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In anticipation of this year’s running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, EA Games and Firemonkeys Studios are releasing a new update for the free-to-play racing game Real Racing 3. Players are now offered the opportunity to park three of the latest prototype racers in their virtual garage, and they won’t even need to dish out their hard-earned (or bought) in-game currency to do so.
It’s called the Pursuit of Victory quest, and this is how it works: from now until the running of the actual 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 14th, players can take up the challenge by racing one of the three available LM P1 vehicles (the Nissan GT-R LM, the Porsche 919 Hybrid, and the Audi R18 e-tron quattro) in a special event in the game. Complete the challenge, and you get to keep the car, no micro-transaction necessary. Complete the challenge again in the remaining two racers, and you get to keep them too.
There will also be a special time trails competition with additional prizes up for grabs.
Adding to the Le Mans hype is a recreation of the 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, which has been rendered with as much detail as possible.
You can download Real Racing 3 onto a variety of mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, Nvidia Shield, and Blackberry 10.
Continue reading for the full story.
We often see spy shots of upcoming vehicles still wrapped in camouflage months before their official debut, but we rarely get a preview of upcoming infotainment software destined for their dashboards. Then again, no other infotainment software makes quite the splash as Apple’s iOS in the Car.
Several screen shots of Apple’s iOS in the Car were posted on developer Steven Troughton-Smith’s twitter page, giving us an idea of what the current beta model looks like. As reported by 9To5Mac, iOS in the Car allows users to plug their iOS device into their car’s built-in center console display, giving them access to Apple Maps, text messaging, phone service and iTunes – furthering Apple’s in-dash integration past the current Siri Eyes Free and iPod Out.
This is not the first we’ve seen of iOS in the Car. Apple showed a preview of the software at their World Wide Developers’ Conference last year, but previewed only a few screen images. These images leaked by the developer show a more detailed view of what the system is expected to look like.
Click past the jump for a closer look at Apple’s iOS in the Car
Along with the sick video above, which highlights that seven-speed S tronic auto-box and the sweet, sweet note of the 2014 R8 V10, Audi also unveiled two new R8-related items that may get fans of the supercar excited.
First up is the all-new "Audi Library" iPad app. This app allows you to configure a 2014 Audi R8 to your liking — or any Audi for that matter. Want a "Brilliant Red" R8 V10 with the S tronic transmission, "Lunar Silver" fine Nappa leather seating and an Alcantara headliner? The app can build it for you and get you a price. It also gives you access to tons of dynamic Audi content. You can download the app here.
Secondly, Audi has also announced that the #WantAnR8 program will return in October 2013. This contest calls on fans to add #WantAnR8 to a Twitter post. With this post, you are then entered in a drawing to have a day-long date with the 2014 R8, either in your hometown or on a racetrack. Sure, Audi isn’t handing you an R8 to keep, but a day with it is more than most of us would ever get a chance at.
Looks like Audi is pushing the new R8 pretty hard this year, so enjoy the extra goodies, folks.
Click past the jump to read more about the 2014 Audi R8 V10
The video game business is evolving much more rapidly than many movie studios in terms of their broad reach and level of interactivity with the players who devote hours to winning the race, collecting a mad fleet of exotic cars, or even doing the most efficient kill shots on retro robo future zombies. Or something.
The automotive genre of the gaming industry is quite a unique subset. Guys and gals who have never enjoyed most first-person-shooters, RPGs and other fantasy wizard content can somehow really love driving games.
Gran Turismo is obviously the mack daddy franchise, but its lead over the improving Forza, Need for Speed and others is diminishing.
As awesome as GT5 and GT6 are, the level of game play is always pretty serious. It might start out with paint jobs and ECU chips for an old used MX-5 that is now a giant killer, but Gran Turismo gets extremely stressful and difficult as the Mario Kart friendliness of the first tracks becomes the brutal London F1 course, Sardinia rally stage, or the legendary Nordschleife in Nürburg.
The light-hearted escapism of the old Donkey Kong Country series is long gone in this intense generation of lifelike games. Your escape will be directly into the racing cockpit. Your eyes will bleed from starting at the 250 mph warp speed down the Mulsanne straight, hate your own slow-fitted fingers, and maybe - just maybe - win a race or two.
Grand Theft Auto takes a totally different path. Instead of the glamor of the world’s best tracks and circuits, the GTA approach is much more down-to-earth. You are a professional criminal building an empire. But there are guys around every corner who want to be the next Tony Montana also.
So you become a fierce and hardened street tough playing the game. Even in the lush green lawns of posh suburbs, the boys will always be in the basement doing evil deeds and wild burnouts on GTA 5. The goal is to be a fun escape from the reality of speed limits, paying tolls and parking tickets. All the boring parts of life.
So where does the new GTA app fit into this mix? Called iFruit, the new iPhone and iPad apps are companion pieces that integrate with console game play. Build your ideal whip, train your Rottweiler or just browse the enormous game play guide application when stuck.
Is iFruit the perfect time-waster for all those boring hours spent *not* playing GTA 5?
Click past the jump to find out.
What can you really get for $6.99 these days? You may be able to snag up a burger and fries from your favorite fast food joint, or maybe you can pump a few drops of gas into your tank. Well, you may want to think about parking the car or cooking up some ramen noodles today because 2K Drive has officially hit the App store at the cool price of $6.99. No, that’s not per month or per year; that is for a lifetime of edge-or-your-seat racing on your iPhone or iPad.
2K Drive is not some crummy, rushed-to-production iOS game either, as 2K Games — best known for its 2K Sports franchise that includes MLB 2K13 and NBA 2K13 — went to great lengths to make it as realistic as possible. The game includes tons of real-life cars, over 100 unique events, more than 25 real tracks and RaceFace, which allows you to snap a pic of your smiling mug and upload it onto the game.
Not only do you get real licensed cars, but you also get a crack at loading them up with as many aftermarket parts and accessories as you can. You want a 300-plus-horsepower Ford Focus? You can have it, as long as you earn enough credit to buy the latest and greatest performance parts. You also have to repair physical and mechanical damage, just like in real life, or suffer the consequences of decreased performance.
2K Games also knows that you want to stay up to date with all of the latest automotive news while racing your virtual rig, so it includes live news about all of the latest happenings in the automotive world. Just don’t forget about us here at TopSpeed...
So, head on over to the App store and shell out your $6.99 and get to racing. Until then, you can check out the official launch trailer and more videos on the game after the jump.
When Apple released the first bits of information on the iOS in the Car system just yesterday, we saw a long list of premium automakers that have already signed up, like Mercedes and Jaguar. One that was not on the list that we figured was just hung up in the details was BMW. Well, a new report tells us that there was more to Bimmer not being on the list than meets the eye.
A BMW spokesperson said "The upshot is that as we have such an advanced multimedia offer that has been in vehicles in various guises for more than a decade, it would not be that straight forward to start changing all of the architecture of a car as has been implied [by Apple]." So, basically, the changes that BMW would have to make to crowbar in the new Apple system would be way too great to warrant installing the iOS in the Car system.
BMW and Apple have worked together in the past, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that the Bavarian automaker will not support the system for the foreseeable future. Fortunately for Bimmer drivers, BMW’s interfaces are plenty advanced and have a decade-long track record, so there is no worrying about sticking with an outdated or non-functional system. Additionally, BMW will support Apples new Siri Eyes Free system.
We wouldn’t be too surprised to see Apple work its way into BMW sometime in the next five years, or so, but that may take some massaging of the iOS system to appease BMW. Another good reason for BMW breaking down is if iOS in the Car becomes a smash hit, then it would be doing its buyers a disservice by leaving it out.
Stay tuned for more details…
As of 2012, for every six PCs sold one Macintosh (AKA “Mac” for you generation Y folks) computer leaves the shelves, not including iPads. While that may seem like a huge gap, that is actually a huge boost over the 56-to-1 ratio of PCs to Macs back in the early 2000s. This is mostly because Macintosh has been marketing to younger generations as the “hip” brand and only us geezers living in the Stone Age still use PCs. It is also partly due to strategic positioning in the market by Mac and hitting niches that PC manufacturers have overlooked.
In the automotive world, however, Mac and PC both have been relatively left out in the cold, as manufacturers have mostly opted for proprietary operating systems for their infotainment systems. This is all about to come to a head in the coming months, as Mac has just announced its new “iOS in the Car” to pair along with its new iOS 7.
The details are still very limited, but Apple has already contracted with list of heavy hitters that includes Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Acura, Volvo, Jaguar, Infiniti, Nissan, Chevy, Kia, Opel and Hyundai to roll this new system out. According to reports, this system will link with your iPhone and use a revised Siri system to control GPS, maps, the audio system, hands-free operation, talk-to-text, etc. This system will also use a screen that actually mimics you iPhone’s screen, meaning that the car’s entire OS very well may be a revised version of iOS and not just a simple integration.
This means that Apple will suddenly have a firm grasp on us geezer PC users that happen to buy top-line cars and even some of the entry-level cars, by offering a level of integration that is unseen to date. Additionally, Mac may find a way to integrate laptops and iPads to the system, enticing more premium car buyers to opt for a Mac computer instead of a PC.
For all of you game addicts out there, "Cie Games" needs no presentation. For those of you who do not know them, we will offer you one more clue: it is the company that has developed "Car Town" - a social network game that allows players to collect and modify virtual cars.
Cie Games announced the launch of the new "Car Town Streets" - a racing game developed in cooperation with International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and specially offered for mobile gaming platforms. Gamers will be able to play it for free on iOS devices including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
This new game will include "virtual" events and the first one, "Daytona Challenge," will debut today in celebration of the 55th annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 24th. Top players for each race will receive a free NASCAR racecar that can produce up to 1,200 horsepower – the fastest car in the game.
The new Car Town Streets will offer gamers the possibility to find, build and race with all their favorite cars, but also form teams and compete in head-to-head race battles. In the future, the game will unlock new race challenges and missions.
You can get the game at Cie Games’ website or at iTunes.
Click past the jump for gameplay video
We understand all too well that companies tend to change things up just for the sake of change in some cases. We see it every year in the automotive world. Fortunately, in our world, this typically doesn’t affect you all too much if you had a car just before a drastic and utterly meaningless upgrade occurred. You just keep on motoring.
Well, when it comes to some electronics, these changes can spell disaster if you are not well informed and prepared. Case in point is the new iPhone 5, which iFolk are iTrading their iPhone 4s like iHotcakes to get their iHands on, but there is a problem that they may run into when trying to dock up their flashy new iPhone 5 to their iPhone-ready car… The new “Lightning” interface connector will not connect, even if you just snagged up a 2013 model year.
The only way to rectify this issue is to go to the store and pick up $29 (Apple licensed) adapters for your car and the other numerous doo-dads that you hook it up to. Additionally, for those that have ever tried using cellphone adapters of any sort, please think of the last one you bought – licensed or not – that actually worked the way it was supposed to. Not too often, huh?
So this may, create a small tizzy in the automotive industry, as owners may take to the dealerships up in arms as to why the car companies had no idea that the iPhone 5 would not fit their massive 30-pin receptacle. This could result in automakers like Kia, Hyundai, Audi, and VW, all of which have the old-style iPhone connector, having to offer all of its new-car buyers these adapters – possibly free of charge to avoid legal issues.
This just shows how something as little as a change in the connector for seemingly no reason at all can lead to serious headaches for your customers. Apple really should have included the adapter with the iPhone 5 and very well may decide to retroactively do so in the future, if the issue becomes too big.
Rolls-Royce is breaking new company ground with the launch of its latest app, which has been designed to help you find used Rolls-Royce models without so much of a hassle.
The app is called the Provenance Pre-owned Stock Locator and follows the Provenance app that Rolls-Royce launched last year for its certified pre-owned vehicle program. Among the features of the PPSL app include easy-to-navigate search filters, as well as a feature that allows users to be able to make direct auto comparisons.
The app works in such a way that users can search for certain Rolls-Royce models in a specific country. From there, they can specify the exact model depending on a number of variables, including the car’s model, age, mileage, budget, or color.
For all the neat features of the app, it does have one caveat. The app will only cater to the highest grade models, which will be determined by a team of factory-trained technicians, who, in turn, will subject the car to a comprehensive road test before grading them.
The PPSL app can be accessed on the company’s official homepage and is available for the iPad, PCs, Macs, and most smartphones.
The Apple vs. PC war has gone from computers to laptops, from laptops to MP3 players, from MP3 players to phones, and from phones to tablets, but Apple has never attempted to compete with Microsoft in its automotive form (see: Ford Sync)… That is, until now. Apple has just announced that it will start fitting its Siri system into vehicles.
For those that hate having only one mouse button to choose from (A.K.A. those that could give a rat’s backside about Macs) you may have no clue what Siri is. Well, Siri is, as Apple calls it, an “Eyes Free” system that allows you to control various items, like the iPad and iPhone, with only your voice. Before you start thinking “OMG, that’s like so 2007,” Siri actually learns your speech pattern and does not require you to use a series of ridiculous keywords to activate certain features, so it is basically a 2012 twist on 2007 technology.
So, this means that you can now drive “Eyes Free…” Okay, maybe not, but you never have to unglue your hands from the 10-and-2 position ever again when controlling whatever iDevice you happen to have, via Bluetooth, plus it also controls a turn-by-turn navigation system with crowd-sourced traffic updates. We are sure that there are tons more features to the automotive variant of Siri, but for now, this is all that Apple has released.
As for the cars that will include this new system; let’s just say that Apple definitely flexed its superpower connections, as according to Macworld, it has signed up Land Rover, Jaguar, BMW, GM, Mercedes, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler, and Honda. According to reports, you can pick up your first “iCar” starting in about 12 months.
Given this system is as cool as it sounds on paper, I can add one more product to the short list of Apple items I can actually stomach, making that list the iPad, iPod, and Siri.
While the Apple Ipad offers all major motorhead magazines in their "Newsstand", they are not cheap. In fact they cost as much as the paper version, unless you get into the subscription thing. Anyways, life on itunes is not easy when you are broke. Porsche, of all brands, is bringing the smile back on the penny pincher’s face with a free Ipad app worth downloading. It is called Christophorus, and you can download it directly from this link. Don’t ask me why it is called Christophorasarus, I have no clue.
The app is like many magazine apps out there, but while it is free, Porsche has not cheapened out on the merchandise. You will find plenty of interactive content. While the app itself is a little slow to respond from one feature to another, once loaded, the pages slide and flow nicely . It is all about enjoying cool animations and sharp pictures from Porsche’s marketing team.
In the edition 352, I particularly enjoyed the sliding layers showing the evolution of the 911 over time. Or unveiling the cover on the new 991 with my fingertip.
If you are a Porsche fan, and who isn’t, you have to download this one. Did I mention it is free?
The good thing about technology these days, as far as video game developers are concerned, is the wide array of platforms they can come on. No longer are we limited to video game consoles now that smartphones and tablets have become a popular tool for the vast majority of the population.
EA Games, the developer of Need For Speed: The Run, is taking advantage of this wider access to video games with the release of the trailer for the game on the iPad and the iPhone.
You read that right, folks. We now have iPad and iPhone trailers.
Since the game is already out for the PS3 and Xbox platforms, the next step is to bring all the action to the iPad and iPhone. That’s what the trailer is for. And even if it doesn’t come with the same cutting edge graphics as that of the console versions, it still something that should be a good download.
Besides, the iPad and the iPhone have one thing going for them that the PS3 and the Xbox don’t: you can take those two anywhere you go, and in doing so, play NFS: The Run anytime and anywhere.
On your marks...get set...and get ready to order! A source has revealed that Porsche dealers are almost ready to open the order books for the new and improved 911/991. Orders may be taken as soon as next month with vehicle deliveries scheduled in March - April 2012.
That’s not all, either. Want to order the Porsche 911/991? There’s an app for that! Our source has also revealed that Porsche is developing an iPad app that will allow clients to play around with the options and place their order on Apple’s latest technological wonder. Porsche and Apple; now there’s a match made in heaven.
As a reminder for those who have been living under a rock of dullness, the new Porsche 911/991 will be powered by a 3.4L direct-injected flat-six engine that delivers a total of 350 HP at 6400 rpm and a max torque of 280 lb-ft between 4400 and 6000 rpm. The Carrera S will get a 3.8-liter flat-six with direct injection engine that delivers a total of 400 HP at 7000 rpm, leaving it with a 4.5 seconds 0-60mph sprint time and a top speed of 188mph. Both models will be offered with either a seven-speed manual gearbox or the seven-speed PDK dual-clutch automatic, both made by ZF and both featuring launch control. These models also come with an improved fuel economy of 12-15%.
Oh, the benefits of technology. We can’t live with it and we can’t live without it. In the latest example of how our items like the iPad and the iPhone are shaping the way we find entertainment these days, we got news that John Galt Films Inc, the leading international producer of high octane vintage racing films, has released ten GT Racer applications for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. GT Racer is a documentary-style film that dives into the world of racing like no other film app we’ve seen in the past. The app is based on the GT Racer HDTV series that was aired worldwide on a number of channels and is now being transferred to the world of Apple apps.
Directed and produced by Alexander Davidis, the whole scene of GT Racer transforms your world and takes you back to the Golden Era of auto racing, one where you can take a look at the most exclusive series of international racing, featuring the 1950s and 60s Aston Martins, Ferraris, Maseratis, Porsches, Mustangs, Cobras, and so many other race cars as they compete in the some of the world’s most famous race tracks, including the Nurburgring, the Spa Francorchamps, Laguna Seca, and Carrera Panamericana.
More than the cars and the tracks themselves, GT Racer gives you the opportunity to feel the incredible atmosphere of the time, a time where high-octane racing wasn’t all about technological innovation as it was pure, unadulterated racing.
The GT Racer titles are developed by Smarphone specialists, Netframes, and include the following titles: Shaken & Stirred - Spa (Belgium); On Porto’s Street Circuit (Portugal); Big Speeds at Silverstone (England); The Nürburgring Factor (Germany); Legends of Lime Rock (Connecticut, USA); Ferraris at Laguna Seca (California, USA);
The Spa Six Hours (Belgium); Nordschleife: The 500 km Marathon (Germany); Fast Curves at Magny Cours (France); La Carrera Panamericana (Mexico).
Each of the episodes are now available at Apple’s iTunes store for $22.99 each.