(Credit:
Tag Heuer)
If you like fast cars, you might get revved up by the Meridiist phone from luxury sports watch maker Tag Heuer. The company has teamed with Italian super sports car manufacturer Lamborghini to create the limited-edition phone, which flashes fancy dual LCD displays made from 60.5 carats of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal.
The phone's design references the Lamborghini Murcielago down to its signature on the battery cover--the same one as on the Murcielago LP 640's V12 engine block. The device has a hand-brushed stainless steel case and backlit mechanical stainless steel keypad customized with Automobili Lamborghini's trademark Taurus bull on the steel central button.
The Meridiist measures about 4.5 inches by 1.8 inches by a little more than half an inch, giving it something of a 2002 aesthetic, but it does boast above-average battery life--seven hours of talk time or 28 days of standby power. Otherwise it has standard specs, like a WAP 2.0 Web browser and a 2-megapixel camera.
In tribute to the year Automobili Lamborghini was founded, 1,963 of the quad-band Bluetooth phones will be sold worldwide.
You can reserve a Meridiist in different colors of real leather or alligator skin, but the fact that we're not seeing a price listed anywhere on the Tag Heuer site makes us think we're better off sticking with our Ford Explorer handset.
(Credit:
Spantax)
Certain cars feature such atrocious designs that they become automotive legends. Think cars such as the AMC Pacer and Pontiac Aztek. In the last year, we've seen quirky designs that may reach such legendary status from the vaunted brands BMW, Acura, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin. Some of these designs are attempts at entering the crossover segment, building an SUV with the fuel economy and ride quality of a car. Others attempt to expand model lineups dominated by sports cars, giving the prospective buyer who wants to add a baby seat an option. Take a look at these photos to see the results of these design efforts.
GT cars, the stuff that posters on the walls of high school boys' bedrooms are made of, made a strong showing at the 2009 Geneva auto show, with new examples from Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Lamborghini, among others. The variety we found at the show included standard gas engines, hybrids, and full electric versions, and all boast astounding performance figures.
What used to be romantic tends to be seen as just plain creepy these days. And quite possibly somewhat stalker-ish too. So of course, we do what we always do when it comes to gadgets and accessories that have the potential of abuse...we mock them endlessly.
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No wood siding on this family wagon.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)
Lamborghini owners must be aging, because the company just unveiled a concept four door at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. However, the Lamborghini Estate Estoque doesn't come with wood panels, instead showing design cues reminiscent of the Reventon, the limited production model unveiled at last year's Frankfurt auto show. This design language--using sharpened lines, black mesh air intakes, and LED exterior lights--looks to be the new direction for Lamborghini as it considers adding a third model to the existing Gallardo and Murcielago line-up.
Rear door handles nestle into the sides.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Although, according to Lamborghini's news release, the Estoque could be used to take the children on a weekend trip, the model features the same tech that makes its existing cars so desirable, including all-wheel-drive. No particular engine is specified, but Lamborghini suggests the car could use the V-10 found in the Gallardo LP 560-4, or a turbocharged V-8 derived from the same engine. Unlike the Gallardo, this engine would be placed in front of the cabin, rather than behind it, but Lamborghini insists this is still a mid-engine placement.
Although longer than its siblings, it's still a Lamborghini.
(Credit: CBS Interactive)Still keen on bull-fighting, Lamborghini chose the name for the concept from the rapier matadors use when facing a bull. Lamborghini's Estoque concept has 22-inch wheels, yet is only four and a half feet high. For instrumentation, the Estoque gets a large LCD, and the driver can choose different displays, such as virtual analog gauges or a digital read-out. Route guidance is also shown on this display. According to Lamborghini, a rear seat entertainment system would be available, because, of course, the children will get bored when riding in the back of the Estoque. There are no current plans for production.
(Credit:
Asus)
Ferrari may preen for the most attention, but Lamborghini is the auto house that gets the bragging rights for now. The Asus-Lamborghini ZX1 has won the prestigious iF Communication Design Award for "uncompromising quality in style and materials."
It's not the first co-branded Lamborghini phone--Nokia offers its own version--but the ZX1 will definitely turn heads for its original design. Beyond just slapping a logo on its cover, the 3.5G handset sports a "beehive textured air intake" pattern and a "chassis-inspired aerodynamic flow," according to Fareastgizmos. Inside is a 9-way navigational key inspired by the car's steering system, as well as a 2.8-inch touch screen, Wi-Fi receiver, Bluetooth, and 3-megapixel camera. No pricing was given, but we're guessing that it will likely correspond with the luxury vehicle it's named after.
The stuff of calendars and posters, exotics are cars you will rarely see in real life. Lucky indeed is the individual who gets to see a Bentley Continental GT Speed or a Spyker C8 Aileron drive by on the street. We've gone through our auto show photographs to select rare new production cars.
Click here for photos of exotic cars from recent auto shows.
Supercar Life maintains a stable of exotics for track driving.
(Credit: Supercar Life)Today and tomorrow, some lucky people are driving a set of supercars, including a Ferrari F430, a Lamborghini Gallardo, and a Porsche Turbo 997, around the Auto Club Speedway track in Fontana, Calif. To get this lucky, all you have to do is pony up $4,990 to Supercar Life, a company with a fleet of very fast cars that it uses to host track events. The company provides professional instruction to the drivers, taking the morning of the event day to show them how to drive on the track. During the afternoon, the clients take the wheel.
For people who want to pilot some very expensive cars, and don't mind being confined to public roads, there's Club Sportiva, a company that offers timeshares on a garage full of cars. Club Sportiva offers memberships beginning at $3,500, for 12 days a year, and a garage that includes a Maserati Quattroporte, Lotus Elise, and a Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG.
Not so mellow yellow.
Maybe it's because we live in Manhattan and don't drive, but computers named after cars have always caught our eye. We've seen licensed laptops based on the Ferrari and Lamborghini brands before, but we're still waiting for a Prius-branded "green" laptop -- surely a winning marketing tie-in if there ever was one.
We saw the latest entry in the Asus Lamborghini line, the VX3, briefly at CES back in January, and now the final product has roared into the CNET Lab, ready to take on all comers with a brand-new Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and even a GeForce 9300M video card--a rarity for a 12-inch laptop.
Leather on a laptop equals classy.
Of course, being shallow, we're more interested in the leather-padded wrist rest and automotive pain finish.
We're running the VX3 through its paces right now, so expect a full review and video soon, but in the meantime, we couldn't resist snapping a few photos. There's no pricing or availability information yet, but expect it soon, for about $3,000.
(Credit:
PhoneArena)
Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen these days (or at least $4.99), and it's getting more difficult to separate from the pack all the time. Even the once-vaunted Jawbone, for instance, has resorted to some trash talking.
But here's one that's sure to draw some attention, as long as would-be admirers can see the logo: The Lamborghini "Bello." Bearing the famous bull emblem, the headset was designed by none other than a son of the legendary auto house's founder, according to PhoneArena. It weighs just 9 grams and claims 6 hours of talk time for around $70--a mere pittance considering the brand name.
It's an ideal way to get some mileage out of the logo, especially if you can't afford a Lamborghini laptop, let alone a car--even a used one.
