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The Click Car Mouse and USB Stick range that has recently launched in South Africa lets you hold the car of your dreams from a Maserati GranTursimo to a pearl white Fiat 500 in the palm of your hand.
Licensed by the car manufacturers, the Click Car Mouse is a miniature near perfect replica of the real cars they’re modelled on. They are designed to a very high technical standard using only the highest quality materials. Most models are available in both wired and wireless versions.
CarBlog received the Range Rover Evoque Mouse and Mercedes Benz 300 SL USB Stick to test out. The Wireless Optical Evoque Mouse comes packaged with a nano receiver and battery. Once setup, the mouse can either be turned on (either with or without rear and headlights depending on how much battery you’re willing to use up) or off when not in use. It has a 10 metre range and adjustable high-res optical for 800dpi and 1600dpi.
After using it for a couple of hours, the Mouse slowly began to feel uncomfortable with the angled lines of the Range Rover not exactly conducive for the natural round shape of my palm. Sometimes, my finger would even get caught underneath the right hand side mirror. As a result, I would prefer a car with smoother contours – an Aston Martin DBS perhaps. However, it is important to be aware that my hands are smaller than most and may result in a different experience for someone else. The mouse works optimally on a pad as wheels, unfortunately, do not move.
Car Magazine has scooped some pics of the early prototype of the third generation Audi TT for 2014 on test in Europe as Audi prepares its new coupe for development.
The car’s mean looking front, boasts a hectagonal singleframe grille, a pair of large low-mounted air intakes as well as wraparound combined headlamp-and-indicator units. To increase the downforce at the rear it houses an active air dam which is supported by a neatly integrated high-mounted roof spoiler.
The interior will showcase a variation of the fully animated single screen instrument panel devised for the next Audi R8 Supercar.
As for the driving performance, based on the same flexible MQB architecture as the next 2012 VW Golf Mk7 and Audi A3, the new TT relies once more heavily on four-cylinder engines. The two petrol-fed four-cylinders deliver 180 and 220bhp, the diesel develops 178hp and the racier TTS will be equipped with a 276bhp turbocharged 2.0 litre. Quattro is standard on this model and on the next TT RS, which borrows the 385bhp kraftwerk upgrade from the 2012 limited-edition.
Well, certain information, though scarce, regarding the Donkervoort D8 GTO now could be seen on Christmas cards that the company has sent out. This has added to the delight of auto lovers, and in a way has set the holiday cheers. Thus the first look of the open wheeled vehicle is out.
There are some extremely interesting ads that are making an appearance on YouTube, highlighting the glories of the Nissan Juke. With a tag line that says ‘Shift the way you move’, Nissan is changing more than perceptions of movements with this one. Postulating that the car has origins that are good enough to hail back to the stuff that urban legends are made of, the story of the Nissan Juke is told in vivid graphic style, and seem to be made by a hardcore Tron fan.
The Citroen DS High Rider was present at the Geneva Auto Show last month but what was on the inside of the car wasn’t its final interior layout. It is now that the moniker has revealed the very fist mages of the interior which the commuter will finally arrive with. Even now, High Rider’s rear portion remains a mystery while on the inside it gets a bi-color dark brown and gold leather scheme along with the white cross stitching that covers the seat and the dash. The entire interior trim has been finished in Chrome while the door inserts get the Midas touch. The concept is just a preview of the upcoming Citroën DS4 which will likely be available by the beginning of 2011.
The next generation Citroen C4 prototype was spied testing in cold weather conditions and sadly the heavy camouflage reveals nothing more than some front fascia integrations. Slated for a debut at the Paris Auto Show in September this year, the 2011 model is similar in design to the new Citroen C3.
The front grille, the sharp windshield and the roofline are what make the latest C3 and this prototype look pretty similar. It is being told that the Citroen DS4 will also borrow the shape from this entry level family car in the future. The 2011 Citroen C4 is expected to hit the market with new engine options and those options may probably include a hybrid variant. Whether it will be petrol electric or diesel electric is anyone’s guess and the experts also speculate a three-cylinder engine for the C4. [via WCF]
The German Nurburgring Circuit and the American Death Valley are two places where the Spy photographers always camp in with their top notch cameras to catch glimpses of the scorchers of the future. This time around, it is the 2011 Porsche Boxster which was caught testing in Germany, thus revealing a few facets of the upcoming baby. The rear LED light clusters and the elongated and bulging front end is what is seemingly new there. On the other hand, the spoiler, the third brake light, the side sills and the vents, are all unchanged. Maybe these similarities are only for the test mule and we hope that a production ready model is what the spy photographers capture, the next time around. [via WCF]
Cars; no matter what we do, we can’t live without them. In today’s word, nobody can truly be productive without a vehicle. If you are lucky enough to be the owner of your own automobile, you must treat them like children as they eventually break down and require replacement parts. This unavoidable evil must be dealt with, regardless of when and where you purchased your vehicle. Thankfully, concept cars, like the Mazda Kiyora, don’t need this level of attention.
The Kiyora may only be a dream, but it’s the kind of dream that future automotives are made of. The joys, and pains, of concept vehicles is that they will never truly be driven; never be released to the mass market. As such, these cars don’t need to repair brake pads like normal cars. However, when something does need to be replaced, it must be custom made by the same team who build the original design. This can take a basic repair and turn it into an expensive chore.
This doesn’t mean concept cars aren’t worth looking into. Design styles from the Mazda Crossfire eventually found their way into the Mazda 5 and Mazda CX9. From brake rotors to sunroofs, all components found in modern vehicles found their births in concept cars from the past. Even the simple cushion seat was just a design on a drawing board at one point.
While the dream of owning a concept car does save the trip to the auto parts store, it doesn’t free you from the reality of your own vehicle, but this is where the mass produced automobile can be advantageous. Instead of settling for specific designs and required parts, you can build a custom vehicle that matches your style. Choosing a customer paint job, quality tachometer, or killer sound system, are only the beginning of the options available to the budding artist. The availability of these choices provides a freedom of creativity that most drivers won’t ever realize with their cars.
Going beyond the custom rims, spoilers and paint jobs, the real car enthusiast will go so far as to replace their engine, add Bilstein and KYB shocks, and overhaul the interior. By building a personalized vehicle, one can effectively create their own concept car, without the price tag and repair costs of the ones from the manufacturer. Whatever your interest, the concept car is always an interesting idea that offers insight to the future of vehicles.
