Unobtainium

Ever have that dream where you're a leper who has a weird craving for Sunchips while sailing the globe in a catamaran and can't get internet service on your laptop's wireless card?  No?  Just me? Anyways, I wake up and wonder why I'm looking for an internet connection.  Knowing me, I'd probably be searching for my perfect sports car to drive to a high-end leper colony to get some damn Sunchips finally!

Then as I keep thinking about it, it hits me!  There are so many niche segments in the automotive world that anybody can find the perfect car for them.  Now, I don't know what kind of car would be perfect for a rich, junk food-eating leper but I'm sure there's one out there.  As for the enthusiasts in the United States, we have a plethora of options but Europe and Japan still tempt us with forbidden fruit.

Porsche.

It seems as though Porsche has become this week's agenda here at Flappy Paddle Heads. And while Danny Chin was busy with the air cooled era 911s, he kindly left a bit of room for me to talk about this.

Odd Man Out - 2 - Chevrolet Coupe Pickup

Before there was the El Camino there was the coupe pickup. Simply remove the trunk lid and slide in a bed and you've got a truck. Beginning as a business coupe which had a shorter roof length and no back seat (so you can put all the shit you intended to sell in it) there was an optional model where you could also convert it temporarily to a truck. Now there were Utes at the time as well but with this style you could have a car or a truck, how awesome is that? Now I've seen Utes but I have yet to see one of these rare beasts with a bed in all my hot rodding years. It is truly a unique, funky, and cool vehicle. It was ahead of its time and a real odd man out...

Porsche - Cold, Calculating, Precision-Built Porn

I'm going to be honest with you right now.  I'm not a fan of Porsche.  Yes, I respect the engineering, the racing pedigree, and the history behind the marque but they just don't tickle me in any particular way.  I guess you could say Porsche is like "Sex Panther" cologne to me.  "60% of the time it works, every time."  Today, I'm in that 60% zone...

Porsche 918 RSR Concept on autoblog.com

Affordable Supercar Series

The 80s were a dark time for the automotive world.  Manufacturers hadn't figured out how to make horsepower after federally mandated smog equipment had been bolted onto motors.  The giants of the sports car realm - Supra, Corvette, 928 - didn't break the 300 horsepower mark until the very end of the decade.  However, if you look hard enough there's always a light in the darkness.  In the mid 80s, the light could be found in music by a still black Michael Jackson, the inherent goodness of Darth Vader, and the turbo V6 in the blacked out Buick Grand National.

autogaleria.hu

Why it's important.

The essence of Art has been defended time and again for many years. People will question- does it make money? Is it practical? Is it a consumable? What's the point?

Pablo Picasso drew a piece using muted colors-- a horse's head with a sharp tongue, a bull with horns from a tumor, people lying distorted. Some would say that a 12 year old child could draw with more anatomic precision than him. Others would say that this piece is a desperate cry against the horrors of war, a symbol worth hundreds of millions of dollars... if it ever were for sale.

The same idea goes for motorsports. Why do people do it? Freud believes that racing drivers have a death wish and they'd like nothing more than to die. Team Engineers are just as impractical. They're creating cars that serve no purpose than to help racing drivers on their mission.

But motorsports and art are one and the same. I've said it before and I'll say it again. It pushes the boundaries of what a person can or can't do. It's a part of humanity and they share the same feelings of glory and achievement as anything else.

A "Thank you" to Antti, for creating this video. Please subscribe to his channel here. Those that don't understand only have to see some of his work.



Also, a thank you to my cousin Eric, and more recently my friend Afrina (you better find me an Italian to read the book to me), for encouraging my irrational obsession over the prancing horse.

Freak of the Week: Dammit Jalopnik! Big ups to Speedhunter!

Welcome to our fifth installment of Freak of the Week, where for every weekend, Weimann, Chin, and I look for something balls off the wall crazy, weird, or just polarizing and worth talking about.