Rockford's Wi-Fi 350Z
Throw 4,500 hours of sheer human effort and $12,630 worth of mobile electronics into a Nissan 350Z and what results is this: Rockford Fosgate's showcase of what is possible-if far from practical-in a two-seat sportscar.
This 350Z was built primarily to showcase Rockford's Omnifi system mobile digital music player that is among the first of a new generation of servers to use wireless computer networking protocols to transfer music from your home computer into the car.
While the electronics list is long, illustrious and totally baffling to anyone who's addicted to internal combustion rather than amperage, it's the audacious craftsmanship that's most impressive about this Nissan. The passenger compartment has a fiberglass floor with lighted and multi-hued custom door panels. The dash has been gutted and reworked to contain auxiliary gauges to monitor the on-board lunacy and integrate the Omnifi server. The center stack of the dash has also been modified to accommodate a Rosen 7-inch LCD monitor-and there are two more monitors integrated into the B-pillars. Stitchcraft did the custom leather Upholstery.
Built under the direction of Rockford's Jason Digos, the amplifier rack/subwoofer enclosure alone used 150 sq. ft. of fiberglass mat, 55 gallons of fiberglass resin, 21 neon transformers and tubes (that's 157,500 volts of neon) 6 feet of electroluminescent lamp, and 90 machined aluminum parts. There is nothing about this interior that's less than astounding.
On the outside, Rocky's Pure Kustom of Mesa, Ariz., laid the custom graphics package over a Nismo rear spoiler and a FiberImages carbon-fiber hood. Those are Rays Engineering wheels and Bridgestone tires holding the beast off the ground, and there are HKS suspension components aboard to contend with the car's additional mass. According to our correspondent, Digos is considering some power enhancements while the car is on tour at such events as the NOPI Nationals, but as this is written, the powertrain is stock.
Sure all this is impressive, but how's the AM reception?
Concept R: VW's MR2?
Shown alongside VW's GTI Concept at the Frankfurt show was this suspiciously well finished, seemingly production-ready Concept R mid-engine, two-seat roadster. Sharing many components with the fifth-generation Golf with styling that puts it smack in the mainstream of VW's immediate future, could this be the German maker's response to the Toyota MR2 and Lotus Elise? Well, of course it could be.
Power for the Concept R comes from a V6 (displacement and valvetrain undisclosed)slamming out, says VeeDub, 265 hp that's channeled through the company's six-speed direct selection gearbox out to the rear wheels. Other mechanical details are hazy, leading us to believe that while this car could go into regular production, it's probably not yet slated to do so. Our guess is that most of the suspension and chassis pieces would be scavenged from the VW parts bin that is generously stocked with good stuff.
If VW has the desire to put something like the Concept R into production, don't expect it before, say, 2007
Urban Street Bike Warriors - DVD Review
The most remarkable thing about this DVD is that everyone in it is apparently still alive. There are more crack-ups, stupid stunts and potential disasters in any 10 minutes of this production than there is in a whole summer's worth of Hollywood stunt-aculars.
It includes guys sitting on their bikes' tanks while they're doing a wheelie along some Massachusetts expressway in and amid regular traffic. It also includes tire-bursting burnouts, tail-dragging wheelies that defy rational explanation, stoppies that should result in nose bleeds and lots of other insanity. If you like this sort of multi-ethnic mayhem-and you do-you'll love this video.
Are the production values great? Nah, but this raw action needs a raw eye. Does the editing always make sense? Nope, but it's not bad.
Do you get sick of the third-rate rap soundtrack? Hell, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that this stuff is fascinating to watch even if you know there are plenty of people scattering themselves across the pavement around the country stupidly trying to prove they can do this sort of stuff, too.
"Urban Street Bike Warriors" runs about 53 minutes for the feature documentary (we guess it's a documentary), but throw in the extra footage that's included on the DVD and it's a total of about two hours of moto madness. The DVD is in stores now with a list price of $19.98 or is available through Amazon.com for $16.98.