Your ears aren’t fooling you; the savage sound you’re hearing is coming from a 1.0-liter engine.
The last time we saw Ford’s Hot Wheels Rip Rod, it was a static project car being towed behind the decked out Ford Transit Connect vehicle. Even though the cargo van’s 55-inch television screen, gullwing doors, and nostalgic paint job were cool, we always wondered what the Rip Rod would be like moving under its own power.
The real life Hot Wheels car, originally designed and built by Mattel and Bandito Brothers, is now powered by Ford’s amazing 1.0-liter EcoBoost engine.
The tiny three-cylinder uses a cast iron block, independent variable camshaft timing, and an overboost function to increase durability, efficiency, and raw power.
Because the Rip Rod is a small vehicle, the EcoBoost’s integrated exhaust manifold and internal timing belt reduce size and weight appropriately. In the video above, Ford Racing says the engine is “small enough to fit in a suitcase.”
There’s no word on output for this particular application, but the 1.0-liter has made anywhere from 99 horsepower to a stunning 202 hp in the FF1 racecar. The Euro-legal one-seater was quick enough to lap the Nurburgring in 7:22 seconds, faster than a Ferrari Enzo.
Considering Ford’s claim that the three-pot is “powerful enough to accelerate the evolution of racing,” it’s a good bet the Rip Rod is toward the high end of the EcoBoost’s potential.
Related: EcoBoost, Coyotes, and Voodoo. Dissecting the tech powering the 2015 Mustang
The engine is developed at the Dunton Technical Centre in Laindon, United Kingdom. It is currently being featured in the Ford Fiesta, and won the International Engine of the Year award in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
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.