This life-sized compressed air car built from LEGO just won the internet What do you get when you combine crowdfunding, outside-the-box thinking, 18 months of hard work, and half a million LEGO pieces?From the looks of it, you get to conquer the internet with a full-sized LEGO car, powered by compressed air.The Super Awesome Micro Project car, which was initially launched with a single tweet, is the brain child of an Australian entrepreneur, Steve Sammartino, and Romanian technology enthusiast, Raul Oaida, and can not only drive, but can get up to 18 mph.Anyone interested in investing $500-$1000 in a project which is awesome & a world first tweet me. Need about 20 participants... #startup— Steve Sammartino (@sammartino) February 29, 2012After receiving funding from 40 backers, the project was on, and over the next 18 months, the Super Awesome Micro Project came together in a fusion of ingenuity (and a whole lotta LEGO action).The LEGO car, which is powered by four orbital engines, using 256 pistons driven by compressed air, was built in Romania over a period of about a year, and then shipped to Melbourne, Australia, for its inaugural drive:While we probably won't be seeing too many other zero-emission rat rods built from LEGO on the roads anytime soon (perhaps because of the estimated cost of $60,000
, or because having a daily driver made from plastic bricks isn't the most optimum choice, or because any e-bike could probably beat it in a speed trial), it's nevertheless an innovative way of using old-school materials and ingenuity to build something the world has never seen before.Find out more about the Super Awesome Micro Project.A Life-Size Lego Car Powered by Air Prev Article Next Article What Do You Think? Like Us For More!In today's edition of "things you wish you'd done if you had the brains and not wasted your life in front of the TV", an Australian and Romanian duo has come up with the childhood toy of our dreams: A full-size, working car made from Lego. It's the brainchild of Australian-based Steve Sammartino, a self-proclaimed entrepreneur and marketing guy, and 20-year old Romanian technology genius Raul Oaida. The entire project was crowdfunded via just a single Tweet, says AutoWeek. Under the guise of the "Super Awesome Micro Project", that tweet brought in enough cash for the half-million Lego pieces required for its construction.
The car was built in Romania and then moved to Melbourne, Australia, presumably not brick-by-brick. While we're sure more than a few people could lay claim to having made a full-size Lego car, we doubt too many of them have a fully-working Lego engine to go along with it. In this case, that engine is a 256-piston, air-powered Lego radial engine, capable of driving the insane yellow and black Lego contraption up to around 18 mph. It's not highway-capable then, but if using highways means missing out on a life-size Lego car with a radial engine, they're probably overrated anyway.The only visible non-Lego components are the gauges, and the wheel rims and tires (though the wheels have Lego faces--literally) while thousands of pieces can be seen moving in the four orbital radial Lego engines. The doors--removable--are also Lego, as are the mildly uncomfortable-looking seats and steering wheel. But why the hot rod design? "Mainly because hot rods are cool", says Sammartino. Can't argue with that.
It's certainly made our childhood attempts at Lego pirate ships and spaceports look a bit pathetic... Follow Motor Authority on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+Whitney Houston performing the National Anthem at the 1991 Super Bowl Dutch police deal with some thugs A high school buzzer beater worthy of the NBA English pronunciations don't make any sense Man records the moment when his mother forgets who he is Jackie Chan reunites with his original stunt teamChevrolet showed up at the Detroit Auto Show with a life-size Lego Batmobile See all Editor's Picks Screengrab via Chevrolet / YouTube One of cinema’s most famous cars has come to life in all of its blocky glory. Ahead of The Lego Batman Movie’s release next month, Warner Bros. has teamed up with Chevrolet to build a life-size Batmobile out of Lego. The Lego car—which, unfortunately is not for sale—took about 1,833 hours to build and is composed of 233,187 Lego pieces. According to Chevrolet’s website, it’s got just about everything you’d need to save Gotham City from corruption and destruction and it stacks up against both the Notorious Lowrider and the Riddler Racer.
While it’s not a practical-looking car by any means, its style and build more than make up for that. Introducing the All-New LEGO® Batmobile from #Chevy! — Chevrolet (@chevrolet) January 14, 2017 .@chevrolet #Lego Batmobile at the #Detroit Auto Show. The Dark Knight has all the cool stuff. — Jon Wong (@JonWonger) January 14, 2017 Along with a life-size model of Lego Batman’s Batmobile, Chevrolet put the car up for an even bigger test by spoofing its own car commercial. Lego Batman is definitely not a fan of the honest but harsh criticism about the car—as well as the person who drives it. We won’t see the real-life Lego Batmobile anytime soon, but The Lego Batman Movie swings into theaters Feb. 10. Up next after the break:What happens if you take 500,000 pieces of Lego and 256 pistons, then hand them over to Steve Sammartino and Raul Oaida? This fully functioning, life-size, air-powered Lego car is what. With four orbital engines powering the massive lump of plastic bricks, the vehicle can hit speeds of up to 20mph. Styled to look like a hot rod, Sammartino and Oaida built the vehicle in Romania, but it's since been shipped to Melbourne.
They've taken it to the streets, but admit that they currently "drive it slow as are scared of giant lego explosion." But the sheer excitement of riding in a car made entirely from Lego must surely go some way in compensating for that. [Super Awesome Micro Project]"The Super Awesome Micro Project", as this has become known, is not a special effect. That really is a life-size car made out of LEGO, and it really is being powered by an engine made out of LEGO. Built from 500,000 bricks, the engine (four orbital engines with a total of 256 pistons) uses compressed air to propel the car. OK, so it won't hit the speeds you'd get from a real hot rod (it tops out at 20-30km/h), but a real hot rod can't match this for fuel economy or awesomeness, either.It was built by a Romanian kid and an Australian entrepreneur, and is currently turning heads in Melbourne.Life Size Lego Car Powered by Air [YouTube]Chevrolet Introduces Life-Sized Lego Batmobile at ... A Chat With FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne on Future ...
VLF Automotive X-Force Concept is a Chevrolet ... The Stinger GT is a “Different Level of ... 4 Volkswagen Microbus Concepts From the Past and ... FCA Looking at Giorgio Platform for Next-Gen Jeep ... Infiniti QX50 Concept Stuns in Detroit Mercedes-AMG’s “Project ONE” Hypercar Teased 2018 GAC Trumpchi GS7, GE3, EnSpirit Concept ... 2018 Audi SQ5 Debuts in Detroit With New Turbo ... Partners with Warner Bros. for “The Lego Batman Movie” No Obligation, Fast & Simple Free New Car Quote More than a month Receive your free dealer pricing information by completing your contact information! The Caped Crusader and Chevrolet have joined forces to promote the February 10 release of “The Lego Batman Movie.” The Bat Signal shined on GM’s Renaissance Center headquarters in downtown Detroit the evening before Chevrolet revealed its 17-foot Lego Batmobile at the first public day of the North American International Auto Show.Chevrolet, in conjunction with Detroit’s Cody Rouge community, A World in Motion, and First Lego League, unveiled the 1,695-pound life-sized Lego Batmobile that took 1,833 hours to build and consists of 344,187 Lego bricks.