Marek Denko, a self confessed fan of the Mad Max Trilogy, has created a virtual concept of his perfect post apocalyptic Buggy. The images look very cool, but the concept as a whole is even cooler. Denko initially started this project in his spare time and found that it had consumed him half way through, taking him a total of four months to create. We’re sure Mad Max would approve of the rugged go-anywhere design and the uncanny improvisation in the materials used to construct it.
The most exciting part has to be the jet engine strapped to the back of the thing – probably packing enough power to kill any supercar we’ve featured in the acceleration stakes. There is a normal combustion engine top, fitted conventionally at the front for days when fuel is a premium. Another cool and dangerous award goes to the side-mounted fuel tanks, which are fireballs waiting to happen in the event of a side impact. That would be all well and good, until you catch sight of the exhaust system. The pipes actually run under and around the fuel tanks, heating the fuel as you drive – definitely not Euro Ncap approved!
The Buggy is pictured in various environments in the gallery below, highlighting the terrain Denko turned to for inspiration. He used 3DS Max for all modeling work and Photoshop to create or adjust textures. Rendering was taken care of with V-Ray software. We love the idea behind the buggy and wouldn’t mind a fleet of them to race on the weekends.
As if there weren’t enough Jeep Wranglers at the 2010 SEMA Auto Show, Chrysler is bringing some more models to the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Jeep Wrangler Sahara Mopar Edition will, of course, be completely Moparized and outfitted to handle any and all situations it may encounter while off-roading.
The Wrangler sees a new steel front bumper that includes integrated fog lights to improve visibility and an AEV-designed steel rear bumper that features a tire carrier. The Mopar/AEV hood blocks debris and has a Warn winch prepared to attack any sticky situation one may encounter. Finishing off the Sahara Mopar are a set of 35-inch all-terrain tires that will crush whatever gets in their way. The tires are mounted on AEV wheels.
The 2011 Jeep Wrangler Sahara is unmistakable as its red exterior paint job glistens in the sun and meshes well with the mud.
A few months ago, the Call of Duty video game franchise introduced its latest incarnation, Call of Duty: Black Ops, much to the delight of the gamers all over the world. And while the release of the game was big news in the gaming world, people in the auto industry had another reason to enjoy the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops.
We touched on this before, but we only got a glimpse of the real thing until recently. If you’ve the faintest the idea of what we’re talking about, Activision – the distributors of the video game – collaborated with Jeep to have a Jeep Wrangler featured on the game. Even better than that, that particular Jeep Wrangler that you’ll see in the game also has a real version because Jeep created a limited edition 2011 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition.
Take the game to the real world, so they say. Only this time, leave the guns in the virtual world.
Details on the Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition after the jump.
In terms of high-powered off-road rally racers that have been re-dubbed into production vehicles, there’s no reason to think that Bowler’s EXR Nemesis isn’t going to redefine how we view SUVs in the future.
Sure, the name doesn’t have cache on it unlike the BMWs and Porsches of the world, but give it time, soon enough, the whole world will know about Bowler and their rugged, all-weather EXR Nemesis prototype, a vehicle that is defined by its unique motor sport heritage and the fact that the restrictions were lifted to create an adrenalin fueled ride both on and off road.
Having successfully competed in various rallys around the world, Bowler Off-Road is looking to take the EXR Nemesis and turn it into a production version SUV, thereby giving it another playground to pounce on: the cemented streets of public roads. Though the project is still in its development phase – the company has released only renderings of the prototype – we won’t have to wait long to see the vehicle in action as it will be making an appearance at the Race Car Live! Event this weekend.
Something tells us that we’re about to see one pretty intimidating SUV.
Trying to multitask might seem like a good idea at first, but although you might get things done, you might not get them done well. Watching your favorite football team or Formula One race, while studying for an exam, and typing a paper might work for a while, but you won’t know what happened in the race, you’ll fail the test, and your paper will be poor at best.
The 2010 Lexus RX450h attempts it’s own multi-tasking effort. The hybrid SUV tries to be luxurious, fuel efficient, and practical all at the same time. It manages to accomplish everything it set out to do, albeit with varying degrees of success.
The fifth-generation RX is the newest version of the best selling model in the Lexus line, but only one in five sell with a hybrid motor under the hood. So Lexus is banking on the RX450h being good at everything it attempts to do. So, how does it fair?
When Porsche created the Cayenne there was a massive uproar from the Porsche faithful. They found this new SUV to an abomination of what a proper Porsche, a 911 in their minds, should be. Yet, despite all the hate, the Cayenne was a huge success.
British supercar maker Aston Martin are looking to follow suit with their new Lagonda, which was just a concept a few days ago, but now seems as if it’s headed for the production line. Despite the fact that most Astons are gorgeous vehicles, the Lagonda just isn’t. We thought the first generation Cayenne was bad, but the concept version of Aston’s SUV was like looking at a pile of sick with an Aston Martin badge on top.
Not to mention the fact that Aston have recently announced the Cygnet, a small city car aimed at helping the company bring down its fuel economy numbers. So, on top of that, a new SUV might cause a riot among Aston’s largest following.
Hit the jump to learn a little more about the Lagonda.
Subaru has just released the official details on the new 2011 Forester. The Japanese automaker has placed a 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder motor in the vehicle’s engine compartment. There will also be a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder in the performance oriented XT.
While we’re on the XT topic, Subaru has announced that the XT will be available in two trim levels, the Premium and the Touring. The Touring trim, which will replace the Limited at the top of the line, will offer buyers self-adjusting HID headlights, dual-zone climate controls, and a backup camera.
If you can’t afford the top of the line Touring model don’t fret, as Subaru has equipped the basic models with more goodies than every before. The Forester will come standard with Bluetooth and a one-touch up/down driver’s window. Bump it up to the 2.5X Premium and the 2.5XT Premium and you will get a new audio system with six speakers, a USB and AUX jacks, iPod integration, and Satellite radio capability.
Although you’ve probably never heard of the Tata Safari, it’s a pretty big seller in other parts of the world. For 2011, there is a new model, although it still appears to be stuck in 1999. It will go on sale in India in the early part of 2011, followed by Europe later in the year.
The new model will pick up where the old one left off, but with more technical updates, a new design, and more attention to fit and finish. This means that the price will rise, but Tata is debating on continuing the production of the previous model, as a low cost variant. Hard to imagine BMW doing that with one of their models isn’t it?
The 2011 Tata Safari SUV will be based on its sibling Aria’s platform which will make the car more rigid and a better handler. The new model will also have lots of space and will be loaded with features such as a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a silver finish on the center console, Climate Control, and much more.
Tata will also use some of the technical know how from JaguarLand Rover on the new Safari to help sales in Europe. The motor should be 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel with 140 horsepower.
Don’t you wish you were a cop in Britain? While our American police officers have to drive around in Chevrolet Impalas and Ford Crown Victorias, the UK is getting some Beamers.
BMW is giving all 52 of the country’s police forces these new products, including the new 5-Series, X1, X3, xDrive20d, and the X5 xDrive30d and xDrive40d SUVs. Every one of these vehicles will be powered by diesel fuel because the environment is just as important as catching crooks.
The United Kingdom will also get a 330d sedan High Performance Pursuit Vehicle. This will be the machine you will see running down the baddies at high speeds on the motorways. Despite having these amazing cars, the UK will still rely on cameras to catch speeders on the motorway.
The German automaker will also include the R1200 RF-P Police bike, which should be used on Britain’s crowded roads and in cities.
Our motto at this website is ‘no boring cars’. Whether that’s sports cars, Italian exotics, or super luxurious sedans, we love them all. For this review though, we decided to change things up a bit. We wanted to find out what you can and can’t do in a truck during a week test and, living up to our motto, we went all out and got one of the biggest heavy duty trucks on the market, the 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 Heavy Duty Mega Cab.
The Ram 2500 might not be everyone’s choice for a daily driver and to be honest, it wasn’t ours either, but we put all that aside and used this four-door, four-wheel drive turbo diesel behemoth every day of the week, during which time we never came close to the truck’s full capabilities.
Although it couldn’t fit in our garage, or in a normal parking space, we did our best. Hit the jump to see how the week went and our new review style.
