How A Gearhead Tests A $900 Flask

I expect my whiskey flask to do three things: be discreet, provide me with enough liquid courage to get through the day, and shield my heart from an assassin's bullet like on TV. (I have a lot of enemies, you know.) But if you spend $900 on a flask, what guarantee do you have that it's tough and ready for battle? Make sure it's supercar tested, that's how.

The Macallan distillery, that purveyor of fine single malt scotch, recently unveiled a flask that looks like something the SAS would carry into some secret battlefield. It costs £600, which comes out to more than $900. I don't know why anyone would spend that much on a flask, but then again, I'm not a rich douchebag. 

But as we see from this video, it stands up to various tests of durability from a variety of supercars, including a Hennessey Ford GT and a Mercedes SLS AMG. For good measure there's a Cobra knockoff and some kind of E46 with a ridiculous wing. Try to ignore the grating honky tonk music in the background. 

It's all good fun, I suppose. I mean, testing an overly expensive flask is exactly what I would do if I had a Hennessey Ford GT for an afternoon. Wouldn't you?

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Netherlands' DJ Afrojack Learns Why You 'Don't Drive A Ferrari In Shit Weather' (UPDATED)

This is Nick van de Wall. He is a DJ and a music producer from the Netherlands. He goes by the name of Afrojack. This is his crashed Ferrari 458 Italia. And this is the life lesson he learned today.

Afrojack just crashed his Ferrari under circumstances which have yet to be determined. But on his Lockerz page, he posted a picture of the wrecked supercar with the message "ok that sucks, good thing were all ok!!!! lesson in life: dont drive a ferrari in shit weather!"

That, or save up your money and buy a Ferrari FF instead. It's kind of ugly, but it can handle bad weather. 

Pictured below: the 458 in better days. Maybe he'll replace with something that does better in the rain. 

UPDATE: As some of you guys (and TMZ) have pointed out, Afrojack totaled the Ferrari THE SAME DAY HE GOT IT. As in, within an hour or so of getting it, he crashed it. There are no words. 

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Car Paintball Is The Next Greatest Sport

We've seen cars used to play soccer, rugby, and hockey. It looks like fun. Now they're playing paintball. This is outstanding.

The recipe is simple. Take two Audi RS4 Avants, mount guns on the hoods, and put them into a huge room with obstacles. 

Then you let them go wild. 

This looks like a serious amount of awesome fun. It's also the best use of a wagon ever.

(Hat Tip to @SpaceHippos!)

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Will.I.Am Says He Builds His Custom Cars To 'Teach Kids Science'

Last week we saw Will.I.Am's custom 1958 VW Beetle that supposedly cost $900,000 to build over the course of four years. Why does he do it? To "teach kids science." Yes, science.

In an interview with TMZ, William explained his motivation for building his custom rides, beyond his own love of cars:

I build the cars for a project that I'm doing in inner cities, where I round up a whole bunch of people that are qualified to teach kids science, technology, engineering and mathematics. And through the course, they build vehicles. So I have to build the vehicles that can be used in the tutorial.

That sounds like a great project. Last week people that know Will told me he is the nicest guy around and that he spends a lot of time giving back to the community. Seems like they weren't exaggerating. Will has also been talking about science, tech, engineering, and math (STEM), for years, so this project is clearly close to his heart.

I definitely don't agree with his taste in cars, but I can't really fault using his fame and fortune to give back and help teach kids that might not otherwise have the means to get good hands-on experience.

He might be a bit strange and come off as aloof in interviews, but it seems like the money that came from My Humps might actually be doing some real good in the world. Good for him.

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Awesome Dad Lets His 11-Year-Old Son Test Race Cars

This is Kalle Rovanperä. His dad lets him get behind the wheel of rally cars and fling himself through the forest at speeds you wouldn’t dare. Child endangerment? More like awesome parenting.

 You see, Kalle’s dad is World Rally Championship driver Harri Rovanperä, who has access to some of the best rally stages in Finland, but also a host of rally cars to tear across them. We found these videos on the excellent Axis of Oversteer and we’re just in awe.

This reminds us of the 'world’s fastest 12 year old', but with even more hoonage action. Check out Kalle in a rear-wheel-drive Toyota Starlet on a gravel stage, just where his father excelled in his professional career.

And here’s Kalle in a professional-spec Citroën C2. We’re jealous of this kid and he hasn’t even hit puberty.

Basically, this kid is faster than you, he’s probably cooler than you (he is Finnish after all) and he’ll probably end up making his money as a professional race car driver. Just give up now, everybody, we’ll never have as good a life as Kalle.

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This Is Another Awesome Way To Use A Land Rover

This is Stuart Lewis-Evans and Tony Harris in September 1953, lowering their Cooper 500 Formula 3 racing car from the roof of a Land Rover at the Crystal Palace race circuit. Awesome doesn't even describe it.

Lewis-Evans was a friend of young Stirling Moss, and was managed by Bernie Ecclestone himself from 1957. The following year, his Vanwall crashed at the season-ending Moroccan Grand Prix. He died of his burns in the hospital six days after. Team boss Tony Vandervell never got over his death, and the Vanwall team was shut down in 1959.

Photo credit: Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images

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The velocity stacks on Steve McQueen’s chestnut brown 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.

The velocity stacks on Steve McQueen’s chestnut brown 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso. This is what you got when you had money to blow on cars fifty years ago: lots and lots of little exposed screws. You like, yes?

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