TRANSPORTATION

Pod Rods: Speed records galore; some smoking tires; and lots of car news and videos

Dan Scanlan
The world record drifting Nissan GT-R.

Pod Rods takes a close look at a real moon buggy for sale; two world records for speed; a new Infiniti; and some new videos on classic wheels.

It's all in Pod Rods, along with the area's longest-running car event calendar:

A Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle with no headlights has navigated along lonely desert roads at Ford's Arizona Proving Ground, using LiDAR to "see" its way around curves with the car's virtual driver software. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data has found the passenger vehicle occupant fatality rates during dark hours tend to be about three times higher than the daytime rate. So with the LiDAR, the test cars don't rely on the sun or cameras detecting painted lines on the asphalt. Instead, they use LiDAR infrared lazer pulses to pinpoint the car on the map in real time. Ford will triple its autonomous vehicle test fleet to about 30 self-driving Fusion Hybrid sedans for testing on roads in California, Arizona and Michigan.

Speaking about the future, how about owning a piece of future past? A lunar rover prototype built in the 1960s was put up for sale this week on an online auction site, claiming that was once driven by famous rocket scientist Werner von Braun. The 4-wheel buggy was developed for NASA by Brown Engineering for NASA's lunar rover mobility tests and "human factors studies and mobility evaluations," according to the auction listing. Then it was sold for scrap. The Brown LSSM "Local Scientific Survey Module" is accompanied by a letter of authenticity by Otha Vaughan, a member of von Braun's team. It used to run on truck batteries, and was even tested during a ride on a zero-gravity test plane. It had been stuck in an Alabama backyard until someone reported it to NASA. Bidding is estimated at $125,000 to $150,000.

Nissan has a new Guinness World Record for the fastest drift when specially-tuned 2016 Nissan GT-R hit a speed of 189.493 mph and 30 degrees angle with Japanese drift champion Masato Kawabata at the wheel. The record wins the top spot from former record holder Jakub Przygonski of Poland, and was set at Fujairah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates. The GT-R was tuned to 1,380 hp, prepared by GReddy Trust with all the power going to the rear wheels.

Infiniti won't say what it is, but a shadowy image of its latest QX crossover has been revealed, and it's called the "QX Sport Inspiration, an exploration of the brand's vision for a next-generation, mid-size premium SUV," according to the company. Infiniti said the concept "stands out thanks to its striking design details and sophisticated craftsmanship" with SUV-like proportions, wide muscular lines, floating A-pillars and extra-wide wheel arches. The Infiniti QX Sport Inspiration makes its global debut at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show in late April.

The world's fastest convertible is officially from Texas after the Hennessey Venom GT Spyder set a new world record for open-top sports cars at Naval Air Station Lemoore. Racelogic officially confirmed that top speed of 265.6 mph, witnessed by Commander Darren Fouts, Air Operations Officer. The Venom GT roadster was driven by Brian Smith, director of the Ford Performance Racing School. The record-breaking speed follows the 2014 run of the Hennessey Venom GT coupe, and its recorded top speed of 270.4 mph at the Kennedy Space Center. The open-top Venom GT Spyder hit the maximum speed at the US Navy's 2.9-mile-long runway in Lemoore, California, beating the previous record held by the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport Vitesse by over 11 mph. The Venom GT is powered by a twin-turbo 7-liter V-8 with 1,451 hp, and can hit 60 mph in less than 2.4 seconds. Hennessey plans to offer a limited run of three "World Record Edition" Venom GT Spyder's at $1.3 million each plus tax. Here's Hennessey's video of the Spyder run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWy6GiWJxHs

Speaking of videos, some more have come out about the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance of mid-March and the SVRA vintage race that followed it a week later at Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport.

? First, one of the star cars that was offered at the concours' official RM Sotheby's auction is the subject of this "Driver's Seat with Gord Duff" video, Duff one of the car specialists at the auction house. The subject of the video is a Mercedes-Benz 540 K Spezial Cabriolet A in a one of a kind specification, with raked windshield, low-slung stance and supercharger. The video is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1yFakC3ao8.

? One of the other auctions on Amelia Island that weekend was Gooding & Company's, which realized more than $60 million in sales and achieved nine new world auction benchmarks including an overall $22,244,500 garnered by the sale of cars from "The Jerry Seinfeld Collection" and a stunning 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. I posted a video week's ago on some of those sales, found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xScAXBzc-Q4. But now Gooding has introduced its own wrap-up, seen here at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEXACGr_T_w.

? Then a week later came the inaugural SVRA Amelia Island Vintage Gran Prix race weekend, with 150 classic race cars, 40 vintage motorcycles and some cool classic planes. I posted a Jacksonville.com video on the March 19-20 racing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_66F5S9u5o. And I also did a video on my ride in a 1946 Army Air Corps trainer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Aqf9y1Z0I. Now the SVRA has filed two of its own video wrap-ups on the vintage racing. One of them even shows the 1946 T-6 Texan I rode in making a low-level pass of the airport trailing smoke. The videos are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijhb6pe2cKI, followed by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ziEA2F19ns.

The spring weekend car show calendar is getting crowded, and here is what's rumbling over the next few weekends:

Car shows:

¦ Mustang Club of America Ancient City National - Saturday and Sunday at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind at 207 San Marco Ave. in St Augustine. One of the multitude of club events being held is a Mustang-only car show from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday. Public parking is on local streets only. For more information, go to www.jmcmustang.org/Ancient-City-National.

¦ 15th annual Fruit Cove Baptist Church Car Show and Springfest - 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the church at 501 Florida 13 in Fruit Cove. Free for spectators and $25 on-line registration for show cars - 300-car limit. Information - www.fruitcove.com.

¦ Railroad Day Festival Classic Car Show - noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Cochrane's Collision Center at 617473 Brandies Ave., as part of annual Callahan Railroad Day festival. The west Nassau Historical Society hosts its annual Railroad Day parade at 11 a.m. at the Historic Callahan Train Depot across from Cochrane's. Information - www.wnhsfl.org.

¦ King of the South Car Show - 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday at Coast to Coast Customs at 8229 Arlington Expressway.

¦ Wings N' Wheels - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, at Jacksonville Executive at Craig Airport. Presented by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, it includes a static aircraft display and car show, plane rides, live entertainment, food vendors and a kid's zone provided by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. Free parking and spectator admission, and $35 registration for show vehicles. Information - http://wingsnwheels2016.com.

¦ San Jose Car and Truck Show - 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, at Dupont Station, 6271 St. Augustine Road. Free to spectators and $20 per show vehicle. New Buick, GMC, Hyundai and Genesis models on view. Proceeds benefit the Bishop John J. Snyder Community Center for senior citizens.

¦ Clay County Cruzers seventh annual Rev It Up! - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, at Fleming Island Presbyterian Church, 1743 County Road 220 in Fleming Island. Free to spectators and $25 day-of-show for show vehicles, proceeds to benefit local charities.

¦ All Wheels Car, Truck and Bike Show - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, at Ark of Nassau, 86051 Hamilton St. in Yulee. Free to spectators and $25 day-of-show for show vehicles.

¦ Home depot Spring Cruise-in - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Home depot at 9520 N. Regency Square Blvd.

¦ Avonlea Antique and Classic Car Show - 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 22 at the Avonlea Antiques and Design Gallery, 8101 Philips Highway. Free for spectators and $25 per show vehicle.

Cruise-ins:

¦ Informal cruise-in - 7 to 9 a.m. every Saturday at Krispy Kreme, 11117 San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin.

¦ Clay County Cruzers - 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Taps Bar and Grill, 1605 County Road 220 in Fleming Island.

¦ Amelia Cruizers - 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Dicks Wings at 474313 Florida 200 in Fernandina Beach

¦ St. Augustine Cruisers - 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at Hibby Lobby at 200 Florida 312 in St. Augustine.

¦ Callahan Cruisers - 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday at Kmart, 1501 Normandy Village Parkway in Jacksonville.

¦ Jax Beaches Cars and Coffee - Classic Car Cruise from 5 to 8 p.m. every third Tuesday at the Sea Walk Pavilion and Latham Plaza between 1st and 2nd Street. Information - www.betterjaxbeach.com.

All-Day Collector Car Cruise-in - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, at the Jacksonville Auto Museum at 9501 Arlington Expressway.

¦ New cruise-in - Sunshine State Chevelles - 5 to 8 p.m. starting on Saturday, May 7, then every first Saturday at the Jacksonville Automotive and Motorcycle Museum at the Regency Square Mall, 9501 Arlington Expressway.

¦ New cruise-in: Aw Shucks Cruise-in - 4 p.m. every Friday at the restaurant at 9743 Old St. Augustine Road.

Send information on automotive and motorcycle events to dan.scanlan@jacksonville.com or Dan Scanlan, Florida Times-Union, 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville FL 32202.