Design

Designers and makers have been busy imagining uses for 3D printers, ranging from casts to houses to duck feet. Vehicle designer Nir Siegel doesn't just want to 3D-print cars, he wants them to assemble themselves.

Siegel's Genesis concept would involve the delivery of a specialized 3D printer to a car buyer. The printer would then print out a car all around itself to match the buyer's specifications.… Read more

If a FlowRider Surf Machine is making an appearance at a car festival, Peugeot steps up to the plate. At this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K. (from July 11-14), the car manufacturer will debut the GTi Surfboard concept, based on its recent performance cars -- the 208 GTi, in particular, as well as the RCZ R and the Onyx concept vehicle.

Carved into a coupe franche ("clean cut") shape, the GTi board shows two distinct parts: the nose of the surfboard in wood, the original material for the craft before fiberglass and polyurethane came along. This wooden nose, Peugeot said, represents "emotion," and is carved with the Peugeot GTi logo. … Read more

My idea of the ultimate bathing experience is heading to an onsen hot spring in the mountains of Japan. But how would that compare to soaking while suspended in midair?

Vessel is a massive, deluxe hammock-style bathtub by Splinter Works of Britain.

Fashioned of shiny black carbon fiber, it looks like something from Neo's bathroom in "The Matrix." Climb in and you'll be floating in another world. … Read more

Wouldn't it be great if you could have your very own disco everywhere you go? Forget the shoulder-borne boombox -- student Yuhan Zhang from Sweden's Umea Institute of Design has brought mobile music into the 21st century.

Called the Marshall Dicycle, the concept is designed around amp maker Marshall, although the look of the thing seems to skew more toward "Tron" than Marshall's rather traditional style. … Read more

When Britain's Salon Prive luxury car fair opens in September, visitors will get a chance to gawk at the Vencer Sarthe, a new hand-built supercar from the Netherlands. We're already planning to sneak in.

The Sarthe is one of many ridiculously crushworthy cars we wish we could afford, along with our recent fantasizing about $8 million gold speakers, luxury timepieces, and diamond-encrusted tablets and smartphones.

The Sarthe was named after the Circuit de la Sarthe course, a famed venue of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. It has a 510-horsepower, 8-cylinder engine; six-speed manual gearbox; and a top speed of 202 mph. It can do 0 to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds. … Read more

Apart from the massive collaborative re-creation of "The Wizard of Oz," the recent Lego festival at Brickworld 2013 Chicago had plenty to gawk at.

Not least was an incredible Lego spaceship designed and built by Peter Mowry (aka Abathar). It's called The Marquis.

Tipping the scales at about 50 pounds with roughly 16,500 bricks and standing 56 inches tall, the arc-shaped vessel took eight months to build. It has an elaborate original backstory with highly detailed, inspired illustrations. … Read more

Despite the bountiful PlayStation 4 chatter and coverage, some people still don't have an idea what it's like to actually use the highly anticipated gaming device. A new video produced by Sony gives a feel for the console by showing several actors playing games, sharing gameplay footage, and setting up downloads remotely.

While the presentation comes off a bit cheesy (I mean, really, do people ever act like this in real life?), several interesting observations can be gleaned from the footage.… Read more

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield recently joked about getting a gold watch for his retirement. But this hunk of spacetime would be far more appropriate.

RJ-Romain Jerome's deluxe Moon Orbiter is a tribute to "the conquest of space," just in case you were confused about who's in charge of the cosmos (not Canadians, I can assure you).

Previewed at Baselworld 2013, the Orbiter is a massive, three-quarter-inch-thick chunk of steel that looks as though it will either fire missiles or jump off your wrist and transform into an angry robot. … Read more

The 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid goes on sale for $99,000 later this year. Or you could save $98,100 and go even greener with a human-powered Porsche Go-Kart. Not satisfied with just tackling the adult sports car market, the automaker is trying to corner the kids' market too.

The go-kart comes in a spiffy combination of black and orange. It's missing some of the luxuries normally associated with Porsche vehicles, like a windshield, headlights, and an engine. It can only hold up to 110 pounds, meaning you need to be a very small adult or one of the kids the kart is actually aimed at to take it for a spin.… Read more