Vintage German Rally Sign / Plaque # 16. Int. Bmw Rally Celle 1992 No. 42 on 2040-parts.com

F1 goes all arty with oil: Lewis Hamilton portrait

By Peter Adams Motoring Issues 08 June 2009 14:00 It’s not often that the motoring world slickly merges with art, but Mobil 1 has made it happen. US artist David Macaluso has painted a portrait of Lewis Hamilton using oil not from a tube of paint, but from the sump of Hamilton’s F1 car. The oil was taken from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ 2008 F1 car – the vehicle that took Hamilton to the world championship last year.

Pocketsquare to premiere Panasonic's driver-focussed HMI interior concept at NAIAS

Erstwhile GM interior design chief David Lyon, alongside former GM engineer Nina Mital and ex-Ford designer Gary Braddock – the three members of new Michigan-based design consultancy Pocketsquare – will have the first fruits of their new venture displayed at the NAIAS in Detroit in the form of Panasonic's advanced interior design concept. The interior makes use of Panasonic's new range of head-up displays and smart clusters to reduce driver distraction in advance of the latest proposed NHTSA legislation. The system is said to exceed these measures by as much as 35 per cent.

New COPO Camaro concept hits the drag strip

This Friday video goodness features a white 2012 COPO Camaro Stock Eliminator Concept on the drag strip. As Autoweek contributor Patrick Paternie explained during the SEMA show, the new COPO (Central Office Production Order) nameplate pays homage to the rare high-powered 1969 Camaros created through a loophole in the special-order program. This enabled dealers to specify a 427 engine--COPO 9560, the aluminum ZL1, or COPO 9561, the Corvette-based L72 iron block--despite the Camaro technically being limited to the 396-cubic-inch powerplant.