The car that has to replace the Alfa Romeo 156, the award-winning sports sedan that redefined Alfa Romeo and took the legendary Italian car maker to new sales records with its unique blend of performance, ageless style and Italian brio, has one of the toughest jobs in the industry. That car is the Alfa Romeo 159 and it makes its world debut at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show on 1 March 2005. Read More
Alcohol WithOut Liquid (AWOL) has launched a small portable, home version of the controversial commercial AWOL machines launched last year into pubs, clubs and bars. The personal AWOL machine will be named AWOL 1 and will be priced at US$299, a significant reduction from the commercial two and four person AWOL machines, priced at US$2595 and US$2895 respectively. The price reduction has been enabled by substituting the oxygen generator used in AWOL 2 and 4 for an air compressor used in AWOL 1. Both methods deliver alcohol into the bloodstream in the same way - a method that has caused controversy on both sides of the Atlantic, though some US states seem intent on taking silliness to new extremes. Read More
UPDATED IMAGES A supercharged Harley-Davidson V-Rod will be a two-wheeled star among the four-wheeled majority at the 2005 Melbourne International Motor Show next week. The production-ready prototype is a collaboration between Vee Two Australia and Sprintex Superchargers and with only a few visual clues as to what lurks beneath the standard exterior, it's a real sleeper - with 140 horsepower. Read More
It's a scenario made even more frightening by graphic television footage in recent times - trapped at the top of a burning building with exits cut-off facing the gruesome choice between jumping or perishing in flames. Developed as a "last resort" in such an emergency, Evacuchute is specifically designed and engineered for building evacuations - the static line parachute is automatically deployed in less than 1.5 seconds and moves the individual away from the building to ensure a safe, low-impact deployment and a controlled descent at low altitude. Read More
The statistics for the "America's Army: Operations" computer game are surreal. Launched on July 4, 2002, the game was downloaded by more than a million people in the first fortnight and the total number of registered on-line players is now approaching five million, making it one of the five most popular on-line PC action games because of its absolute authenticity. It aught to be authentic - it was developed by the US Army and at a development cost of just US$7.5 million, it might just be the most effective on-line advertising spend in history to this point in time ... and now there's a sequel. Read More
Porsche is presenting to the public the entries of the ten architectural practices that participated in the competition for the planned new Porsche museum building. From today until March 6, the models will be on view daily between 11 am and 6 pm in the Meidinger-Saal in "Haus der Wirtschaft" in Stuttgart. Interested visitors will thus be able to visualise the plans for the Porscheplatz in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen in detail. The new Porsche museum, which is one of the most spectacular architectural projects in the history of the sports automobile manufacturer, is to be completed in 2007 and is expected to attract over 200,000 visitors each year. Read More
One of the most famous Formula One cars of all time will be on show this coming weekend at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit near Melbourne. Dan Gurney's 'screaming' Weslake V12-engined Eagle F1 will be in full flight at the Shannons Phillip Island Classic (February 26-27). Built by Gurney's own All American Racers, the Eagle F1 took Gurney into the history books when he won the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix, becoming only the second GP driver in history after Jack Brabham to win a Formula One race driving the car he built. Read More
Bentley Continental Flying Spur - the world's fastest four door saloon
The new Bentley Continental Flying Spur makes its international debut at the Geneva Salon on March 1 and will begin its global roll-out from April 2005. Sharing heart and soul with its Continental GT coupe stablemate, the Continental Flying Spur is a fastest four-door Grand Tourer in the world, with a top speed of 195mph. It marries the excitement, power, refinement and craftsmanship of the Continental GT with enhanced luxury and space to provide a stylish combination of performance, style and comfort. Read More
The Joint Strike Fighter on show at Australian International Airshow
The future of military aviation, the potent Joint Strike Fighter, will be featured at to the Australian International Airshow in March where a full scale and technically detailed replica of this massive and imposing warplane will be on static display for close inspection by military decision makers, aeronautical engineers and the general public to inspect the aircraft. It will be equipped with the latest computerised control and combat systems. Read More
The most prestigious watches: What the world's leaders are wearing
The wristwatch, for most of the last century, has been the ultimate male Gizmo! One of the few accepted male adornments, the pocket watch evolved into the wristwatch and subsequently into a key indicator of social status, particularly in the upper echelons of society. So what do the world's most powerful men wear? An article this week in Russia's leading newspaper addressed this question and the results make fascinating reading. The world's most powerful man wears a US$50 Timex, whilst other heads of state wear timepieces that cost up to US$500,000 plus. Read More
