There are vehicles that help you get around every day—the sensible sedan, the commuter ferry, the sturdy city bike. And then there are machi...
There are vehicles that help you get around every day—the sensible sedan, the commuter ferry, the sturdy city bike. And then there are machines that double down on technology and design to get from one place to another faster than you can imagine. wired.com has collected five insane vehicles, all of which combine engineering and aesthetics to do one thing, we are sharing with you.
McLaren Mercedes MP4-26
Mclaren's new formula one car is actually a hybrid—its Kinetic Energy Recovery System stores energy from braking that drivers can use later for a quick overtaking boost. But the innovations don't end there: The aerodynamics of the car's carbon-fiber body have been fully reengineered. And even though the F1's tires are now Pirellis instead of Bridgestones, meaning the team had to get used to a new set of shoes, driver Lewis Hamilton raced the MP4-26 to victory in the Chinese Grand Prix at the start of the season. McLaren is a quick study.
McLaren MP4-26 |
PRICE | Around $5 million |
TOP SPEED | Over 200 mph |
WEIGHT | 1,411 lbs. |
LENGTH | Around 15 ft. |
Ducati Desmosedici RR
To create the Desmosedici RR, Ducati updated the design of its MotoGP race bike, then slapped on blinkers and a license plate. The carbon-fiber body is wrapped around a 989-cc, four-cylinder, 200-horsepower engine that redlines at 13,800 rpm. Stacked with racing tech like forged magnesium wheels and a digital dashboard with lap timers, each Desmosedici RR also comes with a full race kit, including swappable exhaust systems, a race stand, and sponsor decals. Only 1,500 of these noisy, barely street-legal beasts were made, and they're all gone—the entire allocation sold out before production even started.
Ducati Desmosedici |
PRICE | $72,500 |
TOP SPEED | Over 188 mph |
WEIGHT | 377 lbs. |
LENGTH | 6.6 ft. |
Boeing X-37B
The US Air Force has a new toy: the robotic, reusable X-37B space plane, which is now flying experimental classified missions. The supersecret unmanned drone is only one quarter the size of the Space Shuttle, so it can easily be launched into low earth orbit by an Atlas V rocket. Once there, it can circle the globe for up to nine months—powered by batteries and solar arrays—before performing a fully automated reentry and runway landing. After touchdown, the 29-foot-long robot can be turned around for another mission in as few as 15 days.
Boeing x-37B |
PRICE | Classified |
TOP SPEED | 17,500 mph |
WEIGHT | 11,000 lbs. |
HEIGHT | Around 29 ft. |
Photo: Courtesy of United States Air Force
BMW Oracle USA-17 Racing Yacht for America's Cup 2010
Being able to sail more than three times the speed of the wind requires some pretty hefty engineering. The big brains behind BMW Oracle's USA-17 racing yacht placed a rigid wing sail on top of the 90-foot trimaran's three carbon-fiber hulls. The 223-foot sail—the largest ever constructed—is split vertically into two pieces, and the rear section is made of multiple panels that can be individually adjusted, much like flaps on a jumbo-jet wing. The design allowed the yacht to average 26.8 knots in just 7 knots of wind during its winning run at the 33rd America's Cup last year.
USA-17 Racing Yacht |
PRICE | $400 million |
TOP SPEED | 33 knots |
MAST HEIGHT | 185 ft. |
LENGTH | Around 90 ft. |
Damien Hirst Trek Madone 6.9 Pro
The British artist designed this one-off bike as part of the Stages global art exhibition to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Hirst laid real butterfly wings along the Madone 6.9 Pro's carbon-fiber frame, both because of their uniquely iridescent qualities and because they wouldn't add any discernible WEIGHT to the 16-pound bike. Hirst repeated the motif with painted butterflies on the Bontrager Aeolus rims. Armstrong rode the bike during the final stage of the 2009 Tour de France, after which it sold at Sotheby's, raising $500,000 for the foundation's fight against cancer.
Trek Madone |
PRICE | $500,000 |
TOP SPEED | What've you got? |
WEIGHT | 16 lbs. |
LENGTH | 5.6 ft. |
[Complete Images, Information & Article Belongs to wired.com. Please
visit them ones]