Rob Dyrdek’s “kick flip” stunt in a Chevrolet Sonic effectively sealed his place in the hallowed halls of stunt driver lore. As it turns out, actually pulling off a 360-degree barrel roll in a vehicle is one of the most challenging stunts one can perform. Driving on two wheels? Cakewalk. Knocking down a series of buses stacked on their ends? As easy as sucking pea soup through a crazy straw. The barrel roll requires stacks of mathematical calculations to account for everything from the vehicle’s weight to its speed and the exact rotation angle of each ramp.

But Dyrdek wasn’t the first guy to successfully execute such a bit of insanity. He’s one of a select few stunt drivers to do the deed, and Popular Mechanics has taken a look at those who have tackled the automotive barrel roll in the past. Dyrdek’s stunt was actually an almost exact replica of the Astro Spiral Jump as performed in 1972 at the Houston Astrodome. That exercise used a significantly classier AMC Javelin, however. Head over to Popular Mechanics to check out the video series and click past the jump for a clip on the Astro Spiral Jump.

Continue reading PopMech offers a video history of the automotive barrel roll

PopMech offers a video history of the automotive barrel roll originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Pasadena Art Center College of Design held its annual Car Classic this past weekend, an event that has been a must-attend on our calendars for the past few years. While rain hampered last year’s Car Classic, this year’s event benefited from a typically beautiful Southern California day.

Anyone from the Art Center will tell you that the Car Classic is not a concours event, but rather a display of automotive art. As a result, the selection of cars is fairly eclectic and the vehicles are strewn about the campus lawn in a rather unorganized fashion. While the layout may not be as photogenic, it makes it easy to wander through the sea of cars and simply enjoy each and every one.

Each Car Classic does have a theme, though, and for 2011 the event celebrated Southern California’s influence on automotive design. In addition to the Art Center producing some of the world’s most famous automotive designers, more than twenty advanced automotive design studios call the area home, several of which brought recent concept cars to display. There were also special displays for California hot rods and California beach culture as well as cars designed by Peter Brock. The Petersen Automotive Museum and Mullin Museum also brought out cars from their impressive collections. You can see a sample of the cars in attendance in the high-res gallery above.

2011 Art Center Car Classic celebrates Southern California’s influence on automotive design originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to Citroën, the Tubik is “a concept car designed to make travel meaningful again.” We’re not entirely sure what that means, but we’re happy to see the ethos wrapped up in a package that reminds us of the old Volkswagen Transporter.

As you can tell from the highly stylized set of images and renderings that the quirky French automaker has released of its new concept, the Tubik is intended to be a wholly modern take on the one-box MPV shape. Note too the asymmetrical entry portals. We can’t quite tell what’s going on with the driver’s seat (really more like a perch…), but it’s kind of like a cocoon with all kinds of ethereal lighting surrounding it.

The rest of the interior is a bit more subdued, but only just. There are a slew of configurations for the passenger compartment along with a somewhat disarming lack of windows. We’d guess the driver gets a view of the outside world through cameras and LCD screens.

Citroën used phrases like “shared, intelligent, connected and eco-friendly” to describe the Tubik Concept, but stops well short of telling us any meaningful details on what any of that entails. In any case, stay tuned for more about this far-out concept at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show and feel free to check out the brief press release after the break.

Continue reading Citroën Tubik Concept is the automotive space shuttle of tomorrow

Citroën Tubik Concept is the automotive space shuttle of tomorrow originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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