Hasta La Gadget!

What can you do with a small yet really powerful engine, a new riding lawnmower, a healthy marketing budget, and a professional race driver with some free time? You can cut the grass really, really quickly. Oh, and severely injure or kill yourself if you’re not careful.

• • •

For much of the world, it’s probably fair to assume this type of machine and it’s originally intended utility are something quite foreign. The majority of planet earth’s residents don’t have golf courses or sprawling, heavily grassed estates, so one could be forgiven the assumption that this thing is something like a 4-wheeled ATV for senior citizens (realistically, in a way, riding lawnmowers are kinda that).

If such machines are new for you, that up there is a riding lawnmower – it cuts grass – lots and lots of grass, usually very slowly. Most riding lawnmowers do not hit 130mph/209kph, nor do they crank out 108HP and scream from 0-60mph/96kph in just four seconds. So yeah, again: fabulous engine, new mower, marketing cash, racecar driver. Vrooom!

Along with this mower’s, uhhhh, enhancements, Honda UK also made sure it can still do its job. Blade & grass bag included.

Have a watch – and if time’s short, and you must choose – go with the second one:

Honda’s Mean Mower

Racing Lawnmower from TopGear

• • •

Reno J. Tibke is the founder and operator of Anthrobotic.com and a contributor at the non-profit Robohub.org.

VIA: Honda UK; TopGear
Image: Honda UK

AT&T wants every car to be connected, but it needs help; thankfully, Sirius XM is on the same wavelength. The two have reached a deal that will have AT&T supply mobile data for Sirius XM telematics systems in Nissan’s North American vehicle lineup. So far, the partnership includes OnStar-like basics such as emergency assistance and theft tracking, although there are hints of “additional services” that’ll be unveiled later. We don’t yet know when this technology will reach shipping cars, but don’t be surprised if the next Altima or Leaf is a little bit smarter in the not-so-distant future.

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, AT&T

Comments

Source: AT&T

It’s taken McLaren almost 15 years, but they’re about to finally release the F1′s successor, the P1. Like a few of the new supercars, it will feature a petrol engine mated with an electric motor to boost its power to even more. The maximum power output of the P1 is 903 HP!

The McLaren P1 is a hybrid supercar, with rear-wheel drive, and a mid-engine design which is combined with lots of carbon fiber to make it as light as possible. It comes with a 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged V8 tuned to 727hp. This engine is combined with a KERS electric motor producing an extra 176 horses. You can use it just with the petrol engine, with both, or just with the electric engine. Granted, you’ll only be able to drive 12 miles, but hey, it’s the thought that counts!

It was revealed that McLaren will produce just 375 P1s, each one costing $1.44 million (USD). In May 2013, McLaren announced that it had already sold 250 units, so you’d better hurry up if you want one. Production started in July, with the first cars to be delivered on August 22nd.

[via Autoblog]

Ever snickered as you walked past a car that vandals drew stuff on with soap? That laughter will disappear as quickly as it came when you reach your car and see that they’ve done the same to you.

This happens more often than most people like. But someone who wants the opposite to happen – and by opposite, we mean that he wants people to draw on his car – is artist Phillip Romano.

He coated his 2004 Hyundai with gallons of chalkboard paint and fastened a vanity license plate that says ‘DRAWONME.’ As you can see, people are more than happy to oblige.

Hopefully they leave the windows alone, because that’s one area the chalkboard paint isn’t on, for obvious reasons.

[BuzzFeed via Incredible Things]

The tenth James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me will forever stand out as the movie that had the submarine car in it. Now you can own part of pop culture history: RM Auctions will be putting the bizarre underwater vehicle up for grabs this September. If you’re more of a Transformers fan, think of it as an Autobot that only has alternate modes. Eh? Eh? Sold you with that bit didn’t I?

The submarine was based on the 1976 Lotus Esprit, which was Bond’s signature ride in The Spy Who Loved Me. Apparently the prop makers built different models for the famous transformation scene, which you’ll see in the video below courtesy of YouTuber Maccastreisfan.

RM Auctions will be selling the fully transformed submarine model. According to Lotus Esprit World, the submarine has four fixed fins and four propellers with steering vanes. Apparently it even shoots projectiles. So yeah, it’s a real working sub. The downside? It barely works. It has no brakes and has horrible visibility because its windows are sealed. Obviously it doesn’t transform into a car, much less a Lotus Esprit.

Of course moviegoers didn’t care that the sub was actually a lemon. The movie did very well and Lotus made bank off of the publicity. According to BBC, RM Auctions estimates that the car will fetch around $760,000 (USD). Expensive. Too expensive. Especially when you can get an Esprit that actually drives for about 8% of that.

[via Werd, Lotus Esprit World & BBC]