Mike Hanlon

Estonian automotive producer DARTZ is best known for producing the world's most expensive US$1 million bulletproof Kombat T98 and Prombron SUVs and more recently for producing a concept car lined in whale penis leather. Now it has announced a 2000 bhp armored Sportback, designed for pulling yachts. With a 2000 bhp powerplant, it will be the world's most powerful production car. It will also be frightfully expensive, but the owner won't be worried every time a motorcycle pulls alongside at the traffic lights. Read More

The ingenious Cargoshell shipping container concept is about to be tested for ISO certification, finally enabling deployment. The composite Cargoshell is both light and collapsible. Though containerisation has streamlined global trade, it remains inefficient. The current steel containers use the same space whether they are empty or full, and waste valuable resources globally being transported and stored empty. A Cargoshell can be broken down by one person in 30 minutes, to a quarter of its original volume. Read More

The compact S.U.V. class looks set for some serious competition over the coming 12 months when a completely redesigned Honda CR-V will continue to sell against Toyota's RAV4 and Volkswagen's Tiguan. Plus Mazda's CX-5, which is expected to be very similar to Minagi and packed with the first comprehensive SkyActiv efficiency technologies, will join the ranks. Honda is the runaway leader in the segment and this update is a clear signal of its intention to stay there. The "Walter Mitty" lives we all lead is exemplified by the compact S.U.V. segment, where more than 95 percent of the vehicles sold never venture offroad. Read More

The Quail Lodge sale held during Pebble Beach Car Week in August each year, always attracts extraordinary automobiles, and this year, the most talked about lot at the auction is one of the most delightfully eccentric for many a year. It is a handmade 1925 Rolls-Royce New Phantom, commissioned by the Maharaja of Kotah to be specifically built for tiger hunting. The eight liter Roller has spotlights for night hunting, a mounted Howdah gun (double-barrel shotgun in pistol form), a rifle stand in the rear passenger compartment, a mountable Lantaka cannon, and a machine gun mounted on an attached, matching trailer. Just the thing for peak hour! Read More

Owning one's own yacht must surely be one of man's greatest indulgences. The ability to take your own tailored environment anywhere you want. Yacht Island Design creates tailored environment like no other. Following on from its "Streets of Monaco" design is the "Tropical Island Paradise", a 90 metre island with a top speed of 15 knots. The main deck is a beach “cove” of cabanas surrounding a massive ocean view swimming pool, with a waterfall falling nearby from the volcano. A bar area, outdoor dining, there's a private spa and four VIP suites for friends, all with their own private balcony. Great image gallery. Read More

Metal Storm is to begin working with TASER on less-than-lethal ammunition for the its aptly-named MAUL rapid-fire 12-gauge launcher. The tiny 800 gram MAUL can be operated independently from its own shoulder stock, fitted as an accessory to an assault rifle (pictured), or used with a pistol grip. A five round reload takes two seconds and each bullet incapacitates those it hits with the same Neuro Muscular effect of a handheld TASER. Read More

The same Indian company that gave us the US$2500 Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, is now about to give us the world's cheapest house - the 20 sq meter house will cost Rs 32,000 (EUR500 –GBP440 - US$715 ), can be built in a week and is the first viable zero-cost housing package for beneficiaries of the Indira Awaas Yojana shelter rehabilitation scheme. The scheme provides for the underprivileged and with Rs 40,000 per house provided, there's even room for some cheap land in the deal. Read More

Shelby Super Cars has finally pulled the wraps off the car it has had under development for several years which is aiming for 280 mph. The aluminum and carbon fiber SSC Tuatara was styled by talented American designer Jason Castriota, and will run a mid-rear mounted, seven-litre, twin-turbo, Quad camshaft V8 producing 1,350 bhp. Shelby previously held the title of the world's fastest production car with the 1183 bhp, twin-turbo V8 Ultimate Aero TT which ran 412.68 km/h (256.18 mph). It bested the previous fastest, the original 1001 bhp Bugatti Veyron's 408 km/h (254 mph) but lost the title back to the French marque last year when a 1200 bhp Bugatti Veyron Super Sport ran 431 km/h (268 mph). Great image gallery on this one. Read More

We have to admit being more than a little surprised that in this increasingly health-conscious world, Porsche Design has released a new luxury Shisha waterpipe. Also known as a hookah or narghile, Shisha is becoming increasingly trendy in Western countries by "social" tobacco smokers and is already deeply embedded in African and Middle Eastern cultures. Porsche is one of the strongest, well respected brand names in the world, synonymous not only with uncompromising engineering and innovation, but with the deepest concern and respect for the safety of its customers. Why then would such a company create a product which is known to be so injurious to its users? Are Porsche's brand custodians asleep? Read More