Awesome Cars

After giving us the world’s lowest car, the gang from Italy’s Carmagheddon is back with another crazy build. This time, they took a FIAT Panda and dramatically reduced its length, giving it the shortest wheelbase we’ve ever seen. Their Panda Corta does tend to dive severely when braking, but that’s part of the fun.

If you built a car with wheels made from smaller wheels, would it drive faster or slower than a car with standard wheels? Banana Gear Studios put that idea to the test by engineering a unique LEGO vehicle with two rear wheels, each outfitted with eight small wheels connected to a motor via a series of gears.

Justin the Light Guy likes to put on over-the-top Christmas light shows for his neighborhood. Now, he’s taking his light show on the road. He’s outfitted his Dodge Challenger Scat Pack with an LED grid up front and created animations to make it appear as if the car is singing. Want in on the action? Justin is looking for sponsors for his billboard on wheels.

We’ve seen a camper made from an old jet engine, but it had to be towed. This jet engine can drive like a car. Built atop a golf cart chassis Holmes 747 Jetmobile features a spinning turbine fan, and is piloted from a captain’s chair accessed by a real 747 spiral staircase. Its interior is set up like an airplane cabin, complete with windows and First Class seats.

This video is from 2009, but it’s still a fascinating watch. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) smashed a 1959 Chevy Bel-Air into a new Chevy Malibu to see how much safety had improved over 50 years. It’s incredible how much better protected the occupants of the modern car are compared to cars built before NHTSA safety regulations.

What you’re looking at isn’t a video effect. Artist Joshua Vides masterfully hand painted these cars atop matte vinyl wraps to look like the black and white artwork from comic books. The three fully-drivable cars and their backdrop are part of Joshua’s solo show, Check Engine Light, recently displayed in LA and heading to NYC.

We’re pretty comfortable driving on a race track at speeds around 130 to 140 mph. Anything more than that, and we start to get a little squirrely. Speaking of speed, Red Side put together this fun 3D animation that compares the speeds of various vehicles, from bumper cars to rocket cars and everything in between.

We’ve seen a car and a motorcycle drive on a frozen lake using sawblades for wheels. Fortek_nine did the same thing, only they attached small circular sawblades to a powerful R/C car. After giving it a test, they raced the beast against another R/C car riding on spiky screw tires to see which would grip better.

We’ve been promised flying cars since the Victorian era, yet they’re still not roaming our streets and skies. Maker Akira_OA created his own flying car that’s based on one of those tiny Kei cars. By using lightweight materials like carbon fiber and aluminum, he was able to get off the ground. Unfortunately, the car body is just for show, so it doesn’t drive.

Ice-drifting in a Miata is a fun way to spend a day. The guys at Garage 54 had a different idea for driving a Mazda in the winter. Their plan? Take the front half of a junkyard Mazda, attach an underbody sled, and slide it around on the snow. Since the donor car was front-wheel drive, no rear wheels were needed.

LEGO has revealed a number of additions to its Formula 1 race car collection. Among the new models are large Technic versions of the Ferrari SF-24 and Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20, as well as small Speed Champions cars from Mercedes-AMG, McLaren, Williams, BWT Alpine, and more. There’s also an F1 transporter truck with RB20 and AMR24 race cars.

Here come the budget sets in LEGO’s new collaboration with Formula 1. Look closely, and you’ll notice that each of the 12 cars is no mere palette and sticker swaps. Each car also comes with a matching F1 driver minfigure. The only thing bad about these kits is that, while they’re available for pre-order, they won’t be released until 03.2025.

Warner Bros partnered with a PR firm to create Wayne Enterprises, a company that sells luxury items inspired by Batman and his billionaire alter ego, Bruce Wayne. That includes ten fully functional replicas of the Tumbler, the version of the Batmobile from Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy. The $3M vehicles have a 6.2L 525 hp engine plus gun and jet engine effects.

When someone says “Toyota Prius,” images of a utilitarian, unexciting hybrid typically come to mind. For years, the Prius was synonymous with economy over excitement, earning its fair share of jokes. But with the 2024 Prius XLE, Toyota has flipped the script, delivering a car that not only looks like a sports car but also manages to blend practicality with style.

Hot Wheels released a three-part show about how they design, prototype, and finally create their die-cast toy cars. At the center of the documentary is their quest to make a die-cast version of photographer Larry Chen’s Supra chase car. The first episode mostly touches on the brand’s history, and the meat of the show starts on the second episode.

Conceptualized in 1969, the original Runabout was the progenitor of designer Marcello Gandini’s later masterpieces such as the Lancia Stratos Zero and the Lamborghini Countach. Bertone is remaking the Runabout while staying faithful to the original concept with a V6-powered stunner. It will be available with the original open air design and as a targa.