Autoblog

Today we've seen something quite small and extremely awesome: a small-scale V12 engine designed for model radio controlled vehicles. This is an entirely functional model and features twin camshafts and overhead valves. It's air-cooled to simplify things by ridding itself of the need for complex water jackets, radiators and the associated plumbing, though the crankshaft is made from multiple pieces. The lilliputian engine displaces just 87-cubic centimeters, but produces between 6 and 8 horsepower running on a mixture of methanol and nitro methane. The best thing of all is the builders say they will be making kits available soon so enterprising craftsmen can power their RC cars, planes and boats with a real V12. To truly get an idea of just how awe inspiring this little machine is, click past the break for a video of the mini V12 in action.

[Source: Wawu via Carscoop]

It's hard enough to get a full-sized vehicle slurping gasoline and sitting on 10-inch wide rubber to reach 200 mph, so imaging trying to reach the lofty speed with a home made remote control car powered by a 29.6-volt electric motor and running on foam based tires. The current R/C land speed record is held by R/C enthusiast Nic Case, who managed 134.4mph.

This time, another enthusiast by the name of Nick Maslowski is going for 200 mph with his new X2 racer. Though the R/C car has a theoretical top speed of 274 mph, drag generated by friction from the road surface and air brings that final top speed to the 200 mph figure.

At these kinds of speed, directing the cars remotely can be very difficult. To prevent it from rolling out of control, Nic has installed a gyroscope that adjusts a pair of rudders to keep it on a straight line. We'd love to see what a R/C car would be capable of with the right facilities such as a wind-tunnel and smoother track.

[Source: Jalopnik via Pistonheads]

We like offroading vids as much as anyone, because they show just how much many of the SUVs we roll in are actually capable of. We're also suckers for cool toys, and the video that follows the jump combines both of these interests to great effect. Pretty cool stuff...enjoy.

UPDATE: Second vid added that shows this year's event. Thanks to Matt (the guy behind it all) for the link in the comments.

[Source: YouTube]

We wandered into Skoda's booth at the Paris Auto Show expecting to catch our first up-close look at the much-lauded Roomster. What we didn't expect was that we'd spot it in dirigible form, silently gliding 15 feet over our heads.

Apparently floated as a trial balloon for a new series of lighter-than-air people movers, the Czech manufacturer lofted a helium-filled representation of its new crossover vehicle, replete with a radio control system that steers the vehicle via a pair of props mounted on swiveling gimbals. You've seen the future of transportation here first, folks!

For those of you who haven't kept up with radio-controlled car technology since the days of the original RC10 and Tamiya Grasshopper, well, things have changed just a bit. Thanks to lithium-polymer (LiPo) batteries and inexpensive brushless DC motors, RC enthusiasts now have access to more power than we could dream about just a few years ago.

The above video shows a Team Losi Mini-T 1:18-scale RC truck ripping around on a sand dune. With the stock motor, this would be less entertaining than watching paint dry, but there's nothing like increasing the power output by an order of magnitude to increase the fun factor. While something like this is by no means the fastest RC car in the world (despite the claim of the video's editor, that record belongs to Nic Case at over 160 MPH), it's probably capable of 60+ MPH like this author's Castle Creations-powered RC18T.

Why should automotive enthusiasts care? Well, for one, playing with RC cars will put a grin on nearly anyone's face, and provides a pleasant distraction when things aren't going well in the 1:1 world. But more importantly, the same sort of technology that gives us insanely fast toys can also be expected to brighten gearheads' days if the internal combustion engine gives way to electric motors as the power source of choice for future vehicles.

[Source: Transport Trends]