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Sabine Schmitz, 'Queen of the Nürburgring,' dead at 51

3/17/2021

Tributes have flooded in for German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, who has died at the age of 51.

Widely known as the "Queen of the Nürburgring," Schmitz was one of motor racing's highest-profile female drivers and a regular guest on UK TV motoring show "Top Gear."
She died on Tuesday after a "brave fight against cancer," according to a tweet from Frikadelli Racing, a motorsport team Schmitz founded with husband Klaus Abbelen, a fellow racing driver."Klaus Abbelen and all relatives and friends are deeply saddened by the immeasurable loss," the tweet reads.

Schmitz grew up close to the Nürburgring circuit in western Germany. In 1996, she became the first woman to win its famous 24 Hours race, driving a BMW. The following year, she repeated the feat.
Schmitz also worked as a driver on the circuit's "ring taxi," which offers visitors the chance to do a lap of the course as a passenger.
"The Nürburgring has lost its most famous female racing driver," the circuit wrote on Twitter.
"Sabine Schmitz passed away far too early after a long illness. We will miss her and her cheerful nature. Rest in peace Sabine!"

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Schmitz also raced for the Porsche motorsport team, which posted its own tribute on Twitter.
"Very sad to hear that Sabine Schmitz (1969-2021) has passed away. The "Queen of Nordschleife" was a crowd favourite due to her open, humorous way," the tweet reads. "Our sympathy goes to her family and friends."
Schmitz went on to make regular appearances on "Top Gear," and the show's former host, Jeremy Clarkson, tweeted: "Terrible news about Sabine Schmitz. Such a sunny person and so full of beans."Current host Paddy McGuinness also posted a tribute.
"She gave me pointers on how to drive a Ferrari very fast and hunted me down in a banger race," he tweeted. "Brilliantly bonkers and an amazing human being! RIP the great Sabine Schmitz."

tags: breed of speed , breedofspeed , sir drifto , nathan finneman , nathan james , sabine schmitz , queen of nurburgring , bmw m5 woman , top gear sabine , sabine ,

First look inside new supersonic jet that could fly from London to New York in 90 minutes

3/10/2021

A SUPERSONIC jet which could fly from London to New York in just 90 minutes has revealed what passengers could expect from the flight.
Inside the Spike S-512 Supersonic Jet cabin would be a large seating area, which can be converted to beds or a dining area and flat-screen TVs.

The flights, which would have a maximum 18 seats, will have no windows, due to window sections being the weakest part of a plane.
They also bring in a lot of noise, making the plane not just stronger and more fuel-efficient but quieter as well.
Spike Aerospace founder and CEO Vik Kachoria told the Telegraph: ““The Concorde was ridiculously noisy.
“Most conversations between two people are between 65 and 75 decibels and the noise level found within most plane cabins is around 85 decibels.
“Our windowless aircraft will be about 60 decibels, so lower than the sound of a conversation.”

Instead, long computer screens along the wall of the cabin will simulate panoramic views.
Images of the galley show a fancy coffee machine, built-in sink and counter space as well as a large fridge with chilled drinks.
The seating is convertible so it can turn into flat beds, seating areas or conference seats.
While the flights won’t be cheap, they could eventually be a similar price to Business Class tickets.

Mr Kachoria said: “Remember, almost every technological innovation we’ve had has started out for the uber-rich: cars, telephones, computers, flat screen TVs – the first ones cost $25,000 in the 90s and now they’re $200.”
A number of airlines are looking into supersonic travel between the UK and the US, following on from the Concorde jets which launched in 1976.
Travelling at 1,354mph or Mach 2.04 — twice the speed of sound — it captivated the world’s imagination as it whisked elite passengers from London to New York in just three and a half hours.
However, the Concorde jets were retired in 2003 after a fatal accident in 2000 in Paris.

tags: concorde , supersonic , aviation , concorde replacement , nathan finneman , sir drifto , breed of speed , aircraft future , future

This Electric RV Is Powered by Solar

3/8/2021

While the relatively short range of the Dethleffs e.home solar motorhome concept might trigger a bit of range anxiety in some, it might actually make sense for slow travel.
Electric transportation is moving forward rather quickly as a viable option for both individuals and public transit (and soon commercial transport), thanks to rapid improvements in electric motor and battery technology, and we're seeing more major automakers committing to adding electrified vehicles to their product lines. However, when it comes to larger consumer vehicles, such as pickups and motorhomes, the choices are few and far between, but that may start to change soon, if the announcement from the German RV company Dethleffs is any indication.
Whether you call them caravans, RVs, or motorhomes (or tiny homes), the idea of a home on wheels is one and the same for all of those monikers, and owning one is a dream for many these days, either as a nomadic tiny home (#vanlife) or as a vacation or retirement vehicle. Having borrowed a friend's rather large RV this summer for a family trip, I can attest to the ease and convenience of traveling with your home on your back, but that feeling was also somewhat offset by the reality of having to frequently fuel up a heavy RV that gets 5 to 8 miles to the gallon, which can put a hurting on your wallet on a long trip. An electrified motorhome, on the other hand, could be much cheaper to drive, and have zero tailpipe emissions, with the tradeoff of either settling for shorter trips or having longer 'refueling' stops -- at least until battery technology takes another leap forward in capacity and a step down in costs.
German caravan company Dethleffs seems to have seen the writing on the wall about electrification, or at least an opportunity for first-mover advantage, as it has revealed an electrified version of a Class C motorhome that goes above and beyond just being fully electric, as it's completely wrapped in thin-film solar cells that can be used for topping off the RV's batteries. The cabin of the e.home is built onto an Iveco Daily Electric chassis, which has an 80 kW motor and a 228 Ah battery pack of sodium-nickel-chloride cells that boasts a range of up to 174 miles (280 km) per charge in its pre-conversion state. Once the vehicle is fully kitted out as a motorhome, however, that range per charge may be significantly shorter, suggests New Atlas, saying the range "might fall as far as 103 miles (167 km)."

The cabin is fully fitted with all of the amenities of a modern motorhome, with all-electric appliances, several sleeping areas, a kitchen, a bathroom, etc., but also includes some cutting-edge components that are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the heating system and augmenting the privacy and comfort of the residents of the e.home. By incorporating "latent heat accumulator plates" made with a phase change material that can absorb excess heat and store it to be released after the sun goes down, and by integrating infrared heating elements in the floor and furniture, the e.home is designed to feel cozy to the occupants without consuming excessive amounts of electricity. Two different applications of a foil-based technology, in both the lighting and the windows, one of which allows for "a bright planar light" inside the cabin, and the other enables the windows to be "electrically dimmed" for both sun and heat protection as well as for privacy.

Dethleffs has added some 31 square feet of thin-film solar cells to the exterior of the e.home, creating a 3 kW (peak) solar array and adding a little bit of energy autonomy to the e.home. However, there's at least one major issue with the solar array, which is that it's on all sides of the vehicle, so no more than half of it can be exposed to direct sunlight at any given moment. Perhaps that's intentional, as it would allow some solar electricity gains to be had during the day no matter which direction it's facing, but there's no indication of what the average solar output from the array is, nor how long it would take to charge the e.home battery pack from solar alone. According to Victron Energy, which supplied a number of the electrical components to the build, high-power capacitors ("Supercaps") are installed in the e.home, which "allow a faster recharge and delivery of the electrical energy in comparison to the usual batteries."

Although the e.home in its current configuration isn't well suited to extended long-haul or cross-country trips without having to stop every 150 miles or so to recharge (which may take some time to do), it actually seems well suited to a slow and wandering pace, with long breaks and overnight charging along the way, so perhaps it's the perfect slow travel vehicle.

Sabine Schmitz, 'Queen of the Nürburgring,' dead at 51

First look inside new supersonic jet that could fly from London to New York in 90 minutes

This Electric RV Is Powered by Solar

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