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Ringbrothers drops more hints about its wild SEMA creations

Ringbrothers isn't finished teasing its SEMA creations. First we got a sliver of rear quarter on a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro that revealed a bundle of carbon fiber and SEMA-obligatory deep-dish wheels. The Wisconsin tuner's now announced its litter of cars headed to the show and a few specs, along with two shadowy drawings. The Camaro, christened with the name Valkyrja and a two-tone paint job, gets stretched in two directions with severe fender flares to widen the body and an extended wheelbase. We're not sure what's happening with the Camaro's snout in the drawing, but under that bulging hood we'll find a 416-cubic-inch LS V8 from Wegner Motorsports. Wegner built the 416-cu-in supercharged LS3 V8 that powered Ringbrothers' 1,000-hp G-Code Camaro in 2016.  The second member of the gang is a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 dubbed Unkl. The exterior begs for attention with a deep blue sea paint job, deep front chin spoiler, bulging hood, yellow brake calipers, and what looks like a racing number inside a roundel on the doors. Unkl gets its motivation from a 520-cu-in Boss V8 built by Kaase Racing Engines, rumored to throw about 800 hp.    Finally, Ringbrothers is bringing its Cadillac Madam V for another Las Vegas go-round after giving the custom coupe some updates. The Madam V is a 1948 Cadillac Series 62 fastback coupe body placed atop an ATS-V chassis, first shown in 2016. The firm didn't elaborate on the changes, so all we can expect for now are the coupe's postwar good looks mixed with new-millennium engineering, and a 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 with 464 hp under that exceptionally long hood.    For any in attendance at the show, the Valkyrja Camaro debuts at the BASF booth on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 at 9:30 a.m., the Unkl Mustang gets revealed a couple hours later at the Flowmaster/Holley booth, and the Madam V Cadillac will be on display throughout the show at the Ringbrothers booth.

Cadillac Lyriq shown in pre-production form for the first time

A single photo of the upcoming Cadillac Lyriq testing in camouflage was posted on LinkedIn by Mahmoud Samara, Cadillac’s vice president of sales, service and marketing. ItÂ’s significant, because we havenÂ’t seen a single photo of the actual pre-production Lyriq yet. All Cadillac has shown us so far is a concept-like version of the crossover that is destined for production. This photo of the crossover done up in camouflage gives us the first impression of how Cadillac is transforming the Lyriq from concept car to production car. ItÂ’s moving at speed with some motion blur in the image, but we've lined both it and the original production-intent prototype up atop each other below for you to compare. In a way, this photo is a lesson in how deceiving camouflage on a car can be. The undisguised Lyriq has exponentially more presence and pizzazz than the one in black and white speckled wrappings. Given just the camo car, weÂ’d be able to discern that Cadillac is working on a large, coupe-like electric crossover, but the details would remain a mystery. The dramatic window line is totally obscured by the camo car, and so is its wild rear taillight that wraps up into the giant rear pillar. That huge rear blade/pillar is one area that could see change from the Lyriq photos weÂ’ve seen so far, too, as it looks like a massive blind spot for the driver. Other notable differences include regular-sized wheels and tires, a potentially higher roofline (for more practical headroom and cargo space) and actual side mirrors instead of the camera mirrors. Does it all look slightly less futuristic? Sure, but remember that the camouflage is there to disguise and trick the eye. One element that does look completely carried over is the massive screen inside. You can see the monolith stretching across the dash from far away. ItÂ’s likely that we get a full array of spy shots from one of our usual sources soon with far more angles to look at. SamaraÂ’s announcement in his post made it clear that pre-production testing is underway at GMÂ’s testing facilities. Cadillac has previously said that the Lyriq would officially go on sale in late 2022, so expect more disguised prototypes until then. Cadillac Lyriq View 8 Photos Related video: The Lyriq is CadillacÂ’s new all-electric crossover

Artist imagines eerie world where cars have no wheels

The wheel ranks right up there with the telescope and four-slice toaster in the pantheon of inventions that have moved humankind forward. But what if a circle in three dimensions had never occurred to anyone, and we all had just moved on without it? Perhaps we'd be driving around in Lucas Motors Landspeeders with anti-gravity engines. Or maybe we'd have the same cars we do today, just without wheels.
That's the thought experiment that seems to have led French photographer Renaud Marion to create his six-image series called Air Drive. The shots depict cars throughout many eras of motoring that look normal except for one thing: they have no wheels. The models used include a Jaguar XK120, Cadillac DeVille (shown above), Chevrolet El Camino and Camaro, and Mercedes-Benz SL and 300 roadsters.
Perhaps one day when our future becomes our past, you'll be able to walk the street and see with your own eyes the rust and patina of age on our nation's fleet of floating cars. Until then, Monsieur Marion's photographs will have to do.