Autoblog

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After watching this video of a radio-controlled car driving past a line of wine bottles, playing the theme for Super Mario Brothers in the process, we have a question: was the wine consumed prior to the successful completion of the task at hand? If so, that would make this video even more impressive, though it's pretty much epic as it stands. Released in 1985, the video game predates the Cosworth Escort model used for the stunt, but both take us back to the days of our youth when both Mario Brothers and European hot hatches were the stuff of dreams. And we love it.

[Source: Break.com via Joystiq]

Jalopnik recently launched a new site design, and realized its new look required a vehicle giveaway to keep them near the head of the class. You won't hear any argument from us. A previous re-do brought speculation of an engineless early 80's El Camino, but unfortunately that never happened.

This time around they wanted something unique and stylish, and decided to break the bank with an audacious fully custom VW Microbus, nicknamed "Samba." Breaking the bank meant the piggy bank on Wert's desk, so what they settled on was a Maisto G-Ridez edition 1:10 scale Volkswagen R/C Van. While the scale is no way indicative of their place in the blogosphere (Number forty-two in your program, number one in your hearts), the van seems a good fit for their demographic, which puts a premium on non-conformity and anti-social behavior. Click through the read link to find out how you can win Samba for yourself.

Fifth Gear recently took advantage of having a MINI GP to run their own mini GP. That is a race between a MINI GP and the fastest tiny vehicle they could find that might be a real challenge to the MINI. After thinking through the list of would be competitors for this 218 hp, lightened and stiffened MINI, they landed on the perfect match; an R/C car. Seriously. They found Andy Moore who happens to be an R/C touring car champion. They pitted Vicki and him against each other on a full size track. You won't believe the outcome. Click through to see the video for yourself.

[Source: Fifth Gear via TechEBlog]

The drifting craze seems to have died down to a quiet din, but this video of RC car drifting has renewed our interest, if only in a small way.

The video is interspersed with footage of real cars drifting in a closed off parking lot, which, for whatever reason, is so much less entertaining than watching their smaller-scale counterparts going ass-out around the corners of a homemade track.

In order to get the little guys to achieve some extreme oversteer, their owners apparently just removed the rubber from the rear wheels. A simple trick, but the effect is fun to watch.

[Thanks J for the tip]