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Case mods are ever-popular, and more than one car lover has tried to turn his PC into something more interesting (and car-themed, of course). One such person is user bschoot on the TheBestCaseScenario boards, who made a mod based on “Tanya”, a 1997 911 Twin Turbo Porsche from the movie Gone in 60 Seconds.

What this guy did was buy a 1/6th scale RC car for $60 and work on it. He repainted it, rewired the headlights and brake lights, added some neons, and then installed a motheboard inside it.

More pictures after the jump. For all the details, check out the original forum post.
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An enterprising person called Leah Buechley came up with an ingenious solution for cyclists or bikers: a jacket with turn signals on its back. She used the LilyPad wearable e-textile technology developed by herself, which is especially designed to have large connecting pads so that the LilyPads can be easily attached to clothes.

The jacket uses a LilyPad Arduino Mainboard and LEDs, and the signals are controlled through wrist-mounted switches.

According to comments on Buechley’s Flickr photo, there is already a patent for a similar type of clothing: High visibility safety garment.

You can find all the LilyPad products here.

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What do you think of when you hear “flying car”? The Fifth Element or some other sci-fi movie? Actually, the Milner AirCar is as real as it gets.

Designed by Milner Motors, the AirCar will be, according to them, a completely self-contained four-door, four to five-seat advanced-composite road-able aircraft (flying car) with foldable main wing in the rear of the vehicle and a canard in the front.

The AirCar will be able to cruise at speeds of 200 MPH for up to 100 miles, thanks to one or two engines with propellers or ducted fans producing 300 total HP. When not flying, the vehicle will be powered by a separate 40 HP Engine. The wings fold down so it can operate on roads and and it will be the size of a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic.

If you’re interested in this, you can get a first glance at it at the New York Auto Show (March 21-30). The estimate price is $450,000, but you won’t be able to buy one for a while, as the aircraft needs to be certified for commercial production first.

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If you like branded products and you’re a Ferarri fan (preferably also an audiophile) with a lot of money, the Ferarri Art.Engine is for you. This 47″ (119 cm) tall speaker has impressive specs. From the producer website:
Bi-amplified, stereo audio system with twin integrated line-source loudspeakers, amplifiers, DSP signal management and digital wireless receiver. Eight custom DWV 75mm (3″) carbon fiber high-performance mid/woofers and one ScanSpeak custom 28mm (1.1″) soft dome tweeter are used in each of the two channels.

Its primary signal input is wireless streaming via iTunes, but it can also be used with conventional sources such as CD and MP3 players. It comes in four colors: Nero (black), Argento Nurburgring (light grey), Grigio Silverstone (dark grey) and Rossa Corso (red, of course, it’s a Ferarri branded item after all).

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After the Pro Race Trainer, we have another racing simulator for the pros (or for people with a lot of money).

The VirtualGT Personal Racing Simulator is designed for race training and home entertainment, and it apparently is as close as it gets to actually driving a race car.

It features a force-feedback steering wheel, a form-fitting MasterCraft racing seat, a fully adjustable chassis to accomodate any size, a loudspeakers system and a built-in hands-free intercom system, suspension components and electronic controls.

And it gets better: you can get a custom designed car or track, everything according to your specifications.

The price tag is not pretty, though: $16,995 for the base unit with no display, $19,490 for the unit with a 37″ plasma display and up to $22,490 with a 65″-82″ projection system.

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Remember that Aston Martin DB6 couch we featured a while ago? If Aston Martin wasn’t your cup of tea, but you still want to watch TV while sitting in the back of a car (sort of), try a Corvette.

The 1957 Corvette Style Couch from Corbin comes in a range of hand painted colors (so you can get it to match your curtains if you want) and has dimmable lighting fixtures, plus storage areas inside the “fenders” for your remote, magazines… bottle of wine for an impromptu romantic dinner perhaps?

But, before you get to excited, check your bank account: this baby costs $4399.

See two more impresssive custom designs after the break, and lots more on Corbin’s website.
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The Autonomous Drifter is a project from Chris of PyroElectro, who transformed a regular RC car into a computer-controlled car.

Only the remote was actually modified (through a process explained in detail over on the site), and by connecting it to a laptop the car can be keyboard-controlled. In order to make it “autonomous” like the name says, you have to use a free script and input commands (such as a “W” to indicate the car should move forward, followed by the amount of time it should do that, and so on). Getting it to do something really impressive probably takes a lot of time and skill, though.

This video shows both modes of operation.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for PS3 is on its way, and Logitech is anticipating the launch by announcing the official wheel of Gran Turismo, with advanced force feedback technology. The Driving Force GT looks pretty impressive with its ability to recreate bumps, crashes and traction loss, the 24-position adjustment dial and the 900-degree wheel rotation.

Although Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is due April 17th, the Logitech wheel will only be available in May, for a price of $150.

For more detailed specs, read after the jump.
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Sometimes vehicles aren’t only designed for transportation - they’re used for expresing an idea. This is the case with “The Thunderbolt” Scooter Concept by Henrik Björkman. This electric scooter doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking in terms of power sources, but it makes a stand against traditional engines.

Its most striking feature is the hole in the middle, where the engine would normally go. In this case, the electro-magnetic power train is inside the rear wheel, thus leaving room for the “anti-engine”. It has a decent range: 70 km on a three hour charge.

More pictures after the jump.
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