Around the tracks: A Lamborghini ‘key’ that’s been to space
Plus, the Baja 100 race vehicle that’s soon to be deemed street legal.
When we’re not creating it ourselves, the Drive team spends a lot of time finding and consuming motoring content from all over the world.
Here’s a handful of the photos, articles, videos or social media posts that most caught our eye last week. Some of them are brand new, others have been online for a while.
Enjoy them – just not too much, okay?
Lamborghini over the moon after entering the NFT world
Introducing the Lamborghini space key – that’s right, it’s been to space and back. And now, it’s all a part of a non-fungible token (NFT) project that will provide buyers with some special digital artwork.
Manufactured together with an unknown artist, the ‘key’ is a piece of advanced carbon-fibre composite material that Lamborghini sent to the International Space Station in 2019.
Upon the material’s return, it was converted into five ‘Space Keys’ that are now available for purchase – each featuring a
QR code on one side of the carbon fibre, which links to a non-fungible token (NFT): a one-of-one piece of digital artwork, the authenticity of which is verified by a network of online servers.It all sounds a bit out of this world, but if you’re interested then get ready to bid, as the Space Keys are going up for auction. More details will be revealed in the coming weeks, including the artist behind the design, and more information on the auction. We can’t even begin to imagine what price the bidding will start at.
Hydrogen Boot off-road race vehicle – soon to be road legal
American exotic road and race car maker Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus has revealed the Hydrogen Boot, a Baja-ready off-road racing vehicle which will eventually spawn a road-legal version.
The first thing you’ll most likely notice is the massive tank equipped to the back of the vehicle – it’s a hydrogen tank protected by a metal tube structure, which provides the fuel for the vehicle’s hydrogen fuel cell power system.
Apart from the tank it’s also equipped with an LED bar, dual snorkels, a large roof-mounted intake, and a number of ventilators which are necessary for cooling.
The US-based company is currently undertaking its its own refuelling infrastructure project, which will enable the vehicle to be refuelled in the middle of the desert during a Baja 1000 race. It all looks and sounds pretty cool – but we can’t see anything like this making its way to Australian roads.
Attention Rossi fans: Valentino is heading back to the track, but not on two wheels
Seven-time MotoGP (motorcycle) World Champion Valentino Rossi is making a comeback, and not just in the pit lane at MotoGP races with his premier class racing team – he’s rejoining the racing circuit and this time, on four wheels.
There was talk of Rossi potentially making a leap to car racing at the end of 2021 and now it has been confirmed, as he recently announced on Instagram that he will be joining Team WRT for a full season of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe.
Rossi will be piloting an Audi R8 LM3 GT3 race car, which packs a mid-mounted 5.2-litre naturally-aspirated V10, mated to a sequential six-speed transmission driving the rear wheels via a triple-plate racing clutch. The avid race fan has committed himself to the programme, which kicks off on 8 March at Circuit Paul Ricard in France.
Porsche digital has unveiled its own auction site – and it’s not just for Porsche buyers
Porsche Digital has unveiled its very own auction site – and, surprisingly, it’s not just for Porsche buyers!
Porsche Digital is a subsidiary of the car maker and recently launched an auction website called Marqued. While you would initially think this would be a site for keen Porsche consumers, it’s currently auctioning vehicles such as Toyota FJ Cruiser, a BMW M Roadster, and a Fiat Jolly.
Auctions are two weeks long, offering more flexibility for buyers and sellers. The world of car auction websites has become a saturated one to compete in, so let’s see how the German automobile manufacturer fares.
The latest Gymkhana car is a Subaru with an insane amount of power
Rally driver Travis Pastrana has his first attempt at an entry in the famous Gymkhana stunt video series in 2020 – made famous by rally ace Ken Block, behind the wheel of Ford and Subaru racing machines – and he’s back at it again, this time with a Subaru wagon capable of 600kW.
Pastrana will be piloting a heavily-modified 1983 Subaru GL wagon, which has a boxy aesthetic that has been amplified with a honeycomb mesh grille, extended front bumper, and a ventilated bonnet.
The professional motorsports competitor has stated that it shouldn’t be a problem getting this machine sideways, but that he needs to up his game if he wants to keep up with the Gymkhana king, Ken Block.
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