Topless Hummer H2

Topless Hummer H2

,

Hummer may have suspended the H2 production just so this would never happen again. From the ‘more money than taste’ file comes this chop-top H2.

Spotted in Abu Dhabi, it’s hard to even call this a convertible. There doesn’t appear to be any sort of roof that can be put up in case of rain (or dust) storms. It just looks like someone took circular saw and went to town on the H2’s roof and rear pillars. It also doesn’t help that the "hood scoop" looks like it is the product an oven pan and a few colored lights from Home Depot.

Read more »

Hyundai i30 - Australian Car of the Year

Hyundai i30 - Australian Car of the Year

,

Hyundai has scored a major coup, beating a field of the world’s best cars to win the 2007 CARSguide Car of the Year award with its diesel-powered i30 hatchback. Praised by the judging panel for its style, handling and performance features, the i30 was also voted CARSguide Green Car of the Year in recognition of its small turbodiesel’s frugal and eco-friendly performance. 

Underscoring the i30 CRDi’s eco-ability was its win last month in the Panasonic Solar Challenge Greenfleet category where it travelled from Darwin to Adelaide using an average of 3.2 litres per 100km.

It is the first time a Korean-made car has won a national car of the year award in Australia. The i30 CRDi secured its place in motoring history against a stellar field of finalists ranging from a $19,000 hatch to a $110,000 luxury sedan.

Finishing second in the voting was VW’s Golf GT TSi ``twin charger´’ just ahead of the second-generation Mazda2 Maxx.

Judged on criteria ranging from styling, safety, innovation, value, functionality, build quality and performance, the finalists were studied, dissected and scored in a variety of situations.

The cars were driven through a range of environments and road conditions, such as city, freeway, highway and country towns, to evaluate how competent they were in critical driving situations. Steering, handling, braking, and acceleration were also rigorously evaluated*.


Finalists were also put through their paces on Goulburn’s Wakefield Park race circuit, enabling the judges to assess grip thresholds, tyre balance, chassis performance and suspension.

The winning i30 CRDi SX chosen by CARSguide judges featured Hyundai´s Protectz pack option, comprising electronic stability control (ESP) plus side and curtain airbags. 

The Hyundai i30 CRDi was determined the winner on an overall points basis, receiving 94 out of a possible 99 points. The judges assessed the cars against 10 criteria, before ranking the finalists from 1-11 (1 being the best) to determine the winning Car of the Year 2007.


Final Rankings


Hyundai i30 CRDi (94pts) 
VW Golf GT TSi (86pts) 
Mazda2 Maxx (75pts) 
Mitsubishi Lancer VR (71pts) 
Mercedes-Benz C280 (66pts) 
Holden Ute SV6 (56pts) 
Ford Mondeo Zetec (37pts) 
Subaru Impreza RS (32pts) 
BMW X5 3.0d (31pts) 
BMW 335i sedan (25pts) 
Volvo C30 T5 (21pts).

Read more »

Geneva 2010: Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

Geneva 2010: Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible

, Posted by Spo

Although Christmas was many months ago, we're guessing that the fine folks at Bentley specified the paint on their Bentley Continental Sports Convertible show car some months ago. How else to explain the scrumptious eggnog metallic finish and interior piping? Perhaps it was the droptop's yuletide bounty of power (621 brake horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque) from its force-fed W12 engine that inspired them. Or the fact that at over 200 mph, this would make for one hell of a sleigh.

Either way, we believe that this flex-fuel droptop will finally complete the automaker's already expansive Continental lineup (we expect to see the next-generation model very soon), but admittedly, we've figured that Bentley's volume car didn't have any more derivatives left in it before, and here we are.

Read more »

Cirbin V13R

Cirbin V13R

,

Cirbin launched the V13R, a three-wheels vehicles that combines the look of a Hotrod with modern style details. The V13R is powered by a Harley-Davidson Liquid-cooled Revolution 60° V-Twin engine. The engine developed by Porches for Harley-Davidson® is powerful, easy to control and reliable. Featuring electronic injection the Harley-Davidson® V-ROD® is EPA and CARB approved.

The 76 cubin inches (1250cc) engine delivers 125 HP at the wheel, with 84lbs of torque at 6,000 rpm, representing 3,000 rpm below red-line. This translates into great acceleration and fun. The engine power is always available and seems to never end. Controlled by clutch and gas pedals (just like in your car), the sequential shifting mechanism lets you ride as you wish.

The V13R uses the V-ROD engine’s 5-speed sequential transmission with a strap to transfer the engine’s power to the rear wheel.

The V13R is on sale at a price of $39.995.

Full details

The V13R overall design and style make it the perfect 3-wheel roadster. Personalize your ride with the V13R’s customization options. The reverse trike configuration and rear propulsion blended with the performance and unique sound of Harley-Davidson® V-ROD® engine make it a powerful and fun ride. The V13R features side-by-side seating for two adults and integrated cargo space. Great week-end getaways guaranteed.

With its lines and proportions the V13R is reminiscent of the Hot-Rod era; updated with today’s design cues. The fiberglass bodywork over a tubular steel chassis offers an excellent protective shell easily repairable at any body shop. First class paint with 2-tone configuration; combined with the chromed or black chassis make the V13R a stylish roadster. The unique V13R design and style will turn heads anywhere you go.

The V13R is available in 3 colors with assorted trim. All colors (Inferno Red, Brillant Black & Bright Silver) are available standard with black powder coated or optional chromed roll bars, sub frame, swingarm and A-arm assemblies. The headlight bezel and the front grill finish match the structure finish. All model come standard with polished wheels and pulley. Chromed or powder coated wheels and pulley are available as an option.

The integrated and waterproof cargo space under the hood and glove compartment are spacious enough to carry your personal items for a weekend getaway. Made of rugged plastics they are scratch resistant. Should you need to carry more luggage, just add the optional side cases for additional waterproof and secure cargo space. The optional cases are available in color matching schemes.

Designed with safety in mind, the V13R® is build around a very solid 1.5“ tubular steel frame. The chassis triangulated side walls provide a rigid enclosure for the rider and passenger. The 1.75” tubular steel Roll Bars and 3-point seatbelts provide additional safety features. All wheels feature cross-drilled rotors, offering maximum braking power under any road conditions. An emergency/parking hand-brake is also standard equipment. The V13R®’s low center of gravity and mass distribution ensure great stability.

The V13R® suspension has been selected to match the cornering capabilities the chassis geometry will allow and still offer a comfortable ride. The two front shocks are coil over progressive springs. They are adjustable in both compression preload and rebound damping. The shock dimensions are standard motorcycle figures, so you can personalize your suspension setup. The single rear shock is a fully adjustable motorcycle monoshock that can support 4” of wheel travel without compromise. Fully customizable, this rear suspension setup offers maximum flexibility while allowing a sporty ride.

Powered by the famous Harley-Davidson Liquid-cooled Revolution 60° V-Twin engine, the V13R® boasts power and torque to spare. The engine developed by Porches for Harley-Davidson® is powerful, easy to control and reliable. Featuring electronic injection the Harley-Davidson® V-ROD® is EPA and CARB approved. The 76 cubin inches (1250cc) engine delivers 125 HP at the wheel, with 84lbs of torque at 6,000 rpm, representing 3,000 rpm below red-line. This translates into great acceleration and fun. The engine power is always available and seems to never end. Controlled by clutch and gas pedals (just like in your car), the sequential shifting mechanism lets you ride as you wish.

The V13R uses the V-ROD engine’s 5-speed sequential transmission with a strap to transfer the engine’s power to the rear wheel. The custom designed mechanical reverse gear bolts on directly to the output shaft of the transmission allowing you to back-up on the engine power. Moreover, the strap driven rear wheel provides a clean and maintenance free ride. The V13R® uses the same strap-length as the original V-ROD® for top part availability.

Read more »

Lamborghini Insecta concept

Lamborghini Insecta concept

, 

Playing a quick game of automotive-animal word association, you'd probably link Lamborghini to a bull. Between the emblem on the hood, supercars named after famous fighting bulls and the farming roots of the company, the association is well established. Iulian Bumbu thinks otherwise. The aspiring Romanian car designer, who interned at Alfa Romeo's styling department after earning his master's in car design in Milan, created the design study you see here.

Called the Insecta, the radical concept's design elements were borrowed from bugs instead of bovines.
Combining organic shapes with Lamborghini's trademark geometric angles, the Insecta concept integrates themes culled from the body armour observed on certain species of insects. With its dimensions and powertrain borrowed from the Gallardo, the Insecta would pack a sting as sharp as its buzz, and it could make a compelling successor to the current LP560-4 – but Lambo would have to drop a load of bull first.

Read more »

Feb 17 Future Car: Eco-Friendly Porsche 918 Spyder

Most people wouldn’t expect a car that can go from 0-60 in under 3.2 seconds to be eco-friendly in the least, but the Porsche automakers beg to differ. This future car concept, the 918 Spyder, is supposed to be one of the fastest (if not the fastest) hybrid electric car on the market. This one-of-a-kind ride can teach tops speeds of 200 mph and gets a whopping 78 miles per gallon – double the amount most compact cars achieve on a good day.

This speed demon is charged by a 3.4 liter V8 engine which comes equipped with a lithium ion battery pack that can be charged from almost anywhere, not to mention whenever you hit the brakes as well.  No word yet on the pricing but you can safely assume it will be in the 6 digit field (estimates have been set near the $500,000 mark), and is not expected to be listed for sale on the market for at least another year, probably closer to 2012 or 2013. The bad news is that you probably never will own one of these babies, or anything close to it, but the good news is that future cars will benefit from these technological break-throughs and the overall quality of regular day-to-day cars will be enhanced. Way to go Porsche!

Read more »

Working of a car engine

Photo courtesy General Motors
The Corvette ZR1's supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine produces 620 horsepower standard. See more pictures of car engines. See morepictures of car engines.

Have you ever opened the hood of yourcar and wondered what was going on in there? A car engine can look like a big confusing jumble of metal, tubes and wires to the uninitiated.

You might want to know what's going on simply out of curiosity. Or perhaps you are buying a new car, and you hear things like "3.0 liter V-6" and "dual overhead cams" and "tuned port fuel injection." What does all ­of that mean?

In this article, we'll discuss the basic idea behind an engine a­nd then go into detail about how all the pieces fit together, what can go wrong and how to increase performance.

The purpose of a gasoline car engine is to convert gasoline into motion so that your car can move. Currently the easiest way to create motion from gasoline is to burn the gasoline inside an engine. Therefore, a car engine is an internal combustion engine -- combustion takes place internally.

Two things to note:

• There are different kinds of internal combustion engines. Diesel engines are one form and gas turbine engines are another. See also the articles on HEMI engines, rotary engines and two-stroke engines. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
• There is such a thing as an external combustion engine. A steam engine in old-fashioned trains and steam boats is the best example of an external combustion engine. The fuel (coal, wood, oil, whatever) in a steam engine burns outside the engine to create steam, and the steam creates motion inside the engine. Internal combustion is a lot more efficient (takes less fuel per mile) than external combustion, plus an internal combustion engine is a lot smaller than an equivalent external combustion engine. This explains why we don't see any cars from Ford and GM using steam engines.

Internal Combustion

The ­principle behind any reciprocating internal combustion engine: If you put a tiny amount of high-energy fuel (like gasoline) in a small, enclosed space and ignite it, an incredible amount of energy is released in the form of expanding gas. You can use that energy to propel a potato 500 feet. In this case, the energy is translated into potato motion. You can also use it for more interesting purposes. For example, if you can create a cycle that allows you to set off explosions like this hundreds of times per minute, and if you can harness that energy in a useful way, what you have is the core of a car engine!

Figure 1

Almost all cars currently use what is called a four-stroke combustion cycle to convert gasoline into motion. The four-stroke approach is also known as the Otto cycle, in honor of Nikolaus Otto, who invented it in 1867. The four strokes are illustrated in Figure 1. They are:

• Intake stroke
• Compression stroke
• Combustion stroke
• Exhaust stroke

You can see in the figure that a device called a piston replaces the potato in the potato cannon. The piston is connected to the crankshaft by a connecting rod. As the crankshaft revolves, it has the effect of "resetting the cannon." Here's what happens as the engine goes through its cycle:

1. The piston starts at the top, the intake valve opens, and the piston moves down to let the engine take in a cylinder-full of air and gasoline. This is the intake stroke. Only the tiniest drop of gasoline needs to be mixed into the air for this to work. (Part 1 of the figure)
2. Then the piston moves back up to compress this fuel/air mixture.Compression makes the explosion more powerful. (Part 2 of the figure)
3. When the piston reaches the top of its stroke, the spark plugemits a spark to ignite the gasoline. The gasoline charge in the cylinder explodes, driving the piston down. (Part 3 of the figure)
4. Once the piston hits the bottom of its stroke, the exhaust valve opens and the exhaust leaves the cylinder to go out the tailpipe. (Part 4 of the figure)

Now the engine is ready for the next cycle, so it intakes another charge of air and gas.

Notice that the motion that comes out of an internal combustion engine isrotational, while the motion produced by a potato cannon is linear (straight line). In an engine the linear motion of the pistons is converted into rotational motion by the crankshaft. The rotational motion is nice because we plan to turn (rotate) the car's wheels with it anyway.

Read more »

267.81 mph production class record set by Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport!

267.81 mph production class record set by Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport!

,

You’ve got to hand it to the guys at Bugatti as they build one fast automobile. When it came out in 2004 everyone was a bit taken back by the fact that it had two major talking points. First off was the $1.2 million price tag and second was the 253.5 mph top speed. Pinned as the ultimate GT car the Bugatti Veyron in stock trim made an amazing 1,001 hp and 922 lb-ft tq. from its quad-turbocharged W16 engine and rocketed its passengers from 0-60 in 2.2 seconds. Since that time though another car, the SSC Ultimate Aero TT has eclipsed the Bugatti’s record with an amazing Guinness Book of World Records run of 256.12 mph.

Not one to be satisfied with a mere 253.5 mph and second place, Bugatti decided to go out and once again shatter the production car land speed record with a verified run of 267.81 mph. To accomplish this amazing feet power output was raised from 1,001 hp to 1,200 hp and 1,106 lb-ft tq. up from 922. A new aerodynamic kit was also added. The top speed was also “limited” to 257.9 mph to keep the tires in one piece. If you want to view this masterpiece of speed you’ll actually be able to do so, but not until the Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance in August. This record does make you wonder though what the guys over at SSC Ultimate Aero TT are doing now because you know damn well they’re not going to let Bugatti keep this title for long.

Read more »

The world's only matte brown Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV

The world's only matte brown Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV

There are literally hundreds of Lamborghini models of all ages and description at Concorso Italiano, so how does one stand out? Surely not with a bright color, as that would just blend in with the crowd. No, you go for a color that no one else has. Like brown. 

Now, some will say that such a "boring" color doesn't belong on an exotic car like the the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV. Others will say it's more than acceptable. We think it's awesome. 

This car started out with a pearl white paint job, but the owner of the car, Cats Exotics, a dealer specializing in high-end sports cars, wanted it to match one of their other Lamborghinis, a Diablo 6.0 SE finished in brown. A matte brown wrap was created especially for the car, the wheels were changed to a gold finish, with a matching SV logo on the doors. 

Read more »

Air Surfing Walkalong Glider Kit

 Air Surfing Walkalong Glider Kit

It looks like magic the first time you see it! How does it levitate? Surfing gliders on waves of air is called "walkalong gliding". Although I've made instructions for paper walkalong gliders, I think they are too difficult to start with. EPS foam (the common white kind made up of little puffy beads) is unaffected by humidity, much lighter, therefore slower flying--perfect for beginners. It's also the best for advanced hands-only flying and aerial dog fighting.

I will try to form a club soon where my technology students will manufacture kits with thin-cut foam that will take you from basic to advanced (hands-only) flying. Until then, feel free to watch the videos, and Part 6 shows you how determined DIYers could cut their own scraps of foam from discarded packaging, where to get inexpensive ni-chrome hot-wire for cutting and patterns.

 Part 1
 Introduction to Walkalong Gliding and Why Foam?
This video is an introduction and progress report about walkalong gliding and my interest in it. It answers the question of why I think foam is more suitable to start with than paper.
 Part 2 Air Surfing Kit Overview and Build the Tumblewing 
This video shows the foam gliders you will make with the kit: 7 gliders, 4 different kinds.The second part shows you how to build and fly the simple, auto-gyrating Big Mouth tumblewing. 

 Part 3 "Flying Wings" and Build the Jagwing
This video shows you how to build the Thompson Jagwing glider which uses a unique way to generate lift. It's quite straightforward to build and adjust, and it's very flight stable. 
 Part 4 Build the Baby Bug
The Baby Bug looks like a small, indoor hang glider, and it uses the same kind of airfoil lift as a hang glider. 

 Part 5 Aerial Dog Fighting and Hand Flight 
Once you've built and learned to fly your gliders with a board deflecting the air, a new world of options opens up to you. Careening through three dimensional space, aerial jousting ( "dog fighting" ) is really fun and great exercise, though you will need more floor space than a typical house has. There are also some tips for using only your hands to deflect the air wave to surf on (that reallylooks like magic)! 


 Part 6 Hot Wire Foam Cutting 
So you want to cut your own foam, recycled from discarded packaging? It takes some practice but a simple hot wire cutter is not expensive and pretty easy to make. 

 Part 7 Build the Mama Bug
Amazingly, gliders actually become more efficient as they get bigger. So this video shows you how to use the last two big pieces of foam to make a giant Mama Bug glider that you can still fly with only your hands.

Part 8 More Walkalong Gliding 
So you have built and flown the gliders in this kit and you still want more. There is indeed a lot more! 

Read more »