We’re inching closer to the December 21 release date of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Based on Stieg Larsson’s global best-seller, the film looks to be just the kind of gritty perfection you’ll need to wash the holiday cheer from your mouth. Bike Exif recently chatted with Justin Kell of Glory Motor Works in Los Angeles, the shop responsible for crafting Lisbeth Salander’s bikes used in the film. While the studio wanted the anti-heroine to have a modern motorcycle, Kell pushed to give the character a bike a 20-something could actually afford, creating a wicked late ’60s Honda CB350 custom for her instead.

Can we get a round of applause for this gentleman?

Kell and Glory Motor Works whipped up a prototype bike to demonstrate to the studio that an older machine could be just as reliable as its newer counterpart, and after getting the go-ahead, the shop had just 30 days to find and build three identical bikes. The crew sourced three low-mile, original CB350s, then stripped and powder-coated every metal part accordingly. New clutches, brakes, wiring harnesses and fasteners were used on all three machines, and each engine was torn down to its bare innards before being cleaned and reassembled.

In order to handle the rigors of movie life, the bikes were also given larger, sealed batteries along with an upgraded charging and starting system. Head over to Bike Exif for a closer look at the motorcycles themselves, and hit the jump to check out the film’s trailer.

Continue reading Building the bikes of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [w/video]

Building the bikes of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

One of our all-time favorite concept car from Ford remains the GT90. As a modern interpretation of the Ferrari-besting GT-40, the GT90 offered all of the early ’90s angles we could stand along with a 750-horsepower V12 engine and a theoretical top speed of 235 miles per hour.

This is the kind of machine that middle-school day dreams are made of, and now Adam Pintek has set out to build a GT90 of his very own from scratch. Technically, the vehicle is simply a supercar with a striking resemblance to the old FoMoCo concept, but when Pintek is done, he should have a vehicle capable of besting some of the world’s most legendary machines.

Over the past four years, Pintek has already hashed out around 80 percent of the body using molds designed to mimic the original design of the GT90, and he’s currently partnered with a Formula race car builder to produce the chassis. The designer has chosen to forsake the big V12 for a forced-induction 6.2-liter V8. With two turbos serving up plenty of boost, Pintek is aiming for a whopping 1,000 horsepower. The mid-mounted engine will be bolted to a six-speed manual transmission that puts power to the rear wheels.

Pintek says that he hopes to see the vehicle in the final stages of development next two years. We can’t wait.

Man building Ford GT90 concept car homage in his garage originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

We have to admit we were more than a little bit intrigued when Skoda showed up at Wörthersee this year with the Fabia RS 2000 roadster you see here. The concept essentially took the company’s S2000 rally machine, gave it a fresh coat of Kermit and chopped off the roof… with four seats and four doors still intact. But could such a vehicle ever be produced?

According to the latest reports from across the pond, the answer, quite simply, is “no”. Apparently Skoda is fixated on reaching its sales targets, and while something could certainly be said for a halo vehicle – particularly one based on one of its top-selling volume models – the Czech automaker is not keen on distracting itself from the task at hand. (We’ll just have to admire it from the updated high-res image gallery, then.)

That’s a bit of a shame, especially since the VW subsidiary’s line-up is, well, rather conservative. But don’t go thinking that Skoda is about to give up on performance-oriented models altogether, though: the company will continue developing and producing its vRS line of hot hatches and sedans, like the Fabia, Octavia and even the upcoming production version of the MissionL concept debuted in Frankfurt. A Superb vRS performance sedan, however, is reportedly not in the cards, as the executive saloon is just too big to fit the bill.

Skoda nixes prospect of building a sportscar originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

Hyundai is almost ready to sell you a 2012 Azera. Before it does that, however, it needs your help. The Korean automaker has posted a link that leads you to a configurator for the 2012 Azera, and there is a survey posted at the end. The configurator will give you a good idea of how much the Azera will end up costing, as well as what color choices will be made available.

We built our own 2012 Azera, and think it looks mighty fine in Smoke Gray Metallic with a Graphite Black leather interior. Checking the box for the Premium Package, our prototype Azera would cost us around ,000.

Check out the configurator for yourself by clicking here, and be sure to answer the survey at the end. Maybe your decisions will help dictate what type of car we see when the Azera is revealed at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show.

Help Hyundai build the 2012 Azera by… building a 2012 Azera originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

msnbc.com: Autos

No related posts.