Auto Industry News: UK Blaze, Riding Out a Winter Cyclone with Mercedes Top Down, a Nasty Volvo 242 Build

Natural disasters take the lead in this week’s auto industry news. While one dude braves the winter cyclone with the top down in his Mercedes, nearly 1,400 cars were destroyed in a UK blaze. A Volvo 242 and the Lazareth Wazuma trike are just what the doc ordered to warm the heart in these unbearable freezing temps.

1400 Cars Destroyed in UK Blaze

Last week, a multistory parking complex in Liverpool caught fire after an old Land Rover reportedly exploded. The blast then triggered a chain reaction, creating a hellish fire that tore through the entire complex. Authorities say over 1400 vehicles were affected. Police are calling the fire an accident. However, it is still unknown what caused the Rover to explode initially. No one was injured. Two dogs were rescued, and reports also say they were the only animals trapped in the blaze. Such a detrimental fire might be confusing in the winter’s cold and wet conditions. But vehicles are actually highly susceptible to catching fire as they’re often left running, unattended, and not properly cleared of snow. Stay warm, but not that warm!

Driver Braves Winter Cyclone in Mercedes

Footage emerged of a Rhode Island driver facing last week’s elements in rear-wheel drive. A drop-top Mercedes SL no less! (Maybe a different Mercedes would get the job done). What did y’all do during the cyclone bomb? Shovel? Pfft. Which begs the question: Is this person an idiot? Or a now legendary figure? We’ll let you decide after watching the video. But just know a blizzard won’t stop this Rhode Islander from enjoying a day behind the wheel, wind through their hair. Even if the only tail they’re cruising for is of the fish variety. The condition of the car is unknown, but the driver will live on in infamy.

Insane Volvo 242 Build

Here’s a build that will warm your heart. It’s a Volvo 242 with the gusto of an explosion. Trust me, this wagon is not what it seems. Some Swedish ingenuity equipped the 242 with a BMW V10 engine. Jeppe, the original poster of this sick build, felt the S85B50 and the Volvo were a natural combination. As he stated, the box is from m5 e39. He also forged his own custom roll bars and hand-welded the twin exhaust. And before anyone could blink, what started as a head scratching hypothesis, became a full-fledged drag-ready, drift-ready demigod. And if it wasn’t badass enough already, Jeppe took it one step further, somehow giving its boxy features a simultaneous throwback and futuristic feel. Check his thread out here!

Wazuma V8M In Action

And while a good portion of the country freezes its collective ass off… please enjoy this video of a Lazareth V8M being awesome somewhere tropical. The Italian 4.7L 450 HP engine generates 520 Nm of torque. Watch it rip effortlessly and show off those 18″ OZ Racing wheels. A super villain kind of slick, don’t you think?

Around the Circuit

Bryce Menzies, deemed by many as the USA’s great hope in Rally, crashed on only the second leg of a 14-day rally stint at Dakar. Menzies and his co-driver Peter Mortensen walked away unscathed, but their Mini was completely totaled (given the fact that the X-Raid team extracted them). Cyril Despres and David Castera of France currently hold the lead in auto rally.

In other racing news, longtime Le Mans series racer and champion Scott Tucker was sentenced to 16 years in prison over an illegal payday lending scheme. Tucker was an early player in operating online, offering high interest loans to consumers who often had poor credit histories and couldn’t get loans anywhere else, according to Jalopnik. This is Tucker’s second prison sentence. He served time for bank fraud in 1992.

Leave a Reply