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rita novaes
The First Airplanes
History only reminds the winners, those who succeeded and knew fame. The defeated ones fell behind -- but they aren't alone. At this place are also those who arrived on a second place, those who weren't so lucky, those who made wrong choices or those who knew few things about the way to bring fame to themselves. But all those people who aren't registered by the books certainly contributed...
rita novaes
Fabulous Ekranoplans
KM - The "Caspian Sea Monster" It is not a plane, it is not a boat, it is not a terrestrial vehicle. It is not also a hover craft -- though it has some resemblances. The name is strange: Ekranoplan, a compound made from the Russian expression ecranniy, which means "ground effect" and refers to a vehicle that is able to shift a place very fast because of this...
rita novaes
Raymond Loewy Cars
Studebaker Commander Starliner - 1953 Within compass -- Raymond Lowey is one of main important designers of the 20th century. With a French origin, he developed most part of his activity in USA, where he was favored by his relationship with the biggest industry of the world. In all his projects and works he showed a remarkable ability to understand machines and systems and look beyond. He was rational...
benjamin júnior
24h of Le Mans
It is a right decision to congratulate the 24h of Le Mans with the title of the most famous car race of the world. For this French circuit (which route is a common road in the rest of the year) passed the most fabulous bolides conducted by the best pilots -- some of them found there the death. At this racetrack happened the most courageous and exciting duels, the...
benjamin júnior
Hotelicopter - a hotel in a helicopter
Recently a new was spread out over the Internet, published with its characteristic speed: in a few days, lots of reference websites, blogs, social networks and emails proclaimed the inauguration of a fantastic flying hotel fit up in an old Russian helicopter. Images and movies illustrated the new and surprised even the most incredulous people. You could even book a reservation at www.hotelicopter.com. And if it was nothing but...
benjamin júnior
wooden super car
What if someone were to suggest creating a super car with 600cv power, made completely out of wood? Inspired by World War II airplanes, some of which built in wooden structures, Joe Harmon dared to take his academic project forward. asking himself "why shouldn't there be a car made out of wood?"....
priscilla santos
The unbelievable 1st Campeonato de Capotagem in Brazil
The X-treme Motorsport, which took place in São Paulo between 29th of November and 2nd of December 2007, added to a list of news an element that goes far beyond the ever-present selection of beauties, the Big Foots, crushing everything. And I'm not talking about the worshipable presence of Chip Foose, the world's biggest costumizer. The fourth edition of the event spiked up madness with the 1º Campeonato de...
seven
Trains for children
The Kishigawa train line in Japan has about 14.3km and two trains that are different from any other train: the Omoden and the Ichigo Ec, the 'Train of toys' and the 'Strawberry Train', repectively. The idea was to promote the use of this comfortable and safe means of transportation among children. And, as it seems, results have been surprising......
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Time-travel aboard the Hindenburg
In 1931, during the height of airships, the construction of the LZ 129, later named Hindenburg, started. Almost 245m long, 41m of width and a 200 000m3 of volume, it was not only bigger, but also more luxurious than any other Zeppelin built at the time. For five years, nothing was spared to make it the best airship. After it was finished, in March 1936, the Nazi government made...
benjamin júnior
Kalinin K-7 - a massive aircraft
During the early 1930s, a team of scientists led by Konstantin Kalinin tried to solve some of the most complex problems in aviation design. Thus the idea to create the Kalinin K-7 was born. It would be a plane of huge proportions, especially designed for overseas flights....
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Nereus - submersible watercraft
Nereus is an innovative concept by designer Mathias Koehler, which combines a water bike with a paper kite. The control of the vehicle is assured by two pedals, while the handlebars allow the Nereus to perform its most notable feature: its ability to submerge. The immersion, however, is short-lasting, as the vessel's light structure impels it to the surface....
seven
Ford GT40 - the eternal sports car
This story begins during the early 60s with the desire shown by Ford in winning the mythical 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race, considered a maximum symbol of resistance and automobile performance, at the time. And it, curiously enough, started with an attempt to buy Ferrari! - which is understandable, considering the staggering power the Italian cars had been showing at that race. However, negotiations failed, so,...
seven
BMW GINA concept
The acronym GINA stands for Geometry and Functions In ‘N’ Adaptions and its concept is simple: make a car body out of fabric. However, its advantages are not only its lightness, the car can also change its shape thanks to its "skin"....
seven
Moonstream
If the exploration of Mars goes ahead in the next few years, then Moonstream might become a reality. The strange vehicle was built to travel the irregular, bumpy surfaces of the red planet, carrying cargo or passengers with every luxury and comodity. At this point, however, it is still a design exercise by young designer Anthony Sims, based on the earthly and famous SUV (Sport Utility Vehicles), that seem...
seven
Duesenberg J
Duesenberg J, Le Baron Convertible (1929) In 1913, brothers Fred and August Duesenberg created a race car company, which was named after them. The vehicles had great technical and mechanical quality and, as many other brands at the time, they were assembled manually, which brought them a great reputation. Nonetheless, when they decided to sell a passenger car, the model A, sales were low and the company entered financial...
seven
(Very) strange vehicles
Let's start off with this Ford truck, a very unusual passenger vehicle, as, unlike other colective means of transportation, it was not concieved to circulate a road or a landing board. For years, it was used to transport passengers from the airplane to the airport in Zürich, Switzerland. Nowadays, it is part of a collection at the Lucerne Museum of Transports....
seven
118 Wallypower - luxury yacht
Power, technology, design, sophistication form a perfect bond in this unique vessel. A first look at it, a mere glance, makes it immediately clear that we are before a high performance machine, evident due to its sharp and aggressive lines. The Wallypower is a true blade, cutting throught the water at a mind-blowing speed. And, still, in its interior, you can, at the same time, enjoy an impressive and...
seven
Audi Quattroflex - the old and the new
The only thing of Audi in this car is the name, but in actuality, the prototype wasn't created by the German car brand. The Quattroflex is a style exercise, almost a year-old, by Russian design and architecture student, Alexey Bykov, but it's nevertheless up to date and fascinating. Behind this work there's the recovery of the old horse-drawn carriage that would originate the car (short for carriage) as we...
seven
Helicopters and personal rockets
Everyone of us, at one point in our lives, have had the chance to see gadgets like these in futuristic illustrations, sci-fi movies or fantasy stories, in which a guy like Flash Gordon moves through the air with a mini-rocket on his back. We've always thought, let's face it, that it wasn't more than sheer delirium, because technical difficulties (weight, autonomy, stability, etc.) were too many. Well, the day...
andré montejorge
A monstrous motorbike
It was oficially presented, and demonstrated, in Australia, at the MMS - Melbourne Motor Show, at the beginning of 2008. Standing at about 3 metres tall, the "Monster Motorbike from Hell" is powered by a scary Detroit Diesel motor hooked to a 6-speed Allison automatic transmission and Eaton differentials. Designed and built by Ray Baumann, a former stuntman, who got tired of hurting himself in dangerous stunts, the super...
seven
At the wheel of Ford GT40
In 2003, Ford commemorated two important landmarks in its History. Aside from being the 100th aniversary of its foundation, it also marked the 40th aniversary of the release of one of its most famous cars: the Ford GT, better-known simply as GT40. This coincidence was echoed by the presentation of a GT prototype that boasts high performances. Much like its predecessor, the new GT40 aims at beating Ferrari, on...
seven
Futuristic automobiles from the past: the other brands
Buick Le Sabre, 1951 Every American car brand seems to have enthusiastically adhered to the futuristic design unleashed by Ford in the early 50s. During the following years, the automobiles out of the Chrysler, Pontiac, Buick, Dodge, Cadillac, Chevrolet, etc factories, deliberately, had a bold image, inspired by aeronautics, hoping to evoke velocity and high performances. The models' names were suggestive: Jet, Stratostreak, Falcon, Flight-Sweep, Dart, Golden Rocket, Cyclone,...
seven
"Mein name ist Bond, James Bond"
In the history of cinema there are few series as successful as James Bond. Begun in 1962, its end is nowhere in sight, with the release of new movies every so often. The secret for its success consists of a mixture of action, technology and romance that is renewed with every movie, according to the current trends. This makes the movie saga perfect for analysing the last 50 years...
seven
The last of the monsters - Porsche 917
In April, 1969, twenty-five automobiles of aggressive look were lined up outside Porsche's factory in Stuttgart. In its front and sides, the inscription 917 replaced the race numbers. It was the beginning of that year's automobile season and, also, the beginning of an unexpected adventure of an exceptional prototype that would reign every circuit in the world and that established the German brand in the resistance demonstrations: the Porsche...
seven
John Lennon´s psychedelic Rolls Royce
The showbusiness star's taste for powerful and luxurious cars is well known. As it would be expected, Rolls Royce is one of the most sought after car brands, not only because it possesses all of the above characteristics, but also because it offers its customers the opportunity of personalizing their car according to their every whim. Among pop/ rock musicians, for instance, there have been numerous lucky car owners,...
andré montejorge
a light sport aircraft within the reach of a mere mortal
ICON has been creating a series of special aircraft designs since 2005 and, led by a former U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot, has just released the ICON A5. This elegant plane was designed in compliance with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)'s demands, which regulates America's air traffic for this type of flight - recreational flight....
seven
Phoenix 1000 - a luxurious submarine
The idea, in itself, is brilliant: instead of buying a luxurious yacht, why not buy a luxurious submarine? In fact, there isn't any unwritten law that states that submarines should only be used for military or scientific purposes, which is proven by this innovative new concept that threatens to take the world of personal transportation by storm. The Phoenix 1000 is a huge 65-metre (213 feet) vessel that rivals...
seven
the wondrous locomotives of Raymond Loewy
The collaboration between Raymond Loewy and the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was a fruitful one. The PRR was, for several years, the biggest railroad company in the USA, controlling, at its peak, more than 16 000 Km (10 000 miles) of rail line and employing over 250 000 workers. It has been said that the president of PRR at the time was considered more powerful than the country's president himself....
seven
Bugatti railcar
Ettore Bugatti paid a high price for his idealistic and perfectionist personality. His vehicles, pure works of art, would often translate into huge monetary losses. Such was the case of the Royale which, despite its excellence, revealed itself to be a comercial flop and forced his creator to come up with a solution to his imminent bankruptcy. Thus, his practical side created a bold locomotive, propelled by Royale's powerful...
benjamin júnior
the evolution of car logos
The logos of some of the best known car brands haven't always looked the same as they do today. In some of the oldest car brands, we witness a change in their logo that strives to make it more aesthetically pleasing and, who knows, to keep up with some of the trends that have changed through the years....