Awesome Vehicles

If you need to move a building or another large structure, you need specialized industrial equipment. Mammoet’s Self-Propelled Modular Transporters can be used individually or in combination to transport enormous and heavy structures. Recently, they combined 604 SPMT axle lines to move a 16,258-ton support frame.

Bicycles and rollerblades work in similar ways, maintaining balance on skinny inline wheels. With that in mind, Jake Carlini ripped the handlebars and other parts off of two bicycles, then installed a bar and snowboard bindings to hold his feet in place. After several major revisions, he came up with a design that sort of works.

What’s the best design for a LEGO vehicle to conquer a difficult off-road obstacle course? LEGO Technic expert Dr. Engine created four very different vehicles and tested them on a tricky course with loose, uneven terrain and a steep slope to see which design was the most capable in challenging conditions.

The Creative Channel shows us how he built a rugged little tank-like vehicle that rolls around on wheels wrapped in car tire treads, letting it roll along with ease on rough terrain. Controlling the motorized tank uses a pair of joysticks for engaging its treads in forward or reverse, and another for applying throttle.

If you find yourself at the end of the world, buddy up with Gordo from Earth. He transformed a 2003 International Blue Bird school bus into a mobile workshop. It has solar and generator power, a massive roof rack, beds for four, and a rear deck with a crane for moving gear. Mobile Dwellings takes us on a tour of this awesome rig.

Cars aren’t the most efficient way to get around cities. They cause traffic jams, and are bad for the environment. Not Just Bikes takes a look at an alternative mode of transportation called a Bakfiet. These cargo bikes are popular in the Netherlands and offer a fun ride for kids. They come in 2- and 3-wheel varieties as well as eBikes.

LEGO enthusiast Brick Technology is back with another cool LEGO vehicle video. This time, they created a series of remote-controlled mechanisms that move inside clear plastic spheres, allowing them to roll around like BB-8 or a Sphero robot. They then put the designs to the test to see which was most agile, fast, and powerful.

After building a bicycle that balanced on an omni-wheel, engineer James Bruton wanted to see if he could apply the same mechanism to a drift cart. By mounting the omni-wheel at the back and motorized wheels at the front, the vehicle is able to powerslide with ease while still remaining controlled. Watch part two here.

Meanwhile in the Garage took an ordinary gas-powered scooter and transformed it into a three-wheeled vehicle that looks like something from the set of a sci-fi movie. He initially had built a cockpit that kept it as a two-wheeler, but later grafted on the front of an ATV for its final appearance.

Engineer James Bruton is fascinated with omni-directional wheels. For this video, he set out to make a vehicle that rolls on three split-hemisphere balls which can move in any direction. He’s since added a seat to it, resulting in what is basically the world’s most powerful office chair.

GazR’s Extreme Brick Machines! continues to entertain with their LEGO Technic prowess. In this video, they pitted a powerful propeller-driven car against a train engine and a 4×4. Which vehicle will reign supreme in the LEGO tug-of-war?

Thanks to MetaBallStudios, we know how big starships and robots are relative to one another. Now, we can see how earthbound vehicles stack up in this comparison video, which looks at the sizes of everything from Ant-Man’s microscopic van to the wheeled city of London in Mortal Engines. We had no idea that an AT-AT was bigger than Gundam.

The Brick Experiment Channel follows up its video of LEGO vehicles climbing over things with a series of more challenging obstacles. The new vehicle design includes a second adjustable joint, which allows it to climb objects and surfaces that look like they should be impossible to traverse.

Make It Extreme has built some pretty rad vehicles, but their Endobike prototype looks sketchier than most, seating its rider in a low position between its large front wheel and two smaller back wheels. It has no steering wheel, and instead steers by leaning. One commenter called it the “Faceplant Machine.”

While most cars have less than 300 hp, there are some sports cars that can hit 1000 hp or more. In this collab between Reigarw Comparisons and MetaBallStudios, they look at the power produced by everything from a Toyota Corolla to the Thrust SSC rocket car. They also compared cars to airplanes, tanks, and rockets.

Over the years, The Q has made some unique vehicles, from a walking bicycle to a cardboard F1 car. This time out, he set out to build one of those hamster wheel-inspired monowheels, primarily out of wood. We assume the long beams sticking in front of the pedal-powered wheel help act as a counterbalance.

Not too long ago, Colin Furze built himself an incredibly rad, incredibly capable homebrew screw tank. But one thing that it couldn’t do that some military-grade screw tanks can do is float on water. So he’s back to make some mods to improve the balance and buoyancy of his ride, in an attempt to make it seaworthy.

Previously, inventor Colin Furze teamed up with eBay UK to sponsor a gigantic AT-ACT playhouse and a full-size TIE Silencer ship. For his third Star Wars build, he’s created an awesome replica of Luke Skywalker’s X-34 landspeeder from A New Hope. While it doesn’t hover, it does drive, and is powered by jets. Build video here.

To get the word out about their new artificial preservative-free hot dog recipe, Oscar Mayer expanded its wiener-shaped vehicle fleet. The WienerCycle is a three-wheel moped with a hot dog warmer sidecar, and the WienerDrone can deliver hot dogs via the air.

Despite being named the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB), this public transportation vehicle is actually a tram because it only goes over tracks on the road. It’s just that its passenger compartment is raised to let cars pass beneath it. A TEB car can carry up to 300 people.

Pop Chart Lab’s newest print contains an illustration of every (known) United States military combat vehicle that’s currently in service. The 24″x 36″ chart groups the 180 vehicles into several classes, sub-classes and branch.

We initially thought of their SoloWheel as the world’s smallest Segway, but Inventist’s skateboard size Hovertrax might take the title. It weighs just 9lbs and can travel up to 4 miles at a speed up to 6mph on a one hour charge.

Hankook Tire held a competition challenging designers to look at tires from a whole new angle. Ben Zavala’s innovative Tiltread design won, but any of these finalists could change the tire paradigm.