Lime Rock Park
Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's oldest continuously operating road racing venue; the track is owned by Skip Barber, a former race car driver who started the Skip Barber Racing School in 1975. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009; the 1.53-mile Lime Rock track was conceived of in 1956 by Jim Vaill, along with John Fitch and Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory, built the track utilizing state-of-the-art road and highway safety principles of the time. The first race, a mix of G-Production class and an MG class, was held on April 28, 1957; the winner of the G-Production was Ted Sprigg in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The winner of the MG class was Charles Callanan in an MG TC. In 1959, Lime Rock hosted the Little Le Mans race, won by Charles Callanan and Roger Penske in a Fiat Abarth. In 2008, the track was re-paved and two new corner complexes were added.
The track has a loyal following, though it did face some resistance from the local community shortly after it opened. In 1959, the Lime Rock Protective Association, with support from the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church, took the park to Litchfield Superior Court in an effort to ban Sunday racing; the court issued a permanent injunction against Sunday racing, its decision was upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court. While restrictive, the crafted injunction was enabling, it preserved the track's right to conduct unmuffled sports car racing on Fridays and Saturdays, plus testing on Tuesdays and other operating benefits. The injunction stands to this day; the track has featured many well-known racers including Paul Newman, who supported his own Newman-Haas team with Bob Sharp, Mario Andretti, Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Sam Posey, Mark Donohue. Other racers have included Parnelli Jones, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi, Tom Cruise; the Rolex Sports Car Series, American Le Mans Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship have used a configuration which included the chicane at turn five and West Bend.
For years the track was listed as being 1.53 miles in length—the story goes that right after it was built, somebody used the odometer in a Chevrolet to measure the track length—and 1.53 was taken as gospel. Following the 2008 reconstruction, Lime Rock's operations people measured all four possible configurations, as it turns out, each was 1.5 miles long, plus or minus a few hundred feet. The IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship gives the distance of the track as 1.474 miles. The "classic" configuration is seven turns, while the three optional layouts are eight and ten turns, respectively. Can-Am Formula Atlantic Formula Libre Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Lime Rock Grand Prix IMSA GT Championship United States Road Racing Championship Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series NASCAR K&N Pro Series East NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour North American Touring Car Championship Northeast Grand Prix American Le Mans Series IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Pirelli World Challenge SCCA Continental Championship Formula 5000 SCCA National Sports Car Championship Trans-Am National Register of Historic Places listings in Litchfield County, Connecticut Lime Rock Park website Documentary by Chris Szwedo Skip Barber Racing School
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, Motocross; the track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5-mile high-speed tri-oval, a 3.56-mile sports car course, a 2.95-mile motorcycle course, a 1,320-foot karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre infield includes the 29-acre Lake Lloyd; the speedway is operated by International Speedway Corporation. The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France, Sr. to host racing, held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998, today it is the third-largest single lit outdoor sports facility; the speedway has been renovated four times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.
On January 22, 2013, the fourth speedway renovation was unveiled. On July 5, 2013, ground was broken on "Daytona Rising" to remove backstretch seating and redevelop the frontstretch seating; the renovation was by design-builder Barton Malow Company in partnership with Rossetti Architects. The project was completed in January 2016, cost US $400 million, it emphasized improved fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances, as well as wider and more comfortable seats, more restrooms and concession stands. After the renovations were complete, the track's grandstands had 101,000 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000; the project was finished before the start of Speedweek in 2016. NASCAR founder William France Sr. began planning for the track in 1953 as a way to promote the series, which at the time was racing on the Daytona Beach Road Course. France met with Daytona Beach engineer Charles Moneypenny to discuss his plans for the speedway, he wanted the track to have the highest banking possible to allow the cars to reach high speeds and to give fans a better view of the cars on track.
Moneypenny traveled to Detroit, Michigan to visit the Ford Proving Grounds which had a high-speed test track with banked corners. Ford shared their engineering design of the track with Moneypenny, providing the needed details of how to transition the pavement from a flat straightaway to a banked corner. France took the plans to the Daytona Beach city commission, who supported his idea and formed the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority; the city commission agreed to lease the 447-acre parcel of land adjacent to Daytona Beach Municipal Airport to France's corporation for $10,000 a year over a 50-year period. France began working on building funding for the project and found support from a Texas oil millionaire, Clint Murchison, Sr. Murchison lent France $600,000 along with the construction equipment necessary to build the track. France secured funding from Pepsi-Cola, General Motors designer Harley Earl, a second mortgage on his home and selling 300,000 stock shares to local residents. Ground broke on construction of the 2.5-mile speedway on November 25, 1957.
To build the high banking, crews had to excavate over a million square yards of soil from the track's infield. Because of the high water table in the area, the excavated hole filled with water to form what is now known as Lake Lloyd, named after Joseph "Sax" Lloyd, one of the original six members of the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority. 22 tons of lime mortar had to be brought in to form the track's binding base, over which asphalt was laid. Because of the extreme degree of banking, Moneypenny had to come up with a way to pave the incline, he connected the paving equipment to bulldozers anchored at the top of the banking. This allowed the paving equipment to pave the banking without rolling down the incline. Moneypenny subsequently patented his construction method and designed Talladega Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway. By December 1958, France had begun to run out of money and relied on race ticket sales to complete construction; the first practice run on the new track was on February 6, 1959.
On February 22, 1959, 42,000 people attended the inaugural Daytona 500. Its finish was as startling as the track itself: Lee Petty beat Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish that took three days to adjudicate; when the track opened it was the fastest race track to host a stock car race, until Talladega Superspeedway opened 10 years later. On April 4, it hosted a 100 mi Champ Car event which saw Jim Rathmann beat Dick Rathmann and Rodger Ward, at an average speed of 170.26 mph, at the time the fastest motor race ever. It was sadly the occasion of Daytona's first fatality: George Amick, attempting to overtake for third late in the race, hit a wall and was killed. April 5, a scheduled 1,000 km sports car event was won by Roberto Mieres and Fritz d'Orey, who shared a Porsche RSK, which proved more durable than more potent competition. Lights were installed around the track in 1998 to run NASCAR's July race, the Coke Zero 400 at night; the track was the world's largest single lighted outdoor sports facility until being surpassed by Losail International Circuit in 2008.
Musco Lighting installed the lighting system, which took into account glare and visibility for aircraft arriving and departing nearby Daytona Beach International Airport, costs about $240 per hour when in operation. Daytona's tri-oval is 2.5 mile
Gran Turismo 6
Gran Turismo 6 is a racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 video game console. It is the sixth major twelfth game overall in the Gran Turismo video game series, it was released worldwide on December 6, 2013, was popular with critics, won awards, topped charts in countries around the world. New features included the addition of more cars and tracks, improvements to the car customisation options, partnerships with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Ayrton Senna Institute, the FIA and NASA. Gran Turismo 6 is the first-ever video game to have certified FIA content. In November 2011, the Gran Turismo series' creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, said that he and his team at Polyphony Digital were working on Gran Turismo 6. In March 2012, workers were seen on site at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and scanning the track; the workers revealed that Mount Panorama will be included in Gran Turismo 6, becoming the first Australian race track to feature in the series.
In February 2013, Sony's Computer Entertainment Europe senior vice president Michael Denny claimed that Gran Turismo 6 would remain a PlayStation 3 title, despite the unveiling of the PlayStation 4. Gran Turismo 6 was announced on May 15, 2013, when Sony Computer Entertainment Europe hosted a celebration of the 15th anniversary of Gran Turismo at Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom. Kazunori Yamauchi said at the official announcement, Gran Turismo 6 will feature 71 layouts of 33 tracks, 1200 cars, a new flexible rendering engine that features adaptive tessellation, a redesigned simpler menu interface with faster loading times. An early build of Gran Turismo 6's updated physics was shown to the public when GT Academy 2013 was released on the PlayStation Store on July 2, 2013. On July 10, 2013, game developers announced that the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb course will be included on the game; the 1.16 mile strip of road that runs through the Earl of March's family home's grounds hosts the annual Festival of Speed and current Formula One, Moto GP, World Rally Championship cars and racers as well as other famous drivers and cars from all ages and aspects of motor sport.
This gave the game developers the idea to base a track here due to the wide variety of vehicles that use the hill climb in front of 185,000 spectators. Yamauchi said "I have always been a huge admirer of the Festival of Speed and what Lord March has achieved, I love the incredible range of cars on display – from the priceless and exotic, to the latest family hatchback and full on racing cars – I love the challenge of the Hill Climb and the rally stage. Goodwood represents every type of motoring and motor sport which much mirrors what we aim to achieve with Gran Turismo and so it is special that we have forged this partnership. There will be no better feedback than that provided by the Goodwood fans to tell me if we are heading in the right direction with Gran Turismo 6!" A demo of GT6 was made available at the Festival, to give spectators the chance to challenge Nick Heidfeld's 41.6-second course record set in 1999 in a Formula 1 car. On August 20, 2013, at GamesCom, it was revealed that Brands Hatch would be coming to Gran Turismo, Apricot Hill Raceway, which did not appear in the previous game, would make a return to the series.
Cars such as the Pagani Huayra, Fisker Karma, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray C7 and BMW Z8 were announced, as well as the Aston Martin One-77, Audi R18, KTM X-Bow and the 1971 Lunar Roving Vehicle. DeltaWing was announced for the game, but it was removed due to possible legal and licensing issues. However, it was revealed on December 2, 2013 that the DeltaWing will return to the game in the 2012 and 2013 models. Polyphony helped design Toyota's FT-1 concept car by modeling the car in Gran Turismo 5 and in Gran Turismo 6, it helped the car designers to sell the concept to Toyota headquarters. The car has been released as a free download to Gran Turismo 6 alongside other concept cars on January 14. F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Bruno Senna were both test drivers for the game. On December 27, 2017, it was announced that the online servers for Gran Turismo 6 would be shut down on March 28, 2018. All downloadable content and the digital versions of the game could not be purchased directly from Sony's PlayStation Store.
However, digital download codes for United States residents which were still honored by the PlayStation Store could still be purchased from GameStop. On October 24, 2013, game developers announced a long-term partnership with the Ayrton Senna Institute, where a percentage of profits from the sale of the game went to the organization, which promoted and provided education to the impoverished communities in Brazil. A free update in May 2014 added a new feature called "Ayrton Senna Tribute", which followed the motor racing career of Ayrton Senna; the update includes the iconic Lotus 97T, which Senna drove during the 1985 Formula One season. The game has 1,200 cars to choose from. Among the other circuits new to the series are Willow Springs International Motorsports Park, Ascari Race Resort, ones based in a sports stadium, in addition to several ones based in the Matterhorn, including the one near Riffelsee; as well as some tracks featuring variable weather and time of day, there is a dynamic celestial sphere, so that stars in the night sky have accurate positions.
With this, there is a feature where players can drive at Hadley Rille on the moon with the Lunar Rover. The Top Gear test track, which appeared in Gran Turismo 5, doesn't return in the game due to the show's partner
Need for Speed: Shift
Need for Speed: Shift is the thirteenth installment and second reboot of the racing video game franchise Need for Speed. It was announced in December 2008 as part of a three-game announcement that includes Need for Speed: Nitro and Need for Speed: World. Shift was developed by Slightly Mad Studios in conjunction with EA Bright Light and published by Electronic Arts. In the new franchising model for the series adopted by EA, Shift takes its place focusing on simulation/arcade racing rather than the arcade racing of previous titles in the series. Shift was followed by a sequel, Shift 2: Unleashed, in 2011. Aimed at a hardcore gamer-style audience, Shift reverts to the touring-car simulation style of its 2007 predecessor. Although the gameplay of these two titles are similar, Shift recreates car handling much more realistically than its predecessor, does not contain a story. Upon starting the career mode, the player performs two laps around the Brands Hatch racecourse to determine his or her skill.
Once completed, the player is welcomed to the'NFS Live World Series', must earn stars in races to earn money, unlock new races and tiers. There are 60 + cars. Tier 1 refers to entry-level sports and luxury cars like the Audi TT and Infiniti G35, tier 2 refers to mid-level performance cars like the BMW M3, tier 3 refers to supercars like the Lamborghini Gallardo and tier 4 refers to hypercars like the Bugatti Veyron, or Pagani Zonda R; the car customization options include cosmetics as well as performance mods and is more in depth than previous titles, affecting aspects such as alignment, tires, brakes and gears. Nitrous is an option for tuning, but different from previous Need for Speed titles as it is simulated more realistically. There are body kits which affect the weight reduction. There are visual customization options like rims and paints. There are 19 tracks in total including real world circuits such as Brands Hatch, Nurburgring Nordschleife, Road America, Silverstone, Willow Springs, Donington Park and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
According to an interview from Shift's producer, the game spent two years in development. He mentioned that the game features a new "Driver experience". G-force plays an important role in the game, as it affects both the player and the AI; the in-car view returns, making its first appearance in a Need for Speed game since Porsche Unleashed. The in-car view is detailed, it is possible to see the driver changing gears and moving his head to get a better view of the mirror; the crashes affect the player's visuals. While crashing, there is a temporary blur on screen; the sound aspect have detailed car crash sound, as well as a sharp gasp of breath from the driver before a collision. The soundtrack of Shift remains similar to that of EA's prior driving sim, Need for Speed: ProStreet, featuring a scored soundtrack rather than a general track list as is seen in previous titles such as Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Need for Speed: Carbon. EA promised. Patch 1.01 added LAN play and mouse support, providing full menu navigation to the game, to the PC version.
Patch 1.02 added 5 cars and a new online "Team Racing" game mode, where a Blue team of racers runs against a Red Team. In addition, the 1.02 patch fixed several performance issues, improved gameplay, increased the maximum number of players online from 8 to 12. On February 16, 2010 EA released Ferrari DLC pack for Xbox 360 that contains 10 Ferraris extends the Shift's career mode with 46 new Ferrari specific challenges designed for the Ferrari cars to participate in including hot laps, endurance races and a world tour. Completing the perfect Ferrari package are an additional 125 gamerpoints as a reward for undertaking various exciting challenges. Available on Xbox 360 for 800 Microsoft Points the Ferraris available include the 575 Superamerica, F430 Scuderia Spider 16M, California, 599 GTB Fiorano, F430 Spider, 430 Scuderia, F430 GTC, F430 Challenge, F50 GT & Ferrari FXX. An Exotic Racing Pack was released for PS3 and Xbox 360 which features cars like the McLaren MP4-12C, the BMW M1, the Gumpert Apollo, the Acura NSX, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the Maserati GranTurismo S and the Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss.
The PlayStation Portable of the game offers local, ad hoc multiplayer, with no online multiplayer support. In addition to the standard edition, a "Special Edition" of the game has been released exclusive to Europe; the Special Edition features numerous bonuses over the standard edition, including exclusive packaging, a poster of the game, an unlockable car and race which are redeemable online. Shift was released as a bundle with the PlayStation 3 Slim 250GB to promote the game in Europe. Need for Speed: Shift was met with positive reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 84/100, the Xbox 360 version 83/100, the PC version 83/100, the PlayStation Portable version 69/100. IGN awarded it 9 out of 10 citing among other things an incredible driving experience and excellent sound effects, IGN gave it an Editors' Choice award. Official Xbox Magazine awarded Shift with 9/10 saying. Official Xbox Magazine has nominated it for editors choice award. Eurogamer gave it a 7/10, saying, "If the skittish handling and overbearing
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has colloquially become a term for the entire north-central region of the state, from south of Sandusky to the north of Columbus; the track opened as a 2.4 mile road circuit run clockwise. The back portion of the track allows speeds approaching 180 mph. A separate starting line is located on the backstretch to allow for safer rolling starts; the regular start / finish line is located on the pit straight. In 1990 the track underwent a refurbishment. A new retaining wall was built, the entire track was resurfaced and concrete was paved in the apexes of the turns to prevent asphalt deterioration. In addition, a straightaway was paved through the chicane, allowing for two different track layouts, the original 2.4-mile circuit and a new 13-turn, 2.258 mile circuit. In 1990, the CART series began utilizing the 2.258-mile layout. In 2006 a second major refurbishment saw several improvements.
The entire circuit was repaved and the concrete patches in the turn apexes were removed. A new motorcycle "short course" was created by connecting turn one with the backstretch and another motorcycle oval was created by connecting the chicane straight with the backstretch; the additional layouts allow simultaneous use of the multiple course, for instructional and competitive uses. The improvements included a motocross facility, that has since been closed. There is grandstand seating for 10,000 spectators and three observation mounds alongside the track raise the capacity to over 75,000; the track was opened in 1962 by Les Griebling and several Mansfield-area businessmen as a location for weekend sports car racing. In 1982 Mid-Ohio was purchased by Jim Trueman, a renowned road racer and the founder of Red Roof Inns. Trueman added permanent grandstands, amphitheater-style seating, garages with spectator balconies, a five-story media and hospitality center, underground tunnels and an updated paddock area.
In addition, a tall, three-sided scoreboard tower was constructed in the infield, strategically placed such that it was visible from nearly all spectator areas around the track. Trueman's daughter, Michelle Trueman Gajoch, was named the president in 1989 and saw day-to-day operations of the circuit. In 1990 the track underwent a refurbishment. A new retaining wall was built, the entire track was resurfaced and concrete was paved in the apexes of the turns to prevent asphalt deterioration. In addition, a straightaway was paved through the chicane, allowing for two different track layouts, the original 2.4-mile circuit and a new 13-turn, 2.258 mile circuit. In 2006 the track again underwent extensive renovation; the track and pit lane were resurfaced and connectors were added to the track's famed Keyhole section to allow for three separate road course configurations. Completed was the removal of concrete patches from the track, the relocation of the wall and guardrail at Turn 1, the expansion of gravel traps at the exits of Turn 1 and the keyhole, the replacement of all remaining old-style catch fencing and the standardization of curbing throughout the circuit.
These changes have resulted in a faster, more competitive and attractive facility for drivers and race fans. The sports car course operates from April through to November each year. During this time the facility is host to a number of nationally sanctioned race weekends, all of which are open to the public. Mid-Ohio has hosted "closed course" events for kart racing events since the late 1960s sanctioned by I. K. F. & W. K. A. and run by the Dart kart Club, with up to 400 entries participating. Karts use the full track with the chicane. Additionally, on-site motor home and tent camping spaces are available. On March 2, 2011 it was announced that the track had been purchased from Truesports by Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which promotes other IndyCar races, ending Truesports' 29 years of ownership. On November 13, 2012, NASCAR announced that the track would hold the Mid-Ohio Challenge in the 2013 season. Acura Sports Car Challenge At Mid Ohio May 4–6 Vintage Grand Prix of Mid Ohio June 22–24 AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days July 6–8 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio July 27–29 B&L Transport 170 August 10–11 Founded in 1993, The Mid-Ohio School offers licensed drivers and motorcycle riders programs in defensive driving, high performance driving and performance track riding programs.
Students in each course partake in classroom and private group drills. Participants test their newly-refined skills in the controlled environment of the facility's Vehicle Dynamics Center and on the track; the Mid-Ohio School is AAA Approved and recognized as a recent recipient of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Partners for Safety award. 18 programs are available to drivers and riders of all ages and ability levels from defensive driving programs for teens and adults, on-track high performance courses for the automotive enthusiasts to current and aspiring racers. There have been over 50,000 graduates from the Mid-Ohio School, including 18,500 teenagers and 13,300 motorcycle riders. Honda Indy 200 944 Cup Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – official site of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Map and circuit history at RacingCircuits.info Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course race results at Racing-Reference The Mid-Ohio School – official site of The Mid-Ohio School 1tail Resource Database: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Project CARS
Project CARS is a motorsport racing simulator video game developed by Slightly Mad Studios and published and distributed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released in May 2015 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One. There are 74 drivable cars, over 30 unique locations with at least 110 different courses, of which 23 are real, with the remainder being fictional. For licensing reasons, some tracks are codenamed using their geographic location. In addition to real world racing circuits and fictional kart circuits, there are two fictional point-to-point roads inspired by Côte d'Azur and California Pacific Coast, Project CARS is intended to represent a realistic driving simulation. In order to differentiate the game from the established industry leaders, Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport, Slightly Mad Studios' aim is a "sandbox" approach that allows the player to choose between a variety of different motorsports paths and grants immediate access to all included tracks and vehicles. Project CARS portrays racing events spanning multiple days, progressing from shakedown and qualifying runs to the race itself, while changes in weather and lighting conditions are simulated dynamically.
The game adopts an improved version of the Madness engine, the basis for the Need for Speed: Shift titles. More processing power available in modern computers allows for the introduction of a dynamic tire model named "SETA", rather than the steady-state model based on lookup tables, as seen in previous generation simulations. To accommodate differing skill levels, Slightly Mad Studios offers gamers various driver aids and input filtering methods. Project CARS, which stands for Community Assisted Racing Simulator, was made with a total sum of $5 million. Funding for the game was raised by the community and the developers themselves, without the financial aid of a traditional publisher. Through the purchase of Tool Packs players could contribute to development in roles including content creation, QA, marketing media. Members gain special perks, depending on their purchased tool pack. Members will receive a share of game sales profits generated within the first three years after launch as compensation for their efforts, to be paid quarterly.
In addition to community feedback, Slightly Mad Studios have acquired the professional services of racing driver and Top Gear's former The Stig, Ben Collins, Clio Cup and European Touring Car Cup racing driver Nicolas Hamilton, former Formula Renault 3.5 and current WEC driver Oliver Webb. Cars in the console versions of the game are made from 60,000 polygons. On 26 August 2012 support for the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset was announced on the official forums; the announcement stated. Members of the project are able to follow a link referenced in the forum post to read more details. Sony's PlayStation 4 virtual reality headset PlayStation VR will be supported, it was released on 7 May 2015 in Europe and 12 May 2015 in America for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, while the Linux version was first delayed to in 2015 and cancelled. Project CARS was originally due for release on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U, but it was announced that these versions had been cancelled. On 18 February 2015 it was announced that Project CARS would be delayed until 2 April 2015 for Europe, confirmed to be released on 7 May 2015 in Europe and Australia.
On 12 May 2016, the game was updated for compatibility with the HTC Vive virtual reality headset. In May 2015, it was revealed. Studio boss Ian Bell said that the game's latest build was struggling to run smoothly on Nintendo's platform – at a 720p resolution with a framerate of 23fps, revealed that they are not allowed to release a game, running below 30fps, but "finding that extra 25% frame time is looking impossible". In the official Forums he adds, he explained that there was a possibility the game would be pushed for the Nintendo Switch known as the project NX. On 21 July 2015, Slightly Mad Studios informed the Nintendo Life news outlet that the Wii U version had been cancelled, with Ian Bell saying that the title was "simply too much" for the Wii U hardware to handle. Distribution partner Bandai Namco reaffirmed the cancellation. Despite Bell wishing to release the game on a Nintendo platform, in November 2016 it was confirmed that there were no plans for a Nintendo Switch port. Project CARS was released in different editions.
In addition to the standard version of the game, the Project CARS Limited Edition was released at Day One. This edition featured a book called "Project Cars: By Racers 4 Racers" and five extra cars: the Ford GT40 Mk IV, BMW M1 Procar, McLaren F1, Sauber C9 and the Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 Class Coupé DTM. Moreover, the pre-order version of both Limited and standard edition featured the Modified Car Pack containing three bonus cars: the Ruf CTR3 SMS-R, Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster and the Ariel Atom Mugen. On 6 May 2016, Slightly Mad Studios released the complete edition of the game, titled Project CARS Game of the Year Edition; this version features all DLCs and free bonus content released. Moreover, the complete version adds two new cars, the Pagani Zonda Revolución and the Pagani Huayra BC, the Nürburgring Nordschleife in its 24-hour configuration; the game was supported with both paid and free downloadable content upon release. Project CARS was planned to follow the season-pass model but plans for that were replaced with a system called "On-Demand."
On-Demand was described as allowing a "commitment to keeping Proj
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. Notable for its centerfolds of nude and semi-nude models, Playboy played an important role in the sexual revolution and remains one of the world's best-known brands, having grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc. with a presence in nearly every medium. In addition to the flagship magazine in the United States, special nation-specific versions of Playboy are published worldwide; the magazine has a long history of publishing short stories by novelists such as Arthur C. Clarke, Ian Fleming, Vladimir Nabokov, Saul Bellow, Chuck Palahniuk, P. G. Wodehouse, Roald Dahl, Haruki Murakami, Margaret Atwood. With a regular display of full-page color cartoons, it became a showcase for notable cartoonists, including Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Cole, Eldon Dedini, Jules Feiffer, Shel Silverstein, Erich Sokol, Roy Raymonde, Gahan Wilson, Rowland B. Wilson.
Playboy features monthly interviews of notable public figures, such as artists, economists, conductors, film directors, novelists, religious figures, politicians and race car drivers. The magazine reflects a liberal editorial stance, although it interviews conservative celebrities. After a year-long removal of most nude photos in Playboy magazine, the March–April 2017 issue brought back nudity. By spring 1953, Hugh Hefner—a 1949 University of Illinois psychology graduate who had worked in Chicago for Esquire magazine writing promotional copy, he formed HMH Publishing Corporation, recruited his friend Eldon Sellers to find investors. Hefner raised just over $8,000, including from his brother and mother. However, the publisher of an unrelated men's adventure magazine, contacted Hefner and informed him it would file suit to protect their trademark if he were to launch his magazine with that name. Hefner, his wife Millie, Sellers met to seek a new name, considering "Top Hat", "Gentleman", "Sir'", "Satyr", "Pan" and "Bachelor" before Sellers suggested "Playboy".
The first issue, in December 1953, was undated. He produced it in his Hyde Park kitchen; the first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used was taken for a calendar rather than for Playboy. Hefner chose what he deemed the "sexiest" image, a unused nude study of Marilyn stretched with an upraised arm on a red velvet background with closed eyes and mouth open; the heavy promotion centered around Marilyn's nudity on the already-famous calendar, together with the teasers in marketing, made the new Playboy magazine a success. The first issue sold out in weeks. Known circulation was 53,991; the cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in mint to near mint condition sold for over $5,000 in 2002; the novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, was published in 1953 and serialized in the March and May 1954 issues of Playboy. An urban legend started about Hefner and the Playmate of the Month because of markings on the front covers of the magazine. From 1955 to 1979, the "P" in Playboy had stars printed around the letter.
The legend stated that this was either a rating that Hefner gave to the Playmate according to how attractive she was, the number of times that Hefner had slept with her, or how good she was in bed. The stars, between zero and 12 indicated the domestic or international advertising region for that printing. From 1966 to 1976, Robie Macauley was the Fiction Editor at Playboy. During this period the magazine published fiction by Saul Bellow, Seán Ó Faoláin, John Updike, James Dickey, John Cheever, Doris Lessing, Joyce Carol Oates, Vladimir Nabokov, Michael Crichton, John le Carré, Irwin Shaw, Jean Shepherd, Arthur Koestler, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Bernard Malamud, John Irving, Anne Sexton, Nadine Gordimer, Kurt Vonnegut and J. P. Donleavy, as well as poetry by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. In 1968 at the feminist Miss America protest, protestors symbolically threw a number of feminine products into a "Freedom Trash Can." These included copies of Cosmopolitan magazines. One of the key pamphlets produced by the protesters was "No More Miss America!", by Robin Morgan which listed ten characteristics of the Miss America pageant that the authors believed degraded women.
Since reaching its peak in the 1970s, Playboy saw a decline in circulation and cultural relevance due to competition in the field it founded—first from Penthouse Oui and Gallery in the 1970s. In response, Playboy has attempted to re-assert its hold on the 18–35 male demographic through slight changes to content and focusing on issues and personalities more appropriate to its audience—such as hip-hop artists being featured in the "Playboy Interview". Christie Hefner, daughter of the founder Hugh Hefner, joined Playboy in 1975 and became head of the company in 1988, she announced in December 2008 that she would be stepping down from leading the company, effective in January 2009, said that the election of Barack Obama as the next President had inspired her to give more time to charitable work