Fuel efficiency is the last thing US Army will think of while designing a new vehicle for their ground troops. But I guess, like Bob Dylan sang once: “The times, they are a-changing”.

The world’s biggest army is indeed taking the green route and it is not just confined to their uniforms or vehicle camouflage paints.

They recently showcased their concept diesel-electric vehicle, which drinks close to 70 percent less gas than the standard issue up-armored Humvee the troops are using now. The new baby, rather unimaginatively named as “Fuel Efficient ground vehicle Demonstrator Bravo” or “FED Bravo” is by no means less tough.

The concept was developed at the Army’s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren,Michigan with support from its industry partner World Technical Services, Inc. The Army brought the concept out in the open at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress last month.

Under the hood of FED Bravo is what makes it special. It’s all hybrid, though the main power-train is a huge 4.4-litre twin-turbo Ford V-8 worth 268 hp (huge by road-car standards that is).   Add to that, there is the road-coupled hybrid drive system which has a front-mounted electric engine and a rear-integrated hybrid system. Further fuel is saved with the new engine start-stop system which electronically shuts down the engine when the vehicle is idling and turns it on when the driver puts the foot down on the pedal.

Of course, it will need all that engine power for the Bravo is not just a thin metal shell. Built based on the original FED concept shown last year – the FED Alpha – the army has ensured Bravo is as thick-skinned as any Humvee out there. It uses an armored cab on top of a tubular space frame, which increases the vehicles rigidity-to-weight ratio. That means the vehicle is stiff even though it is lighter. Then there is the V-shaped hull for blast protection.

Apart from transporting troops and equipment and engaging enemies, the Bravo will have another use, as it is designed to be a mobile power house, capable of connecting to a microgrid to supply power to small military outposts.

The Army is not that clear on what the fuel economy of Bravo would be even though reports suggested a 8.2 miles per gallon on city roads and 14.2 miles per gallon on highway.

Of course, FED Bravo won’t be running on highways if brought into active service. And eventually, the mileage won’t matter either for the customer driving this vehicle; the average soldier would want his wheels to offer him fast transportation and decent armor protection. Hybrid or fuel efficiency or being green won’t matter to him, unless of course it’s camouflage green.

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The Audi R-18 e-tron Quattro in action at Spa

Some car companies use ads or give out their new models for test drives to woo their customers. But Not Audi! The German car manufacturer has a no frills way to prove their car’s worth, taking it out on the race track for a survival test against the best, and the world is invited to watch the spectacle. But more often than not, Audi end up playing not just a survival game, they end up winning. Following that tradition, Audi debuted their two new race cars at the “Six Hours of Spa” – the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at the famed Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium on Sunday. And they made history at the event, not just by fielding the first-ever diesel hybrid race car in motorsport history, but also by recording a podium finish with it. Audi fielded their new R-18 Ultra and R18 e-tron (hybrid) Quattro cars at Spa and they proved to be too good for the others in the race, including rivals Toyota. The marquee entered two diesel R-18s and two hybrids and they had a stunning 1-2-3-4 finish in Belgium, the pure diesel beating the hybrid to the chequered flag but only by a small margin of 46 seconds, which is miniscule in endurance racing.

The Audi trio of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer drove the first ever diesel-electric racing car out on track at Spa and drove it to pole position during qualifying

The Audi trio of Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer, who were the Le Mans 24-hours champions last year, had the honour to take out the first diesel-electric racing car in history and they were in no mood to play second fiddle to their fully diesel teammates. In fact, they took pole for the race and led the early stages before a tyre choice gave the advantage to the R-18 diesel driven by Romain Dumas, Loïc Duval and Marc Gené and they maintained that till the finish line. The hybrid Quattro, with its far-from-optimum set-up and balance due to the front wheel drive, was clearly the star of the weekend though and its good showing promises a bright future, especially since the racing fraternity and international racing federation (FIA) are looking at means to reduce the carbon footprint of this global sport. Audi has been dominating endurance racing for a while now, being last year’s champions in the Le Mans 24 hours and winning the opening round of the WEC this year at Sebring in their last year’s car. And with this performance in their new car, one of which is a hybrid by the way, they seem to be set to continue dominating endurance racing. Toyota and the chasing pack will have to come out with a miraculous package if they have to catch the Audis by the time the endurance bandwagon reaches the shores of France for the 24 hours Le Mans endurance classic on June 16 & 17. Away from the race track, the result means that the average rubber-burning, speed freaks among us needn’t be that guilty about the adverse affects of your fetish on the environment any more. Green race cars, capable of beating, the best are in town. [ Source ]

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The fastest thing ever to come out of Croatia may just be Rimac Automibili’s Concept One electric sports. The electric racer is expected to go into production and their expected performance numbers is threatening to put gas-guzzling Ferarris and Lamborghinis to shame.  Rimac brought the Concept One to the Top Marques Monaco event last week, officially opening reservations and deposits for a delivery which will start in 2013.

The Italians are likely to cringe and cry: Mama Mia! A million for a Croatian sportscar!  But does the car, which has the curves, really have the juice to upstage the Italians?

Rimac claims that their all-electric “1088 hp” beauty is capable of doing “0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in just 2.8 seconds” and that too carrying the bulky battery packs which will give it a range of 372 miles (600km). Not to mention the massive “1,180 lb-ft (1,600 Nm) of torque” the company is sure its electric motors are capable of.

If you find these numbers rather ambitious, just have a look at the exorbitant stats Rimac came out with last year when Concept One was first unveiled – a whopping 2,800 lb-ft (3,500 Nm) torque. They have had the good sense to cut the torque figures down to half now. And with the existing technology, the first owners of the car might see the numbers further more down to earth, unless of course the designers have used alien performance enhancement packs in the car.

Rimac will roll out only 88 models of Concept One, which will have separate, special drive motors for each of its wheels.

And talking about wheels, the Croats have gone an extra mile to get the best performance rubber for their beauty, choosing Vredestein Ultrac Vorti high-performance tyres which the designers believe is capable of delivering the best grip when operated with Rimac’s four in-wheel motors.

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It will be interesting to see how exactly Ferrari manages the performance similar to that of Enzo, which had a petrol-run V-12 and could hit 60 mph in just 3.14 seconds. It also had technology borrowed form Ferrari’s Formula One race division, including electro-hydraulic transmission and a carbon-fiber body.

Ferrari will also have to find means to overcome the design limitations of a bulky battery pack. Sources say Samsung will supply the lithium-ion cells for the hybrid.   The folks at Maranello are looking to improve performance while reducing fuel consumption. Surprising for a sports car manufacturer right?

So, they’re borrowing from F1 again to achieve that. Ferrari revealed that they have brought down fuel consumption by around 40 percent thanks to its “HY-KERS” hybrid system, while also decreasing acceleration time from 0 to 124 mph by roughly three seconds.  But the hybrid system adds to the overall weight, around 264 pounds to be exact. Ferrari is hoping to cut weight in the chassis, body and powertrain, which means more F1 technology, including a carbon-fiber shell, will be employed.

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Photo Credit: General Motors

It seems, the 2013 Cadillac XTS has everything which an average modern driver requires.

The ‘CUE’ user experience system and interface is futuristic and so is the panel, the touch screen reminiscent of the simplicity we have gotten used to on a tablet PC. That should keep the driver in his comfort zone and in sync while driving, sitting on plush leather seats with vibrating alerts. Wow!

The new XTS will roll out in a couple of weeks but wouldn’t it be bad if, after a pit-stop, I get in, to make the lovely touch screen on the front dash dirty after trying to get the music on with soiled hands, a customary gift after opening and shutting the grease laden fuel caps at a self-serve gas station.

The folks at General Motors have thought about that too in the XTS. The luxury sedan doesn’t have a fuel cap. Instead of the all so common fuel door and fuel cap, the XTS uses a capless system that provides a cleaner, no grease attached, gas filling experience.

Here is how it works.

The capless system has two internal doors with rubber seals, which keeps out chances of leaks. During refueling, the outer door is opened and the fuel nozzle can be directly inserted into the two internal doors, which automatically open to accommodate it.

Since two doors are involved the chances of leaks are that much less. Another advantage the Cadillac system has over its competitors is that it doesn’t have an internal drain, which also reduces chances of dripping.

So this new Cadillac offers not just a stylish drive, it can also leave our hands pristine clean for your iPad.

General Motors might not be working on cleaner cars that much, but cleaner drivers they surely are focusing their efforts on!

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Of all the batman gadgets we have fantasized about, the most common would be the grappling hook gun which the Caped Crusader uses to scale buildings and walls.

Many companies and inventors have tried and brought out successful and decent grappling hook guns, though some were bulky and others dangerous. The engineering students at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah have come out with their own version of the Batman grappling hook.  Their effort is aimed at winning an Air Force competition where they hope to catch the eye of defense weapons experts.   The armed forces, adventure sport enthusiasts, emergency services, police forces and of course, masked avengers and caped crusaders, are all possible customers for their invention; which has a fire arm to propel the hook attached to a cable up into the air.

Once the hook is attached to a ledge or a crevice, a winch and pulley system pulls the person up onto the desired height.  Interesting, even though the video put up by the BYU inventors suggests that it requires a bit of a seasoning to scale the walls with ease like the Dark Knight does.  In the mean time, the BYU folks will be trying to impress the weapons experts at the Air Force during the competition, in which the team will get 20 minutes to demonstrate the tool and then train military representatives on how to use it.

The final test of the competition will be to get three people up a 90-foot vertical wall while carrying 300 pounds of gear each. BYU students claim that their tool can push a person up a wall as shown in the video below, at a speed of 30 feet per minute.

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The most eye-popping of concepts to come out at the Beijing Motor Show must be the Chery Ant. In fact, eye popping will be an understatement for the concept rolled out by Chinese car manufacturer Chery.

If it becomes a reality, it could usher in Vehicle Platooning on to freeways using the infrastructure proposed by General Motors China in its EN-V concept.

Let’s get to the looks of Chery’s innovation first. Well, they have named it aptly for it looks like an ant. Small, compact, in fact a little too compact for comfort if you are a person of larger proportions.  But it’s rather cute and on congested Asian roads or narrow European ones, this cutie will be practical. Parking problems will be out of the window with the Chery Ant as it literally takes the same space required to park a super bike.

Let’s get to Platooning  Ants can go anywhere on its own but it can also attach to two or more Ants with an automated telematics systems by pairing up one car’s rear wheels with the front wheels of another.

This is possible because Ants can see and communicate, comparing destinations with other Ants via the cloud. And if two Ants are heading in the same direction they can be put together, making the journey energy efficient and faster. How efficient, it’s yet to be known.

There are claims that up to 10 Ants can be tagged together as a train but no official video or photos are available of the Ants in Platooning action.  It will be great if this concept works though.

The post Chery’s New Concept: Are Ants The Future Of Motoring? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The eccentric designers at Lamborghini’s lair at Sant’ Agata Bolognese in Italy have suddenly become a little down to earth.

The Italian sports car maker’s new offering neither looks like a bat mobile nor will it be guzzling gas. It isn’t a sports car even, but an SUV. The Urus SUV concept, which Lamborghini unveiled at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show, is more a family car, with space for kids, their school bags, shopping bags and all the house hold necessities. It’s clear that Lamborghini is looking to re-enter the segment where other sports car manufacturers (more notably Porsche with Cayenne) have already cashed in.

Lambo is not new to SUVs. They were the pioneers in the luxury SUV segment after they launched the LM 002, more popularly known as the “Rambo-Lambo”.  But unlike the beefy, boxy, muscular, green-beret built Rambo-Lambo, the Urus is more a ballet dancer – a slightly big ballet dancer though.   With four seats, it has enough space inside to accommodate a family of four bears and their accessories coming back from a fishing trip. Outside, the Italians have stuck with the trademark sexy lines of Lamborghini.   The Urus doesn’t have rear view mirrors, just aerodynamic small cameras which record and feed video to two screens on both sides of the cockpit.

Yeah cockpit, for the steering wheel and the panels, with the touch screen monitors and paddle switches and buttons gives the feeling of an aircraft cockpit. But the buttons and panels are not spacecraft-ish.

Sources at Lamborghini revealed that the company’s target output from the power-plant for this all-wheel drive beast is 600hp (449kw) while the light weight carbon fiber technology used in the body ensures an agile with low emissions and I dare say, fuel economy too, compared to other Lamborghini’s that is.

The Urus might look big but it’s likely to handle like a sports car with its low weight, low centre of gravity and variable height bodyshell adding to its aerodynamic stability. An adjustable front spoiler will ensure good obstacle clearance too, important for an SUV.  Signs show that Lambo is keen to convert this concept into a production model and they will be targeting markets in the Middle East, US, UK, Germany, Russia and of course China. No wonder they unveiled the concept in Beijing.

Unlike the Rambo-Lambo, which saw just 300 hit the road in six years of production (1986-1992), Lamborghini is targeting around 3000 cars each year with the Urus to cater to the demands it is expecting.  Going by the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ Urus received in Beijing, those numbers may not be enough too.  Why shouldn’t we go for Urus. After all it’s a Lamborghini and you get to own one way cheaper than say the Gallardo or any other model of theirs. Besides, Urus will keep your wife and kids happy too; it’s a family Lambo!

[ source ]

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Is it ‘back to the future’ time for Delorean Motor Company (DMC) and their cult sports car DMC-12?

The company went bankrupt in 1982, but the DMC-12, with its the gull-wing doors, is still revered by the generation who grew up driving gas guzzlers and watching the Hollywood flick Back to the future which, by the way, featured this car as a convertible time machine.

The new DMC-12, which will be brought out next year, will not have a fuel tank, but a charging plug inside the front grill. The upgraded model was put on display at this year’s New York International Auto Show.

The rear side of the new DMC will be all about storage, of power that is. The engine is replaced by a 32-kWh lithium-ion phosphate battery pack, which is capable of pushing the car to a top speed of 125 miles per hour and a range of 100 miles.

Of course, this futuristic DMC, which I repeat is not a time machine as of now, costs a mega $95,000.

[ source ]

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Surfers need momentum to come up to pace and successfully ride big waves. Noisy jet-skis are typically what is used to tow surfers now, they will be a thing of the past soon.

WaveJet provides the surfer the necessary momentum to catch a big wave without requiring a large towing vehicle or a partner to do the duties.   The core of the WaveJet system is a pod which can be fitted under any Wave-jet compatible board of any size or kind, including surfboards, paddleboards, boogie boards and rescue boards.

The advantage of its design is that it fits flat under the board and doesn’t affect its balance nor does it interfere with the ride. It uses two aluminum impellers within the pod to give up to 20 lbs. of thrust, which translates into a speed of almost 12mph.   That should push you onto the biggest wave at Mavericks, California, or any other “big” place for that matter.

But apart from providing adrenalin to surfers, WaveJet will become an important tool in the hands of lifeguard as it enables a rather compact and quick way to reach victim amongst the wake and crashing waves.

Besides the innovative and non-obstructive motor, the WaveJet’s wireless control system is convenient for the surfer doing the balancing act while standing and “walking on water”.

Check out the video.

The surfer can control the motors using wireless remote controls on the wrist. The wireless system keeps the surfer’s hands free and doesn’t tie him to the board. The wristband also monitors the battery of the motor and has the ability to cut the motor once the board is more than a leash-length away from surfer.

So the surfer needn’t worry about the board propelling itself away after bailing.

The rechargeable lithium-ion battery gives almost 45 minutes of run time, but then no surfer will be using the motor continuously. So it means the juice in the motors will last even more, if not for a whole day of fun at the beach.

Surfers and other industry professionals have been testing the WaveJet and it’s going to hit the markets next month. This year, the WaveJet will be provided in surfboard, boogie board and stand-up paddle boards, while its scope will be extended to kayaks and other models next year.

The delivery of WaveJet will begin in the mid of May. The pod price will be $2,500, and could be used with WaveJet-ready boards. Recreational boards will cost $4,395 while rescue board packages start at $4,150.

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