Auto Design

By Giancarlo Perini ©

BMW Board of Directors,  managers and employees have presented their all-new 3 series limousine to the press gathered in Munich for an event that has been broadcasted on line for all car enthusiasts, in sometwhat retoric yet appropriate cerimony celebrating the BMW team at large and the Munich factory that produce the company most iconic and profitable range.

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By Giancarlo Perini ©

BMW, the world leader in premium cars will not be the first to join the EV mass market but it will certainly be among the best dressed when it joins the party late in 2013. The number plate of the first Megacity Vehicle to come off the new production lines – to be built in the meantime within the Leipzig (Saxony, Germany) plant – has already been announced at a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Mrs. Angela Merkel and other local authorities. The plate reads L MV 2013, L for Leipzig, MCV for Megacity Vehicle and 2013 for the year of the planned launch.

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Once upon a time, at the Geneva Motor Show there was the so called “Arab Quarter” where toner and luxury car-makers used to show shining cars that the rich Arab princes would buy without questioning the price.
That is past history today. The present looks much different and challenging, pointing to a time when car might also be built in the Arabic Peninsula rather than simply bought and driven. Read the rest of this entry »

At Pininfarina, in the late sixties there were quite a concentration of design talents that would become renowned world-wide in the following decades: Aldo Brovarone, Leonardo Fioravanti, Paolo Martin, Filippo Sapino, just to mention a few. Each of them delivered a number of masterpieces and a least a successful design for Ferrari.

It was an undeclared confrontation between Sapino and Martin that led to two outstanding Ferrari show cars: the 1969 Ferrari 512S Berlinetta Speciale and the 1970 Ferrari Modulo. Read the rest of this entry »

In recent years, Mitsubishi has been dominating the World Rally Championship series and subsequently worldwide Rally Raids the most famous of which is the Paris-Dakar. The continued success of the Mitsubishi Pajero (replaced this year by the Lancer Sport) have inspired the company designers and actually stimulated their imagination. Here comes their view for 2025: the Mitsubishi MMR 25, a vehicle that clearly breaks from convention.That is not just for its shocking look but also for its concept of a multi-terrain, omnidirectional vehicles. To this aim the MMR 25 wheels comes with eight independently-controlled motors each, allowing for “8 x 4” wheel drive so that the car can be driven forward while pointing in any direction. The MMR25 drives sideways into a corner and points the nose of the car outwards before even reaching the apex of the curve while driving sideways or backwards. The MMR25 also uses special Oblique Aerodynamics to give the vehicle aero advantages. The centre wing acts as a spoiler, actuated by pneumatic and fabricated from Memory Metal Alloy while the front and rear spoilers double as suspension blades that are able to control stiffness and ride height.Designer:Jon Hull – Design, surfacing, rendering and animation.

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Mercedes-Benz designers have dreamed of a car that combines a number of sophisticated features. Their Formula Zero goes beyond today’s Formula One racers adding to its thrill a clear touch of luxury, the dynamics of the bobsled integrated into the track, and the grace and efficiency of yacht racing.Reminiscent of the Mercedes Benz racing heritage of the 1930’s, the Formula Zero Racer is loaded with technology designed to extract the maximum thrust from the electric hub motors, aero-efficient solar skin and high-tech rigid sail.Each team is allocated the same amount of stored energy and it is left to the teams and drivers to manage the variables to win the race. The winner is determined by total elapsed time combined with the energy efficiency factor. Spectators at the Mercedes Benz Formula Zero racing Series are treated to a new dimension of racing as the transparent track is visible from all perspectives – even from below!Designers:

·        Alan Barrington;

·        George Yoo;

·        Kevin Verduyn

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The MAZDA KAAN is an electric racecar designed to compete in the E1 races, the pinnacle of international motorsports in terms of technology and popularity. Mazda designer have assumed that by 2025, California freeways have been rebuilt with a sub-level electro-conductive polymer that powers the electric cars of the modern world. Mazda’s patented electronic tire system uses this technology to power the KAAN to reach 250 mph with no harmful emissions!Individual drivers race the vehicles but teams are made up of thirty cars each, all on the track together. Using strategies similar to those in cycling pelotons, the tighter the group sticks together, the more aerodynamic and powerful it becomes.Inspiration for the KAAN comes from electric fields and textures seen in nature, particularly those in a lightning bolt. The unique design of this car is created around its powerful electric wheels while the cockpit acts as a capsule to host the driver in a safe environment, allowing for tighter peloton formations and a team victory.

Designers:

• Jacques Flynn;
• Carlos Salaff;
• Minyong Lee;
• Greg Lee;
• Tim Brown;
• Jordan Meadows

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In 1908, 17 men dared to take on the “toughest race ever devised.” Spanning six months, the Great Race brought these men over 22,000 miles, through three continents and around the world. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed for the 2025 revival of the LA Times Grand Prix, the Chaparral Volt uses advanced EREV propulsion, energy collection, generation and management system to create an entirely new category of racing – the eco-triathlon.

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Audi introduces the R25, the latest prototype in its legendary race- car line-up.

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