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'Rich Kid of Instagram' victim of supercar arsonists

A 19-year-old in the UK is smarting after the possibility that his prolific social media use may be at the heart of four family-owned supercars going up in flames in barely a week. Aleem Iqbal has thousands of followers on Twitter and Instagram paying attention to his frequent posts about the high-priced cars he's driving. He's even been featured on the Tumblr page Rich Kids of Instagram. It appears that some people might not be so smitten with him, though.
According to his Twitter profile, Iqbal owns Platinum Executive Travel, a luxury car rental company in the England, and UK newspaper The Telegraph claims the company is also owned by Iqbal's father. On June 6, cameras caught three hooded men setting fire to a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster leased by the company for a wedding. A few days later, two Audi R8 Spyders and a Bentley Continental Flying Spur from Platinum also got the torch, and two men were caught on camera setting the blaze. Nobody was hurt in either of the attacks, and the Aventador appeared to be repairable with the fire causing most damage to the passenger seat and dashboard. Police are still investigating both of the crimes.
According to The Telegraph, Iqbal believes that the arsons could have stemmed from jealousy towards him and his family's business. Regardless, setting fire to a bunch of cars that are likely insured isn't a great way to show displeasure.

Minnesota Vikings rookie Jordan Addison caught doing 140 in a 55 for a 'dog emergency'

At the end of April, NFL teams spent three days picking new players from the 2023 draft class. With the 23rd pick in the first of three rounds, the Minnesota Vikings chose a 21-year-old wide receiver named Jordan Addison, who came out of the University of Southern California. The season hasn't started yet — training camp began two days ago — and Addison has already had to publicly apologize to his new city. Two days before camp began, ESPN reported a Minnesota State Patrol officer caught Addison doing 140 miles per hour in a Lamborghini Urus at 3:07 in the morning. The speed limit on that stretch of I-94 in St. Paul, a mile from downtown, is 55 mph.  The way a different ESPN report is written, it sounds like there were two troopers involved. Allegedly, "Addison first slowed down when he saw police lights from another trooper who was pulled over on the right shoulder of the road," and the second trooper made the stop, pulling the footballer over without incident. According to the misdemeanor citation issued for speeding and reckless driving, Addison "stated his dog was having an emergency at his residence and that was the reason for his speed." The ticket didn't go into details about the dog or the emergency. Addison has posed with his Urus before on Instagram, while the only dog in his feed at the moment is the little guy in the last photo, which appears to be, best guess, a French bulldog. No one else was involved. We hope the dog's OK. The next day, the rookie Viking issued the statement, "Yesterday morning I made a mistake and used poor judgment. I recognize and own that ... I am going to learn from this and not repeat the behavior. I am truly sorry." The Minnesota Vikings are aware of the incident and "gathering additional information." Drivers in the Minnesota caught doing more than 100 mph can have their licenses revoked, but It's not clear if the matter will go any further with the organization or the police.  

Performance doesn't matter anymore, it's all about the feel

We've just had a week of supercars and high-end EVs revealed. Many of them boast outrageous performance specs. There were multiple vehicles with horsepower in the four-figure range, and not just sports cars, but SUVs with 0-60 mph times under 3.5 seconds. And it's not just a rarified set of supercar builders, comparatively small tuners are also building this stuff. Going fast is easy nowadays and getting easier. So what will distinguish the greats from the wannabes? It's all about how a car feels. This may seem obvious. "Of course it matters that a car should have good steering feel and a playful chassis!" you say. "Why are you being paid for this stuff?" But a lot of automakers have missed the memo. This past week I spent some time in a BMW M4 Competition convertible, and it's a perfect example of prioritizing performance over experience. It boggles my mind how a company can create such dead and disconnected steering; the weight never changes, there's no feel whatsoever. The chassis is inflappable, but to a fault, because it doesn't feel like anything you're doing is difficult or exciting. The car is astoundingly fast and capable, but it feels less like driving a car and more like tapping in a heading on the Enterprise-D. I also happened to drive something of comparable performance that was much more enjoyable: a Mercedes-AMG GT. It was a basic model with the Stealth Edition blackout package, and even though it had a twin-turbo V8 instead of a six-cylinder, it only made 20 more horsepower. The power wasn't the big differentiator, it was (say it with me) the feel. While not the best example, the steering builds resistance as you dial in lock, giving you a better idea of what's happening up front. Pulses and vibrations come back to you as you move over bumpy pavement in corners. The chassis isn't quite as buttoned down, either, providing a little bit of body roll that tells you you're pushing it. It's also easier to feel when the car is wanting to understeer or oversteer, and how your throttle and steering inputs are affecting it. The whole thing is much more involving, exciting and fun. 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Stealth Edition View 8 Photos That's also to say nothing of the Merc's sounds. That V8 is maybe not the best sounding engine, but its urgent churn through the opened-up exhaust gets your heart racing. It also seems like it's vibrating the whole cabin, so you feel it as much as you hear it.