Warp Driving! 9 'Star Trek' Cars Imagined from Starship Designs

It’s time to take car design into warp drive. A new blog post by the Australian car insurance company Budget Direct designs sexy futuristic cars based on the sleek designs of ships found in “Star Trek.”

We won’t see these cars on the road tomorrow as the engineering designs were not included, and they appear to incorporate technology from the 23^rd century and beyond. However, Trekkies can look at the images and fantasize about what could be if they had access to cloaking technology or faster-than-light travel.

“From the impressive range of ‘Star Trek’ TV series and movies, we’ve selected the ships fans talk about most and asked ourselves: What if these ships had four wheels?” Budget Direct wrote in the blog post . “These cars are battling the final frontier when it comes to design. We hope one day we get to sit in the driver’s seat of these vehicles, but until then, ‘live long and prosper.’ “

The Defiant was first designed after the cybernetic Borg species – which aimed to assimilate all other species into its collective – first threatened the exploratory Starfleet alliance (which includes humans, Vulcans, Klingons and many other species in the “Star Trek” universe ). This defense ship is described retroactively in several “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” episodes.

“Inspired by the 24th-century starship, this car goes beyond transport, designed to accompany and protect,” Budget Direct wrote. “At the touch of a button, its cloaking device can be activated for complete invisibility and its ablative armour protects its main body when under fire.”

This spaceship belongs to the Romulan Empire, a state that is mostly hostile to Starfleet and distrustful of other species in general. Famously, after decades of the Romulans choosing to stay isolated, one of these warbirds unexpectedly decloaked at the perimeter of the Neutral Zone within sight of the USS Enterprise-D, which was captained by Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The Next Generation .”

“Its prominent head houses the capability to fire both beams and pulses for attack and defense, and its interior and exterior boasts a striking hunter green to reflect its power and dominance,” Budget Direct wrote.

The most famous “Star Trek” ship was captained by James T. Kirk, and was the first one featured when the series debuted more than 50 years ago . Its faster-than-light “warp drive” travel, shields and tractor drive are all features that were implemented in future Trek ships. Enterprise also underwent a design change when a rebooted “Star Trek” universe (with a new actor playing Kirk) hit movie screens in 2009.

“Its prominent head houses the capability to fire both beams and pulses for attack and defense, and its interior and exterior boasts a striking hunter green to reflect its power and dominance,” Budget Direct wrote. [USS Enterprise Evolution in Photos: The Many Faces of Star Trek’s Favorite Starship ]

This future generation of Enterprise was helmed by Capt. Jean-Luc Picard several decades after Kirk’s era (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”). One of its most notable features was the ability to disengage the saucer section (which housed the crew and their families) from the rest of the ship. It also included a holographic deck , providing an alternate universe for many “Star Trek” episodes.

“Capable of travelling thousands of light years, it’s the perfect vehicle for when you’re hitting the road looking for new friends or enemies,” Budget Direct wrote. [Infographic: How ‘Star Trek’ Technology Works ]

The Borg cube is the main starship of the Borg cybernetic species , which was explored in detail in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” As viewers discovered, the cube was a nasty enemy even against a fleet of starships, and it took Picard’s past connections with the Borg to disable the cube during an attack on Earth.

“With an ability to reach massive speeds and projectile weapons on board, when it comes to a Borg Cube, resistance is futile,” Budget Direct wrote.

This starship is a signature vessel of the Ferengi, a species noted for its emphasis on enterprise, profit and other ways of making money. It appears to be used for both battles and transportation, as shown in several episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

“Capable of mounting phasers, disruptors and strong torpedo-based weapons; if you’re looking to make an impact, the Ferengi Alliance have brought a car to do just that,” Budget Direct wrote. [13 Things ‘Star Trek’ Gets Right (and Wrong) About Space Tech ]

This starship was the backbone of the “Star Trek: Voyager” series, which saw Capt. Kathryn Janeway and her crew stranded in the Delta Quadrant for seven years. Their exploration of this area was a first for Starfleet.

“This Intrepid-class car boasts some of the most advanced sensor equipment there is and is capable of holding rapid speeds. You’ll get from A to B, faster than the speed of light ,” Budget Direct wrote.

The Klingons were the main enemy of Starfleet in the original “Star Trek” series, although in later series (starting with “Star Trek: The Next Generation”), the species became more closely aligned with Starfleet. While the Bird of Prey can cloak, crew members of the original USS Enterprise noticed that cloaking causes spatial distortions around the ship, making the Bird of Prey possible to spot (“Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.”)

“Equipped with defensive weapons, invisible cloaking and extreme propulsions, when you have a car like this, just sit back and enjoy the ride,” Budget Direct wrote. [Star Trek’s Warp Drive: Are We There Yet? ]

“Star Trek” is still a healthy franchise in its fifth decade , and the next set of adventures will take place in the USS Discovery. The new series will premiere online no earlier than fall 2017, and we’re excited to see what technology will be available in this prequel series.

“Demonstrating the future of car design, the Discovery’s sleek exterior and aerodynamic shape makes this car light years away from the automobiles of today,” Budget Direct wrote.

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