Gunbus motorcycle finished, proves just excessive enough

When it comes to custom motorcycle builders, there's crazy and there's really crazy. Falling into the latter category is one Mr. Clemens F. Leonhardt, who has just finished building what he refers to as "the world's biggest motorcycle." Excluding some other crazy creations, such as the Monster Bike, the guy's got a point. Unlike other two-wheeled behemoths, the Leonhardt Gunbus is actually ready to ride on normal roads and will soon go into series production. That's right... you'll actually be able to buy one of these. Next on the agenda is an equally massive sidecar, which somehow seems just right for this bike.

A quick glance at the pictures shows just how monumental that 410-cubic-inch, air-cooled, pushrod V-Twin really is. Of course, a monster of an engine must require an impressively large bike, and the Gunbus is certainly that, looking bit like a caricature of a bike with the fittingly attractive blonde model sitting on top. Whatever -- we want one.

Gallery: Completed Gunbus Motorcycle

Roger Goldammer: Official World Champion of Custom Bike Building

There seems to be a new trend in custom bike building, and it's one we're happy to see. The best designers are creating machines meant to be ridden and to perform better than anything else available, and this year's winner of the Official World Championship of Custom Bike Building proves this. Roger Goldammer creates stunning designs, yet he doesn't let his creations sit in a corner collecting dust. Rather, his winning bike is a world record holder, averaging over 160 miles per hour last year at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

This year, official voting took place at the Sturgis Rally and was broken down into four separate categories. Goldammer won in the Freestyle class, the most prestigious award available, with his machine known as Goldmember. Equipped with a custom 960cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine using modified Harley-Davidson cases, a supercharger and nitrous in addition to its streamlined bodywork, Goldmember is simply amazing.

Gallery: Goldammer Goldmember

[Source: AMD World Championship]

Naval architects float designs for nautical Range Rovers

Luxury sport-utes and yachts go together like champagne and strawberries. The good folk at the Volkswagen Group know that, which is why they came up with the VW Touareg North Sails and Audi Q7 V12 TDI Coastline concepts. But the British aren't about to leave all the wet n' wild fun to ze Germans, so they're cooking up a few sailing-themed SUVs of their own.

In cooperation with Land Rover, luxury yacht broker Edmiston has commissioned seven of the world's top yacht designers to participate in the Superyacht Range Rover Design Competition. The results of the design regatta will be put to sea (figuratively speaking) at the Monaco Yacht Show next month, at which point the obscenely wealthy may place orders for these bespoke SUVs at prices ranging from $300,000 to $1.2 million.

GG Quadster: Impending doom on four wheels

click above for high-res gallery of the GG Quadster

We took a look at the original GG Quad a little while back and poked fun at its piddly 106-mph top speed, which is primarily due to its mild-mannered 85-horsepower air-cooled boxer engine that displaces 1150cc. Consider that small problem resolved. The new GG Quadster utilizes Bavaria's latest liquid-cooled inline four-cylinder engine, which displaces just a bit more at 1200cc but offers a heck of a lot more grunt: 167 horses to be exact. Yep, that's just about double the ponies, and it has the desired effect on the quad; 0 to 60 drops from about five seconds to just three and a half. With its super-fat rubber, six-speed sequential gearbox and reverse gear, this latest version of the quad-of-death should offer plenty of pants peeing performance. As much as we'd love to have one of these machines, getting it registered for street use in the States would likely be an exercise in frustration. Too bad, because the fuel mileage is probably pretty good, which is exactly the purpose for this machine, right?

Gunbus motorcycle finished, proves just excessive enough

Click above for more shots of the Gunbus motorcycle

When it comes to custom motorcycle builders, there's crazy and there's really crazy. Falling into the latter category is one Mr. Clemens F. Leonhardt, who has just finished building what he refers to as "the world's biggest motorcycle." Excluding some other crazy creations, such as the Monster Bike, the guy's got a point. Unlike other two-wheeled behemoths, the Leonhardt Gunbus is actually ready to ride on normal roads and will soon go into series production. That's right... you'll actually be able to buy one of these. Next on the agenda is an equally massive sidecar, which somehow seems just right for this bike.

A quick glance at the pictures shows just how monumental that 410-cubic-inch, air-cooled, pushrod V-Twin really is. Of course, a monster of an engine must require an impressively large bike, and the Gunbus is certainly that, looking bit like a caricature of a bike with the fittingly attractive blonde model sitting on top. Whatever -- we want one.

AM General to produce Standard Taxi cabs?

It sure ain't pretty, though beauty, in this case, is likely in the eye of the beholder. A few years back, a new take on the taxi was provided by Standard Taxi, a company based in Troy, Michigan. The design for the purpose-built people hauler uses GM running gear and is able to haul four passengers in relative comfort. We hadn't heard a peep from the company until today when we learned that Standard is now working on negotiations with AM General to build the vehicle in its plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, where AM General builds the Hummer H2 SUV and SUT. So far, no announcements have been made regarding whether or not the plant would continue working full-time in the face of lagging Hummer sales, though we imagine that plenty of excess capacity is available. According to AM General, the deal would in no way impact the assembly of military Hummer models.

We can't say whether a production version of the Standard Taxi would feature the pushrod 4.3-liter V6 that the concept had underhood, though there are plenty of options from the GM parts-bin from which to pilfer. A Standard Taxi equipped with GM's 2-Mode hybrid system could prove to be extremely well-suited for taxi duty in some of the world's toughest environments.

Saleen Gurney Edition Mustang arrives at dealers

It's been just a few months since Saleen announced its Dan Gurney Signature Series Mustang at the New York Auto Show in April, but the limited edition Mustang has already hit showroom floors. Apparently the car at the show was fairly production ready, although we heard that Gurney spent the last few months helping fine tune the suspension just the way he wanted it. According to Saleen, he still would be if they had let him. In addition to the specially tailored suspension settings, the Gurney Edition also features unique bodywork, graphics and interior as well as lightweight 19-inch wheels and Saleen's supercharged V8 pushing out 465 horsepower. We attended a kick-off party at Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, CA where Dan Gurney was on hand to show off the car and sign autographs. We were also able to take a closer look at the car so we could choose which of the three color schemes we like best, but we're still undecided. A high resolution gallery is below that should help you decide for yourself.