Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 Inspired Merediist Cell Phone

Up until recently, TAG Heuer was mostly known for its sport watches and chronographs but the famous Swiss company is now trying to make a name in the luxury cell phone market. And what a better way to do that than to team up with a specialized sportscar maker like Lamborghini to launch a limited edition handset Using its first mobile phone as a base, Tag Heuer came up with the Merediist Automobil Lamborghini that's said to be inspired by the Murceilago LP 640.

Housed in black titanium carbide coated 316L stainless steel casing, the hand-assembled quad-band GSM mobile phone packs a 1.9'' display made from 60.5 carats scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, a 2 megapixel camera (1,200 x 1,600 pixels), 2GB of memory, USB 1.0, media player, Bluetooth and roughly seven hours of talk time.

Add to that the Lamborghini logos and the exclusivity that comes from the limited availability as only 1963 pieces (in tribute to the year that Lamborghini's automotive division was founded) will be sold worldwide.

Neither Tag Heuer or Lamborghini have announced prices, but bear in mind that the standard Merediist starts at around $5,300 so expect to pay more for the Lambo edition.

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Honda Develops New Personal Mobility Device

Honda has unveiled a new personal mobility concept called the U3-X.

Essentially a fancy Segway unicycle, the U3-X features the world's first omni-directional driving wheel system (dubbed Honda Omni Traction Drive System). Combined with Honda's balance control technology, the device promises to be safe and user friendly.

The U3-X "fits comfortably between the rider's legs" (it has a seat), and allows them to move forward, backward, side-to-side, and diagonally. To speed up, slow down, stop, or change directions, riders simply shift their upper body weight in the direction they want to go.

Weighing less than 10kg (22 lbs), the device is powered by a small lithium-ion battery that provides one hour of operation.

While the U3-X is just a concept, Honda says they will conduct real-world testing to verify the practicality of the device.

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Build Your Own Batmbobile Tumbler Go-Kart - with Video

If you're the kind of type that doesn't care what the neighbors might have to say about you and wouldn't mind driving around in your very own miniature replica of the Tumbler from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, then you may want to check out this go-kart creation from eBay user "Tully712". If you win the auction the seller will send you a zipped file containing the plans to build the Tumbler go-kart. Those intrigued may follow the jump to check out the Tumbler in action

[Link: eBay]

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Ferrari 458 Italia: Download the Official Cell Phone Ringtones

Since we understand the appeal of having a revving engine in one's pocket - or so to say- we thought we'd share with you these official ringtones of the all-new Ferrari 458 Italia supercar and its sonorous 4.5-liter V8 that cranks out a hefty 570 horsepower. Click on the respective links after the jump to download the ZIP files containing the mp3 (for mobiles) or m4r (for iPhones) sound bites. Overall, you can choose from five different soundtracks.

RINGTONES:

Overtaking

Mobile - iPhone

On the Track

Mobile - iPhone

Acceleration

Mobile - iPhone

Off the Mark

Mobile - iPhone

On Board

Mobile - iPhone

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Kumho Fortis: Tyre Maker Present All-Electric SUV Concept Study

While Kumho has no intentions of jumping into the car-making business as of yet, the Korean tyre manufacturer decided to make use of the skills of its in-house designer and former Fiat Advanced Design employee, Rob Dolton, to demonstrate what tomorrow's SUVs could be like. The result is the Fortis, a three-door crossover with a fully-electric drivetrain that comprises of four 100hp chassis-mounted motors, one for each wheel.

The designer claims that the system provides ultimate off-road traction, ESP and hill descent, while the motor configuration allows for easy transition between 4WD, 2WD, FWD and RWD. The electric motors are powered by a Lithium ion battery pack that can be recharged at home, work or at a recharge station.

As you would expect from a concept that was created by a tyre maker, the Fortis boasts ground-breaking tyre technology. In particular, the tread pattern can (theoretically speaking) be adjusted at will to provide optimum performance for both on and off-road.

According to Kumho, the tyre threads feature special metal biters that optimize off-road performance when employed, while for on-road use, the tyre cavity is inflated thus expanding the rubber areas to cover the metal biters.

Dolton also found a way to make use of used tyres as the vehicle's bumper sections, doors, bonnet, front wings and rear hatch are all manufactured from recycled tyre rubber.

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Ferrari Launches New Lap-Time Chronograph Watch

We presume that Ferrari's new chronograph watch is more for those less economically fortunate that day-dream of owning a Prancing Horse model someday rather than for those that actually own one - if you had enough money to buy a Ferrari, would you really go for this watch? But anyway, the rubber strapped chronograph will be available in Ferrari Stores worldwide starting from the end of August priced at €295 or at today's exchange rates, about $420 US.

Key Features

• SWISS ISA 9001/1300 ANADIGIT MULTIFUNCTION CHRONOGRAPH MOVEMENT
  
• STAINLESS STEEL CASE WITH BLACK PVD TREATMENT. CASE BACK WITH SPECIAL LOGO ENGRAVED
  
• 44mm CASE
  
• TOP RING WITH TACHOMETER INDICATIONS
  
• ANTIREFLECTIVE MINERAL CRYSTAL
  
• ANADIGIT MULTIFUNCTION DISPLAY WITH TWO LUMINESCENT HANDS
  
• WATER RESISTANT TO 5 ATM
  
• 3 TIME ZONES
  
• DIGITAL ALARM
  
• DATE – DAY – MONTH – YEAR DISPLAY
  
• WEEK NUMBER DISPLAY
  
• CHRONO 1/100 SECOND
  
• TACHOMETER
  
• TIMER
  
• DURABILITY OF BATTERY 47 MONTHS; END OF LIFE INDICATION
  
• BLACK RUBBER STRAP, FRONT WITH FERRARI SHILED LOGO, INTERNAL PART WITH 'SCUDERIA FERRARI' EMBOSSING
  
• STAINLESS STEEL BUCKLE, BLACK PVD TREATMENT

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Goodwood Celebrates Audi's Centenary by Suspending Cars over Massive Sculpture

This year's featured marque at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (3-5 July) is Audi as the Ingolstadt-based automaker is celebrating its 100th birthday. To commemorate the anniversary, Lord March, who hosts the festival at his back-yard 12,000-acre West Sussex estate, commissioned the creation of massive sculpture that features two cars from Audi's history, the iconic 1937 Auto Union streamliner and the just launched R8 V10 sports car suspended in the air, at either end of the 'swoosh' of tire tracks.

Designed by the Gerry Judah, Lord March's creative collaborator, the sculpture weighs in at a total of 40 tonnes or the equivalent of 40 small family cars and it took two 100-tonne cranes to raise the monument and about four weeks for 12 men to fabricate, build and install it in front of the Goodwood house.

"I drew about 20 ideas and some had elaborate bridges with vaulted arches but somehow they didn't have quite the right style," said Judah. I then had a flash of inspiration and designed this 'swoosh' with a car at either end to represent Audi's 100-year history.

"It's made entirely of steel and although the design looks simple, it's actually extremely complex, because the structure has to be rigid and completely balanced without the need for hundreds of supporting props."

[Source: Carscoop]

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Audi Presents Updated Navigation System Plus for A3, TT and R8

Just like any other electronic product, navigation systems are continuously upgrade with better software and hardware. Audi's updated navigation system plus with MMI (Multi Media Interface) for the A3, TT and R8 models promises to offer improved route calculation speeds thanks to a latest-generation processor clocked at 600 MHz while another significant enhancement is are the 800 x 480 pixel, high-resolution graphics displayed on the 6.5-inch screen.

On the back of the display, which can be folded away at the push of a button, are two slots for SD and SDHC cards with capacities of up to 32 GB, enough to store about 14,000 songs or 700 hours of music.

Also new on Audi's updated navigation system plus is the optical parking assistant which can be combined in the Audi R8 with the rearview camera. Aside from the acoustic warning signals, the distance to the front and to the rear is now displayed optically on the high-resolution display.

The new system is available for order now with prices ranging between €2,270 and €2,565, depending on the model.

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Rolls Royce Ghost / 200EX Online Configurator

The public debut for Rolls Royce's new, smaller-sized and lower-priced luxury sedan isn't due until the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but nevertheless, the BMW Group-owned British firm has created an online configurator for the Ghost's preview model, the 200EX concept study. Judging by the most recent spy shots, there aren't any visible differences (at lease none of any importance) between the Ghost and the 200EX, so what you see here, is what you'll be able to get in a few months time.

If you feel like fooling around with the 200EX configurator that allows you to change the exterior and interior colors of the Rolls, click the link below and then choose 'Design' and after that, 'Visualizer'

[Link: Rolls Royce , Via: Autoblog.it]

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Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle: A Chevy Aveo of the Third Kind

The Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle or EVT -we're not even kidding, that's the car's official name- is a futuristic-looking custom build created by Mike Vetter and his Florida-based company, 'The Car Factory'. It's hard to believe it just by looking at the EVT, but underneath that sci-fi outfit you'll find a Chevrolet Aveo stripped out of its body but not its heart.

Mike, who also works on Carrera GT replica bodies for the Porsche Boxster, claims on his website that buyers can opt either for an Aveo or a Boxster donor car. Somehow though, we find it hard to believe that anyone would give up a Porsche, no matter how many thousands of time they've seen Captain Kirk and Spock fighting off intruders from other planets.

But even in the case that the Chevy Aveo is the donor car, the EVT will most likely alienate you with its 'out of this world' price. We discovered that the Florida-based company has listed a completed EVT on eBay with a 'Buy it Now' price of just... $86,000. Cool but not $86k cool.

[Links: The Car Factory & eBay]

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Audi Daysailer: Young Designer Creates Yacht Model with Audi DNA

For the time being, Audi is content with its automotive operations but it never hurts to raise your sails to a catch a different wind. The Daysailer is the result of university-level partnership with the Joanneum University of Applied Science, Graz. The 1:15 scale mode was designed by Markus Klug. The 25-year-old student said that he drew his inspiration from his passion for sailing with the Audi MedCup, a regatta series in the Mediterranean for TP52 yachts, playing a vital role in the design of the model.

"I wanted my design to be clear and direct, but also luxurious and sport," explained Markus Klug. "It has to captivate the onlooker at first glance, in precisely the same way that the cars do, he added.

The prototype mode for the Audi-inspired yacht is just over one metre long but if it were to come to life, it would measure 15 metres in length, its mast would be 21 metres high and it would have a draught of between 1.5 and 2.5 metres.

[Source: Carscoop]

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Life Size BMW Z4 Coupe Made From Concrete!

Now here's a bimmer made to last forever. This life-size replica of the Z4 Coupe that is made out of reinforced concrete is part of the BMW Art Car exhibition in Beijing, China. Despite the solid build, the artistic Z4 Coupe comes equipped with fully functioning front doors while it also features glass panes all around.

[Via: Yahoo & Autodaily]

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MINI Continues to Celebrate 50th Anniversary with Special Collections

This is one birthday-party that doesn't seem to end. Not content with the unveiling of the Mayden 50, Camden 50 and the John Cooper Works WC50 specials, MINI has now released a new line of clothing and accessories to profit from celebrate the brand's fiftieth anniversary. Called '50 Years Collection', the lineup includes among other products, a modern rendition of the classic M51 Fishtail design parka (unisex), three 50Y Shopper bags in a retro look and the 50Y Camden brown-colored and Mayfair gray-colored sneakers.

[Link: Mini Shop]

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