OOF – Out of Food

If you’ve long wished of flying through the air or have simply seen Thunderball one too many times, perhaps it’s time to get in line for a Martin Jet Pack ($100,000; late 2010). Powered by a specially-designed 2.0L gasoline engine producing 200hp and capable of traveling as far as 31.5 miles or up to 8,000 feet, this unique personal aircraft falls under the FAA’s Ultralight classification — meaning no pilots license required — and even features a built-in ballistic parachute just in case you manage to run out of gas or stall in mid-air. Bluetooth helmet for playing Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” while flying not included.

What happens when you ditch standard car features like, oh say, a roof, windows or any semblance of safety features? You get an extremely lightweight, impossibly fast super car that does 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. The 2010 Ariel Atom 3 features a Honda K20 engine, which pushes this streamlined frame on wheels to the limit without adding a lot of manufacturing cost. Yours for only $49980.

It was a daunting task for McLaren to meet or exceed expectations when designing the successor to one of the greatest cars of this era, the F1. Formula 1 inspired engineering has led to the development of the mid-mounted bespoke V8 engine that will produce 600bhp from 3.8 twin-turbocharged liters. A pre-cog transmission function helps prime the gearbox for an impending shift, leading to shift times to rival F1 cars. The chassis architecture that they speak of comes in the form of a 176lb one-piece chassis, a racing-derived piece dubbed the Carbon MonoCell. Expect the MP4-12C to debut in 2011, with its sights set against the Ferrari 458 and Lamborghini Gallardo.

The Trevita CCXR is the latest limited edition of Koenigsegg’s CCXR supercar. Trevita, in Swedish, means “three whites,” a reference to the number of cars planned for production. The limited production is due to the method and material employed in the manufacturing of the car’s bodywork. In-house Koenigsegg engineers developed a special type of carbon fiber whose fibers have been coated with a diamond finish, creating a metallic white (as opposed to traditional black) color.

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While BMW and Mercedes-Benz opt toward increasingly busy and futuristic-looking convertibles, the 2010 Audi S5 Cabriolet is all class.

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The Lamborbiker is a concept bike from designer Flavio Adriani, who was inspired by Marcello Gandini, chief designer of Bertone and freelance designer since 1980. Gandini was also designer of the Osmos wheel and the Lamborghini Countach.

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Shelling out those rather expensive cars to entice buyers for the properties, I think is reason enough to suggest the ditch property sellers have managed to find themselves in. While Duncan Jones hasn’t found takers for his mansion and a free Ferrari, a seller in San Diego has tried to better him by offering a 2007 Bentley Continental GT and the furniture along with a house with an ocean view. Now, with a car costing somewhere between $169,000 and $189,000 coming free with a $1,799,900, 4,371 square foot house might just find luck.

Another iconic vehicle is about to be reborn and brought into the 21st century. This time it is the Mercedes-Benz 300SL that is getting the make-over treatment (that’s the car with the batman-esque doors to you and me, or Gull-wings as they are known in the car business).

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Blacked-out from fender to fender, the 2009 Harley-Davidson Iron 883 ($7,900) is an affordable, no-frills chopper that’s begging to be customized. The latest Harley Dark Custom motocycle, the Iron 883 offers plenty of old-school, anti-plastic style, including front fork gaiters, a drag-style handlebar, side-mount license plate holder, a chopped rear fender, a straight cut shorty dual exhaust, and 13-spoke cast aluminum wheels (19-inch front, 16-inch rear) with a fat 150 mm rear tire. The bike is powered by the impressive Evolution 883cc V-Twin engine.