(More) Hoodrat Stuff

7-year-old joyrider beats up Grandmother

Latarian Milton, the pint-sized auto thief who recently wrecked his Grandmother’s SUV is back in the news - this time for beating the poor lady up inside of a Wal-Mart, after she refused to buy him chicken wings. Can’t this woman get a break?Milton’s grandmother, Vikkita Stratford, told local news station WPBF that the 7-year-old took his mischievous activities to a new level Monday when she said he beat her up inside a Lake Park Wal-Mart. According to Stratford, the problem began when Milton asked his grandmother for some chicken wings. When she refused, Milton walked over to the counter and ordered them anyway. Stratford said that when she confronted him about it, Milton just snapped. “He just started hitting me — just started hitting me in front of the whole Wal-Mart. Every one in there was upset,” Stratford said. Stratford said that Milton hit her stomach, legs and “wherever he could reach me.”Riviera Beach police picked up Milton from his home and took him to an area hospital for a mental health evaluation Monday afternoon, WPBF reported. The 7-year-old can be held for up to 72 hours while he is evaluated by mental health officials. Stratford said that she believes Milton’s problems are due to a bad atmosphere with his parents.“I know what causes the behavior, cause all he’s ever seen was his parents do physical and abusive and verbal things, and I don’t want him to continue in this direction so I’m doing the best I can to get him the help,” she said.Of course this follow-up really has nothing to do with cars- but let’s really all hope that lil’ man gets some help.

The Inflatable Garage

A bubble for your baby

Too paranoid to leave your ride out in the open air? The Car Capsule is a clear, vinyl, flame-retardant and anti-static bubble that inflates around your whip, sealing it off from the elements of everyday life. We can’t see how it would offer much protection against anything much stronger than chubby rain or bird crap - but it’ll at least keep touchy-feely types off your fresh wax-job. The eight-foot version is available for $269 and the 22-foot mega-sized version sells for $419.

9ff proves the GT9 is stupid fast, tops 253 mph

There are only a handful of cars that can strike fear into the Bugatti Veyron. The Koenigsegg CCX comes close with a top speed of 242.42 mph, and the SSC Aero Twin-Turbo is even faster, hitting a two-way average speed of 255.83 mph and officially taking the crown of world's fastest car back in September. These über-fast supercars will now be looking over their shoulders with the new kid on the block, the 9ff GT9. Based on the Porsche 911 GT3, 9ff stretches the chassis about a foot and chops the roofline for improved aerodynamics. A carbon-kevlar subframe houses a twin-turbo 4.2-liter flat-6 pushing out 987 bhp. Our German is a bit rough, but we can translate enough of Autobild's recent story on the 9ff GT9 to know they achieved ridiculous speeds in the super Porsche at the Papenburg high speed oval in Germany. 409 km/h to be exact, which roughly translates to 253 mph. We're not sure if there is more speed left in the GT9 to top the Bugatti or the SSC, but it's impressive
nonetheless.

Green Team

Bentley rookies create zero-emission vehicle

Who says you need an expert design team to create a low-emissions vehicle? Sleek and slim with an emissions level of nothing, the new Bentley Greenpower was designed by a team of young factory apprentices (now referred to as Team Bentley) to participate in several races this summer. Comprised of carbon fiber, chrome, leather and a Bentley steering wheel, the Greenpower runs off two 12-volt batteries and tops out at a respectable 40mph. The only drawback? You might have trouble fitting in if you;re bigger than a Keebler Elf.

VW Group's next small-car platform to get AWD across the board

Buyers of the next generation of Volkswagen-developed small cars will have one more option box to tick when placing their order: all-wheel-drive. The new platform, dubbed PQ25, will find its way underneath a handful of new models, spanning the range from the low-end (SEAT), mid-grade (VW) and luxury (Audi). All-wheel-drive won't be an option for the new SEAT Ibiza, but consumers of the next VW Polo (specifically the CrossPolo) might be able to outfit their tiny runabout with AWD, while the Audi A1, due out in late 2009, will continue the automaker's love affair with quattro.

Spy Shots: Ferrari F149 spotted, sans butt-camo

With the debut of the Ferrari 149 GT California (or something like that) just around the corner, new shots of the Ferrari mule have surfaced at Autogespot, revealing a few more details about the entry-level Fezza. Unlike some spy pics we've seen that obscure everything from the B-pillar back, these newest images show a steeply raked rear windscreen that terminates into an artificially elongated trunk, rumored to house a folding hard top. The front clip is sporting a large radiator intake and the hood stretches back in true Ferrari style. As reported before, Project F149 is rumored to be powered by a 4.7-liter V8 producing 480 to 500 hp. More details are expected soon. We're standing by.

How To Make a Bugatti Veyron W16 Engine

The world’s most powerful car, the Bugatti Veyron, is powered by two V8 engines joined together to form a W16 formation, of course four turbo-chargers and ten radiators also come along for the ride. But just how exactly do they make such an engine?



The video above shows a “Matsuura MAM72-42V 5 axis CNC” machine carving up the W16 engine block mm by mm.

If you watch it all the way through, you will see the cylinders appearing while the whole thing eventually resembles the W16 engine we’ve all come to love and respect.

Video: Street Sweeper

Dillon-Aero GMC Yukon brings the heat

If you ever are unfortunate enough to see the flashing lights of a blacked-out Government-Issue Yukon in your rearview, say a prayer- but don’t run! You might have a Dillon-Aero edition on your tail. Yeah, people- these things are out there. Be afraid- be very afraid!