Real-life Transformers are here, thanks to Turkish company

Ever looked at Bumblebee on the big screen and wished you could say, “Mom, can we take him home?”

Well, apparently, now you can.

The amazing thing about the “Transformers” brand is its ability to captivate the imagination of a broad spectrum of nerds—from those who’ve watched every “Transformers” episode at least five times to scientists and engineers who actually know their way around a real-life robot.

The folks at Letvision belong to the latter camp, and they’ve been spending a lot of time making—you guessed it—real-life transforming cars called Letrons.

Letvision has a fleet of BMWs that they’ve effectively converted into Transformers.

The transformations aren’t as complicated as Optimus Prime’s or even Bumblebee’s (some have suggested they’re more like GoBots than Transformers), but hey, it’s not every day you see an automobile sprout arms and a head. One of those heads even looks like the fearless Autobot leader’s.

The cars, which are working prototypes, are actually giant, remote-controlled toys. Each comes packaged with a controller you can use to move the car around and transform it into a robot. Once in robot mode, internal hydraulics allow it to move parts of its body including its head, arms, wrists, and fingers. It is also capable of speech courtesy of a built-in speaker.

Each Letron also boasts a sound system, an HD LCD, and WiFi technology, among other features. We’re hoping the company will equip future models with pulse cannons and laser axes. Okay, we’re kidding. Pulse cannons and laser axes would be disastrous.

The four models available are the Bizmut, Argon, Wolfram, and Tantal. There’s no word on the prices yet, but we’re guessing these toys will cost a fortune. So, unless you were born with money gushing out of your ears, you’ll have to save up for a few decades—or maybe sell a couple body parts—if you want to add them to your “Transformers” collection.

Photos: Letvision

Letvision describes itself as a Turkish R&D company “spending its experience, knowledge, and material accumulation” to continue “being the creator of innovative and new products.” Letvision also claims to have partnerships with Intel and Microsoft.

Of course, there are some who believe the whole thing an elaborate hoax. Yes, it’s hard not to be convinced the Letrons are the real deal after watching the videos, but you have to remember how far CG technology has come. Why not head on to the official website and judge for yourselves? — BM, GMA News