini is against any attempt at counterfeiting. However, a true story of such authentic passion deserves to be featured, which is why we chose to tell of Sterling’s and Xander’s project in our 2019 Christmas video.”

The Interceptor build continues, documented on Facebook. The senior Backus aims to turn his work it into an educational tool. “Ultimately, I want kids to get interested in STEM, and this is a great platform for it because of all the disciplines involved in a project like this.” But after 20 months of effort, he and Xander will probably enjoy taking a holiday break in the car that started it all.

Related Video:

Top Gear magazine climbs all over the McLaren Elva

Top Gear deputy editor Jack Rix took a camera crew to McLaren’s Technology Center for a closer look at the Elva roadster. Not only did Rix provide his usual, thorough once-over and explanation of design features, but thanks to the magic of moving pictures, we get graphic demonstrations of how the Elva’s most interesting feature works. McLaren engineers needed to figure out a way to protect helmetless occupants from getting their faces painted with bugs and detritus at speed. Their solution is the Active Air Management System (AAMS), composed of a deflector and a network of vents that create a “bubble of calm” around the passenger cell. Unlike the rest of the Elva, the AAMS ain’t pretty, but beauty always loses tie-breakers to effectiveness in Woking. 

For a vehicle with so little to it, including the number of body panels, there’s a ton going on all around the open-top. The rear mesh is 3D-printed titanium. Short seat squabs combined with a moving steering wheel and gauge cluster improve ingress and egress. Four high-flow exhaust pipes are placed in two locations and pointed two directions in order to separate tones as if the exhaust were an audio system – because, in truth, it is. And there’s more, but we’ll let Rix explain. 

As an aside, for all the Elva does have, we think it’s a shame the roadster doesn’t have a roofed version. Digital artist Nikita Aksyonov drew up an Elva Coupe, and we’re fans. Better looks than the McLaren GT, in a package that appears more compact than the 720S, with a more powerful engine than the Senna? Yes. All day yes.

But we digress, so check out Rix’s take in the video.

Soundcheck: Aston Martin Valkyrie begins to scream

In July, Aston Martin published the first video of the Valkyrie on track at Britain’s Silverstone Circuit during the Formula One Grand Prix weekend there. Test driver Chris Goodwin didn’t push the 1,160-horsepower coupe to its limits, merely massaging the throttle for the camera a few times. The English carmaker headed back to Silverstone this month with a group of guests in tow, and this time the test driver put a little more muscle into the fly-bys. Since the track was wet, the soundtrack still can’t be considered the ultimate experience, but even so, the 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 sounds exceptionally good.

This new video injects a high-pitched wail that was missing in July, the kind of wicked, soaring keen that jellies one’s organs and notifies the mind of blinding terrors on approach. In fact, the Valkyrie now makes all the noises Formula 1 fans wished the F1 race cars could make. That’s no hyperbole, either. Compare the modern Cosworth to the 3.5-liter Honda V12 in the 1991 McLaren MP4/6, the resemblance is clear. Remove the street-legal equipment on the Aston Martin and let Goodwin uncork it, as we expect to happen in next year’s World Endurance Championship, and it’s clear the WEC might have the best sounding racers in all of motorsport.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin before the end of the year, so Aston Martin should be wrapping up its validation testing on Verification Prototype 1 if it hasn’t already. After that come competition entries into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). And after that, someone will need to convince at least one owner to drive the Valkyrie on the street so that we can all enjoy the noise.