Hasta La Gadget!

For a good many of us, seeing cars such as Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Bugattis whiz by makes us turn green with envy, because we’re sure that many of you are probably well aware that the price of these cars are beyond the reach of the average person, so you can only imagine that when one of these car manufacturers announces a “special edition” model, well you know that’s got to cost a fortune, but if you’re fine with just looking, Bugatti has taken the wraps off the first of six special edition Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Legend models.

These special edition models will be based on the Grand Sport Vitesse and will share the original model’s 882kW/1500Nm 8.0-liter W16 engine. However apart from that, each of these special edition models will also feature designs that reflect the people who helped inspire them, with the model above being dedicated to race car driver, Jean-Pierre Wimille, who was one of Bugatti’s longest-serving test drivers. As pictured above, this particular model will be finished in a blue-tinted carbon fiber and light Wimille Bleu paintwork which was inspired by the Wimille’s racing colors. No word on pricing but we expect it will not come cheap.

Like It , +1 , Tweet It , Pin It | Bugatti Unveils First Of Six Special Edition Grand Sport Vitesse Models original content from Ubergizmo.

It’s not like Toyota hasn’t already faced its fair share of Prius braking issues, but it appears that even more headaches are headed its way at Defcon this week. Famed white hats Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek are preparing to unleash a 100-page paper at the annual hacker conference in Las Vegas, and notably, hacks that overtake both Toyota and Ford automotive systems will be positioned front and center. The information was gathered as part of a multi-month project that was funded by the US government, so it’s important to note that the specifics of the exploits will not be revealed to the masses; they’ll be given to the automakers so that they can patch things up before any ill-willed individuals discover it on their own.

Using laptops patched into vehicular systems, the two were able to force a Prius to “brake suddenly at 80 miles an hour, jerk its steering wheel, and accelerate the engine,” while they were also able to “disable the brakes of a Ford Escape traveling at very slow speeds.” Of course, given just how computerized vehicles have become, it’s hardly shocking to hear that they’re now easier than ever to hack into. And look, if you’re really freaked out, you could just invest in Google Glass and walk everywhere.

Filed under: Transportation, Software

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Source: Reuters

You’re not going to find it in the next car you drive off the lot, but a Ford engineer has developed a fairly novel approach to making a manual transmission a bit easier to adjust to: a vibrating shifter knob. As he explains in the video after the break, Zach Nelson first turned to an Xbox 360 controller for the necessary vibrating mechanism, which he then stuffed into a 3D-printed knob along with an Arduino controller and an LED display.

When fully assembled, the knob is able to communicate with the vehicle’s on-board diagnostic system using Ford’s open source OpenXC software platform, and vibrate to let you know when you need to shift gears. As Wired notes, the knob can even be used by more experienced drivers to pinpoint exactly when to shift to get either the most performance or the best fuel economy. We also expect a booming business in custom shifter designs to start any minute now.

Filed under: Misc, Transportation

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Via: Wired Autopia

Source: Ford (YouTube)

It’ll be about two years yet until you’re able to buy a hydrogen-powered vehicle, but one company is already making progress in ensuring those cars will be as gentle on the environment as possible. BASF, the world’s largest chemical maker, has come up with a hydrogen-making process that would purportedly cut carbon dioxide emissions in half, making fuel-cell vehicles generally cleaner than EVs. Until now, the holy grail has been hydrogen produced without introducing oxygen, as that would mean avoiding carbon dioxide emissions. The problem is, that’s meant cranking up the operating temperature, which means you’re using more energy, which means, uh, you’re looking at some carbon dioxide emissions. In this new system, though, BASF recycles heat more efficiently so that the company doesn’t have to raise the temperature quite so high. Additionally, the company’s cooked up some new catalysts it hopes will make the process more cost-efficient. No word on when or where this method will be implemented, but BASF is already hopeful it could be useful in other industries, like oil refinement, which similarly use lots of hydrogen.

Filed under: Transportation, Alt

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Source: MIT Technology Review

Originally teased five years ago, Toyota’s Segway-killing Winglet is finally taking to the streets of Japan for public testing. While the original device was designed to be steered by users’ knees, the revamped edition now contains a familiar steering pillar-and-wheels combination. The trials are due to run through March 2016 with the aim of proving that the Winglet is safe, functional and will save shoe leather on your commute to work. Those curious to see what the Japanese version of infamous Segway fan George Oscar Bluth Jr. (or, you know, Justin Bieber) looks like, head past the break for the video.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: GizMag

Source: Toyota (.PDF)