Motorward

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• Tata Pixel Concept
• 2011 Kia Optima Gets Five NHTSA Stars
• Infiniti Etherea Promo Video
• BLOODHOUND SSC Hybrid Rocket Test Underway
• Video: VW Darth Vader Commercial Parody
• Mitsubishi To Kill Evo
• Underground Racing Audi R8 V10 Twin Turbo
• Range Rover Evoque Concept Bicycle
• Pagani Huayra – New Videos

Tata Pixel Concept Posted: 03 Mar 2011 08:29 AM PST India’s largest car maker Tata – the owner of Jaguar and Land Rover – revealed their new concept car at the Geneva Motor Show. It’s called the Tata Pixel and it’s a proper four-seater city car. What’s important here is the fact that the Pixel can accommodate four adults. At the first glance the Pixel appears to be a very posh version of Tata Nano, but there is much more to this car. It has lots of new and innovative features, some of them way too ambitious! Like those doors for example. They are just plain ridiculous to be honest. Tata says they make it easier getting in and out of the car in tight spaces, but they are so big they will hit the roof in any underground parking! But there some good tricks as well, like the Zero Turn toroidal traction-drive Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT), which assists rotation of the outer rear wheel forwards and the inner rear wheel backwards, while the front wheels turn at acute angles. The result is a turning circle radius of just 2.6 metres. The Tata Pixel is also designed to provide a high level of connectivity. Key functions are controlled by the driver's smart phone, running 'My Tata Connect' — the first integrated human-machine interface (HMI) concept from Tata Motors. 'My Tata Connect' enables seamless integration of the user's smartphone or tablet with the vehicle's infotainment system and also allows controlling key functions of the car. This provides a customised, user friendly, all-in-one touch screen display, while also allowing the driver to remain seamlessly connected to the external world in much the same way as they would be when at home or in the office, listening to favourite songs, internet news and sport or stock updates. Tata Pixel is powered by a rear-mounted 1.2 litre three-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, which features low-friction design, featuring variable coolant and oil pump and rapid warm-up technologies. The car itself has optimised aerodynamic drag, low rolling-resistance tyres, stop-start technology, and intelligent battery charging. All of that is to save fuel, and it manages that beautifully. The Pixle returns European combined cycle (NEDC) fuel economy of 3.4 l/100km and CO2 emissions of just 89g/km. Tata doesn’t mention the power output, maybe because it’s not very impressive!

2011 Kia Optima Gets Five NHTSA Stars Posted: 03 Mar 2011 08:12 AM PST The magnificent new Kia Optima becomes the first Korean-built car that achieves 5-star safety rating from NHTSA. It’s already been awarded as IIHS “Top Safety Pick” as well. 2011 Kia Optima achieved the highest possible score in the latest crash tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s NHTSA. That’s largely owed to the car’s great levels of standard safety equipment and technologies. On the list of standard safety features you come across items like six airbags(1) (dual advanced front and front-seat mounted side as well as full-length side curtain), front active headrests, side-impact door beams, height-adjustable front seatbelts with pre-tensioners, three-point seatbelts for all seating positions, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).  Four-wheel antilock brakes (ABS), ESC, a Traction Control System (TCS), a Brake Assist System (BAS) and Hill Assist Control (HAC) also are standard. “As the most recent addition to Kia’s lineup, the 2011 Optima incorporates some of Kia’s most advanced safety technologies with head-turning style, performance and comfort to provide consumers with high value and peace-of-mind,” said Byung Mo Ahn, group president and CEO of Kia Motors America (KMA) and Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG).  “As the first Korean-built vehicle to be awarded a five-star crash safety rating under NHTSA’s new, stricter guidelines, Optima creates a new benchmark in the segment and underscores Kia’s commitment to offering consumers the highest levels of quality and safety in all of our vehicles.”

Infiniti Etherea Promo Video Posted: 03 Mar 2011 07:05 AM PST The Etherea concept, Infiniti’s highlight the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, shows the brand’s new vision in design and introduces a whole new niche which is something between a crossover and a sedan. Although Jeremy Clarkson recently said that it looks like a car that’s melted and it’s named after a tube with urine in it, we think it looks good. Infiniti says the Etherea previews a future entry-level model to attract younger buyers to the brand. See how you like the look of it in this promo video. Making its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show today, the Infiniti ETHEREA Concept re-imagines the compact luxury car for a discerning new generation of younger buyers, while providing a glimpse of a future European Infiniti line-up where the brand’s convention-defying distinctiveness reaches into the compact class for the first time. “ETHEREA is about a new type of luxury,” said Toru Saito, Corporate Vice President and Leader of the Global Infiniti Business Unit. “It is for younger buyers who do not want a smaller version of a typically conservative and traditional luxury car. It is for people who want a car that defines who they are, not who their parents were.” Encapsulating everything that Infiniti stands for – including no-compromise hybrid power and maximum driving pleasure – in a car 4.4m long, ETHEREA proposes a bold new approach to the premium compact segment. Its dynamic character and highly sculptural, near mono-volume form provide a silhouette unlike anything currently in the class. “ETHEREA is completely different from current luxury compact cars,” said Senior Vice President of Design, Shiro Nakamura. “That is appropriate for a new generation of drivers who think of themselves as different. “As an exploration into what a future entry-level Infiniti may be like, ETHEREA is highly significant and a breakthrough in what Infiniti thinks about itself.” Francois Bancon, General Manager of Exploratory and Advanced Product, said: “We think the market – and buyers of compact cars – is ready for a car like this, especially in Europe. As a vehicle to single out its owner as progressive, self confident and a little off the beaten path, ETHEREA fits very well with what Infiniti is all about.”

BLOODHOUND SSC Hybrid Rocket Test Underway Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:50 AM PST Another major step in development of the 1000mph Land Speed Record car BLOODHOUND SSC will be soon accomplished, as the team prepares for the first full test firing of their 122 kN (27,000lbs) prototype hybrid rocket in the UK. Specifically designed for the BLOODHOUND, this is the largest rocket tested in this country for twenty years (at 4m (12 feet) long, 45.7 cm (18 inches) in diameter and weighing 400kg). The tests will take place this summer, but they’ve already began evaluating a number of sites for the operation since it’s going to be huge! The hybrid rocket has been designed and manufactured by The Falcon Project Ltd, based in Manchester, led by 27 year-old self- trained rocketeer Daniel Jubb. They call it hybrid because it combines solid fuel with a liquid oxidiser to create its power.  Although technically demanding, this approach is the safest and most controllable, with driver Andy Green able to shut off the flow of oxidiser and extinguish the rocket if required. You need to be a full on rocket enthusiasts to understand technical details of this thing, so we leave you alone with the expert explanation of the makers of Falcon Hybrid Rocket. All we want to see is the SSC finally putting its money where its mouth is! It will burn for 20 seconds per run, during which time it will consume 181kgs of solid fuel and 963g of oxidizer to produce 122kN (27,500 lbs) peak thrust (equivalent to 77,500hp, or the combined power of 645 family saloon cars). This will be in addition to the 90 kN (20,000lbs) of thrust provided by the car's other main engine – a state of the art EJ 200 jet from a Eurofighter.  Together, they make BLOODHOUND SSC the most powerful land vehicle ever created. There are four main elements to BLOODHOUND's propulsion package: the solid fuel combustion chamber, the liquid oxidiser and its pumping system, and the associated control system. The rocket itself consists of a solid fuel made from synthetic rubber (HTPB, or Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene, similar to that used in aircraft tyres) with metal powders and burning rate modifiers added to the mix. This is contained within a composite case slung beneath the EJ200 jet engine. Just as the car design team made extensive use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to predict airflow over the aluminium and carbon skin of BLOODHOUND, so Daniel's seven-strong team used CFD to model the flow of gasses inside the rocket.  They then optimised its performance by varying the composition and geometry along the length of the solid fuel grain. The result is a hybrid rocket of world-beating power and efficiency. High Test Peroxide (HTP) is the liquid oxidiser used to burn the solid fuel. A staple of the UK rocket programme during the 1960's and 70's, HTP is non-toxic and relatively safe to handle. This makes it the ideal choice for use in a land speed record car that will be refuelled in a desert environment during a record attempt. The need to deliver 963kg of liquid HTP to the rocket in a mere 20 seconds presented a significant technical challenge in its own right. BLOODHOUND's solution takes the form of a Cosworth CA2010 Formula 1 engine, the most reliable on the grid, mounted to a pump from a 1960s' Blue Steel cruise missile. Upgraded by the original designer, our pump is now 15% more efficient that its airborne predecessors and able to convert the 800bhp produced by the V8 race engine into 1100lb/in2 (76 Bar) of pressure and a flow rate of 105 lb/sec (47.6 kg/sec) – enough to fill a bath in three seconds. Prior to commencing a high speed run the Cosworth engine (also known as the Auxiliary Power Unit or APU) will be started and left idling at between 3000 and 4500rpm. The oxidiser tank will also be pressurised to 24psi using inert nitrogen gas. With the car accelerating under the power of the EJ200 jet engine alone, Andy will engage the APU with the pump via a clutch and gearbox. 20 seconds into the run, with the speed approaching 230mph, he will prime the rocket by filling the fuel lines and pump with oxidiser and injecting a small quantity of HTP into the rocket. This will react with a silver oxide catalyst pack mounted in front of the main propulsion chamber to create superheated steam and oxygen. As the solid rubber fuel begins to char in the 600°C temperature, heat haze and black smoke will issue from the rocket nozzle. As primary low-level combustion starts, this will turn into a powerful flame. The rocket is now primed, ready to deliver full power at Andy's command. At around 350mph, 25 seconds into the run, the driver will depress the right-hand trigger on his steering wheel, summoning the full force of the Cosworth engine. As the maximum flow rate of HTP reaches the catalyst vast quantities of oxygen will be produced, supporting the combustion of the fuel grain and generating 27,000lbs of thrust, a 3000°C temperature at the nozzle and a 25-foot long plume of flame studded with incandescent shock diamonds. After 20 seconds of acceleration at up to 2.5G, BLOODHOUND SSC will have reached its maximum design speed of 1050mph. 100 seconds after setting off, the car will be stationary once more, 10 miles from its start point. Even allowing for his many years experience flying fast jets, priming and firing the rocket, driving the EJ200 and ensuring that BLOODHOUND SSC is both on course and stable will tax Andy Green's concentration to the limit. To help him and ensure his safety, BLOODHOUND features a complex control system designed by Formula 1 systems specialist Dr John Davis. Cosworth electronics and custom-written software watch over key vital signs including HTP tank temperatures and pressures, pump pressure, inlet and outlet pressures, valve positions, rocket chamber pressure and the temperature of the outer rocket casing along its length. In the event of an abnormal reading the control system will automatically shut down the supply of oxidiser, thereby extinguishing the rocket. Andy will also be able to shut the rocket down manually. The three-year long development of the hybrid rocket has had a major influence on the overall design of the car. In early configurations it sat on top of the larger, heavier jet, the rationale being to keep the centre of gravity low to aid stability. As the aerodynamic modelling data from Swansea University's super computer revealed in ever increasing detail the herculean power needed to reach 1000mph, the rocket increased in power and size. By late 2009 it became clear that the enormous thrust from the now 400kg rocket would pitch BLOODHOUND's nose downwards, thanks to its position high above the centreline of the car. This would increase steering loads, reduce the weight pressing down on the back wheels and disturb the airflow over the rear of the car, potentially causing lift. The decision was taken to redesign the entire rear section of the car and mount the rocket underneath the jet, which is the position it occupies now in the final build configuration. BLOODHOUND SSC is the world's ultimate racing car but something more besides: it is the focal point of global education initiative designed to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The development of its rocket by a small, visionary and dedicated team of engineers encapsulates the spirit of the Project. When, later this year, the rocket breathes fire at its UK test location, BLOODHOUND SSC will be that much closer to speeding across a dry lake-bed in the Northern Cape, South Africa; the world will be watching.

Video: VW Darth Vader Commercial Parody Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:15 AM PST As you know one of the best commercials aired during Super Bowl nights this year was “The Force” by Volkswagen. You must have watched it, because everybody has, but if you haven’t click here and check it out. Then come back and watch this. It is a parody of VW’s commercial that mocks Toyota’s unintended acceleration. They might have gone a bit too far with the little Darth Vader acts though. It is both funny and violent!

Mitsubishi To Kill Evo Posted: 03 Mar 2011 06:02 AM PST We’re hearing some very bad news suggesting that one of the finest high performance saloons of all time is about to bite the dust. Gayu Eusegi, Mitsubishi's global product director, has told Autocar that Lancer Evolution X will be the last of the Evo breed. Now before we get to Eusegi’s reasons for that decision, one may wonder if it’s not for the Evo, what is the point of having Mitsubishi at all?! I mean that is the only interesting car they make. But they don’t care about that. What they want is to become one of the world’s leaders in developing electric cars. Mitsubishi is is going to introduce eight full electric or hybrid cars by 2015. The Evo projects get canceled and the funds go to cars like the e-compact which is a pathetic little city car to be made in Thailand. Fantastic! "There is still a demand [for the car]," he said, "but we must stop." Eyebrow up."Our influence now is EV technology," Eusegi said, adding that the decision was a "policy change". The Lancer Evo might not be as involved with rallying as it used to be – well, to be honest it has lost all its rally glory a long time ago – but there’s still a big demand for the road going monster. The demise of Lancer Evo will make Subaru very happy, because they will have that market all to themselves with the Impreza which is going to get a thorough upgrade for its next model. Now with all the hybrid electrics Mitsubishi has in development, you would imagine that the Evo will comeback in a few years sporting a hybrid badge. Mitsu’s official doesn’t rule out that possibility. Autocar

Underground Racing Audi R8 V10 Twin Turbo Posted: 03 Mar 2011 05:35 AM PST The guys at Underground Racing – an American tuner obsessed with 1000+ hp twin turbo engines – announced a package for Audi R8 V10. You guessed it, it is a twin turbo and it has 1000+ hp! This actually has not been a hard task for Underground Racing since the 5.2 liter V10 in this Audi is basically the same V10 they’ve tuned a number of times in Lamborghini Gallardo. So with the right fuel this twin turbo kit can potentially produce up to 1100 PS  and mountains of torque. Stay tuned for more details and a video of the Audi R8 V10 Twin Turbo.

Range Rover Evoque Concept Bicycle Posted: 03 Mar 2011 05:21 AM PST On the occasion of Range Rover Evoque’s debut at the Geneva Motor Show, the design team at Land Rover has come up with a concept Evoque road bike! This lightweight, high-tech and aerodynamic bicycle is designed with a Karbona carbon fibre monocoque frame to to deliver fast, agile and secure road-racing performance. It has a 20-gear Shimano Ultegra system and benefits from specially developed wheels designed to have a great visual impact while ensuring maximum performance. With all that carbon fiber used to make this bike if they put it into production it will almost certainly cost as much as a car! This is just a cool design exercise by Range Rover. Press Release: The central element is a high modulus carbon fibre monocoque frame, crafted by Karbona using techniques derived from Formula 1. The oversized carbon fibre handlebar stem and aerospace alloy handle bars were specified to complement the rest of the bicycle, and are engineered to cope with the high torque developed by top-class sports cyclists and ensure safe control of the machine at high speeds. The advanced composite construction allowed the seat tube section to be integrated into the frame, saving weight and extending the clean flow of the design. The steering components are colour-matched to the frame, which carries Range Rover and Evoque branding graphics. The transmission is a 20-gear Shimano Ultegra system. The steering bearings are integrated into the head of the frame to reduce drag and the steering fork is also made of carbon fibre. Echoing the attention to luxury detailing that is fundamental to all Range Rover products, the drivetrain and braking systems are finished in matching black chrome and the saddle is upholstered in fine leather, with padded grip tape enhanced with silicone gel. The wheels were specially commissioned for the Evoque project and have a strong visual impact. Formed from aero-profiled carbon fibre, they have a deep section designed to cut through the air quickly while maintaining stability. Secure performance is further supported by the tyre tread, which is constructed from triple-density rubber compound with hard-wearing and high-grip qualities. Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director, a keen cyclist himself, said: “I wanted to create the ultimate accessory for the Range Rover Evoque – and what could be more perfect than an utterly contemporary, beautifully designed, bespoke Evoque bike. Like the Range Rover Evoque, the bike not only looks fantastic but is precision engineered for ultimate performance.”

Pagani Huayra – New Videos Posted: 03 Mar 2011 05:09 AM PST Now that the new Pagani Huayra is fully revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, most people who dissed it are now thinking well it’s not that bad after all! The Huayra has a design that will grow on you, almost as fast as the car accelerates. We wish we could say that about the name as well, but Huayra doesn’t sound right no matter what you do to it! Here’s new videos of the car form its world premiere event in Milan at Pirelli HQ a couple of weeks ago. The video shows the real beauty and charm of the new Pagani. There’s also a backstage video of the car’s photoshoot in Torino after the jump.

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