The Most Powerful Porsche Ever, The Fastest Audi Ever, And A Skoda

The line-up of new cars for July is a shortlist of supercars, albeit a very short list of supercars, plus a Skoda. OK, so the 1.4 litre Skoda might be sloughtly out of its depth in the company of the Porsche 911 GT2 RS but according to T3 you shouldn’t underestimate it and at £15,700 it is without doubt the most affordable of the line up by some considerable margin.

Porsche has released a strainge lineup of vehicles lately including the Cayenne which has at least cleaned up its act and almost made roadworthy 4×4 vehicles something that won’t cause you to be spat at when you hit London city streets.

This little beauty, though, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS to give it its full title is definitely back to Porsche’s roots of making fast, hot cars. 611bhp means that you can do 205mph and reach 62mph in just 3.5 seconds. Twin turbochargers and the kind of weight loss that would normally demand a gastric band has given light to these impressive figures but you’ll only be able to enjoy them if you have access to a reasonable strip of unused runway and £164,107.

The Audi R8 caused a major stir when it was first released, largely because it looked stunning and it went. The car that is billed as being the fastest Audi ever, the R8 GT, offers 560bhp from its V10 engine and has four wheel drive so you can hopefully keep it planted on the right side of the kerb when you hit a corner.Price has yet to be confirmed but you know what they say? If you need to ask then you’ve got too much sense to own a car like this.

For a more than reasonable £15,700 you can have the Skoda Fabia vRS which offers a 1.4 supercharged engine and lets you hit a more realistic 139mph. Instead of buying the Porsche you could have 10.5 of these, which would be really useful.

The EliptiGO Running Bike – Get Fit, Look Daft, Spend A Fortune

Following on from yesterday’s piece about the bendable bike that aims to cut down on storage space and bike theft, here’s another quirky (and we’re being kind there) bike idea. The developer is actually an Iron Man competitor so we’re not going to say too much against the EliptiGO except that we don’t think the take up rate will be all that phenomenal. The bike is designed to give you the workout of running without the high impact and possibility of injury associated with it.

Even the best design of shoe and the most expensive equipment can’t prevent the repeated impact injuries that are associated with regular running. Pounding the pavement every day can prove ultimately bad for the body but it is also a method of exercise that really generates results so finding a happy medium could ensure that you stay fit and stay healthy at the same time.

The EliptiGO aims to do exactly that.

The position of the EliptiGO bike is such that it positions riders out of the saddle. This means that you can put your weight and greater effort into generating torque with every step that you take. There are two pedals, one on either side of the frame, and by using these in a simialr way to a step or cross training machine you propel the bike forwards (hopefully).

The EliptiGO running bike is out in America and costs a quite high $2,200 and we’re fairly sure it will also create something of a stir as you fly past pedestrians at speeds of up to 25mph. Eight gears and brakes on the handlebars will be useful too and it’s worth considering that this definitely more of a workout machine than a method of convenient and effortless transport.

Would you fork out the equivalent of about £1,400 on a novelty running/cycling machine?

The Year Of The Android – Orange Android Coming Soon Plus Open Spot App Now Launched

Orange looks like it’s attempting to almost single handedly turn this into the year of the Android, having an Android device designed and manufactured on its behalf that will apparently be available on contract and pay as you go and will cost as little as £100. The phone has a working title of Project JAL which we assume will be changed nearer the release date to something much more Orange like. The Dolphin or the Fruitbat maybe.

Apparently it will offer all the basics and will be similar in many respects to phones like the Vodafone 845 and the T-Mobile Pulse Mini – let’s hope they take some of their naming inspiration from T-Mobile rather than Vodafone then. It will have a 3mp camera and will run the latest version of Androi 2.1 when it is released. The date for release is currently set for the third quarter of this year so it’s not all that far away now. Although this is only a rumour and Orange has made no move to confirm or deny it, there is a swathe of information around so it’s likely to be a good one.

That’s not only good news for those that want a smartphone without the smartphone price but also for people struggling to find a parking space (erm… probably). A new Android App called Open Spot. Users gain karma by tagging open parking spaces in their local area and this gives other users the opportunity to find somewhere to leave their cars.

The problem with any app like Open Spot is that it’s next to useless without a mass of users to help carry the idea forward. And, you’ve got to question how many people will use it even if it is available for free download at the Google App store.

Are you that desperate to find decent parking that you’re on your way out to get an Android mobile now?

The Bendable Bike – You Can Wrap It Round A Tree… On Purpose

An industrial design graduate from De Montfort University has designed a unique concept; the bendable bike. Don’t worry, Boris Johnson won’t be called in to put a stop to it because the bike doesn’t bend when it’s being ridden you’ll be pleased to hear. However, when you pull a level the bike becomes bendable so that you can wrap it around a tree or a post and put a bike lock right through both wheels and the frame. Thieves can’t even have away with one of your new wheels but it also offers space saving benefits too.

The bike frame uses a ratchet design so that all of the components of the bendable frame are stored fully within the bike. Nothing needs to be removed, nor does it need to be added for the bike to become entirely flexible. You don’t need to worry about wrapping it around posts while riding either as the bike operates just like a normal push bike (slowly and laboriously when I’m riding them) until you want to lock it up or store it.

Kevin Scott is the 21 year old designer of the bendable bike and he has been awarded £500 to help him take the development of the bendable bike forward. As with any good invention, the bendable bike has been created in order to solve a very specific problem – bike theft, especially in London, is a massive problem.

Experts say that the average cyclist should spend 10% of their bike’s value on buying a lock and two locks are most definitely better than one. Nearly 25,000 bikes were stolen in London in 2009-2010 alone at a rate of 52 or more every single day. Kevin’s invention is not only convenient, allowing you to lock your bike to the nearest post or tree, but it’ll also help ensure that you have a bike to come back to.

Is this the future of cycling around London?

Econogo electric scooter hits UK

An electric scooter which is the first of its kind to come with a removable battery pack has arrived in the UK.

Manufactured by Econogo, the scooter has a detachable battery which uses the lithium ion technology found in most modern portable devices.

Econogo is based in the UK and the YoGo scooter’s detachable battery represents a significant update from the previous generation of electric scooters. This is because rather than having to bring electricity to the scooter, you can now take its battery directly to the power source.

Finding the right socket to which you can connect a scooter with an integrated, non-removable battery pack can be a pain, but detaching the YoGo’s battery means that you can take it with you and plug it in anywhere to charge.

The batteries that power the YoGo will take just an hour to charge up, which is an incredibly short period when you consider the charging time of most battery-powered vehicles.

Econogo supplies two spare batteries with the retail version of the YoGo scooter and according to promotional material this will increase the range of the scooter by 44 miles.

With a top speed of 38 miles per hour achievable from the 1500 watt electric engine, the YoGo is no slouch when it comes to performance. It will also significantly reduce running costs in contrast with those you would see with an equivalent petrol-powered scooter.

The basic YoGo costs £2000 and its restricted 27mph top speed means that you do not need any form of official license to take it out for a spin.

Millionaires’ mini-sub launched

A miniature submarine aimed at the super rich has arrived. The Nautilus VAS Luxury Submersible is packed full of the latest kit as well as some home comforts to keep the guests entertained.

Recently it seems as though everyone with a few hundred million in the bank is being enticed to take to the waves in some way or other. Richard Branson’s submersible plane turned up a few weeks back and now this far more sedate mode of underwater transport is offering an alternative look at life beneath the surface.

The Nautilus VAS is rather more traditional in its design than the other high-tech submersibles, looking akin to something from an old sci-fi movie rather than a multi-million pound plaything. In fact you might recognise the name as reminiscent of a vessel piloted by the fictional Captain Nemo.

The manufacturer behind the Nautilus VAS says that it has been made to a military standard on the outside, but inside they have crammed in a hi-fi system and a small bar area, which is distinctly opulent.

Both the front and sides of the Nautilus VAS are dotted with large, circular viewing ports, giving the occupants a good look at what is around them.

The Nautilus VAS is set to cost about £1.75 million, which is rather more than most people could ever hope to afford. But if you happen to consider this amount mere pocket change, then the romance and adventure of the underwater world can be yours to view at leisure as you sip on a martini and listen to some Sting.

Consumer jet-pack launched

If you have around £60,000 burning a hole in your pocket and if you have always dreamed of breaking the bonds of gravity, then you might consider picking up the Martin Jetpack.

Jetpacks have long been the preserve of fictional movie heroes, but now a New Zealand-based firm has created what is the world’s first commercially viable jetpack to take one person skywards at speed.

Incredibly Martin Aircraft has managed to give the Jetpack a full half hour in the air before it needs to land. With a 200 horsepower engine powered by good old-fashioned petrol, the jetpack is constructed of lightweight material comprised of Kevlar and carbon.

Martin Aircraft has been working on the jetpack for over a decade and it has taken a long time to develop and refine something that is safe enough to sell to the general public.

The biggest safety feature of the jetpack is a built-in parachute that acts as a failsafe to rescue the pilot if something goes catastrophically wrong. The parachute is fired out quickly to make sure that it is fully deployed before the ground intervenes!

The controls of the jetpack are organised in precisely the way you will have seen many times on the silver screen, with the pilot’s hands altering the pitch, thrust, yaw and roll.

There is a weight limit on the jetpack and only people between 140 and 240 pounds will be safely accommodated. However, this is a broad enough bracket for most of the super-rich. The one downside is that you have to wear a jumpsuit and a helmet, so tuxedo flight is out of the question.

USB Train Tickets

SNCF, the French passenger train company, is trialling a system whereby passengers need not go through that whole troublesome rigmarole of buying and collecting tickets from the station or on the train. Instead, they will be given a USB card which, when connected to their PC, enables them to pay in advance for their tickets and then present the USB card to the driver.

In all honesty, and knowing how likely I would be to forget the damn thing, I suspect the system may have some obvious questions raised by the more forgetful of us. For those travelling as a one off or rare thing it may well work but the more journeys we make with it the more likely I suspect that we’ll become to lose it.

Who pays for replacements? Can you even get replacements? What if you get on a high speed train with no stops for 100 miles, and then realise you’ve forgotten it and you brought no spare cash or a credit card? Why do these stupid questions that nobody else really cares about always come to me?

The system is still in the trial stage and presumably any potential loss problems would hopefully be covered throughout the development and finalisation stages.

GPS For Motorbikes

The TomTom Rider is a satellite navigation system designed especially for the biker. It features, large glove friendly buttons, an ultra clear display that is visible in any lighting conditions, and a little windscreen wiper type implement for removing dead flies and other assorted motorbiking debris from the monitor.

The screen is an impressive 3.5” touch screen and the software has been altered from the usual TomTom fare so that menus are less fiddly and the on screen display buttons are significantly larger and much easier for gloved hands to press without sending yourself on a wild goose chase in the wrong direction.

To set everybody’s minds at ease about the safety of riding motorbikes in general, the TomTom Rider, which is now in its second generation, also includes a Help Me menu feature. This convenient menu enables quick access to emergency services and roadside assistance and you can also plan the itinerary for your trip and log all of the statistics and data about your journey.

The included rechargeable battery will last for about 5 hours on a single charge and it can be recharged using a motorbike battery (which is a good thing, really, when you think about it).

Yamaha Hybrid Bicycle

As soon as you write a piece on electric motorbikes and how there’s so very few of them available, especially from the big motorbike manufacturers, you should expect to read something within a few days that completely trumps that post. And so, on to the Yamaha PAS Brace hybrid bicycle – OK, so it’s not an electric motorbike but is in fact a modern take on the electric assisted push bike and very modern it is.

The hybrid system intelligently works out when it can be used to optimum advantage and will operate at any one of the eight gears that it features, apparently providing a sporty ride for owners. The majority of the assistance comes at low speed when we need to expend more energy, it then begins to lower at moderate speeds, and switches off at high speeds.

The hybrid bike from Yamaha Motors is due for release in Japan in just a couple of day’s time (8th August to be exact) with 2,500 of them initially going on sale. The price tag is the equivalent of about £600 and presumably if sales go as well as hoped it might (and I stress, might) be available elsewhere.

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