Screaming Eagle: Armored car made to break through walls

The Screaming Eagle made by Jack Holt, is one powerful destructive car. Jack designed the body himself, using T1 steel for the lower half and 10 gauge steel for the upper half. Apart from the two seats, the car also has a 64-inch bunk bed and two hydraulic canopies. Power comes from a V8 sourced from a tugboat, mated to an eight-speed hydraulic transmission.

The car can withstand fire from light weapons, and can crack through brick walls, presumably without even breaking a sweat. This 18,000 pound vehicle took 3700 man-hours to complete, and can run at a top speed of 90mph, with fuel efficiency hovering between 10-15mpg (diesel).

Via: Hemmings

Lotus Elise gets lighter with full carbon fiber body

The Elise itself is one light car for the ultimate fun of driving, and it probably only gets better as it gets lighter. Moving probably on the same theory, Jimmy Wong from Hong Kong gave his 2002 Lotus Elise an all-carbon fiber body. Going all carbon, inside and out, the car lost about 30-40 kg of its weight, in the six-month long process.

Along with the changes in the body, other changes like a KW Suspension, Lotus Racing Exhaust and a larger intake were also included. Though there hasn’t been a huge change in the available power, the change itself is commendable.

Via: Carbonfiber Gear

Wind and solar powered car to burn the tarmac at 155mph

The Formula AE, with a prototype expected to come as early as August, could be a breakthrough in clean energy powered cars. Power will mainly come from paper-thin solar panels on the car, capable of fully charging the car in just 1.5 hours, the makers currently are looking at another battery prototype that will be fully charged in a seemingly impossible six minutes. A full charge will allow the vehicle to go 200 miles before the battery runs out.

Four air intakes, two at the front and one each on the sides, will channel the air towards a turbine, taking care of about 20 to 25 percent of the car’s electricity needs. Wind power acts as an auxiliary source of energy, ensuring the solar powered battery doesn’t drain out too fast. An alternating current induction motor will provide a mighty 212kW power to the car, allowing it to reach 155 mph top speed; with a zero to 60mph taking less than four seconds.

To keep the car light, the body and chassis have been built of lightweight aluminum and super strong steel, in a monocoque design. If the car makes it to production, it is likely to cost £100,000.

Via: Telegraph

Lexus Enform will make cars speak and spam

Lexus is set to reach out to its customers, in a more personal way. Lexus vehicles this year will come installed with a new system called Lexus Insider, a part of the Enform gadget package. The system will be used to convey voice messages from the company to the vehicles, like tips and suggestions, but Lexus has decided to leave any marketing related messages out for now.

While the automaker sees the move as a means of delivering “highly targeted” messages, many analysts think its nothing more than “verbal spam.” These messages will be available once a user starts the engine, much like mails. Lexus says the system will be available only for drivers willing to participate, so it does not sound much like spam, but even in that case, the success for this system appears to be very, very difficult.

Via: USA Today

Bling Alert! Phantom painted in gold

When a Rolls Royce isn’t enough to display wealth, people may decide to go for a blasphemous modification, or as in this case, an ugly paint job. A certain someone with a Phantom in the garage and money to launder, decided to give the car a gold paint sweeping all over the car, from hood to boot. A plain Rolls Royce looks much more dignified and decent. As for this one, it’s vulgar.

Via: PistonHeads

First all-LED car, Audi R8 V10 is exceptional genius

LEDs are arguable the future of efficient lighting. Making their presence felt, steadily LEDs are creeping into just about anything that we can think off, with respect to lighting. Auto industry may not be refraining from the greener future of course, therefore Audi R8 V10 stuffed with LEDs in just about every possible light emitting source, calls for all hail.

Being only the first ever commercial vehicle fully bloated with LEDs, Audi R8 V10 is all-LED with headlamps, daytime running lights, turn indicators, rain sensors and the like, all supporting LEDs. These lights boast of an excellent output and perfect distribution, which perhaps was considered a hindrance until now. The Audi R8 V10 will also feature headlights which react and adjust to vehicle’s speed, its distance, weather conditions and obstructive objects along with providing exceptional visibility in the nights sans disturbing the oncoming driver.

 Via: Gizmodo

Race Car Replicas shows a good-looking kit car

The Superlite Coupe sports kit from Race Car Replicas is good enough to give supercar looks to your car. With the package comes a hung suspension, steering, the body, brake calipers and rotors, wheels and tires. Along with the supercar-type exteriors, RCR will also offer supercar-like interiors as an option, which basically means a choice for interior materials, basically leather or suede.

RCR however, will not provide an engine and gearbox. The company suggests the use of the LS line of engines from GM, but maintains that any “longitudinal engine trans package” could work. The company’s choice of a gearbox is the Porsche G50. The kit costs $43,995.

Via: MotorAuthority

Toyota working on solar powered car

According to a report in Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, Toyota is busy developing a solar-powered car. The car will use solar panels to charge an electric battery that will run the vehicle. While a portion of the juice comes directly from these solar panels, the other part comes from electricity generated by solar panels on roofs of homes, which sounds more like “any electricity outlet,” because there doesn’t seem to be a huge difference with a simple electric outlet and a plug getting juice from solar cells (in operation at least).

Toyota, does not appear to be in the mood to stop at just that. It is believed that a future model will be powered entirely by solar cells. Now that is something worth praise. In any case, the solar-powered Toyotas aren’t coming to the roads anytime soon so expect a long-long wait. Toyota has not confirmed or denied these rumors yet.

Via: AP/ Jalopnik

A gamer's dream come true: Xbox 360 merges with car

Gamers just can’t stay away from their dear gaming consoles. And this one is just another example of some guy trying to keep the controller in the hand, even when on the road, and driving. The console gets embedded in the dash, one remote sits near the gear-shift and the second one finds place on the steering wheel.

All good, wonderful and cool, until you decide to take “a few seconds off” on the road to play. If you can’t get around the temptation and carry your Xbox in the car, then there’s absolutely no way you’d be able to keep your hands off the controller on the steering wheel.

Via: SlipperyBrick

The Detroit bailout in cartoons

So, GM and Chrysler finally are getting the money to continue operating. Before that, came a bailout debate with those “for” and “against” the bailout battling it out. It is natural that cartoonists take interest in the situation and get some humorous acts ready. Here are a few cartoons, all against the bailout. Well, we’re not really against the bailout, but this one’s all about fun and nothing about being politically correct.

Reiter Engineering shows the Gallardo GT3 Strada

Reiter Engineering have modified their Gallardo GT3 race car to come up with a road going version, the GT3 Strada. Carbon fiber has been used generously in making the car’s body, with panels, front splitter, rear wing and bumper all shaped up from fiber. A new exhaust from German Formula 1 supplier MHG finds its way into the car, along with a Holinger six-speed sequential gearbox. The huge V10 in the car generates 535bhp of power.

Via: eGM CarTech

When the driver itself is a V8!

Big power, big engines; that’s how we know V8. Looks like this V8 decided that it had enough with powering cars, and went on to drive on instead, or at least sit in the driving seat. That’s the V8 sitting smug on a vehicle-sort-of-thing with oversized wheels. Nice try, big guy.

Via: dave_7 (Flickr)

MOTOrepublic Beta concept bike: No sound no emissions

The look of course is the best thing in a bike. Yet, the roar that a perfect engine creates is what just gets me gushing with fervor. There are many like me there, and also for the environmentally conscious fellows, MOTOrepublic is outrightly designing a prototype of an electric bike that goes cutting emissions to zero. Yes, the CO2 emissions are done with, but then all the electric bikes do that. Here is where the difference lies, with this lately in design MOTOrepublic Beta even the noise pollutions gone.

MOTOrepublic Beta in the electric avatar is a fascinating bike, which if hits commercial, would find many takers, me included. The bike is framed in a conceptually new ultra-thin exoskeleton frame, and adorns an attractive battering ram-like headlight. We see this as a new rage on the street racing circuits (if there are any), but is this a great idea for the MotoGP, we ain’t really sure, what’s your take?

Via: StyleCrave

A360 Concept: Moves on spheres, looks weird

The A360 Concept from designer Huynh Ngoc Lan looks like a crossbreed between a UFO and some stealth fighter jet. Not that the concept is bad, it is just sort of weird. The triangular body has a panoramic glass roof, then there is the camera system on the exteriors that works to provide the driver with additional feedback. The car moves on three spheres, not wheels, which actually makes some sense considering that it is capable of moving in any direction on the ground.

Since the wheels are spherical, they need not move as the car makes a radical change in angle. To settle well with the new direction, the cabin is capable of a full rotation. To accommodate these functions, the steering wheel has undergone a bit of a change. A control ball takes the role of a steering wheel, with integrated functions for right, left and rotation.

Via: Local Motors

Morgan releases special edition Super Sport Junior for its centenary

To celebrate its hundred years of existence, Morgan has created a replica of the Morgan 3-wheeler that came a hundred years ago. The 2/3rd scale SuperSports Junior pedal car has been crafted from lightweight aluminum, has tubular chassis, and hand formed louvres. The car even has a replica V-twin engine. The three wheeled pedal car has working lights and adjustable seating.

Only 500 instances of the limited edition car will be built, each carrying a price tag of £2,510 ($3,700). Production will start in August 2009. Just in case you want leather upholstery and a custom color for the car, be ready to shell out another £250.

Courtesy: Morgan Motor Company

edo Competition team with designer Christian Audigier to create the fastest Lamborghini

edo Competition and designer Christian Audigier came together to create the fastest Lamborghini to date, and even managed to make the Lambo look even better! Audigier’s influence is clearly visible in the matte black exteriors, as well as the interiors; with a pirate theme and the “sparkling skull”.

Gains in power come from the use of new exhaust headers, new high flow catalytic converters, new mufflers, a new exhaust tip, new performance camshafts, modified cylinder heads, new high flow air filters and remapped engine controls. With these changes, the monstrous 6.5-l V12 of the Lambo generates a massive 710hp of power and 700Nm of torque. The zero to 62mph dash is completed in just 3.2 seconds, and 124mph comes in just under 10 seconds. Top speed of the Lambo stands at 224mph (360 kmph).

Based on the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640, the LP 710 gets a stainless steel high performance exhaust system, and 19 inch light alloy wheel shod in Continental high-speed tires.

edo Competition LP 710 is a Limited Edition car with only five instances to be built, each carrying a price tag of Euro 495,000 ($692,500 ). In case you want to make some changes, all these Haute-Couture Lamborghinis will be custom built for each customer, along with an opportunity to run the Lambo to the limit at the high speed oval in Papenburg, Germany or at Nardo, Italy.

[Courtesy: edo Competition] 

edo-Competition Lamborghini Audigier Picture

Nuclear powered Bully 2000 a neat concept

We haven’t seen anything interesting in the nuclear powered bike’s genre since the Nuclearrow concept by Julien Vermeulen, until this Bully 2000 with a nuclear reactor in its body. Nuclear power is the world’ largest source of emission-free energy, and to keep up with the mantra of going green, the automotive industry, we believe, needs to exploit this source of clean energy more often over other sustainable ways.

The monstrously built motorcycle is nostalgic in design, however, equally modern with embedded technology. This bike here stuffs electric motors with drive in charge and two massive fans to cool the heat that may be generated by the mind-boggling speed that the bike would ply on. We know this is going to be a powerful beast if the tech ever makes real, though this bike will need to improvise on its retro way of refueling, which requires lifting the seat.

Via: AutoDesign

Big-bad-monstrous Camaro has 2800 horses to command

Spiro Pappas new Camaro, the Camaro #2 is one satanic machine with beastly power. We’re so under awe that it’s difficult to find words. Power comes from a 540 cubic inch Sonny Leonard hemi-headed big block Chevy, then there are two 88mm turbos for the extra boost. The car is expected to have 2800 hp with only 25 pounds of boost pressure! This monster is scheduled for a March debut at the Memphis NMCA race, where we expect there will be no road left as this beast is going to burn up the tarmac.

Spiro Pappas Camaro Picture Gallery

Via: Jalopnik/ V8TV Show