FEATURE STORY: 15 Amazing Car Wallpapers You've Never Seen
Like many hopeless car fanatics, I have a huge collection of digital car pictures. Sort of like my own private stash. They serve as my desktop backgrounds, and my slideshow screensaver, and with about 1300 high resolution pictures on my hard drive, I thought I'd share with you a few of my favourites. They aren't necessarily the coolest cars on the planet, but as a desktop wallpaper, they're all pretty hard to go past.
But of course, I'll start with the supercars. Although the Mercedes-McLaren SLR isn't one of my favourite supercars (awkward proportions), there's something about the cold, brutal foreground of this photo clashing with the background that makes me love it.
But I really do love Aston Martins. And although I think the DBS is merely an adulterated (with bodykits, etc.) DB9, and silver is my least favourite colour of all time, this picture has got it all. It's better than any scene out of Casino Royale of Quantum of Solace, anyway.
While this picture of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione doesn't have such an amazing background to match the last two, it does have a superb paint job - just look at the tones of red present in the front flanks of this car. Doesn't hurt that it's a brilliant looking car, either.
This next picture convinced me that when James Bond isn't driving Aston Martins, he should definitely be driving a Jaguar XF. No, it isn't the XFR, but it's a stunning picture, nonetheless. Only makes me love the big Jag sedan even more.
Everything about the Bentley Azure is encapsulated in this next wallpaper. Serene rivers, mountain ranges that appear to have been dusted with icing sugar, and bright warm sunshine. Not to mention a huge, rich, sumptuous convertible.
Small cars can make some great wallpapers too. I couldn't choose between these two Fiat 500 wallpapers, so I'm showing you both. I just love the way the scenes are laid out, and the way light and shadow are handled. Little car, big impact.
And you're probably wondering why I love this one of a Lancia Ypsilon. It's not as immediately stunning as the others, but the use of colour (or lack of it) really strikes a chord with me, and the way the puddles are black makes the scene menacing and austere.
In contrast, this little picture of a Peugeot 107 is all about fun, vibrant colours, and sexy attitude. And again, the use of colour is what attracts you to it - I wish I was doing the samba around a Peugeot 107 now too.
Interestingly, 4x4s can sometimes provide some of the most beautiful car landscapes you can find. Especially if the company wants their car to appear butch and outdoorsy. Like this Ford Explorer, whose occupant has gone on a camping trip in the mountains. Fantastic.
This is another interpretation of this "butch and outdoorsy" theme, courtesy of the Land Rover Discovery 4, which will be released next year. The elements are all there - steaming river, gnarly rocks, rugged (yet impeccably polished...) car - so what more could you want?
This next one is just a really good landscape photo, I figured. It just happens to contain a car - a Land Rover Freelander 2 - so for that reason, it's awesome.
But not all 4x4s are trying to appear rugged. Volvo, for instance, doesn't want its XC60 to appear rugged - because it isn't. It's a city slicker, and that's what's represented here. I have never seen a photo that appears so colourful and interesting, but in reality would be ordinary and boring. Genius.
This one's a bit of a laugh. It always makes me chuckle - that the Subaru Forester could make it to the antarctic, where a group of exactly three penguins would examine it's spotless body in the musky moonlight.
And I leave you with an Aussie company - HSV. This picture of the Clubsport R8 Tourer is a really nice one - I just wish it had been driving past the MCG.
NEWS: BMW Z4 Proves BMW Can Still Make a Good-Looking Car
The age of demented-looking BMWs is over, I hope. With the unveiling of the next-generation Z4, BMW have bucked a recent trend by creating a car that is elegant, individual and original. The infamous Chris Bangle, current head BMW designer (responsible for the current batch of models, and models up to 2010) has matured his "flame-surfacing" ideas, which were previously a kind of arty excuse to make cars that looked disappointing, to put it politely. It has to be said though that Bangle's designs have been very influential, and has promoted talk about the importance and meaning of car design among other manufacturers, which I have no qualms with applauding.
The previous Z4 was criticised in many quarters, one leading industry expert saying that it looked like it had been designed "with a machete". Ouch. Bangle has commented in depth about not just the merits of designs, but the downfalls, admitting that his designs do not photograph well. Bangle, when asked about the future direction of BMW design by Motortrend, said that he believes in cars following a revolutionary/evolutionary design pattern. Let me explain. This means that if the last all-new design of a BMW car is evolutionary in approach, then the next all-new design will be revolutionary in approach. And the next model the opposite.
So the series of revolutionary BMW models, whether you liked the way they looked or not, is over. Now is the time where the theme is tweaked and refined, in the new Z4's case, very much for the better. While this Z4 retains some of the ideas of the previous model - a long, convex sloping bonnet, architectural motifs, and a forward leaning nose - this new model is a more uplifting, untroubled piece of design, and reflects the new confidence at BMW to create vehicles that are not only different, but elegant and desirable. If there was one word to describe the last Z4, it was certainly not elegant. But this one is far different.
The headlamp cluster is shaped similarly to the current 3-Series, and the trademark double kidney grille is reminiscent of the new 7-Series. But the largest reason, in my opinion, for this design's success is that the car doesn't look sad any more. Gone are the droopy eyes, snotty looking nose, and concave-shaped door panels that gave it the appearance of an anorexic cat. Instead, BMW have finally produced a convertible that has enough class to compete with the Audi TT, but is still refreshing and individual.
Inside, the story is similar - does anyone else remember the huge concave/convex panel of fake brushed metal spanning the entire length of the dashboard? Replacing it is a design that features a considered mix of tones and textures, exuding a sense of quality that was largely missing before. The whole car is significantly larger in every dimension, and BMW have taken great care to make it as liveable as possible by increasing driver visibility and increasing the roominess of both the cabin and the boot.
Instead of the two-variant system that was used in the previous model, in which one was a folding cloth soft-top and the other a hard-top coupe, this model has a two-piece folding metal roof, which surprisingly looks quite natural - this truly is from the new breed of coupe/convertibles, where they actually look like normal cars. And of course, iDrive has been revised (yet again...!) for this new model, hopefully taking another tiny step toward user-friendliness.
But what's powering the new Z4? The plan is for three petrol V6 engines to be offered: a 2.3 Litre 152kW; a 3.0 Litre 192kW which is naturally aspirated; and my favourite, the twin-turbo 3.0 Litre, which will have 228kW so it can go from 0-100kmh in 5.2 seconds. Both the 3.0 Litre V6 Z4s are electronically limited to 250kmh, and all of the engines meet EuroV emissions regulations. Interestingly, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will be offered, but only on the 3.0 Litre twin turbo. We have no official word yet as to what the M version of the new Z4 will be powered by when it eventually arrives, but the expectation is that it will be the 309kW V8 from the current M3.
But the point is, we finally have a car from BMW that looks comfortable looking the way it looks - which is an awkward way of putting it, but apt all the same. The Z4 looks stylish, and looks like it knows it. Which suits me just fine.
WTF?! #6: Scott Wade's Mind-Blowing Dirty Car Art
We've all seen the way people who don't wash their cars write "wash me" in the dust on their rear windscreen - they think they're really funny, but the joke is so old it's soon going to get a letter from the Queen.
A crazy bearded man from Texas with questionable taste in shirts - Scott Wade - has taken this concept to a wonderful new extreme, and we will gape in awe at his creations here. Scott simply allows his Mini Cooper get dangerously dusty (to the point where the rear window is opaque!), and then, brush in hand, draws amazing pictures in the dust. And you thought that the smiley face you drew on the car window when you were seven was pretty cool.
On his site there are pictures of heaps of different drawings, which he simply allows to be destroyed by the rain - which he thinks creates the most stunning arty effect of all. I'm not about to disagree!
Below is a left to right work in progress - a classic "poker dogs" scene, slowly created by Wade. When the drawing is complete, in the 2nd last picture, he reckons it has only taken him about an hour. The final picture in this sequence is how the picture looks after a bit of rain.
There is no doubt that Scott Wade's dirty car art is work of genius, and would get a stare from anyone who walks his dusty Mini. B
ut they are stares of astonishment and delight - at the dust, and what can be achieved with artistic talent and a bit of ingenuity. To quote Mr. Wade himself:
"You know, water is a precious resource. We use an awful lot of good, clean water washing our cars. Why not let 'em get dirty once in awhile and make some art?"
No doubt by now you're ready to see some more - check out his site at http://dirtycarart.com/index.html
NEWS: 2009 Ferrari California
Meet the new Ferrari California - proof that hard-topped convertibles can look fantastic top down and top up.
If you thought Ferraris were just fast on a racetrack, think again. This car's mechanism means that the entire opening/closing cycle is completed in 14 seconds. Impressive.
This new "mini" supercar is based on the 1957 250 California (left), which was legendary for its track credentials, and its sunshine loving style. The 2009 version, like its 50-year-old ancestor, looks absolutely brilliant - I think this is a contender for the world's coolest convertible. Not to mention that it will be just about the fastest. Just enjoy the pictures.
