The Ferrari F413 is a single-seat electric hypercar concept with an outrageously futuristic design

Created as a styling exercise that aimed at amping up Ferrari’s aesthetics to radical levels, the Ferrari F413 by Shane Baxley looks like the kind of hypercar that would make its way out of Maranello in the year 2051.

The F413 comes with a unique split-body design that features a single-seater cockpit that virtually looks like it’s floating on ints 4 wheels. Baxley told Yanko Design that his prime objective was to explore creating multiple forms and parts that united to form the perception of a single vehicle. He opted for a fluid design language to make the forms flow into each other rather than look like a bunch of jagged masses strapped together, and while there’s something rather McLaren-ish about that design decision, the F413 still looks every bit a Ferrari… although who can really say what the raging bull’s design language will be thirty-odd years from now?

The car’s multiple panels come together, forming a hypercar that’s greater than the sum of its many parts. Everything sits on what looks like a carbon-fiber chassis, keeping the vehicle light and nimble. The front fenders, if you can really call them that, incorporate the headlights, and are connected to each other via a thin strip that runs along the base of the car. The single-seater cockpit sits as an independent mass, giving you the impression of being disconnected from the asphalt below you. Baxley mentions that the bubble-shaped cockpit’s even supposed to rotate left or right as the car turns, creating even more thrill as you drive. Side-wings located behind the cockpit help move/direct the air-flow as the car moves, and the rear fenders exist as semi-separate entities too, finally capped off with the iconic circular Ferrari taillights. The name F413, is in memory of Baxley’s mother’s birthday.

The interiors are just about as insane as the exteriors. The car seats just one, with a five-point harness holding you in place as you maneuver this hunk of metal and carbon-fiber with the racecar-style yoke steering wheel. The wheel comes with a tiny screen that acts as the car’s dashboard, not only displaying speed, velocity, and engine details, but also allowing you to choose between the car’s 3 driving modes – Track, Wet, and Pazzo.

It’s only natural for such an outrageous concept to have an electric drivetrain. Some speculate that a motor in each of the hypercar’s four wheels would make the most sense, giving the futuristic automobile a combination of power and control.

Designer: Shane Baxley

Self-driving two-wheeler with enclosed cockpit makes intra-city travel safe during the pandemic

The Autonomous LDR came about as an idea to Luke Mastrangelo during the quarantine. Over the following days and weeks, Mastrangelo fleshed out his idea for an enclosed, safe, self-driving two-wheeler and the Autonomous LDR was born. Designed to be as comfortable as a car but as compact as a motorbike, the Autonomous LDR comes with an enclosed cockpit between two wheels… sort of like a Tron Light-Cycle for current times.

The Autonomous LDR (Long Distance Rover) seats one person inside its spacious cockpit, providing enough leg-room for a comfortable journey. “LDRs use a vision system of front and rear-mounted long-range and wide-angle cameras, radar, as well as circumferential proximity sensors to navigate road conditions and traffic”, says designer Mastrangelo. Designed to be less of a sporty, in-your-face two-wheeler, the Autonomous LDR assumes a slick, cocoon-like design with a matte finish, balancing a modern aesthetic with a design that feels safe, secure, and doesn’t scream for attention – it just gets you safely and efficiently from A to B while looking pretty classy.

Designer: Luke Mastrangelo

Garmin’s new nav system can emergency land small planes

Flying in a small plane is thrilling (and at least slightly terrifying) when things go as planned. It's another story when the pilot of the small plane is, for whatever reason, suddenly unable to fly or land it. Most passengers would have no idea wha...

Airbus shares a glimpse of its flying taxi cockpit

Airbus has been working on its Vahana project for years. It's an attempt to create an autonomous passenger drone network that could operate like a flying version of the Waymo's self-driving cars. In January, the company's flying taxi took to the skie...

A conceptual race-chariot for gladiators of the future

Worried that closed-cockpits were taking away the enthusiasm of watching a driver control a wild beast of an automobile down a racetrack, Dong Yi designed the Concept Chariot, a vehicle that brought back the joyous fervor the Romans felt as they watched their gladiators on the race-track, behind chariots led by wild stallions, fighting vigorously for survival.

While being a gladiator in 2nd Century B.C. essentially meant having a death-wish, Dong decided to take the aspect of performer-to-crowd engagement by redesigning the vehicle to be more open, more visceral, more chariot-like. Designed in cooperation with the Hockenheim ring, Dong’s Concept Chariot aims at rekindling the joy of watching humans as they control their chariots that race speedily down a track.

The car’s top-profile showcases a split in the volume towards the front. Drawing inspiration from chariots that usually had a pair of horses on the front, Dong split the vehicle’s anterior, making it look like the Concept Chariot was being pulled by two masses at its forefront. The volumes unite at the back, much like a horse-pulled chariot would, and the driver is required to mount on the vehicle much like a snowmobile, making their seating posture much more dynamic, like a jockey.

Ultimately, the Concept Chariot is a vehicle with a completely exposed cockpit, borrowing from the setup found in motorbike racing, and bringing it to car-racing. Concerned that video-games were becoming very immersive while the real sport of racing wasn’t rising up to the challenge, the Concept Chariot also has video-game-like stylings, and with a driver that’s clearly visible to the audience, rather than being shut from view, the chariot design is sure to keep the audience’s interests piqued!

Designer: Dong Yi

Fans Build Full-Size Millennium Falcon Cockpit

You have to be really devoted to Star Wars to do things like cosplay, or build your kid a cool Star Wars themed room. You have to be completely devoted and also obsessed to build a full-scale replica of the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit. That’s just what these fans have been doing, and it looks completely amazing.

For the past six years Greg Dietrich, Jake Polatty, and a group of other Star Wars fans have been building this insane full-size version of the Millennium Falcon’s cockpit. All of the details are spot on. And believe it or not, it was built entirely in a garage in Alabama. It’s the ultimate adult Star Wars playset.

This thing has lights and sound of course, because you have to add lights and sound if you’re building the Falcon’s cockpit. It has over 500 lights.

None of these guys admits to dressing up as Han and Chewie and sitting in the cockpit, but you know it had to have happened by now. All I know is that these guys rock. And that if they ever do decide to build the rest of the Falcon to go with this cockpit, it’s going to take a long long time. And they’re gonna need a bigger garage.