Top Gear's The Stig is coming to Forza 5

Some say that the red ring of death is what he calls his belly button, and that in a past life, he was the dog from Duck Hunt. All we know is, he's not The Stig, but he is the Stig's digital cousin, and for the first time ever, you'll be able to race him.

That's right, as part of Forza Motorsport's tie-up with Top Gear, which began in Forza Motorsport 4 with Jeremy Clarkson's voiceovers, gamers will actually be able to race Digital Stig in the latest installment of the franchise. Top Gear's commercial director, Duncan Gray, had this to say about FM5's newest features, "Trying to beat The Stig on track has long been the petrol-fuelled dreams of Top Gear fans everywhere and whilst Jeremy and the team did not want to frustrate or embarrass gamers by putting forward the real Stig, they did help us track down a potentially more fallible relative of their tame racing driver."

In addition to Digital Stig, gamers will have access to the Top Gear Test Track, and will be treated to voiceovers throughout the game by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. To promote the Digital Stig's inclusion in Forza Motorsport 5, Turn 10 Studios put together a little driving vid, the tame racing driver behind the wheel of the XBox One V8 Supercar, ahead of its race at this weekend's Bathurst 1000, in Australia. Forza Motorsport 5 will be in stores on November 22, and will only be available on the XBox One Take a look below for the full video.

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List host Jessi Combs hits 440 mph, becomes World's Fastest Woman On Four Wheels [w/videos]

A couple of weeks ago, Autoblog's video series, The List: 1,001 Car Things to do Before You Die, tackled something that's been top-of-mind since the day we came up with the concept for the series: Drive The Bonneville Salt Flats. If you saw that episode, you know that not only did hosts Jessi Combs and Patrick McIntyre check it off their List, Combs was there to work on getting qualified to make a run for the title of World's Fastest Woman.

Autoblog is extremely excited and proud to tell you that, pending FIA certification, Jessi Combs is now the World's Fastest Woman on Four Wheels, having recorded a two-way average speed of almost 393 miles per hour a speed she reached not at Bonneville, but on a dry lakebed at the Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon while her parents stood by and Autoblog's cameras rolled.

Jessi actually topped out at 440.709 mph in the North American Eagle (NAE) Supersonic Speed Challenger, a 14,000-pound, 50,000-horsepower F-104 Lockheed Starfighter jet converted for land speed record use. Effectively a four-wheeled wingless fighter jet, in a previous life, the land speed record (LSR) car served as a chase plane for the Air Force and NASA's X-15 experimental plane, along with the legendary SR-71 Blackbird.

Combs' 392.954-mph two-way average on Wednesday actually eclipsed her record-setting 344-mph session from the day before, a run that itself blew away the previous four-wheeled mark set by Lee Breedlove, wife of LSR legend Craig Breedlove. That mark has been standing since 1965. GPS data and telemetry is now being delivered to the FIA for certification purposes.

Yet Combs and the all-volunteer team of American and Canadian engineers and military personnel behind the North American Eagle aren't done yet they plan on using the car to claim the overall land speed record of 761 mph in 2014, and Combs herself plans to return to attempt to best the overall Women's World Land Speed Record, a 512-mph average by Kitty O'Neil that was set in 1976 in her rocket-powered SM1 Motivator, a craft with only three wheels.

Naturally, we'll have a followup List episode documenting Jessi's run for you as soon as we can in the meantime, check out a brief clip of her incredible record run below, along with the Bonneville Salt Flats episode if you happened to miss it. Congratulations, Jessi!

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Race Recap: 2013 Japanese Grand Prix flips several scripts [spoilers]

Japan's Suzuka circuit is a great track that all the drivers love, but it doesn't usually provide the most thrilling, head-to-head racing. Where it does excel, however, is with surprises and "What just happened there?!" moments, and this year it was no different.

It started with Mark Webber in his Infiniti Red Bull Racing out-qualifying his teammate Sebastian Vettel for the first time this year. They were followed closely by Lewis Hamilton in the first Mercedes-AMG Petronas, the still-solid Romain Grosjean again outdoing teammate Kimi Rikknen, Felipe Massa racing for another seat in Formula One and putting his Ferrari in fifth, then Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes, Nico Hlkenberg in the first Sauber, Fernando Alonso in the second Ferrari, and Rikknen continuing to do himself no favors by qualifying tenth.

For the second year in a row, the lights going out was the cue to start the first corner action...

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Hyundai, Broadcom to equip vehicles with built -in ethernet

Hyundai is the 2nd manufacturer after BMW possessing put its Flexray ethernet program into the X5 to pledge to put in Ethernet know-how in its cars and trucks. This just isn't a ploy to give you but one more location to perform on individuals regional sales spreadsheets, it can be about cutting down motor vehicle complexity though producing the vehicles and their programs far more productive. The Korean company will be undertaking so in conjunction with Broadcom, the U.S. firm obtaining created the " one pair Ethernet" ( Open up ) particular desire team that now counts eighty one members.

Different in- motor vehicle electronics use a wide variety of protocols, key between them getting control place network (CAN), community place network (LAN) and low voltage differential signaling (LVDS). Broadcom wants to combine individuals incompatible and very specialised methods into a single Ethernet system the exact same plug-and- play just one your laptop or computer can use all about the world and in executing so make Ethernet "the backbone of the auto."

Created with BMW and Hyundai, Broadcom's BroadR- Arrive at normal utilizes two unshielded cables as an alternative of four, which permits for light and affordable wiring that can be fit through a bodyshell's restricted spots. Achieving the variety of consolidation finally envisioned would carry numerous and wide -ranging rewards like reducing the charge and complexity of electronics, at the same time enabling for higher consumer electronics abilities within the automobile like 360- diploma automobile digital camera security devices, working with the similar IP normal familiar all around the entire world, allowing for speeds from a hundred Mbps to one GBbps for quicker and superior communication amongst systems, just for starters. Lighter wiring and there is certainly a great deal of it in a automobile also signifies lighter in weight cars.

That futuristic globe is even now in the future, although. Automakers are by natural means eager to develop Ethernet applications in phases, this kind of as concentrating just on infotainment, to make certain it can stand up to the rigors of an automobile's daily life. Hyundai hasn't stated which of its items will be the initial in line or when that car or truck arrive at showrooms, but has cited infotainment, lane departure warning, park aid and telematics as the attributes very likely to bonus. Study a lot more in the press release down below.

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GM announces new entertainment offer for 2013 Cadillac SRX

Infotainment devices have occur a lengthy way in improving connectivity and entertainment for front -seat passengers, but Cadillac is about to display what they can do for individuals sitting down in the back again seat. The 2013 Cadillac SRX is presently getting upgraded to contain the automaker's new CUE technique, but now Basic Motors has verified that this well-known crossover will also get an optional CUE- primarily based rear-seat entertainment technique with a Blu-Ray DVD player.

The new entertainment process works by using an eight -inch touchscreen up front and double unbiased displays for rear travellers, and it can link to up to 10 equipment by using Bluetooth. Rear controls for the technique contain two power shops, an SD card slot, a USB port and auxiliary audio jacks. The rear distant has also been redesigned with little ones in intellect with a video - match -controller appearance, and even the wi-fi headphones for the rear passengers have been current for improved consolation and quantity handle.

Customers checking the box on this package will have to occur up with an added $ one,595, and it is not obtainable on the foundation SRX trim degree. Scroll down to read a lot more on this new enjoyment method in GM's push launch.

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Toyota Sensible INSECT town car idea helps make the connection

Just like automakers have started off invading the Customer Electronics Demonstrate in Las Vegas, the exact same pattern may well be starting at the CEATEC show in Japan. Past month, we showed you a rendering of the Toyota Smart INSECT, but now we're obtaining our initially dwell seem at the solitary -seat electrical motor vehicle.

Though its design is really bug-like, the Intelligent INSECT's brand is in fact an acronym that stands for " Info Network Cultural Electric City Transporter," and it is a wise vehicle in that it permits customers to continue to be linked in the same fashion they can with a smartphone. That isn't really to say this vehicle will not search the aspect of its INSECT identify with a bug-eyed encounter and wing-like doors, but this idea is all about exhibiting of the know-how.

Some of the tech gadgetry found inside the auto incorporates motion sensors, voice recognition and even Toyota's cloud- based mostly " Clever Center." Utilizing Microsoft Kinect, the auto can realize when the driver is approaching the car and open up the corresponding door relying on which side of the car or truck they are on. As soon as inside, the driver can hook up to a virtual operator to handle systems like navigation and audio, and it can also link to the driver's residence via a smartphone to manage methods like door locks and air conditioning.

In what appears to be to be far more of an exercising of what kind of connectivity can be delivered in automobiles instead than exhibiting off an actual automobile, Toyota claims it has no ideas to make manufacturing edition of the Smart INSECT.

Madoka Isojima of Autoblog Japan contributed to this story.

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Espera Sbarro 8 Strategy is the finest college student project car or truck in history

Here is a showstopper. Tucked away in a corner of the Fourth Pavilion below at the 2012 Paris Motor Demonstrate was this carbon fiber incredibly hot rod from the Espera Sbarro Montbliard School of Design. Identified basically as the 8, cribbed from the Maserati-sourced V8 engine, this device was reportedly designed and developed in just eight weeks. We also hear that it truly is driven by the impure thoughts of heathens, or probably just gas.

The Sbarro Eight Concept was developed to aid showcase some of the newest technological innovation obtainable to automakers, such as a driver- dealing with tablet laptop or computer that occupies the spot generally housing the dash. Applications these types of as navigation, world wide web, and Read through & Go for textbooks, Liveradio and Deezer for tunes and Cinday for motion pictures maintain the driver related even though on the go. But with any luck, not although in fact, you know, driving.

The Eight also features a Parrot Asteroid Sensible auto radio run by Android that functions a six. two -inch display screen and can hook up to the online Asteroid Industry, mobile telephones via Bluetooth, or display movies by auxilliary inputs. An onboard wireless charger and a mobile stereo method spherical out the tech offer.

Even though we genuinely like its unique model, this pony has the go to back up its significant present. The aforementioned V8 motor spins out 360 horsepower to the rear wheels. We've obtained to hand it to the vehicle layout students that penned the 8 this is one particular principle that really practically stopped us in our tracks. See our full picture gallery previously mentioned.

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