Elon Musk Calls Top Gear ‘Completely Phony’

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk reportedly dropped an f-bomb on the blokes at Top Gear and says the popular BBC motoring program’s test of two Roadsters was “completely phony.”

The no-holds-barred assessment comes after Tesla sued the BBC and Top Gear for libel and “malicious falsehood.” Although program host Jeremy Clarkson raved about the Roadster’s performance, Musk says the program grossly understated the Roadster’s range, faked a scene where one car ran out of juice, and erroneously claimed the other had a brake failure.

Not so, says executive producer Andy Wilman in a post written for Jalopnik. But Musk went off on the Beeb and Top Gear in an interview with The Detroit News Tuesday, following a press conference where Musk said his SpaceX firm is building the biggest rocket since the Saturn V.

“The fundamental thing with Top Gear is that the show was about as authentic as a Milli Vanilli concert, but the problem is most viewers don’t know that,” Musk told the News, referring to the pop singers busted for lip-syncing. “For European investors, every single one, except one, specifically asked us why our car broke down on Top Gear. It was (messed) up.”

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Intelligent Transportation Takes a Baby Step

We’re finally seeing progress in a plan to create an intelligent transportation system where our cars and our roads communicate to make our commutes a little smoother.

Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Michigan) and Russ Carnahan (D-Missouri) have introduced landmark legislation authorizing Uncle Sam to choose six cities to test “intelligent transportation systems.” That’s a catch-all phrase for applying many different technologies to our roads, the goal being integrated infrastructure that communicates with cars. We’re talking about things like synchronizing traffic lights and beaming real-time traffic info into vehicles. There’s nothing particularly shocking about this, as a lot of this tech already is used to some degree in industry.

“Many of these technologies are available today,” Carnahan said. “It’s a matter of getting them into our communities, into our cars, into our handheld devices and really integrating how we all think about transportation.”

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SpaceX Promises Biggest Rocket Since Saturn V

SpaceX is poised to take a giant leap with the biggest rocket since the Saturn V carried men to the moon, and it could blast off by early 2013.

Elon Musk’s private space startup announced Tuesday that the 22-story Falcon Heavy will carry more than 117,000 pounds into low Earth orbit, giving it twice the lift capability of the space shuttle or the Delta IV heavy rocket built by Boeing–Lockheed Martin. Musk says it’ll be far cheaper, too.

“It’s more capability than any vehicle in history apart from the Saturn V,” Musk told reporters. “It opens up a range of possibilities for government and commercial space missions that simply aren’t present with the current lifting capacity.”

Musk, the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies, says the first launch will happen soon after the Falcon Heavy arrives at the company’s launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, late next year.

He estimates launching the 227-foot-tall rocket at $80 to $125 million, less than one-third the cost of the Delta IV and roughly one-tenth that of the space shuttle. If SpaceX stays within that cost, the Falcon Heavy will deliver payloads at the $1,000-per-pound benchmark long sought by the space industry.

“It’s not so mythical anymore,” Musk told reporters in Washington, D.C. He believes SpaceX will find customers eager to use the rocket. Analysts say he may be right.

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Up Pikes Peak On A Trike’s Seat

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb attracts all sorts of vehicles hoping to climb the 12.42 mile highway in record time, from open-wheel racers to electric motorcycles. This year, one of the contenders is a unique leaning trike.

The TreMoto 3Z1 is the latest trike from the folks at TreMoto, based in Taylor, Miss. Like the DualSport before it, its secret is a patent-pending Leaning Vehicle Suspension System, which mounts suspension components on a central pivot that allows an ideal 50 degree lean angle. With such a setup, the TreMoto corners like a bike but with the stability of a quad — ideal for Pikes Peak, a twisting, turning course that alternates between dirt and pavement with an average grade of seven percent.

“Low-side crashes are common in dirt motorcycle racing, and the TreMoto system effectively prevents that,” said TreMoto CEO Eddie Smith. Another benefit of Pikes Peak? Their exhibition class accepts nearly all comers, which plays to the strength of a vehicle that’s neither a bike nor a quad.

“We’ve been on track at Laguna Seca and Barber Motorsports Park but race organizers are not going to put us head-to-head with bikes,” Smith said. “On the same set of tires we can drag our knees in the corners, then take off off down a muddy dirt road and still have an exhilarating, controllable ride.”

The 3Z1 has a 953 cc Kawasaki inline-four that puts out 125 hp at 10,000 RPM. All the additional suspension components add only 40 lbs. to the trike. Smith says he’s sure the 3Z1 will “turn some heads” at Pikes Peak, which takes place June 26. “The three-wheel record is 13:17, set by a sidecar. Eclipsing that would be a huge win,” he said.

For a team on a small budget with a brand new idea, however, just competing is a small victory in itself. “For us, it really isn’t as much about the class win as it is about beating the mountain. At the end of the day we just need to go fast, finish the race and show that this TreMoto idea really is viable.”

Photos: TreMoto. The DualSport, predecessor to the 3Z1.

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Video: Volvo Takes C30 Electric to Indiana

Volvo took the all-electric C30 last week to the Indiana factory of battery-maker Ener1, whose lithium-ion cells power the Swedish EV.

The Volvo, its EU license plates covered over with New Jersey manufacturer tags, was there for a “ride and drive” event, where company execs showed off their new baby and let folks have a close-up look under the hood and get some time behind the wheel.

Normally, such events are closed to the general public and only open to the press. This time, however, we’ve got video of the C30 Electric for you to enjoy. Take a good look, as some of the first cars will soon be coming to the United States for real-world road tests.

Tom Goesch, president of the transportation group at Ener1, talked about the battery that his company developed alongside Volvo. The lithium-ion batteries feature a mixed-oxide cathode and hard-carbon anode, which provide a good mix of high energy, long-life durability and safety. All batteries for the C30 Electric will be built at Ener1’s plant in Greenfield, Ind.

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We Drive the Electric Rolls-Royce — It’s Amazing

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Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric

The Rolls-Royce 102EX Phantom Experimental Electric is the most extraordinary EV yet.

The list of superlatives you can apply to this car is as long as its wheelbase. The first electric Rolls-Royce is big. It is smooth. It is mind-bogglingly luxurious. And the torque just keeps coming. It has the largest battery ever installed in a passenger car, a 71-kilowatt-hour monster that would power your iPhone until Armageddon.

The 102EX is a one-off prototype to test the waters, a $3 million bet on the future. And it is bloody brilliant. Combining the peerless chassis engineering of a Rolls-Royce with a pair of silent electric motors in a vehicle that defines opulence yields what is arguably the most refined automobile, electric or otherwise, ever built.

And Rolls-Royce built it because its customers haven’t asked for it.

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The Coolest BMW You Can’t Buy Has a Bed

The boys in Bavaria have built an M3 that hauls ass — and half a ton of stuff.

This slick one-off is based on the BMW M3 convertible, which is stiff enough to handle the extensive excising of sheet metal. Damned if it doesn’t look great. It’s got a targa top, a diamond-plate bed and a 420-horsepower V8 because too much is always just enough. It weighs 100 kilos less than the convertible, which puts it at 1,780 kilos (3,924 pounds).

Yes, we know it is April Fool’s Day, but this is the real deal — it was seen last month at the Nurburgring, where BMW says it hit 186 mph. No plans for production; the car was built as a shop truck for BMW’s M-Sport division.

Photos: BMW

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Florida Storm Wreaks Havoc At Airshow

The weather at this year’s Sun ‘n Fun airshow in Florida has been anything but. Rainy weather earlier in the week was followed by a severe thunderstorm yesterday with a possible tornado as well. There were no reports of serious injuries, but several dozen aircraft were damaged or destroyed.

Last year we enjoyed a run rally to Sun ‘n Fun as part of AOPA’s Fly ‘n Drive Rally. But this year the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is reporting the winds caused widespread damage at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.

The storm arrived with little warning, and lasted less than 15 minutes. Many manufacturers use the Sun ‘n Fun show as the kickoff for the airshow and flying season. Unfortunately this year many of their aircraft were destroyed.

A video with more images and comments from the president and the founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association can be seen after the jump.

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From Quattro To Duo: Audi Builds A Bike

Audi has unveiled a new line of bikes that are designed to embody the brand’s design values. Appropriately, the two-wheeler is named Duo.

Built by Portland, OR based Renovo Hardwood Bicycles, the Duo line features three high-end bikes with monocoque frames made of hardwood. The wood frames are not only unique-looking, but also lightweight, shock-absorbent and biodegradable. Riders may be forgiven for thinking the bikes are made from the surplus from swaths of timber that cover the dash of an A8, as bicycle frames and finishes were selected to mirror the interiors of Audi automobiles.

“An evolution of the ongoing Audi commitment to progressive ideas, the Duo serves as both a work of art and a mode of transportation that blends beauty and craftsmanship with performance and technology,” the automaker said. They’re clear to distinguish the Duo as “not as a design exercise or a mere rebadging of a commonplace bicycle,” though we’re sure that’s a dig at other German automakers who have sullied their status with sub-par cycles.

If Audi wants consumers to think of the Duo as a work of art, they’ve certainly priced it accordingly. The lineup starts with the City, a “café/leisure” bike (ugh) that runs $6,530 with fenders, LED lights and a Shimano Nexus 8-speed internal hub coupled with a Gates CenterTrack belt drive. Next up is the $7,350 Sport, with skinnier tires, drop bars, smaller fenders and a 11-speed Shimano Alfine internal gear hub.

Topping the range is the $7,460 Road, shown above. With narrow tires, no fenders and an SRAM Red 20-speed gear train, it’s a nice bike, for sure, but for the same price one could build a great bike around a carbon-fiber frame. According to our friends over at GadgetLab, at least a wooden frame can have scratches buffed out and refinished.

Photos: Audi

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Future of Batteries May Be 3-D

The future of electric vehicle batteries may be 3-D.

Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a battery with a three-dimensional interior architecture that uses copper nanowires to store twice as many lithium ions as conventional lithium-ion batteries. Team leader Amy Prieto, pictured with her students, says the prototype, about the size of a cellphone battery, could recharge in about 12 minutes.

They’re still a long way from building anything capable of powering an automobile, but the prototype suggests we might one day see electric vehicles recharge in minutes, not hours.

“It’s going to take a new generation of batteries to do so, and we hope our 3-D battery is poised to be at the forefront,” Prieto said in a statement. “If our battery works to its potential, it could be the ideal battery for an electric car.”

The 3-D battery features a fundamental change to the interior of lithium-ion batteries.

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