Offbeat

Every now and then we come across a garage that captures our hearts and imagination. This secret garage is one of the coolest that we've seen. Even though the live-in Maserati Ultimate Garage was an architectural marvel, this particular hideaway would make James Bond jealous. Check out the stop-motion images of its hydraulic motor dropping the roof down flush with the ground.

There is not a whole lot to say about this one... There is no technology to discuss, no specs to review, just some good ole' fun. Similar to the bra testing video we showed before but more on target, this one has become a true YouTube sensation. Simple but effective... Check it out after the jump.

UK designer Benedict Radcliff first got on our radar back in 2007 when he posted up a wireframe outline of a Subaru WRX outside of the Paul Smith gallery in London. Amazingly enough, this invisible vehicle was ticketed multiple times. In 2008, Radcliff created a wired up Koenig Lamborghini Countach to outdo his previous endeavor and once again posted the exotic outline on the streets of London, which created quite a stir.

The original Lamborghini Countach was manufactured between 1974 and 1989 and became a supercar icon. A special modified version was produced by Koenig Specials and added an aerodynamics kit and a horsepower boost by way of single turbo-charger.

The world's coolest cop car, a specially modified Lamborghini Gallardo used by the Italian State Police, recently was involved in a serious crash that totaled the exotic patrol vehicle. This raging bull was actually donated by Lamborghini which decked it out with a special package including police decals & lights, a video recording system, gun racks, radio equipment and even a front compartment outfitted to transport body parts to local emergency rooms. It's actually so cool that I probably wouldn't even mind getting pulled over.

Strangely enough this crash occurred when the Lamborghini Gallardo police cruiser was returning from a safe driving presentation and exhibition in Cremona, Italy where the car was on display. However, all of the evasive and defensive driving tactics in the world couldn't save it from an errant Seat Ibiza driver who pulled out of a gas station right in front of the Gallardo, clipping its side. The policeman used the moto "swerve first and ask questions later" which ended up putting the supercar into a row of parked cars. Since the Lamborghini is so low-slung, it actually ended up with a Mercedes-Benz A-Class on top of it.

For most drug dealers wanting to transport some serious weight, an inconspicuous cargo van or low-key SUV would be the drive of choice. But not everyone uses this same logic. One particular man was recently caught driving 133 mph (213.8 km/h) in an Audi RS6 Avant, (one of the baddest super wagons on the planet) along the stretch between Huelva and Seville in Spain. This in itself might not seem like anything to write home about, but it turns out this bandit was transporting a heavy load of hashish.

Naturally, with a twin-turbo V10 with 580 hp at his disposal, putting on the turn signal and slowly pulling over to the right was not this guy's first thought when the police gave chase. The driver pegged the throttle and moseyed on up to about 149 mph (240 km/h) along a 20 kilometer stretch of the A-49 highway, leaving smokey in the dust. But low and behold, he later hit a traffic jam and his massive engine was no longer an effective tool for evasion. The man took off on foot.

So, in the continuing saga of the Bugatti lake crash footage that we showed the other day, new details have just emerged. In a strange twist of fate, we have learned that the driver was Andy House, who just happens to own Performance Auto Sales, a company that actually restores wrecked exotics for resale. Is this starting to sound a little too much like the Balloon Boy incident?

In any case, he bought the 2006 Bugatti Veyron EB for $1.25 million last month and it was fully insured. But let me ask you this... How come it only costs $8,000 per year to insure a Bugatti (according to the article) but my 7 year old Acura runs me $3,600 in the state of California? ...Sorry to digress. What's really cool is that some unenlightened motorists (who thought it was a "Lambo") caught the actual crash on their video cam. And we didn't see no stinkin' pelican. Check out the footage after the jump. Beware, due to excessive swearing it is NSFW, so turn the volume down.

Many automotive addicts will cringe when they see this, while many other jealous folks might just cheer. Whatever your reaction to this Bugatti Veyron lake crash, the circumstances leading up to this supercar blunder are rather comical. Apparently, while the owner of the vehicle was cruising through Galveston, Texas, on his way to check out some real estate, he was chatting on his cell phone when, all of sudden, a low flying pelican caught his attention. It was reported that "the man jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and the car’s front tire left the frontage road and entered a muddy patch, which foiled his attempt to maneuver away from the lagoon."

And therein lies the rub --- a 1,001 hp quad-turbo 16-cylinder engine may be great for propelling one to 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds, but without reverse rocket thrusters or some type of Batman-like grappling hook to jettison, does no good when hurling through mud. With a curb weight of 4,162 pounds, no traction control, ABS or electronic wizardry today can help you here. But what makes no sense is that the news reported "the Veyron’s powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died."

Yep, it's another Monday morning and you're grudgingly back in the office. But let me put things in perspective. Your day may be painful, but at least it's not as bad as what this chicken must have experienced. Supposedly, it was a Belgium driver who had a high-speed run-in with this doomed poultry. Notice the force at which the chicken penetrated the high-cohesion glass of this German engineered vehicle, shellacking the seat backs with blood and feathers and then coming to rest violently inside the rear window... Wicked! Somewhere there is probably a military man who is considering weaponizing these things. Anyway, below are some more pictures of this very chicken decimating the victim Porsche as only a chicken can do... It's an oldie but a goodie, and maybe, just maybe, might make your day go by a little bit quicker.