Land Rover’s Defender is one of the iconic vehicles of last century.
Recently, the designers at Land Rover decided to give it a make over. The Land Rover Defender DC100 features a short, stout body, impressive rims, and a slightly curvier upper half that resembles more the FJ Cruiser.
The Land Rover Defender DC100 Concept has not yet been scheduled for production.
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Aston Martin has released photos of the highly acclaimed – and anticipated – Aston Martin V12 Zagato.
The car, which is based on the extremely popular V12 Vantage, was hand assembled at the company’s headquarters in England. Due to the positive reaction of the public, the V12 Zagato has gotten the green light for production – a limited release of up to 150 cars for a Summer 2012 release.
And with all the hand crafting and painstaking attention to detail Aston Martin no doubt embodies in all their models, the £330,000 GBP price tag will go to good use.
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Except for one.
I’ve heard painfully little about Aston Martin in their quest to have eco-friendly models shown and put into production lines.
So for now, the Audi takes center stage.
The Audi 2.0 E-tron (which previously made rounds at LA Auto Show and Frankfurt Auto Show as 1.0) is a simpler and less powerful, but streamlined for production, model than was conceived initially. It seeks to unseat the popular Tesla Roadster and Fisker Karma as the most exciting EV on the road in 2012.
Styling influences for the Audi E-tron comes from its siblings, the TT and S5. It’s proportions make it a very lean car, smaller than the first e-tron. The 2.0 model can go from 0 – 100 km/hr in 5.9 seconds, which is one second slower than the 1.0 model and two seconds slower than the Roadster. The space frame is made of aluminum and carbon fiber, and the majority of the body panels are fiber-reinforced.
The E-tron has claims of 155 miles range, with an eleven hour charge time at 220 volts. Charge it at 440 volts, and the time is cut to two hours.
Audi developers market this vehicle as production intent with a floor introduction by 2012.
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2009 Dodge Challenger as designed by the United States Air Force
Who would’ve ever thought that a collaboration between the USAF and Galpin Auto Sports would result in a Batman-looking piece of equipment?
The 2009 model (which, unfortunately, was made solely as a marketing ploy to get high school students interested in the military) is part stealth-machine, part fighter-jet. The black paint that covers the car is equipped with special radar-blocking material, and the exhaust itself is designed to make the car run with almost no sound. And the two wheels (pilot and co-pilot)
And the only way to gain access to car? Biometric verification through the thumbprint of the driver.
Batman would be so lucky to have a car like this.
So Wired Magazine is one of my all-time favorites. They have almost everything a girl could ask for – technology, eco-science, cars, computers, etc etc.
But what I really love is when they unveil concept cars, like the BMW GINA:
Meet the BMW GINA (which stands for ”Geometry and functions In ‘N’ Adaptions”), a concept car designed by Chris Bangle, head of design for BMW. Originally built 6 years ago, it was unveiled earlier this month and will be on display at the BMW Museum in Munich.
The GINA, a shape shifting car (yes, you heard me right. Watch the video!!) made of four panels of fabric, is based on the Z8 chassis. The frame is aluminum and is controlled by electric and hydraulic actuators that actually allow the drive to change it’s shape. The engine is accessible through a slit in the fabric in the front, and the doors open jack-knife style, allowing for a smooth body when all the doors are closed.
The fabric, which is wear and rain resistant, is also translucent, allowing for the lights on the front and the back of the car to shine through. Even the headrest, steering wheel, and gauges swing into place after the driver is already seated, allowing for a smoother entry or exit.
Although this car will never see the road, it makes way for more innovative (and perhaps conservative) designs to find their place in the market.
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