Victorian Man Builds iPhone-Controlled RX-8

Love phones? Love cars? Think computers are kinda neat? Wish you could just roll them all together so you can enjoy them all at the same time? Jon Oxer certainly does, and to prove it he integrated his RX-8 with a computer and his iPhone.

Presto, the holy trinity of tech geekiness.

An Alix-1 computer lives in the boot of Oxer's 2004 Mazda RX-8, and is permanently connected to the internet via a mobile broadband connection. It's also tied into the car's on-board diagnostics port, and via the browser in his iPhone Oxer can activate the Mazda's locks, start the engine and read the car's vital statistics remotely.

And when we say remotely, we mean it. Unlike a proximity-dependent Bluetooth or radio-frequency connection, the Internet-based link between Oxer's phone and his car means he can literally start his car from the other side of the world. Not exactly useful, we'll admit, but it's still pretty darn cool.

As far as tech mods go Oxer's RX-8 is pretty hardcore - but not as hardcore as Oxer himself who had an RFID tag sugically implanted into his arm so he can unlock and start the car without keys.

Now that's dedication.