Go Gear: Car-related iPhone apps

Three of Motoring's favourite car apps for the aesthete, commuter and eco-conscious driver.

Ferrari Opus app.

Making Ferrari fans 'appy

Launched at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi in 2010, the Official Ferrari Opus is a 852-page book that costs upwards of Dh11,000. It contains everything you ever wanted to know about the Italian marque. However, as much as we're all Ferrari fans, spending Dh11,000 on a glossy book seems a bit steep. So that's why we should rejoice at the fact that the Opus is now available as an app for your iPhone, costing just Dh20. As with all three of this week's Go Gears, you can download them at the iTunes store.

Connecting commuters

Is it just us or do you also sometimes wonder about all the single-passenger cars all heading in the same direction on the motorway? If only these people knew each other, they would be able to save petrol, money and the environment by car-sharing. But now they can with this ingenious app. Carticipate connects commuters via a social network that allows users to search for ride locations near their homes and share cars to work. What's more, as word spreads, the network is only going to grow. Free.

Watch your speed

With so many powerful cars and great roads, this app will be a hit in the UAE. At the touch of the screen Dynolicious allows its users to work out exactly how well their car's performing by acting like a radar gun. Using the iPhone's in-built three-axis accelerometers, it can calculate 0.4km elapsed times and trap speeds, lateral g-forces, 0-100kph times, braking g-forces and even horsepower. The app is that clever it even allows you to edit vehicle settings to account for modifications. Dh50.