If you’re still feeling paranoid that the soccer moms will be able to penetrate your BMW X5 security, then upgrade to the Knight XV. Taking a bow a SEMA, this $295,000 urban assault vehicle is Pimp My Ride meets a disputed eastern European country. This fully armored vehicle comes with Wilton Wool carpeting, Andrew Muirhead leather, 6-way seating, tandem sunroof glass with privacy shades, side-mounted laptop stations, LED cabin lighting, an Alpine DVD navigation and Bluetooth connectivity, TVs, night vision and rear operation camera system, and a PlayStation 3.
The company says it uses biofuel to power the 400 hp V10. So if anybody asks, you can just tell them it runs off the people who get in your way.
The makers are looking to have an initial run of 100 vehicles. That may be fine considering there’s got to be at least that many ultra-rich out there who describe the outside world as doing the hell-in-a-handbasket thing.
German company Fuoss 01 has created the ultimate go-cart. The new vehicle weighs almost 300 kg and is powered by a mid-positioned Suzuki engine (from the small bikes and ATVs) connected to a 5-speed gearbox. The total package is good for 43 hp and a 90 mph top speed.
In true go-cart style, there is no roof (or windows, doors, windshield, etc.), but the whole interior is said to be waterproof. At least it will be exclusive: only 10 units set for production next year (priced at $37,520).
Although the Fuoss’ 47 mpg may seem like a interesting way to fight gas prices, it doesn’t seem so good compared to Audi’s version of the VW up!
What would you get when you mix an old hag known for fast moves and a younger, but proper, British gent? It’s not Madonna and Guy Ritchie, but rather the custom built "Mentley Insanne". In 2002, Andy Saunders purchased a 1983 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo with light front end damage and transformed into what is now known as “Mentley Insanne”. Every panel, except for the hood, was modified and in addition to the handmade custom work, parts of nine different cars were employed. The current generation Range Rover being the most obvious.
Custom work includes the roof was lowered 76 millimetres, and ends in a glass landau top from the panoramic roof of a Mercedes-Benz 280SL. Range Rover front and rear lights are incorporated as well as side air vents. Although the grille seems to be untouched, it actually has been lowered and widened. Thankfully, what hasn’t been changed is the Bentley’s the 6.75-liter 328 hp turbocharged V8 engine.
The car is set for bidding at the RM Auction next Thursday (October 29). If this Frankenbentley seems like something you’re interested in, then have about 20,000 to 25,000 pounds ready (about $31,000 to $39,000). But before bidding we suggest you get your eyes checked.
A new electric personal vehicle concept tries to convince the car makers to think about a cleaner type of car.
This compact and clean electric vehicle, designed by Sergio Luna, forgets about all the aspects of the modern car and uses a pod-like exo-skeleton to create something that looks more like a ball than a car. Inspired by the Segway vehicle this concept has only two wheels, and a panoramic roof that is also the front window. It can accommodate one person that, looking at the pictures, I can’t imagine how he will get in.
The car is powered by four electric motors, two in each wheel, but it also has batteries for keeping the energy.
This year at the LA Auto Show Design Challenge you will be able to admire an interesting new concept from Mitsubishi, the MMR25 Rally Racer. This futuristic race car is an all-electric race car powered by four lightweight, high-efficiency, in-wheel electric motors whose output is boosted with the help of eight supplemental motors. The battery packs are positioned low to the ground in the center and on each side of the vehicle, enhancing the stability and lowering the center of gravity.
The interesting thing about the MMR25 concept is the omnidirectional wheel design that allows the vehicle to be driven forward while pointing the nose of the vehicle in any direction.
The concept has no window, reducing the vehicle weight, but the driver’s cabin has a 360 degree panoramic screen that displays the images taken by the outside cameras.
The Peugeot RD Concept, designed by Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar from Columbia is one of the ten finalists of the 5th edition of the Peugeot Design Contest 2008.
The RD concept is a 3 wheels car perfect for traveling through the busy traffic of a city. The interesting thing about this concept is that the car is able to change direction and to become more compact during heavy traffic and low speeds. The big front window offers the driver the best view of the surroundings, and also offers all the necessary information the diver commands talking to the car. The concept has no doors, only the front window that is also the roof of the car.
The RD is a great looking concept that could change the way we travel through the big cities.
Although it is a little late for April Fools, there is no better way to celebrate Labor Day than with a car that will require a lot of labor. Enter the Paykan.
The Hillman Hunter was a good car for Britain, but it had run its course by 1976 — or at least in Europe. Chrysler, who owned Hillman at the time, sold the body pressings to the Iranian government, and the Paykan 1600 was born. Essentially an old Hillman with a Peugeot 504 engine, the Paykan soldiered on for almost thirty more years.
This 1998 car on eBay means you can get in on one of the latest examples of the car that put Iran on the road (more likely on the side of the road if you believe the quality reports.) Classy.
Engineers and designers are usually at odds when it comes to making cars. What makes a car beautiful and unique, will also make it tougher to manufacture. The Michelin Challenge Design tries to bridge this gap by establishing a closer relationship with the design community—combining technical innovation with transportation design to create vehicles that consumers want to buy and will enjoy driving.
One of the more innovative concepts presented at this year Michelin Challenge Design is the single passenger Drop. The Drop comes from the mind of Rubem De Floriani, a 26-year-old product design graduate of Catholic University at Rio de Janeiro.
Drop was developed following a new vehicle modality where people instead of being isolated by their vehicles; they become part of a mobile community. Each person is able to personalize his/her car to the individual personality. The innovation of the Drop comes from its ability to change angles and use less road space depending upon needs or its location.
If you think that today’s "green" cars are something fabulous that will save the planet thanks to the fuel they use, you are wrong! The Peugeot ONE concept could be the solution for a cleaner environment.
Peugeot ONE is a new type of non polluting vehicle, a very strange and special one that runs on solar energy. Designed by Omar Ivan Huerta Cardoso, this amazingly and innovative concept uses its windshield to capture the solar energy and transforms it into the energy needed by the car. This single seater uses a Gyroscope system for the stability, and features a rather unique suspension system.
The ONE concept is design to make you feel "one" with the nature and the environment, but also to make you feel one with the machine, thanks to its strange shape.
A new concept that entered the Peugeot Design Contest is the OMNI Concept created by Darko Markovic. The Peugeot OMNI is a strange and unusual car that uses the Omni wheel concept of the great designer from past to make sure that there are no parking problems in today’s cities. Thanks to the Omni wheel the car can spin and turn around at an instant making it easy to maneuver.
The Omni wheel idea belongs to the Swedish automobile designer Bengt Ilon, who created in 1973 a wheel that could move in any direction at a given time. His idea was to attach many roller-wheels around the rim of the main wheel to enable the wheel to spin in any direction and change angles at an instant. The rollers were oriented at an angle of 45 degrees with the wheels axis of rotation.
The Peugeot OMNI is an awesome concept that tries to show us the car of tomorrow.
