The Hot List: Volume 6

Features, Lifestyle I By Winding Road Staff I September 09, 2011
Every week we sift through a truly amazing amount of “stuff” in the dozen or so hours we spend online—you know, the time spent not driving sweet cars. A lot of the cool stuff we find has to do specifically with new cars, naturally, but there’s also a huge amount of awesomeness that doesn’t completely fit in the normal Winding Road world. To date, we’ve been in the habit of simply reading, watching, or talking amongst ourselves about this web detritus, but recently we thought it might be a good idea to start sharing it with you all. Thus, The Hot List.
 
We’ll aim to bring you a list of the most interesting bits of information we run across. Ten worth-knowing-about things that may or may not be related directly to the world of cars, but all of which we think our typical enthusiast readers will be able to really dig into. We won’t know, from week to week, what will show up on this list, which is part of the fun for us and for you.
 
Read, enjoy, and comment. If you happen to know of something that you think would make for a good inclusion on next week’s list, drop us a line at [email protected].
 
 
Fangio Tribute At Goodwood
 
Next week’s Goodwood Revival in England will feature a Tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio, to celebrate what would be his 100th birthday and 60th anniversary of the Formula 1 driver’s first world champion. Besides honoring El Maestro with a track day parade, 25 of his most famous racecars will be on display. Several of his former teammates will be in attendance for the event, including including Sir Stirling Moss and Hans Herrman.
 
 
 
Now available in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ online gift shop are some pretty cool new toys. The GT Performace slot car set features a 12-curve track, as well as 1/32-scale Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren GT and Nissan GT-R GT500 JGTC. They also have a bunch of new slot cars available, including the McLaren M20 and Lewis Hamilton’s and Jenson Button’s MP4 Formula 1 racecars. Surely, you know a budding, young car enthusiast or grownup kid-at-heart (ourselves included) who would geek out over these toys.

 
Beautifully Engineered is a fairly new Tumblr blog that features a bunch of auto-related eye candy. Fetching shots of cars, engines, and components make up the bulk of this site. For fans of pretty racecars and the mechanics involved, and the idea of engineering as art, you’ll probably enjoy Beautifully Engineered as much as we do.
 

 
A huge, wet, slippery slide on a hillside, ending at a ramp over a body of water sounds fun enough. Add in a tube attached to an elastic cord anchored at the other side, and it becomes dangerously awesome. This video by Vooray clothing makes us a little sad that summer is drawing to an end.

 
Science, man. Chemists at Tufts University have set a Guinness world record by creating the world’s tiniest electric motor, at only one nanometer wide, out of a single molecule. Apparently, it could mean big things for the medical industry. We, however, like to think that it will create a microscopic car culture. And you thought Micro Machines were small. Click through for the scientific explanation.


 
This compressed-natural-gas-powered bespoke roadster was built by motorcycle designer J.T. Nesbitt to mimic the look of 1930s European roadsters. Tired of boring eco-friendly cars, Nesbitt created the Magnolia Roadster (no relation to Magnolia, friend of Winding Road) to be both beautiful and fun. What impresses us the most, though, is the incredible attention to detail throughout the car. Check out the post from Wired to see what we mean.
 

 
The Cricket Trailer features an interesting design that is lightweight, easy to tow, versatile, and affordable. It can be configured in a variety of ways, with such available features as a kid’s loft, indoor shower and toilet, fridge, and photovoltaic panels. Or you can leave off all the extras and just have a really slick looking trailer that you can tow with your car without burning too much extra fuel. We recommend taking the online tour.

 
If simple and practical isn’t your cup of tea, then look beyond the Cricket at this Sealander Caravan amphibious trailer. You can tow it behind your vehicle, and if your campsite has a boat launch, you can plop it in the water for a relaxing night on the lake. A small outboard motor helps you get around until you’re ready to put it on land and tow it home.
 

 
According to The Sun, when competitor Ryan Purdy laid down his bike during a practice session of the Manx Grand Prix on August 23, it burst into a huge ball of flames. This onboard video shows Mick Jordan piloting his bike through the fiery aftermath. Thankfully, Purdy is believed to only have minor injuries. And we thought the Isle of Man was intense on four wheels.
 

 
AutoMD helps you figure out what that noise is under the hood, where you can take your car to get it fixed, how much it should cost, and even gives options on how to do it yourself. It even has a negotiator tools to get the lowest estimate from mechanics in your area. While it’s not quite as entertaining as calling the guys at Car Talk, it should take some of the stress out of repairs. Lifehacker gives the basic rundown, or you can head straight to AutoMD by clicking here.

+ The Hot List: Volume 5

+ The Hot List: Volume 4

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