Sometimes the best ideas come from unexpected places. Back in January, Lego Technic released a 603-piece creation for BMW’s R 1200 GS Adventure, a dual-sport motorcycle that’s as comfortable on dirt as it is on tarmac. After some tinkering, Lego discovered the same 603 pieces could be reconfigured into a futuristic flying motorbike, and BMW took notice.
The automaker — specifically a training unit called the BMW Junior Company — took Lego’s design and transformed it into a full-size aerial motorcycle called the Hover Ride Concept. Now that’s thinking outside the box. The technology to make it fly safely is unfortunately several years out, but as a mode of future transport, the concept certainly looks the part.
The bike is sleek, sharp, and quite frankly cool as hell, and we can already imagine squads of robotic policemen using it to swarm baddies from above. To make it “air-worthy,” BMW transformed the front-wheel rim into a propeller and added a hover unit under the seat, but unfortunately, the brand has no plans to produce it. At least not right now.
“It was a great idea and a superb creative challenge to develop a fictitious model from the parts of the Lego Technic BMW R 1200 GS Adventure set,” BMW said. “Our concept not only incorporates the BMW Motorrad design DNA with typical elements such as the boxer engine and the characteristic GS silhouette, it also draws on the Lego Technic stylistic idiom.”
The Hover Ride Concept was shown for the first time earlier this month at Lego World in Copenhagen, Denmark, but if you missed it, it will soon travel to places like the BMW Group Research and Innovation Center and BMW Welt in Munich. How long until the real version comes out? Hopefully not long.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.