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Land Rover’s new Discovery search and rescue SUV has a roof-mounted drone

3/9/2017

A special version of the new Land Rover Discovery dubbed ‘Project Discovery’ and designed for search and rescue operations is actually being deployed with the Austrian Red Cross – complete with a quadcopter drone that can take off from and land on the SUV, even while it’s moving. Magnets lock the drone in place while the Discovery is moving, and the drone can assist with search and rescue operations, extending the Red Cross staff’s ability to cover terrain beyond where the car and their feet can take them.

The car was designed by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) unit, which is exactly as cool as it sounds. it’s custom-made, and part of a long-running partnership Land Rover has had with the Red Cross across the globe, which has seen the two work together for 63 years in total. Land Rover’s new drone Discovery is almost certainly the most technologically advanced result of that longstanding arrangement, however.

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The drone that the Discovery carries onboard can broadcast live footage back to the rescue crew at the car, giving them a bird’s-eye view not only of potential survivors in case of accidents and disasters, but also letting them see how the landscape may have actually changed compared to any maps they may have as a result of earthquakes, avalanches, wildfires and storms. It’s a huge advantage to have on the ground in shifting emergency situations.The Land Rover Discovery created for Project Hero also includes a sliding floor panel that can be used as a work surface in a pinch, as well as more mounting points for gear, added LED lighting to better illuminate nighttime operations, and power supply points with international plug configurations for compatibility with a range of devices.

The project’s first deployment will be at an Austrian Red Cross training center in Erzberg, which is home to mountain-based mining operations. It’s going to be doing a 12-month stint at first, starting in June, 2017, and the drone will be running simulated operations to help rescue teams evolve their potential use of the added tech.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS LIQUIDATING HUMVEES AT SOME PRETTY AMAZING PRICES

2/22/2017

Hundreds of Humvees are being made available at surprisingly low prices.In what may be one of the ultimate military surplus sales of all time, the government is liquidating a lot of decommissioned Humvees, and the prices are a lot more affordable than you might think.

Govplanet.com is helping host the sale, and hundreds of hummers are being sold all across the country. Surprisingly, some are going for as little as $4,000. Not bad for a piece of former military hardware. Some appear to be in better shape than others, but there are a lot of photos for each listing.There are a couple catches, however. First off, you need an end user certificate to finalize the sale. A EUC just means you are the last owner. The EUC is required because the government obviously doesn’t want these machines going overseas to U.S. enemies.

The other catch? These Humvees don’t come with a title, and they’re being sold under the designation as being for off-road use only. But don’t let that be the deal-breaker if you’ve always wanted one! You can still pick up a sweet ride for cheap, although you will have to likely endure a lot of time and headaches with the DMV to make your new vehicle legal.
tags: military , humvee cheap , nathan finneman , h1 , hummer , h1 sale, off road, breed of speed

How a 4-Pound Engine Can Replace a 40-Pound Engine

6/15/2016

Connecticut-based startup LiquidPiston announced today that they have built a small, compact engine that is powerful enough to drive a go-kart. Their X-mini engine weighs just 4 pounds and has three moving parts, and yet can produce 3 horsepower, enough to replace the default 40-pound piston engine that normally powers the go-kart.

LiquidPiston says that their X-mini is still in a testing phase, and they hope to get the weight down to 3 pounds and the power up to 5 hp. (The 40-pound piston engine produces about 6.5 hp.) In the meantime, their little engine already packs a punch, as you can see in the video below.

LiquidPiston announced last year that they received a $1 million DARPA grant to develop their X-mini engine, and it appears that they've succeeded. The 4-pound, 3-hp engine is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet it can power everything from vehicles to generators to drones. The X-mini uses LiquidPiston's proprietary rotary engine design and thermodynamic cycle which offer vast improvements over both a traditional Wankel rotary engine and common piston engines.

LiquidPiston says the X-mini can run on Jet Propellant 8, the military's fuel of choice, making it an ideal candidate for all sorts of military applications. For instance, the X-mini is small and light enough to power a UAV, it can be part of a generator that can be carried in a backpack, or it can even be used to power military robotics. According to Alec Shkolnik, LiquidPiston's co-founder and president, "[DARPA] is kinda agnostic as to the actual application … they have so many different applications that need power."

Shkolnik said that the X-mini is still early in testing, and they have only just built their first working prototype, but he's hopeful that the engine could see a commercial release sometime in the next few years. When that happens, the X-mini could find its way into lawnmowers, emergency generators, and even small vehicles like mopeds.

$6 Million Ford F-750 World Cruiser

4/25/2016

We all know that pickup trucks are seriously big business in the U.S. auto market right now, which is one of the reasons they’re getting so much more luxurious and more expensive these days. So, take a look at what you can really achieve with the pickup format if you’ve got too much money, too much time, and a pretty wild imagination. Step forward, the Ford F-750 World Cruiser.

With a 2016 Ford F-150 4WD SuperCrew Platinum having an MSRP of $56,120, how much do you think an F-750 Word Cruiser would cost? Obviously it’s going to be more, so $80k, $100k, $250k perhaps? Nowhere near, I’m afraid. In fact, this behemoth actually cost an eye-water $6million for Dunkel Industries to build.

This fabulously silly pickup might well end up in the collection of an Arab oil billionaire one day; at least the owner of the company that built it will probably hoping so, anyway. The Ford F-750 World Cruiser was put up for auction, but the winning bidder didn’t manage to drive away in the truck after the closing bid of $55,000 fell light years away from what the truck cost to build.

tags: Nathan Finneman finneman colorado breed of speed breedofspeed truck offroad insane amazing cool

Awesome! Leopard 2 Tank vs Anti-Tank Ditch :Nathan Finneman

4/12/2016

This footage shows the two methods a 55-ton Leopard- 2 Tank can use to passing an anti-tank ditch 11,4 ft (3.5 meters) wide and 4,9 ft (1.5 meters) deep.

It can go very slow, sink in with the back of the tank and then use its immense engine power to push the far side of the ditch up and away. The alternative and you will not be surprised to learn that this is our favorite, is to go full speed and almost fly over it like it’s not even there. The Leopard 2 is propelled by the MTU MB 873 diesel engine, which provides 1,500 PS (1,103 kW) of engine output. The MTU MB 873 diesel engine is a four-stroke, 47.6 liter, 12-cylinder multi-fuel, exhaust turbo-charged, liquid-cooled engine, which has an estimated fuel consumption rate of around 300 liters per 100 km on roads and 500 liters per 100 km cross-country.The propulsion pack is capable of driving the tank to a top road speed of 68 km/h (limited to 50 km/h during peacetime by law), and top reverse is 31 km/h. The power pack can be changed in the field in 35 minutes.

The Leopard 2 can drive through water 13 ft deep using a snorkel or 3 ft 11 in without any preparation. It can climb vertical obstacles over 3 ft (one meter) high.

tags: nathan finneman finneman colorado breedofspeed breed of speed tank military army amazing off road ditch cool

Motocross Star Austin Stroupe Arrested for Possession of Heroin

3/15/2016

Within just a few short months Austin Stroupe rocketed back into the spotlight of the sport and then, almost as quickly as he returned, has disappeared. The former Supercross racer started with appearances at random East Coast independent events, then lined up for the AMSOIL Arenacross Series as a privateer before joining the Rockstar Energy FMC Racing OTSFF Husqvarna as a fill-in rider. Stroupe had success in the short stint with the Husqvarna crew, including a podium finish in Birmingham, but a few weeks ago word spread that he and the team had parted ways for unclear reasons.

Stroupe spoke on the matter with an appearance on the PulpMX Show on March 7th, where he stated that he was a bit overwhelmed by the return and voluntarily stepped away from the spot with the team midway through the year. In the same interview, Stroupe said he hoped to race again in some capacity.

On Monday afternoon, a member of VitalMX posted an arrest report and mug shot of Stroupe from the state of North Carolina dated March 10, 2016. According to the report, Stroupe was arrested in Wingate, North Carolina, and charged with a litany of offenses, including Failure to Maintain Lane Control (misdemeanor), Fictitious/Expired Registration Plate (misdemeanor), Possession of Marijuana Paraphernalia (misdemeanor), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana Up To 1/2 Oz (misdemeanor), and Possession of Heroin (felony).

This is a major blow to Stroupe, not as a racer, but most importantly as a person. Rumors of drug use have long circled Stroupe throughout his career and his first disappearance from racing in 2011 only intensified the speculation. Sadly, this seems to confirm the matter.

Whoa, There's Already a Dealership Selling Hellcat-Powered Wranglers

3/15/2016

Jeep unveiled a Hellcat-powered Wrangler concept today, and while it's incredibly cool, it will unfortunately never see production. But if you had your heart set on a 707-horsepower Wrangler, don't despair. We found a dealership in Altoona, Pennsylvania that will gladly sell you one. Hell, they've got two of 'em!

We're not exactly sure how this particular dealership ended up with two Hellcat-powered Wranglers, but we do know they come from a Pennsylvania shop called Hauk Designs, which showed its first Hellcatted Wrangler at SEMA last November.

According to the spec sheet, each Hauk Hellcat gets a Hellcat engine good for 707 horsepower, 650 lb.-ft. of torque, flexing through a Mercedes-Benz 5G-tronic automatic transmission, a 4:1 transfer case, and 4:10 gears and locking differentials front and rear. The spec sheet also includes a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein performance shocks, upgraded Teraflex brakes, J.E. Reel driveshafts, and big 35-inch tires on 17-inch wheels.

What its like inside the M1 Abrams tank while firing.

2/16/2016

The M1 Abrams tank is the third generation of US main battle tank, whose number M1.

Since 1984 the main armament of the two variants M1A consists of a derivative of the Rheinmetall 120 mm gun, called M256A1. The first models, equipped with the 105mm cannon were removed from service. The secondary armament consists of two 7.62 mm machine guns, plus a 12.7mm machine gun that can be operated from inside the vehicle on most versions. The machine also has an NBC protection system, a laser rangefinder, a gyro-stabilized gun and a shooting system controlled by a dedicated computer. The M1A1 Abrams is distinguished by its Rheinmetall 120 mm gun of German origin, which equips also the Leopard tank 2. The newest, the M1A2 Abrams, is given a new fire control system (rotary thermal sight, an independent weapon station for the tank commander) and a new board computer (a data acquisition interface and communications, navigation and positioning equipment). This behemoth of about 61 tonnes is led by a crew of 4 men and can mainly darken at the speed of 72 km / h, and a distance of 465 km.

Watch this crazy Russian drift a BMW M5 around the streets of Russia

12/14/2014