What’s the fastest way to give your 2005 Ford F-150 STX 2,700 extra horses?
Easy: Mount a $10,000 Motorlet M-701 turbojet engine in the bed and hold on!
The engine, which makes 2,700 HP and 1962 pounds of thrust at 15,500 rpm, weighs just 728 pounds and runs on kerosene. (Though to be fair, it would have to be going 516 mph to make all that power.)
Unaided, the Ford’s 231 HP V8 will get to 60 mph n 14.5 seconds, and the quarter passes by at just 73 mph. (Topping out at 85 mph.)
With the jet providing extra power in ‘hybrid’ mode however, 60 mph happens 6 seconds sooner, and the quarter mile speed jumps a full 30 mph. Plus, when you’re up to speed, you can actually GAIN extra speed by shifting into neutral and letting the jet do all the work.
It might not be the greenest vehicle around, but it sure is the most fun you can have in a hybrid!
Recently, Vaughn Gittin Jr. took a cross-country road trip in the new 2010 Mustang to show off Ford’s new stallion, and along the way, he made a few interesting stops.
One of those stops was at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he set the new Guinness World Record for the longest consecutive drift, at 6,285 feet. (Over a mile spent semi-sideways in a semi-stock 2010 Mustang.)
Sure, it looks like KITT, and is probably shorter in person, but this 1987 Pontiac Trans Am is no movie star.
No, it’s more akin to the stuntman that shows up, gets the job done, and then goes home to the family without expecting any kind of star treatment.
That’s because this rather stock looking car (when the hood’s down at least) from Polly Motorsports of Norway is officially Europe’s fastest street-legal car, with a verified top speed of 252 mph on the Papenburg test track in Germany. Plus, according to the builders, it was just getting warmed up when they set that record, and they expect to see speeds in excess of 270 mph once they have a chance to stretch its legs back in the US.
Power comes from an 8.9L V8 that has been supercharged to produce 1407 horsepower, and the result (in addition to the top speed) is a 0-62 mph time of just 2.23 seconds.
A custom-made coilover suspension keeps things planted, a 9” Ford axle tries not to explode when the go pedal is pressed, and 14” brakes slow everything down once the fun is over. Other than the hood scoop though, the exterior looks rather civilized, and it’s only when you pop the hood of the best do you realize that it’s no ordinary Trans Am.
No need to worry if you see this car in your rear view mirror though, because it probably won’t be there for long.
The Knight XV from Conquest Vehicles “defines the future of the ultra-luxurious, handcrafted fully armored SUV. This one-of-a-kind, V10, 6.8-litre, Bio-fuel powered SUV was inspired by the Gurkha military vehicle and features security appointments that are unrivaled in today’s SUV marketplace”.
Designed as “an armored vehicle and not a vehicle that has been armored”, the Knight XV is manufactured using military-grade armoring materials, and sits atop a specially modified Ford super duty chassis, making parts and service easily accessible around the globe in case your tank breaks down and needs a tune-up.
The 6.8L V10 runs on E-85 if you feel like giving the environment a break, and is certified as legal in all 50 US states. 400 horsepower and 498 ft. lbs. of torque are produced by the massive engine, but don’t expect 0-60 times to wow you, because all that power is definitely going to be needed when the vehicle weighs in at over 10,000 pounds!
Four wheel drive with locking hubs, a 4.30 ratio limited slip differential, and a 5-speed transmission ensure that you’ll never get stuck when the road gets tough, and 40 gallons of fuel in the tank will ensure that even when the going does get tough, you can just keep on going.
Inside, wool carpeting and leather seating keep the passengers comfy, while TV monitors and a full entertainment system including a PlayStation 3 keep them entertained. Plus, two forward looking infrared radar systems (one mounted front and one rear with separate screens for each) come standard on all Knight XVs sold in North America, so if you need to turn the lights down low, you can still make your way around town in complete darkness without hitting a thing.
All told, the Knight XV takes 1,500 hours to build by hand, and only 100 of them will be made for their ultra rich, ultra paranoid buyers.
Don’t expect luxury and protection like this to come cheap though, as each Knight XV will cost its owner a cool $295,000.
Ken Imhoff fell in love with the euro-spec 1982 Lamborghini Countach LP5000S that played a staring role in the classic film Cannonball Run, so he did what any extremely talented automotive fanatic would do: He build one in his basement.
Ok, so there are probably not more than a handful of people that could pull off [...]
EarthRoamer Xpedition Vehicles are designed to take you to the end of the world and back in extreme comfort without the need for external power or utility hook ups.
In addition, they’re also designed to preserve the environment that they roam through, with solar energy used as the primary power source for lights and appliances, and [...]
