The GranTurismo S – The Sportiest Version of Maserati’s Coupé
The Maserati GranTurismo S, the sportiest version of Maserati’s coupé, was developed for those looking for a distinctive performance car. The new and powerful 4.7 litre V8 engine is capable of generating 323 kw (440bhp), bestowing the GranTurismo S with a distinctive personality, aggression and power; all the necessary traits to deliver a refined drive in complete safety.

Read more at Maserati.com

When Apple announced new iMacs last month, it included a major step forward amid the subtle-but-welcome refinements in most of the models: the first ever iMac to offer a quad-core processor. The new high-end 27-inch iMacs are the first to use Intel’s Core i5 and Core i7 quad-core processors, and they were not available at the time of the announcement. But finally, the wait is over, and the Core i5 and Core i7 27-inch iMacs have arrived—and let me tell you, it was worth the wait.

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The World Islands, are a collection of man-made islands shaped into the continents of the world, located off the coast of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It will consist of 300 small private artificial islands divided into four categories – private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands.

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Rinspeed’s Zero-Emission World Debut at the Geneva Motor Show – a Green “Fish” with Q-Factor

Thirty years after the movie thriller ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ hit the silver screen “sQuba” is the first car that can actually ‘fly’ under water.

“Dive it again, James!” If the situation gets too hot for the secret agent he’ll go underground – or under water. So demonstrated impressively by Roger Moore in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me” in 1977 when he dove below the waves in a sleek vehicle that moments before seemed to be an ordinary car. The only problem: The scene never really took place; it was an animation.

With the “sQuba,” the world’s first real submersible car, the movie fake now becomes reality for visitors of the Geneva Motor Show (March 6th – 16th, 2008). Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht (52) is known for his extraordinary automotive creations. The acknowledged James Bond enthusiast and Swiss automobile visionary kept revisiting this scene in his mind over and over: “For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water. Now we have made this dream come true.”

And it is this submerged stabile flight at a depth of 10 meters that sets the “sQuba” apart from military vehicles. While the latter can go under water, they are limited to driving slowly over the submerged ground. Rinderknecht: “It is undoubtedly not an easy task to make a car watertight and pressure resistant enough to be maneuverable under water. The real challenge however was to create a submersible car that moves like a fish in water.”

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Acura’s Advanced Sports Car Concept bears all the necessary design elements of a proper sports car: sharp, aggressive edges, a low and wide silhouette, a slightly phallic side profile, and of course, a rear window that stands somewhere between hardly usable and nonexistent. As a whole, the ASCC looks clean and modern but also recalls some late ’80s sports cars, specifically the Mark III Toyota Supra. The slim headlights and full-width taillight are meant to mimic those of the iconic Acura NSX. Inside, an all-black cockpit does the same.

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Future by Design shares the life and far-reaching vision of Jacque Fresco, considered by many to be a modern day Da Vinci. Peer to Einstein and Buckminster Fuller, Jacque is a self-taught futurist who describes himself most often as a “generalist” or multi-disciplinarian — a student of many inter-related fields. He is a prolific inventor, having spent his entire life (he is now 90 years old) conceiving of and devising inventions on various scales which entail the use of innovative technology. As a futurist, Jacque is not only a conceptualist and a theoretician, but he is also an engineer and a designer.

As taken from here

Honda Motor Europe Ltd. exhibited the World Premiere V4 Concept Model at Intermot Cologne. The V4 Concept Model proposes a new, sensual design direction based on Honda’s trademark 4-cylinder V- engine.

This year Honda celebrates its 60th anniversary as a company and next year the 50th anniversary of its participation in road racing, as well as the 30th anniversary of racing with an innovative 4-cylinder V-engine with oval pistons. Considering these milestones, Honda chose “The New Beginning” as its exhibition theme leading into 2009 and exhibited the V4 Concept Model which signifies the beginning of a new era.

For Intermot, Honda collected and exhibited successive V4 race machines as well as mass-market motorcycle products which were developed by feeding back the technologies cultivated through participation in challenging race competition, enabling visitors to review the lineage of 30 years of V4 engine technologies and see how Honda will take motorcycling somewhere it has not been before. The exhibition also offers an easy-to-understand introduction to various challenges Honda has undertaken in order to create joy for its customers, by utilizing its technologies that have been continuously advanced through Honda’s 60-year history and by its participation in motorsports. Read the rest here…

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This powerful user platform gives you ultimate control. With a customised house plan displayed on the screen navigation is simple, icons clearly indicate active devices. At a glance you can see what lights have been left on, what doors are open and what security detectors sense movement.

Selecting a room by simply touching the screen, produces a control panel which indicates what control functions are available for that room.

The user friendly eLife touch screen can provide control of lighting, motorised blinds, heating/cooling, multi room audio and audio visual equipment. Schedules can be easily programmed by the user with just a touch of a finger.

Learn more here…

Greece is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, ranking in the world’s top 20 countries. According to the greek Ministry of Tourism, the nation received about 17 million visitors from January to mid August 2007, a large number for a small country of 11 million. Visitors are drawn to the country’s beaches and reliable sunny summer weather, its nightlife, historical sites and natural beauty.

Over 90% of visitors who come to Greece come from other European countries, although in recent years there have been growing numbers of tourists from other world regions. The vast majority of visitors arrive during tourism season, which is April through October. Peak season is July through August, and most of the tourists and tourism industry are concentrated in Crete, the Dodecanese, Cyclades, and Western Greek Islands, and to a lesser extent: the Peloponnese, and the Halkidiki peninsula in Macedonia. There are still many rewarding areas in the country free of large-scale tourism.

Many first-time visitors arrive in Greece with specific images in mind and are surprised to discover a country with such regional and architectural diversity. The famous whitewashed homes and charming blue-domed churches only characterize a specific region of the country (the Cyclades Islands). Architecture varies greatly from one region to the next depending on the local history. Visitors will find Neoclassical architecture in the cities of Ermoupolis and Nafplio, Ottoman-influenced buildings in Grevená and Kozáni, whitewashed Cycladic homes on the island of Paros, and pastel-colored baroque homes and churches on Corfu. The nation’s terrain is just as varied as its architectural heritage: idyllic beaches, towering mountain ranges, wine-producing valleys, vast stretches of olive orchards in the south, and lush forests in the north. Greece’s historical sights are just as varied; the country is littered with just as many medieval churches and castles as classical ruins and temples.

Learn more here…”