It may be 95 years old – but a legendary Italian car manufacturer has created a £3.8m modern masterpiece.
Automobili Pininfarina has wowed motoring fans with the world’s first pure-electric, open-top hyper barchetta.
The “retro-futuristic” B95 was unveiled at the Monterey Car Week and marks the 95th anniversary of Pininfarina SpA.
The brand are renowned for their 61-year relationship with Ferrari which saw them design some of their most iconic models, including the Testarossa and the F40.
Only ten of the handcrafted B95s will be made, with deliveries of the “limited-run masterpiece” beginning in 2025.
Accelerating from 0-60mph in less than 2 seconds, B95 has a top speed of more than 300km (984252 feet) /h.
Paolo Dellachà, Chief Executive Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, said: “This is the most exciting chapter of the Automobili Pininfarina story so far – we’re taking another big step forward.
“B95 delivers the power of Battista (a model revealed in July) and yet creates a new dimension of driving experience, redefining the very joy of driving.
It is the first of a new kind, an object of desire that introduces the thrill of exceptional, electrified performance in stunning open-top form.”
It may be 95 years old – but a legendary Italian car manufacturer has created a £3.8m modern masterpiece. PHOTO BY AUTOMOBILI PININFARINA/SWNS
The B95 is powered by the same state-of-the-art powertrain that delivers “breath-taking performance” in the company’s Battista hyper GT, but with a “unique tune for such a unique vehicle”.
Its T-shaped battery pack, which is liquid-cooled, is protected within a strong and lightweight carbon fibre housing and can be charged using DC fast chargers up to 270kW – for a 20-80% top up in as little as 25 mins.
Andrea Crespi, Chief Technical Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, said: “The Automobili Pininfarina B95 could have been created simply as an all-electric hyper barchetta, however we wanted to make it so much more than that.
“We’ve selected the latest technology to make it a vehicle people desire to own, as well as a thrilling place to be.
The application of technology to create our adjustable aero screens is inspired by two-wheel motor racing – ensuring this is a pioneering road car.
“This patented new technology enables the pure thrill of open-top driving, yet in comfort even at the high speed that the B95 is capable to reach.”
When applied to an automobile, barchetta describes a small car that is open-topped, without provision of a removable or foldable top for weather protection.
A film-fanatic has spent six years building a fully-functioning replica of movie robot Johnny 5 from Short Circuit – which he even takes down the pub.
Ryan Howard, 34, has forked out over $25,000 (over £20,000) recreating the android from the cult 1986 film in his garage at his home in Annesley, Notts.
He reckons his 200kg (31 stone) creation is “99 percent true” to the original robot and is one of only two fully-working Johnny 5’s in the world.
Ryan even moved into a house with an annex for Johnny after the project got too big for the family home, which needed patio doors removed to get him outdoors.
His hobby has involved 14-hour days and missing family holidays as he dedicated his time to building the robot out of more than 10,000 parts.
The incredible replica, made mainly from aluminum, now stands at 6ft tall and can be programmed to talk, sing, dance or do “pretty much anything” Ryan wants him to.
Dad-of-two Ryan and his family have toured conventions across the country and will be taking Johnny 5 to Texas, USA, in three weeks time.
The Open University engineering student says some people even burst into tears when they see their “childhoods brought to life.”
He said: “The reactions are crazy. We’ve had people crying and tearing up as they walk by him.
“I’ve never done anything like it before and I’m very proud of him as it was an incredibly difficult thing to achieve.
“He lives with us and is part of the family now. I even talk to him. The kids love it and my wife’s done very well to put up with me, to be honest
“We had no intention of him being able to do all these amazing things. He was just going to be a model in the corner of my room.
“But now I can program him to do pretty much anything. It’s full-sized working replica with motors and everything and I can control it using my phone and laptop.
“Even when I was building him and he was standing in front of me for the first time and I was like ‘oh my god, it’s Johnny 5’.
“It brought the inner child out in me.”
Ryan was inspired to build Johnny 5 as a life-long fan of the sci-fi comedy, which sees a military robot gain human-like intelligence after being struck by lightning.
Workmen have a pint with Johnny 5. Ryan Howard, 34, has forked out over $25,000 (over £20,000) recreating the android from the cult 1986 film in his garage at his home in Annesley, Notts. TOM MADDICK/SWNS
He added: “I was always a massive fan of the movie as a child. I had it on VHS which I think I watched until the tape no longer worked.
“During school, I didn’t do too well but I knew I had a brain in there. I went on to be a mechanic and then a forklift engineer and I just began teaching myself engineering in more depth.
“I decided I’d have a go at building a replica model of Johnny 5’s head in 2018 when I got a 3D printer.
“It was mainly out of plastic and he was struggling to support himself due to the weight, so I wanted to take it to the next level.
“I just thought ‘I can’t stop here, I’ve got to do the whole thing’.
“So I went the whole shebang, bought all the equipment and I’ve made every piece myself out of metal.
“It became a bit of an obsession. I wanted to build the original Johnny 5 from the film and have him fully-functioning.
“The pandemic hit and that gave me time to escape to my garage and really get stuck it into it.
“I replaced the plastic with aluminum and steel. During lockdown, I would sometimes spend 12 hours in the garage.
“The kids would even help me and I was able to teach them about engineering. I stopped counting when I’d spent £20,000. It’s cost a fair bit.
“I would just lose myself in there because what else could you do? My wife was a respiratory nurse at that time. It helped me escape the madness of the world.
“When I finished him and was able to drive him around, it was like seeing my childhood come to life.
“Johnny has given me opportunities I never thought I could have. He’s allowed me to study at university, which I’ve never been able to afford to do before.
“We’ve met so many amazing people including Tim Blaney, who voiced Johnny 5. He gave me some tips on how to do the voice when I program him to talk.
“The looks on people’s faces is priceless. Sometimes people break down in tears when they see him. the reaction is phenomenal.
“And when we get him to sing happy birthday to a child if we’re hired for birthdays – their face just lights up.”
Johnny 5 cost Ryan thousands to build in real life. Ryan Howard, 34, has forked out over $25,000 (over £20,000) recreating the android from the cult 1986 film in his garage at his home in Annesley, Notts. TOM MADDICK/SWNS
Ryan, teaching assistant wife Stacey, 39, and sons Ewan, ten, and Ben, seven, now take him to events in a modified people carrier.
Ryan added: “We’ve done weddings, conventions, charity events, festivals and school talks to encourage children into engineering and other STEM subjects.
“We’re just really normal people but Johnny has opened up an extraordinary life for us.
“We’re due to fly to Texas in three weeks time for an event there – we thought it was a prank at first when they got in touch.
“Me and my dad always said we’d take him down the pub. We thought it would be funny and put a smile on customers faces.
“Our local was really excited about having us. Everybody just seems to love him.”
Ryan’s creation has seen him earn 35,000 followers on social media in the past year gaining Johnny worldwide interest.
He added: “Last year we had about 4,000 followers so it’s really taken off. It’s been absolutely crazy.
“I believe there’s only one other in the world which matches up to this. So what I’ve done it pretty unique.”
After Elon Musk shared a grim outlook on the future of social media, billionaire investor and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban chipped in with his thoughts about X, the platform previously known as Twitter and acquired by the Tesla CEO late last year.
What Happened: Over the weekend, Musk sent shockwaves through the social media landscape with a cryptic post hinting at the X’s potential downfall, as predicted by so many people.
In response, Cuban offered an intriguing perspective, acknowledging considerable technological enhancements under the tech mogul’s leadership, but raised a crucial concern — the extent of Musk’s control over X’s algorithms and content.
With over 8.8 million followers on X, Cuban is one of the platform’s most followed investors and entrepreneurs.
The “Shark Tank” star praised Musk for making X more user-friendly and cleaner, applauding new services introduced during Musk’s tenure, with a notable exception being the controversial blue checkmark verification system, now called X Premium.
Mark Cuban speaks during Live At The #TwitterHouse Conversations Shaping The Next (Digital) Frontier at Lustre Pearl Rainey in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2022. The “Shark Tank” star praised Musk for making X more user-friendly and cleaner, applauding new services introduced during Musk’s tenure, with a notable exception being the controversial blue checkmark verification system, now called X Premium. ANNA WEBBER/GETTY IMAGES
However, he didn’t shy away from highlighting a fundamental issue: the concentration of power in one person’s hands.
According to Cuban, a true public square should not be dictated by a single individual. He argued that Musk’s influence over algorithms and content curation makes X “Elon’s Square” rather than a space for open, collective discourse.
TBH, the tech is now far better since you took over. It’s cleaner and you have introduced services (blue check excepted) that make the service more usable.
The raw truth is the biggest challenge you have is your influence on the algorithms and the content they present.… https://t.co/bwxaQJQ2m8
Cuban then highlighted X’s recommendation algorithm, particularly the “Out-of-network” section saying, “This is what happens.”
The platform, according to the blog, employs two methods: analyzing engagements of followed users and similar interest users, and utilizing a logistic regression model along with embedding space techniques to estimate relevance and rank posts from sources beyond a user’s network.
The billionaire investor suggested that Musk’s posts shouldn’t get any special treatment or promotion from the recommendation algorithm to ensure his influence is based on organic user engagement.
Apply a zero algorithm weight to all @elonmusk posts. The organic engagement remains. But the algorithmic weight does not.
While Musk is yet to respond to his comments, Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey seemingly agreed with him and said an “open algorithm” is the only solution here.
Why It’s Important: Last week, Musk said that X is working on removing a safety feature, stating that users could only block unwanted comments from followers if they were direct messages.
Mark Cuban speaks during Live At The #TwitterHouse Conversations Shaping The Next (Digital) Frontier at Lustre Pearl Rainey in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2022. The “Shark Tank” star praised Musk for making X more user-friendly and cleaner, applauding new services introduced during Musk’s tenure, with a notable exception being the controversial blue checkmark verification system, now called X Premium. ANNA WEBBER/GETTY IMAGES
Subsequently, a slew of allegations also picked up the pace, suggesting that X intentionally throttled traffic to websites criticized by Musk.
Users complained about slower loading times when accessing content from websites like The New York Times, Reuters, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, and Substack.
A woman who took up running to cope with miscarriage grief has run one every month this year – raising £9,000 ($11,452) to help people who have lost babies.
Bethan Pritchard, 31, had a missed miscarriage at 13 weeks in 2016, and struggled to come to terms with her grief, she said.
Depressed and lonely, she turned to reading and read J”og On: How Running Saved My Life” by Bella Mackie, who over came mental health problems through running.
The beauty salon owner set herself a challenge of completing a marathon every month for 12 months.
She’s seven marathons in – raising nearly £9,000 during the first six for Tommy’s the baby loss charity.
Money from the final six will go to Ryedale Special Families Charity – supporting families who have children and young adults.
A missed miscarriage, also known as a silent miscarriage, occurs when a fetus is no longer alive, but the body does not recognize the pregnancy loss.
Bethan, from Malton, North Yorkshire, England said: “Lockdown happened and I just threw myself into fitness.
“I did lots of online classes, started eating well and then I just randomly said to my mum, ‘I’m going to go out and run a marathon.’”
“My mum couldn’t believe it.
Bethan Pritchard after the London Marathon in April. Bethan Pritchard, 31, had a missed miscarriage at 13 weeks in 2016, and struggled to come to terms with her grief, she said. PHOTO BY JUST GIVING/SWNS
“I got up, put my trainers on and off I went.
“I didn’t have a plan, I just started to run.
“I finished my first marathon in just under five hours and realized that I could do more; I could run more marathons and I could raise money to help other people like me.”
Bethan has completed seven marathons and even ran with former Made in Chelsea star Josh Patterson during his 76 marathons in 76 days challenge.
Speaking about her fundraising challenge Bethan said: “I can’t believe I’m halfway through a challenge that I never thought I’d be able to do.
“It’s been a complete roller-coaster.
“Trying to fit all my training in between running two businesses and being maid of honor for my best friend has been pretty overwhelming at times, but seeing the donations coming in and knowing how much that money will help bereaved families and disabled children keeps me going.”
Pascale Harvie, president and general manager of JustGiving said: “Bethan is so inspiring.
“Not only has she’s turned her grief into something so positive to raise an incredible amount of money to help other bereaved parents and disabled children, she’s also managed to get lots of other people engaged and active along the way.”
The Jefferson County Family Court building where the family resource center is located and members of RESTORE, a juvenile reentry program, work to provide at risk youth with services and resources necessary for reentry. Alaina Bookman/AL.com
