I caught this advert a little while back on the old television, something I haven’t owned for about five years now, so I was probably in a bar or at my uncle’s house. It made such an impression on me but for whatever reason I immediately forgot to Youtube it, until yesterday. It’s jaw-dropping the first time you watch it; the entire Renault range is ceremoniously crashed into itself.
It’s called the Renault Ballet, and goodness me did the French manufacturer go all out with this one. They even commissioned the Polish National Orchestra to recreate the composition for the film. Polish no less! Even better though is the fact that after a little research, I confirmed my suspicions that the advert was shot in SA. It was. More details and a hilarious “making of” video when you click “Read the rest of this entry”.
The World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) is ace. They race on dangerous street circuits and wing mirrors are used in the same way elbows are in Uruguayan football matches. A BMW even ploughed into the safety car at high speed last year. It’s the motorsport equivalent of wearing a red shirt and a petrol bomb in the centre of Bangkok the last couple of weeks.
And the Chevy Cruze is one of the cars that contests the championship and it’s absolutely got nothing in common with the one we drove besides the number of steering wheels.
Car tuning is not terribly big on our radar, but we do know of Uwe Gemballa. He’s a bonkers German who looks at a perfectly good Porsche or Ferrari, and decides that it should be bright red, with massive wheels, a few spoilers here and there and about 200 more horsepower. He’s been in business, successfully, for decades now and at the age of 54 has suddenly vanished. Strangely enough, the last time anybody heard from him, he was in Johannesburg.
Full story and more loony Gemballa creations after the jump: (more…)
Top Gear is massive. And no matter what you think of it’s chief-whip Jeremy Clarkson, the staggering success of the brand is undeniable. But watching it on telly is so…2D. Luckily, inspired by a pint or eight, the brains behind the show decided to make it live and take it around the world. Genius.
But let’s be honest, it could have been rubbish. It could have consisted of some depressed announcer making laughably unfunny jokes as a Chevrolet Spark crawled across a stage. Thankfully, Clarkson & Co have the imagination of seven year-olds and the budget of a Saudi prince, which unsurprisingly is a winning combination.
It’s difficult to describe the awesomeness of what you’re in for if you’ve managed to secure a seat at any of the shows in Cape Town or Johannesburg, and we sure as hell won’t spoil any of it for you. In the meantime though, we thought we’d bring you this: 8 minutes of Jeremy and Richard talking about everything from enviro-mentalism to which cars their kids refuse to go to school in, complete with a mic wire hanging across their faces (thanks Gav!). The best part is, they’re exactly as you see them on the tube, just smokier.
No, that isn’t photoshopped and yes, that is Jeremy Clarkson, in South Africa, holding an enormous sex toy. That is also Richard Hammond holding some lady’s unmentionables. The best part about this whole scene is they’ve discovered these goodies in Sasha Martinengo’s luggage. Oh what fun to be a Top Gear presenter.
Besides the laddish pranks, Top Gear live is certainly worth a look, even if cars are about as exciting for you as choosing tiles with your missus. For your money you will see ludicrously expensive supercars doing doughnuts in an impossibly tight space. You will see the Stig outrun aliens in old muscle cars, using a little Rage buggy which sounds like the devil screaming. You will be subjected to a 3D finale which will scare the willies out of you and you will leave feeling absolutely bloody wonderful.
And we should know, we haven’t missed a show since they started coming to SA. Head over to www.mphshow.co.za and get moving, this one’s going to sell out.
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