Leading companies from the automotive industry as well as from the telecommunications and software development sector are today presenting their results at the halfway stage in one of Germany’s most important road safety projects - AKTIV. The declared aim of this research initiative launched back in September 2006 and running until August 2010 is to prevent accidents in future by further enhancing active safety, relieving drivers and harmonising traffic flows. Volkswagen AG is one of the partners of the initiative sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.
AKTIV is the abbreviation used for the research initiative “Adaptive und kooperative Technologien für den intelligenten Verkehr” (“Adaptive and cooperative technologies for intelligent transport”). The research initiative itself is subdivided into two main projects: “Assistance Systems / Active Safety” (AS) and “Traffic Management”. Running alongside these main topics, is also the project “Cooperative Cars” (CoCar).
With an investment volume of 37.5 million euros, “Assistance Systems” is the largest project within this research initiative. Almost half of which is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Economics. Besides “Integrated Lateral Vehicle Control”, this project also sets out to examine the four topics of “Active Emergency Stopping”, “Traffic Junction Assistance”, “Safety for Pedestrians and Cyclists” and “Road Safety and Attention”. The final analysis is scheduled for 31 August 2010.
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Turkey is famous for its carpets and sweets and within a few years it could well become the green counterpart of Detroit. Cars like the Antro Solo could be mass produced there and exported to parts of the world. Antro what? Let me explain.
The Antro Solo is a three-seater, 600 pound, 100 mpg, 87 mph car. It will be all yours for just $18,000 in the year 2012. Built entirely of carbon fiber and composites, the power to run the car comes from not one or two, but four sources: gas, battery, solar panels and... PEDALS !
more pedaling after the jump
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As the world moves towards eco-friendly and easy-on-the-wallet modes of transportation and everything from trains to lawn movers are shifting towards alternate sources of energy, a young set of individuals have come out with a cute yet effective automobile.
A group of high school students who are fully aware of the present situation surrounding the auto industry have designed an electric two-wheeler with a roof.
Powered by lithium phosphate batteries with an output of 60 volts, the permanent magnet motor utilizes the power to propel the bike. The recharge time is just about 3 hours and should get you to sit up and notice I say its body is made carbon fiber and Kevlar composite material (stuff that F1 cars are made of). The chassis benefits from chromoly tubing.
On a full charge, the roofed-bike will cruise for 40 long miles with a pedal-to-metal velocity of 60 mph. At those speeds, safety is addressed by a proper seat and seat belts which makes it safer than a normal two-wheeler. The pod will also protect you from the heat and dust on a summer’s day and will help you keep warm during winter time.
While other high-school kids were busy learning to efficiently hit on the good-looking, this team of 19 students toiled hard for a period of one year to see this concept from the state of imagination to reality. What we appreciate is their unique thought process, a green two-wheeler is certainly pointing in the right direction and who knows? there might be a future GM or Honda head among this group of students.
General Motors demonstrated its progress on developing a future advanced engine technology for consumers that squeezes more miles per gallon of gas and reduces emissions. GM engineers have brought the advanced combustion technology from the laboratory to the test track and, now, to the highway in a driveable concept vehicle - a Saturn Aura equipped with homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI).
GM demonstrated its latest progress with the HCCI technology during a media test-drive program in the Washington, D.C. and the New York City areas. Journalists drove the HCCI-enabled Aura concept on public roads to get a real-world feel for the efficient and low-emissions engine. HCCI provides up to a 15-percent fuel savings when combined with several additional advanced technologies, while meeting current emissions standards.
The Saturn Aura concept vehicle is capable of operating in HCCI mode during idle, in addition to highway driving. The HCCI operation at idle represents a significant technological advance that GM engineers believe could be the first for the industry. The breakthrough enables a wider range of HCCI operation, extending the efficiency-enhancing benefit of the technology.
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Real or not, this M1 Prototype looks amazing, and we only hope that BMW will built it in the near future, or that the production version will look at list as hot as this one!
Only few days after the launch of the M1 Hommage Concept, FreshTarmac claims the thing you see in the picture is the 2008 BMW M1 Prototype.
It looks like its sitting on a stretched chassis of the current BMW M3 incorporating various parts including the front fascia and the hood.
It’s for sale, in Brussels, Belgium. Though AutoBlog reports that the car was originally designed to the specifications of Luigi Chinetti, at one time Ferrari’s importer to the United States, it actually has a more interesting history.
In fact, this car was something of a joint project of General Motors and Chinetti, originally envisioned as a super-luxury vehicle that could compete with expensive grand touring vehicles being imported into the United States. The project started in 1968, with GM providing the powertrain, Chinetti the engineering, and Zagato assigned to provide the bodywork. In the following year, however, GM pulled out of the project due to delays in meeting project deadlines.
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Though it was wearing black padding over the rear quarter panels, trunk, rear bumper and fascia, it was clearly a production version of the Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept premiered to rave reviews at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year.
Visually, the production car carries over the center-mounted split rear exhaust from the concept car, as well as the skeg line along the lower part of the car, at the bottom of the doors and on the rocker panel area. The car also appears to wear rear parking sensors and have the same sharply slanted roofline of the concept car. So, at least from what can be seen, it appears that Cadillac is being true to the concept car in the production version.
General Motors hasn’t hinted at a production timetable. But, the original CTS sedan premiered as a concept car at the NAIAS the year prior to introduction of the production version. If Cadillac follows a similar timetable for the coupe, it will be a 2009 model.
At the Geneva Motor Show Mitsubishi will unveil the Lancer Prototype S, the prototype version of the Lancer hatchback, a model specially designed for the European market. Until next week, here are the first official images of the prototype. It will come to compete with Ford Focus ST, Mazda3 MPS and Opel Astra OPC.
The Lancer Prototype S will be powered by the same engines as the Lancer sedan: 1.5 and 2.4 gas engines, but also a few turbos and turbo-diesel. The top version will be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter and all-wheel-drive system.
Mitsubishi Lancer Prototype S first official images Picture Gallery
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BMW has been giving celebrities opportunities to drive the 7 Series-based “Hydrogen 7,” in a campaign that began with chauffeuring Brad Pitt to the Oscars in one last year, but BMW is now admitting that the Hydrogen 7 isn’t even close to reality.
In fact, they’re admitting that no production hydrogen powered car is close to reality.
According to Drive, a magazine published in Australia, Jochen Schmalholz, the head of BMW’s clean-air technology group, admits that hydrogen cars in “significant numbers” are fifteen to twenty years away. Meantime, BMW’s working on an electric car.
(more after the jump)
>> read This is not one of those regular spy shots or rumors. It is an art-student’s version of the next Ferrari. Atilla Tay - a Transport Design graduate from the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena has created this concept and I think he’s done a wonderful job.
Ferrari F460 Tifosi concept would be a replacement for the current Ferrari F430. The Tifosi concept would be powered by a 4.6 litre, mid-mounted V8. Dimensions and layout are more or less similar to the F430.
The exterior design of the concept is inspired by the shape of DNA, using continuous flowing lines to define the surfaces. The matt black paint helps to bring out the style lines of the car. And just like its parent, the Tifosi’s engine is also visible through a glass rear hatch. Passion for a Ferrari doesn’t come purer than this!
Ferrari F460 Tifosi concept Picture Gallery
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