Soarer Source - The Home of the Toyota Soarer and Lexus SC300, SC400

Sad to see such a big Rally superstar end their life so suddenly.

SCOTTISH rally champion Colin McRae has been killed in a helicopter crash close to his Lanarkshire home.

The Twin Squirrel helicopter registered to the former world champion rally driver came down shortly after 4pm yesterday about 200 yards from his 17th-century mansion.
Police sources said the blue helicopter used by the 39-year-old multi-millionaire had exploded in a “fireball”.
Eyewitness David Lowry, who lives nearby, said he watched as the helicopter plunged into a valley.
As many as four people are thought to have died in the crash. Jean-Eric Freudiger, McRae’s agent, confirmed McRae had been piloting the helicopter. Locals said they feared McRae had been travelling with another adult and two children. A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman confirmed there were no survivors. Officers were trying to establish who was on board and where the helicopter was travelling to and from.

“The damage has been so bad that we don’t know how many people were on board. It might be one, it might be more,” she said. “We just don’t know at the moment.”

She added that it could be some time before official identifications can be made.

Weather conditions at the time were deteriorating with strengthening winds and light rain. Members of the Department of Transport’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch were travelling to the scene at Jerviswood, one mile north of Lanark last night.

The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that its own helicopter had been sent to the scene along with three ambulance crews. Strathclyde Fire Brigade also had units in attendance.

David Lowry, 48, who owns New Steadings Farm, just across the Mouse Water from McRae’s home, saw the helicopter crash.

He said: “I was speaking to one of my friends on the farm. The helicopter came overhead and then dropped into the valley. After it disappeared I saw smoke rising from the trees and phoned the emergency services. I could not see what happened when it went down. It did not seem to be in any trouble. It was about half a mile from me and the helicopter seemed to be flying normally.

“It was navy blue in colour and I am led to believe it belongs to Colin McRae. It is up so often my cattle don’t even flinch when it is overhead.”

He added: “I know him well enough to say hello to, although I don’t know him personally. If it turns out to be him it will have an unbelievable effect on the local community.”

He added: “Colin is a very popular person around here. We only moved here seven years ago, but they are a Lanark family born and bred.”

As darkness fell last night, police had erected an incident tent in the woods at the scene of the crash. Officers threw a 600-yard cordon around the house. Friends and relatives of the McRae family were gathering at the home of a neighbour, 300 yards from the McRae home.

McRae, born in Lanark in 1968, was the son of five-time British Rally Champion, Jimmy McRae. He was the first Briton to be named world champion when he won the event in the mid-1990s and was awarded an MBE by the Queen for his outstanding achievements.

He also produced popular and lucrative rally computer games, including Colin McRae Dirt.

McRae bought a home in Monaco in 1995, partly through his friendship with fellow Scot and Formula One driver David Coulthard. However, as his young family grew up, he spent more time back at his home in Lanarkshire, accepting the higher tax liability of living in Scotland. McRae and his wife Alison had two children, Hollie, nine, and five-year-old Johnny.

His brother, Alister, believed to be in Australia at the moment, is also a professional rally driver and has enjoyed some success, including winning the British Rally Championship in 1995.
In addition to the Lanark and Monaco properties, McRae had a home overlooking Lake Geneva and an apartment in Majorca. He freely admitted enjoying risk-taking, celebrating his first major rallying win, which came in New Zealand, with a bungee-jump over a ravine.
In addition, he drove a Lamborghini and a series of high-powered motorcycles.
http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment.cfm?id=1483222007

now thats one hot peugot

2008 Honda Accord

Base price: $19,500 (est.)

Engine: 3.5-liter V-6, 268 hp/248 lb-ft; 2.4-liter in-line four, 190 hp/168 lb-ft; 2.4-liter in-line four, 177 hp/161 lb-ft

Length x width x height: 194.1 x 72.7 x 58.1 in (sedan)

Wheelbase: 110.2 in

Curb weight: 3213-3583 lb

Fuel economy (EPA city/hwy): 19/29 mpg (V-6 sedan); 19/28 mpg (V-6 Coupe); 21/31 mpg (four-cylinder, both versions)

Major standard features: Power windows/locks/mirrors; six-speaker audio system with AM/FM/CD/MP3 and RDS; steering wheel-mounted audio controls

Safety features: Dual front, side, and curtain airbags; anti-lock brakes, traction control; active head restraints; tire pressure monitors

Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles

Well the new concept pics for the new NSX are floating around. Should be interesting how it unfolds and how much power it packs.

Every Toyota Tacoma has a 4.0-litre V6 engine with 236 horsepower @ 5,200 rpm and 266 pound-feet of torque at 4,000 rpm. Along with great comfort and luxury items, Toyota’s TRD Sport and Towing Package increases the 4X4 Double Cab’s tow rating to 2,948 kg with the installation of a limited-slip rear differential, 17-inch alloy wheels, Blistein shock absorbers, upgraded alternator and skid plates. The package also supplies colour-keyed body highlights and an imitation hood scoop.

Hybrid technology is making a big impact on the way automakers and buyers are looking at greenhouse emissions and improved fuel economy which is very important these days. The Toyota Motor co. and its luxury vehicle division Lexus are the leaders at the moment in the hybrid vehicle range with six models that cover the “green” arena across America. A very popular one being the Toyota Prius.

The Toyota Camry Hybrid is very similair to that of the standard Toyota Camry which is America’s top-selling sedan. The Camry Hybrid consist of a combination of a 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder gasoline engine, a 244-volt electric motor and continuously variable automatic transmission to generate a combined output of 187 horsepower, with fuel economy that averages 39 miles per gallon. No plug-in charging is required.

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/08/06/wheels/wheels/doc8e2639407d364fcb8625732b005f0894.txt

Here are the luxury options that were available on the V8 Soarers:

DAT tape headunit
Reversing camera
Heated seats
Memory seats
Rear wash/wipe
Spoiler F/R
BBS alloys
Parking sensors
Parking aid
Air purifier
CD changer
CD/ tape headunit
Phone in central armrest
Steering wheel phone remote/mic
Wood dash around EMV/Gearlever
LSD
Traction control
High level brake light
Sunroof

Well you may or may not know but there is a common problem when dyno’ing an automatic Soarer. Typically the dyno run should be made in the 1:1 gear ratio which is the 3rd gear, but the problem is that the gearbox cannot be locked in 3rd as it shifts down to 2nd when the dyno operator hits the accelerator pedal. It can be locked into 2nd gear, but that is too low and won’t give an accurate power figure.

The method to fix this is disconnecting the electronics plug from the gearbox. This then gives the driver manual control of 1st, 3rd, and overdrive, without automatic changes.

1) Disconnect the ECU from the gearbox (this will prevent the gearbox from dropping back into 2nd gear)
2) Put it in 3rd with the gear shift
3) Lock the torque converter with a switch
4) Dyno it like you would in a manual

As mentioned before when talking about the supercharger kit for the v8 toyota soarer, Rush Imports are worth a look at if you are after some nice extractors. These are some nice big ones as the name suggests.

http://www.rushimports.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=2 

Hey guys have a look at what could be the Mark V Toyota Supra!