Auto Design

BMW has proudly unveiled its all-new 5 series sedan at the company’s “Project Haus” next its FIZ (the Innovation and research centre). The new sedan is positively the most dynamic and sporty evolution of the upper middle class BMW series now at its 6th generation since 1972 and after mote than 5.555.555 units sold. At the same time, it is the most elegant, although not as modern in its design as its forward looking predecessor.

Banking on the “master plan” that concern the 5, 6 and 7 series model ranges, the new sedan, introduce a series of technical innovations and features offered so far in the new 7 series and the 5 series GT. Its architecture take advantage of the family progress and gets longer, wider but lower with a drag coefficient and frontal area that maintains the aerodynamic of its predecessor while making significant advances in dynamic efficiency. The wheelbase is as much as 80 mm. longer, with some 60 mm. resulting from moving the front axles forward, and 20 mm. going to the rear seats.

The new BMW 5 series Sedan will go on sale in Germany on March 20 and is due to reach the U.S.A. market by June 2010.

More news on the design of the BMW 5 Series in a couple of days.

In addition to a new show car, BMW will be presenting an upgraded version of its Z4 roadster/convertible. This is the Z4 s35i which comes with a new M Sport look as standard. The powerful two-seater is powered by the 3.0 litre twin-turbo six-cylinder in line engine credited of 240kw (340) HP that is matched by the 7 speed automatic transmission. Its acceleration allows the top-of-the-range Z4 to go from standing to 100 kph in only 4.8 seconds.

To visualize this potential, BMW is delivering the new model with standard M Sport package, that will be available for other versions as an option. The M Sport upgrades emphasize the Z4’s athletic character through aerodynamically optimized exterior features and customized interior components. Special 18-inch light-alloy wheels in five-spoke design round off the sporty character of the Z4 sDrive35is, In addition, 19-inch light-alloy wheels are available as an option.

The upgrades also includes the M Aerodynamics and adaptive M Suspension. The adaptive M Suspension combines a ride-height reduction of 10 millimeters (almost 0.4”) with electronically controlled shock absorbers (Dynamic Damping Control) to improve the vehicle’s agility without compromising ride comfort.

The new model is further distinguished by a striking front bumper with a matte aluminum trim bar in each outer air intake, a rear bumper with accentuated surrounds on the tailpipes, and a rear diffuser finished at top in body color and black textured surface underneath.

Audi is ready to launch next generation of its A8 and promises fascinating sportiness, innovative technology and superior comfort.

The new generation of the company flagship aim at consolidating its charisma through its light aluminum body, powerful and highly efficient engines, new driver assistance systems, the full LED headlights, an elegant interior with a craftsman’s level of workmanship and the further improved MMI operating system. More than ever its focus in on superlative dynamics, workmanship touches, pioneering efficiency and perfection in design, but this time it is adding a more dynamic and sensual look to its style.

“The new Audi A8 is the sportiest sedan in its segment,” says Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. “It combines numerous functions in a new and intelligent way. And it’s unmatched in the stylistic elements and impression of the interior.”

The interior is spectacular and captivating, with its new and spacious design and uncompromisingly high-quality workmanship full of attention to the smallest detail.

The comfort on board is first class, according to Audi claims. From new, emotionally charged ambient lighting to the luxurious, power adjustable seats in the rear.

The new A8 starts off with either of two engines, a 4.2 FSI with 273 kW (372 hp) and a 4.2 TDI, packing 258 kW (350 hp). They will be followed by a 3.0 TDI with 184 kW (250 hp). All engines afford increased power and torque – but their fuel consumption has dropped by 13 to 22 percent, thanks to intelligent and efficient technologies like the recuperation system and innovative thermal management.

A second variant of the 3.0 TDI, with front-wheel drive, will follow at a later time,

Is credited with emissions limited to 159 grams of CO2 per kilometre (255.89 g/mile) or 6.0 litres of fuel per 100 km (39.20 US mpg), thus achieving the lowest consumption rate in the luxury segment, so far.

The technology contents of the new A8 reaches new heights with the addition of a touchpad to the MMI man-machine interface that enables the driver to control many functions intuitively; for example, the navigation destination can be entered by tracing the letters on the pad.

MMI navigation plus is networked in a novel fashion with the advanced driver assistance and safety systems. It follows the route in advance during driving and provides the data to the control units for the automatic transmission, the headlights and for the ACC stop & go function.

The new technologies include a night vision assistance and the speed limit display.

With the new A8, Audi consolidates its leadership in the lighting technology. The headlights are full LED and use light emitting diodes for all light functions. They give the luxury sedan an unmistakable appearance day and night. The revolutionary optics used in these headlights mean a departure from the tubular light modules commonly used today.

The new Audi A8 will go on sale “early 2010”.

The new Audi A8 At a glance ( from Audi press-release)

Body

- Lightweight and yet ultra-strong aluminum body with ASF design

- Flowing design, full LED headlights on request

Interior and controls

- Luxurious interior with newly developed, spacious styling

- Craftsman-level workmanship, emotionally charged interior lighting

- Advanced MMI operating system, MMI touch navigation system with pioneering operating concept

- Seats with optional ventilation and massage functions, luxurious individual rear seats optional

Safety

- New Audi pre sense safety system for avoiding accidents and for minimizing their consequences

Infotainment and driver assistance systems

- Navigation system of the next generation closely networked with the assistance systems; high-end audio systems and online services

- Night vision assistant with pedestrian marking, adaptive cruise control with stop & go feature and advanced driver assistance systems

Drivetrain

- Two TDI engines and one gasoline engine, all with direct fuel injection, with power ranging from 184 kW (250 hp) to 273 kW (372 hp)

- Another 3.0 TDI with 150 kW (204 hp), best-in-class CO2 of 159 g/km (255.89 g/mile)

- Consumption improved by up to 22 percent with enhanced performance

- All engines with recuperation system, 3.0 TDI also with start-stop system

- New 8-speed tiptronic as standard, shift-by-wire control

- Standard quattro all-wheel drive, optional sport differential (standard with A8 4.2 TDI)

Chassis

- Lightweight wheel suspension, balanced axle load distribution

- Audi drive select driving dynamic system including standard adaptive air suspension and daptive damping, optional dynamic steering

Ever wondered what is all about a major exhibition area at an international motor show?

If you have, here is all you may want to know about AUDI’s 6,000 square metres display designed to present 34 Audi of all sorts and to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the company.

The Audi stand at the IAA will be “Bright White and with a Big Heart” says the company which is announcing five world premieres, including what it describes as insights into electric mobility of tomorrow.

Audi S5 Sportback debuts in Frankfurt

To build it they will use 230 metric tons of steel, 560 square meters of glass, 67 kilometers of electric cable. Some 300 fitters will work 25 days to assemble the “installation” (a work of art) downloaded from 90 trucks

The result of their work will be a gleaming white stand - 6,000 square meters in size (4,000 at ground level and 2,000 one storey up) - with a dazzling design to showcase 34 perfectly situated Audi vehicles. The Audi stand spans 86 meters in length and 46 meters in width. At the center of the stand there is a huge heart show-casing key Audi innovations such as TDI technology, lightweight design/construction, and Audi history. A chrome-polished R8 will get visitors’ hearts pumping even faster.

Through the press and public day it will be the work place for 55 Audi employees as well as 85 event hostesses/hosts trained and prepared to provide details to all interested visitors.

This puts each and every one of the 34 exhibition vehicles in the best possible light. Audi’s trade-show specialists begin planning the configuration of spotlights months in advance and down to the millimeter so that no unwelcome reflections arise and that every perfectly positioned Audi’s colors and contours are perfectly accentuated.

The same applies to the stand’s steel structures, which weigh many tons and are precisely positioned by surveyors who use laser measurements. Everything must be 100 percent perfect. This is due to reasons of not only time but also safety: some 750,000 people are expected to visit the 2009 IAA! Stands must therefore be indisputably sound in design and execution.

Audi says it had managed to execute a trade-show strategy which costs far less than that of its strategic competitors. A considerable amount of the materials Audi uses at a trade show, for example, will not simply be discarded, but rather re-used at future automotive exhibitions. It could be said that Audi relies on a modular trade-show framework - an assembly concept of sorts.

Audi’s IAA Stand: Specs and Facts

6,000 square meters of overall floor space

4,000 m² on ground floor; 900 m² of elevated surfaces/ceilings

2,000 m² upper floor

34 exhibition vehicles (5 of them world premieres)

2 vehicle lounges (quattro Lounge: 162 m², A5 Sportback Lounge: 85 m²)

3 catered lounges (309 m² altogether) with 150 seats

12 months of planning; 55,000 hours of planning

90 truck loads

300 people on set-up team

24/7 set-up

25 days of setting-up

560 m² glass façade

230 metric tons of steel

67 km of cables

39 metric tons suspended from the Hall’s ceiling

8.45 meters: height of the lighting truss’s lower edge

3 km of truss crossbeams

1,400 spotlights

2,000 KW power output

Highlight LED: 14 meters wide and up to 4.70 m high

Highlight LED with 2,101,248 Surface-Mount Devices (pixels)

Heart of Audi: 40 meters long and up to 10 m wide

Heart of Audi with approx. 1,500 LED panels (á 16×16 LED points)

19 different exhibits, incl. 2 cutaway engines

Various floor coverings: laminate, genuine wood veneer, aluminum, anodized-aluminum panels, concrete scrap, glass, carpet

95 meters of leather-covered seating in Heart of Audi; 7 staircases

25 offices and conference rooms

16 climate-control units

85 event hostesses/hosts

55 Audi employees.

Absolutely on time, as expected within the world of aristocracy, here comes the Rolls-Royce “princess”. It was fist announced, early this year by the “200EX” traditional  number-and-suffix lettering at the Geneva Motor Show. Now it is ready to make its official appearance with the name of “Ghost”. The name has a long tradition and deep meaning at Rolls-Royce; however, the 2009 Ghost is really something you want to see. When you have this chance, her most striking character impress you from the very beginning: how simple, beautiful and elegant it is, despite its unusual length. Indeed, Ian Cameron, Chief Designer of Rolls-Royce, stresses that “Simplicity is the hardest design principle to follow.” in presenting the latest delivery of his team of very talented designers.

Ghost’s flowing lines are dominated by its majestic ‘Yacht Line’ styling. Large, uninterrupted surfaces flow between finely sculpted horizontal lines that provide definition. Together, the upward-sweeping sill line and low-cut roof create a powerful profile, almost as though the cabin has been pushed toward the rear. Powerful shoulders and flanks draw in sharply as they flow from the rear wings to the tail lights, while touches such as the optional chromed exhausts hint at Ghost’s more dynamic nature.

While incorporating classic Rolls-Royce design cues - the elevated prow, long bonnet, short front overhang, sharply raked A-pillar and elegant tail - Ghost exudes an informal aura. Contemporary touches include self-righting wheel centres and the Xenon headlamps that frame the latest evolution of the Rolls-Royce grille. Here the sides of the intake have been curved inwards and the vanes set back into the opening. “We wanted this to be less reminiscent of the traditional Parthenon style and more like a jet intake,” says Ian Cameron.

A contrasting Silver Satin finish (introduced on 200EX) is an option for the bonnet, grille and windscreen surround. The finish is achieved by setting silver metallic paint under a layer of lacquer, giving a flawless matte finish. The bonnet and windscreen surround are then honed from aluminum.

The central principle of delivering simplicity out of complexity runs throughout Ghost. Everything is designed, engineered and crafted to enhance the drive and ride experience, not to complicate it.

Ghost rides on a bed of air. Double-wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension work with an intelligent, four-cornered, air-suspension system and electronic variable damping to deliver the refinement that has been associated with Rolls-Royce for more than 100 years.

The new air suspension system in Ghost is so sensitive that it can detect even the smallest of changes. For example, it will sense the movement of a single rear passenger from one side of the seat to the other and compensate accordingly. A complex computer system reads multiple inputs from sensors around the car; the dampers alone make individual load calculations every 2.5 milliseconds. This ensures not only perfect comfort but also precise steering and dynamics for the driver. The air suspension system also incorporates a lift and kneel function, raising or lowering Ghost by 25mm.

Inside Ghost.

The interior design team has come up with a contemporary ambience while staying true to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ traditions of fine materials and peerless comfort. There are elegant, frosted lamps and chrome door handles, traditional violin key switches and eyeball air vents, frosted white dials and refined instrumentation. Deep-pile carpets can be complemented by optional lambs wool floor mats for a truly luxurious feel.

Charles Coldham, Interior Designer stresses that “Ghost is as refined and cosseting as anything this company has ever produced.”

While Ghost is 400mm shorter overall than the Phantom saloon its interior space is comparable.

Driver and passengers, enter into Ghost through substantial doors. Housed within the front doors are integrated Teflon-coated umbrellas. The rear doors are traditional, rear-hinged coach doors, opening to a generous 83 degrees. Once the passenger is inside, these doors can be closed at the touch of a button. The interior space is filled with natural light, enhanced by the optional Panorama.

Within Ghost’s ample doors and high shoulder line, occupants feel serene, cosseted and safe.

In the rear, the intimate ambience of the lounge seat is emphasized by its position behind the C-pillar, heightening the sense of privacy. The informal seating creates a convivial environment, its slight curve allowing you to turn more easily towards the person next to you. Its elevated position gives a clear view past the electronically retracting Spirit of Ecstasy to the road ahead.

Individual lounge seating is offered as an alternative to the standard lounge configuration. This allows the addition of a massage function and also perforated leather for a cooling stream of air from the seat surface. A cool box with interior illumination and integrated champagne glasses is also available.

Veneered picnic tables are another option, incorporating the finest leather and veneers matched to the rest of Ghost’s interior. Fitted to the rear of each front seat, these tables are a traditional Rolls-Royce design cue and finished with a veneered surface with leather-covered backs.

A modern Rolls-Royce.

Ghost is the most powerful car that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has ever produced. However, Rolls-Royce power is delivered in a very different manner to other cars. It arrives in an elegant, cosseting way that some have described as being designed to lower the pulse, not raise it.

The principle of simplicity extends to the act of driving Ghost. The host of complex engineering software and technologies beneath the surface serve to make driving easier and more enjoyable, not to intrude or confuse.

Ghost is powered by a brand new, 6.6 litre twin-turbo V12 engine, unique to the model. Featuring direct injection, it produces 563bhp - enough to propel Ghost from 0-60 mph in just 4.7 seconds* and on to an electronically governed top speed of 155mph. With 780 Nm of torque available at just 1,500rpm, delivery of power is immediate and extremely smooth.

“A Rolls-Royce should be graceful in every way: the way it handles, feels and brakes.”
says Helmut Riedl, Engineering Director.

An Embarassing Comparison?

When I received the first set of official pictures of the Audi A5 Sportback, the first thought that came to my mind was how far (or, indeed, how close) the new “5 door coupé” from Audi  is from the new Porsche Panamera. The two cars are very different in many ways, starting from their selling prices to their fuel consumption and performance via their overall dimensions. You cannot compare them when the time comes to buy one.

Yet, they have a lot in common. They are both luxury cars, they both fit in the new trend of  “dynamic, coupé-like, four seater, authoban-cruisers” with that fastback design and rear hatch. Read the rest of this entry »

My latest post do not look all right. The software program has been “updated” (whatever this might mean) and I have a lot of difficulties at using it. Need another training (read waste of time) to update me.

Sorry for all inconveniences.

A month ago I posted the news about the first dream car being developed at Stile Bertone by Jason Castriota, as reported by the new www.insideprojectm.com. Ever since I have been watching the posted development quite regularly, hoping to get some good piece of information worth reporting.

I have seen a bit of Bertone heritage, a bit of the Stile Bertone facilities, I enjoyed James -Jim - Glickenhaus interesting contributions but not much more. I am wrong, I saw something more: the full scale model being shipped to the wind tunnel for aerodynamics tests.

The image posted shows the car from the back and what I see reminds me of a recent “one off” designed by Ercole and Paolo Spada, the Chevrolet Corvette based “Coda Tronca”. The treatment of the surface is radically different. The Spada’s surface is squared and sharp, looking very high-tech. In the Stile Bertone’s latest Dream car the treatment is very soft and round but the here too to roof end up in water-drop style, extending almost to the rear bumper and looking very aerodynamics.

Now from a very reliable and official sources I have learned that the car will be unveiled at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Villa D’Este on the latest week-end of April and that it comes with a powerful V8 engine at the front. This rules out of the list of possible optional for the donating platform the Lamborghini, leaving only Aston Martin and the Chevrolet Corvette, if we have to consider only the brands listed by the Stile Bertone officially sponsored www.insideprojectm.com  website.

However, if the selected chassis is from one of the listed brands I wonder if any of these other brands (all offering top performance V8) have been considered:

• Audi
• BMW
• Bentley
• Jaguar
• Infiniti
• Lexus
• Mercedes-Benz
• Porsche.

Perhaps the next Dream Car by Stile Bertone will be built on one of their chassis. Which one should it be?

As expected, BMW  will soon be ready to launch another X-series model. This time, after the king-of-the-hill BMW X6 coupé, the all-new addition to the range taks position in the “compact premium” class. A sort of entry-model, if you can call it so.

As usual BMW is not disappointing and it seem that the new X1 will be the sort of SAV you would expect from the company: consequent with the range and the brand quality. Read the rest of this entry »

SPD STUDENTS’ LOOK INTO ALFA ROMEO FLAGSHIP.

What will be the look of the next Alfa Romeo flagship? The car that will lead the return of the Italian brand to the U.S. market sometime around 2011.

The students graduating this year from the “Scuola Politecnica di Design” (SPD) of Milan, worked on the question with the support of the Alfa Romeo designers and following the direction of Mario Favilla. Recently they have presented their work to a selected audience, among which was Lorenzo Ramaciotti, vice-president design for the entire Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) and Maserati.

Read the rest of this entry »