Design Concept Porsche 911 Bicycle Looks Amazing

Designer Bastiaan Kok has come up with a cool concept design for a Porsche 911 Bicycle, as the name suggests his concept is based on the Iconic Porsche 911 car.

The Porsche 911 Bicycle features classic lines just like the 911 and it also features a lightweight alloy frame, which is one piece, there is also a low profile handlebar, have a look at the photos below.
Source Design Boom, Technabob

Photographing The New Pepsi Super Car BTSV

Pepsi Australia recently teamed up with Kelly Racing to produce the Pepsi Max super car. Photographer Chris Benny was hired to shoot the new car and lucky for us, he filmed a quick BTSV of the production. As with many shoots, the weather became a problem but Chris had a backup plan. With a little post work Chris made the outside shots pop and then moved the car inside to finish the shoot.

Apple teases Eyes Free, Siri car integration

Apple’s VP of iOS Software Scott Forstall just demoed Eyes Free, Siri’s new vehicle integration. The feature is being framed as a safety booster, letting you tap a steering wheel-mounted button to toggle Siri on your iOS device, rather than reaching around for your iPhone or iPad and taking precious seconds away from the road. This being Apple, there are already plenty of partners lined up — BMW, GM, Mercedes, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda are all said to be on board, with Siri support making its way to vehicles within the next 12 months. It’s certainly not the first example of smartphone/car integration we’ve seen, but it could soon end up being one of the most widely utilized, despite the years-long head-start competing technologies have enjoyed.

Electric Motor Werks hands-on at Maker Faire (video)

Have a BMW 3-Series that requires major engine work? Want to convert it to electric and improve performance, ActiveE style? The folks at Electric Motor Werks have you covered. Instead of making purpose-built electric cars, the company — which showed a converted 3-Series sedan and coupé at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 — provides affordable and environmentally responsible electric conversion kits for the BMW E46. These are available directly to consumers but Electric Motor Werks is also building a network of installers (via tuner / speed shops) and setting up its own facilities.

We chatted with founder Val Miftakhov who gave us a tour of the prototype kit in the vehicles on display, so head past the break for more information and for our hands-on video.

Porsche 918 Hybrid Spyder Poses For The Camera

A while back we heard that Porsche were test driving their new 918 Hybrid Spyder, and now Porsche has released some new photos of this hybrid supercar along with some more details.

The Porsche 918 Hybrid Spyder is due to go into production at the end of 2013, and the photos below are of a prototype of the 918 Spyder which take their inspiration from Porsche’s 917 racing cars.

The 918 Spyder will come with 770 horsepower and will be capable of doing around 78 mpg, thanks to its 4.6 liter v8 engine and two electric motors, it will have a top speed of over 200mph.

Renault Twizy: la piccola elettrica nella prova by HDBlog

Fin dall’annuncio e persino ora che la vediamo in pubblicità e nei concessionari, Twizy è sempre stato un veicolo controverso. Non è un’auto, non è una moto, non è un treno e neanche superman ma allora come possiamo definirla?

Facendo un giro nei concessionari scopriamo subito come Renault non cerchi di venderla come un’auto e neanche come un ibrido: Twizy è (o almeno così viene venduta) la soluzione ai problemi di mobilità urbana.

“Urbana” è infatti una parola chiave perché questa piccola quattroruote che abbiamo provato per riportarvi le nostre considerazioni.

Honda test house features Smart Home System for controlling energy usage (Video)

The term “smart home” seems to turn up in tech circles every so often, only to fade into the background again without much sign of ultra-connected dwellings becoming a reality. Honda’s at least putting one foot forward, with a just-unveiled test house in Saitama, Japan featuring a system for controlling and monitoring energy usage. The Honda Smart Home System (HSHS) consists of thin-film solar cell panels, a rechargeable home battery unit, gas and hot water supply systems and the Smart e Mix Manager. The latter is the central part of the energy-control system, and it keeps track of all the other components in addition to monitoring the home’s use of power supplied by the grid. In emergency situations, it can also provide electricity via the home battery unit. On the day-to-day level, however, the system is there to let home owners know what sources of power they can kill. Honda also integrates its Japan-only Internavi system for controlling home appliances remotely. The car maker hopes to use the house for extensive demo testing, with an ultimate goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent. No word on how many decades till we actually call this sort of place home, though. Click on past the break for a look (in Japanese) at the test home’s features.

Audi R8 Etron To Get Spaceship Like Sound Effects (Video)

Audi are developing an electric version of their R8 supercar which will be called the R8 Etronic, there is just one problem with electronic cars, they are almost silent, so Audi has decided to develop some sound effects for the R8 Etronic to make it sound more like a supercar.

Instead of adding normal engine sounds to the R8 Etronic, Audi have decided to give their electric supercar a more futuristic sound, have a look at the video of it in action below.

Audi has added the sound effects to the vehicle to help pedestrians hear the car, and Audi has called its new electronic engine sound system Audi e-sound.

Microsoft’s Mustang Inside And Customisations Detailed (video)

Towards the end of last month Microsoft announced a concept car is was creating with help from West Coast Customs to inspired developers to build apps and automotive technologies for the future.

The project uses a 2012 Ford Mustang that looks like a 67 Mustang fastback. Now the finished car has been showcased by West Coast Customs showing exactly what gone inside Microsoft’s Mustang.

The video below show all the customisation that have been carried out on Microsoft’s Mustang from dashboard tablets, Xbox 360 consoles to rear projection display.

Using a Microsoft Windows smartphone you can keep tabs on the car’s location even when it is out of sight. Locate, unlock, and start the car all from the Viper SmartStart app. You can view more details about the customisation within the Mustang over at the Channel 19 website.

Source: Techie Buzz

Find My Car Smart app uses Bluetooth 4.0 to help iPhone 4S owners do the obvious

Do you have an iPhone 4S? Do you drive a car? Do you have amnesia? If you answered yes to at least two-and-a-half of these questions, you’ll probably be interested in Find My Car Smart — a Kickstarter project that wants to help dudes find their cars, with the help of Bluetooth 4.0 technology. The system is relatively straightforward, consisting of nothing more than an iOS app (available now on iTunes for $0.99), and a USB-based Bluetooth proximity adapter. All you have to do is download the app, stick the dongle in your car, and let your iPhone 4S automatically mark your parking spot. Whereas similarly-designed apps typically require users to manually record their car’s location before leaving the lot, Find My Car Smart allows you to forget even that, since the app will automatically record your GPS coordinates. FMC Smart says it won’t start shipping adapters until it reaches its Kickstarter funding goal, though it’s aiming to deliver its first 500 devices by January. For more details, hit up the links below.

TUAW, Mac Rumors

Find My Car Smart

Nissan Leaf to get inductive charging, lose its stem in 2013 (video)

Nissan has big plans for the still-budding Leaf. The Japanese automaker lit up its impressive Leaf-powered Smart House at the Tokyo Motor Show last week, but also demoed its wireless charging solution for a much smaller crowd at the company’s Oppama factory. The device uses electromagnetic induction to transfer power between a charging pad and a receiver on the bottom of the car, with an efficiency level between 80 and 90 percent — simply park your EV directly above the system to begin charging, and monitor progress on the ground transmission unit’s control panel. The pad is expected to become available as soon as 2013, but will only be compatible with new vehicles, so you won’t be able to use it with an older Leaf, unfortunately. There’s a silent demo video waiting for you just past the break.

Autoblog

BMW presents car-to-x communication, wants vehicles to talk more (video)

What good is an Ultimate Driving Machine if it can’t get a little help from its friends? A new hazard-dodging system from BMW could help these Bavarian autos get a bit more chatty, each vehicle talking to nearby traffic across long-range wireless networks. In a series of video demonstrations, the car maker shows how the car-to-x system could give advance warnings of traffic, emergency vehicles and weather hazards by enabling one car to beam warnings directly to others. BMW hopes to connect the system to mobile phone networks as latency times improve and possibly even access data from traffic light systems. Sure, GM and Ford got there a bit earlier, but you can see BMW’s implementation demonstrated after the break, and check out the via link for more videos of the world’s most boring game of GTA.

Bimmer Post

Panasonic Cockpit digital dash prototype hands-on (video)

Sure, we may not see flying cars in our lifetime, but a mainstream digital dash is a definite possibility. The all-glass vehicle dashboard has been conceptualized by other manufacturers in the past, but this year it’s Panasonic’s turn to try its hand at building a multi-display system. The electronics maker brought its Cockpit prototype to the CEATEC floor, causing quite a stir among passersby. The dash itself was little more than a semi-functional mockup, presenting recorded rendered video on the main 20-inch LCD and dual 10.4-inch secondary displays. The main display’s current objective appears to be improving safety, using a series of cameras to eliminate blind spots and alert drivers to other road hazards. Real-time driving stats are displayed atop a video feed, either from the rear camera (when in reverse), or one up front.

We spent a few minutes behind the wheel of Panasonic’s mockup, which consisted only of a pair of (rather comfortable) leather seats, along with a trio of LCDs, which the company claims are currently based on panels used in other Panasonic products, but may eventually utilize custom displays. This wasn’t an actual vehicle prototype — only the “cockpit” was on hand. The main display will (hopefully) focus the driver’s attention away from distractions on those two smaller screens — the one in the center can be used to control standard vehicle settings like climate and entertainment, while a second display positioned directly in front of the passenger seat can play movies and other content.

Are we there yet? No, so you better get comfortable for the long drive ahead. Overall the setup looked like it could have potential, though Panasonic warned us not to expect anything final until the end of the decade (2018 at the earliest). Jump past the break for a Cockpit drive-by.

DC SHOES: KEN BLOCK’S GYMKHANA FOUR; THE HOLLYWOOD MEGAMERCIAL

DC and Ken Block present Gymkhana FOUR: The Hollywood Megamercial.
GYM4 surpasses the high-production style of Gymkhana TWO with even more spectacular effects shot in the backlots of Universal Studios, California.
Filmed over the course of five days, director Ben Conrad
(Zombieland and 30 Seconds or Less) and his team at Logan deliver a Hollywood caliber production complete with pyrotechnics, massive stunts and a series of unbelievable tricks.
Featuring robotic sharks, deranged zombies, and a hilarious cameo by the Epic Meal Time guys, Ken Block and his Hybrid FunctionHoon Vehicle (H.F.H.V.) bring the magic of Hollywood and gymkhana together.

Man builds turbine-powered Batmobile, brags about having the only one (video)

So you think you’re a huge fan of the Dark Knight, huh? Not so fast. Do you own a full-sized Batmobile? Yeah… we didn’t think so. But, auto restoration guru Casey Putsch does, and to launch himself further into super-fanboy status, he upgraded the engine with a Boeing turboshaft — snatched out of a naval drone helicopter. According to him, this makes his collector’s item one of a kind, in true Bruce Wayne fashion. Sure, these discarded movie props are usually powered by a standard 350 (especially the older models), but that wasn’t enough for a dude’s dude who appraises and designs all types of vehicles for a living. Mods were also made to the interior, including an iPad in the dash which serves as the avionics system and keeps track of the important GPS coordinates — you know, stuff you’d expect Lucious Fox to toss in to track villains and such. For a look at this beast in action, check out the video after the break; meanwhile we’ll try to figure out how to cram a jet engine into a Tesla Roadster.

Formula 1 cars set to go all electric in the pit lane from 2013 onwards, racing purists outraged already

Formula 1, the pinnacle of gas-powered racing, is more often at odds with the eco-conscious electric car movement than in tune with it, but here’s an exception to that rule. The FIA, the sport’s governing body, announced back in December of last year a move to a hybrid four-cylinder turbocharged engine, which is still on track to be introduced in the 2013 season, and Williams boss Adam Parr has now enlightened us on some of the benefits of the new power setup. Noting that future cars’ kinetic energy recovery system will be four times as powerful as on current models, Parr says enough electric juice will be available to power each one-seater through its journey into and out of the pit lane. That would mean that at least for the tame, speed-restricted portions of a race, the F1 gas guzzlers you know and love will be humming along in almost perfect silence while using good old electricity. Unfortunately, it’s exactly that lack of vroom vroom that old timers like Bernie Ecclestone and Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo are afraid of, describing the new hybrid stuff as sounding “terrible” and insisting on the sport sticking to its V8 roots. Then again, as Parr says, if you don’t move with the times, the times leave you behind.

Purdue's Celeritas car scores 2,200MPG from the sun, wins Shell Eco-marathon

With gas prices topping $4.50 per gallon in some parts of the country, a car that costs a fraction of a penny per mile to drive (and looks like it belongs on the road) is sure to get our attention. The 275-pound, 2,200MPG Celeritas appears to be the closest we’ve come to having a solar-powered car that could one day take to the streets, however, which explains why the vehicle scored first prize in the Urban Concept category in this year’s Shell Eco-marathon. While it can only transport a single person (the driver), the car includes headlights, taillights, a trunk and even backup cameras. Notably absent from this version are air conditioning and a license plate — the latter of which would (naturally) be required before the car becomes street legal. The Purdue University design team chose “Celeritas” (Latin for “swiftness”) as the name for this soon-to-be-street-legal roadster, though in a category that’s notorious for slower vehicles, we wouldn’t expect the prototype to fly past us in the fast lane. Perhaps we can get Celeritas and IVy together for some alone time before we’re dropping Hamiltons for a gallon of regular?

Geely McCar comes with an electric scooter for people who hate walking

Find the use of your legs inconvenient? Behold the Geely McCar, an ultra compact, two-door car that still manages to tuck an electric scooter in the back. Geely, the Chinese company that now owns Volvo, is hoping you’ll use it for everything from golfing to navigating urban sprawl to traversing the Mall of America parking lot (and then escorting yourself to the Cinnabon once you’re inside). The car itself comes in two versions: an all-electric one with a 12kWh battery that claims up to 93 miles on a charge, and a hybrid iteration that promises up to 31 miles on just electric power and 373 on a mix of gas and electricity. The scooter, meanwhile, can last up to 18 miles — and be swapped out for a wheelchair for people with disabilities. Since debuting at the Shanghai Auto Show, there’s been no word on whether the McCar will ship stateside, why this arrangement beats packing your own scooter — or how much McDonald’s loathes that name.

Audi's A3 e-tron gearing up for 2013, should hit 90 miles per charge

You may live your life a quarter-mile at a time, but let’s face it — you still care about the environment. To that end, you’ve patiently awaited Audi’s hybrid Spyder, even with the company playing coy about electric vehicles in general. Its latest tease is a far cry from the aforesaid ghost, but the A3 e-tron — an entry-level Sportback begging to be modified — is certainly sexy in its own right. Not exactly Fast and Furious material, given that it needs 11 seconds to reach 60mph and tops out at 90mph, but still — a pair of lithium-ion batteries should give it 90-mile range per nine-hour charge. We’d take the Roadster S’ 165-mile ride if given the choice, but we’ll confess to confessing as much prior to consulting our practical side. No hard word on availability or pricing — the company likely wants it on the streets by 2013, but don’t go changing your name to Vin Battery just yet. Or Vin Anything, for that matter.

Fiat will lose $10,000 on every 500 EV it sells, still intends to bring it to US in 2012

Any new technology generally costs an arm, a leg, and a bit of your sanity to adopt early, but that’s a luxury that the well settled auto market cannot afford. In light of its elastic economics, car makers looking to go electric have had to be extremely aggressive in cutting their own profits, an aggressiveness that’s now been estimated by Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne to cost them as much as $10,000 per unit sold. Fiat’s famed little car, the Cinquecento, is going to be hitting the US in a new EV configuration in 2012, in spite of the fact it’ll be causing a ding to the company’s bottom line. It’s not actually clear whether Mr. Marchionne is factoring in research and development costs or whether he’s talking purely of material costs, though Fiat’s fate is hardly unique — the Nissan Leaf isn’t expected to generate a profit for a good couple of years yet. The Fiat 500 EV’s likely price was indirectly revealed, too, by the company chief’s assertion that it’ll retail for about three times the cost of its gas-powered version. So about $45,000. Yikes!