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Concepts & Ideas (cars, planes, boats etc.)
 Another remarkable feature of the Pluriel is the difference in styling between each side of the car. One side is smooth looking where the other is grooved. This
The Pluriel is powered by a 4-cylinder 1,360 cc unit producing 75 hp @ 5,500 rpm coupled to a 5-speed gearbox. It's 3,92 cm long, 1,65 cm wide and 1,55 cm high. As a special feature Michelin's PAX system tires are fitted which should make a spare tire redundant. A punctured tire remains rigid enough to drive another 200 km at a maximum of 80 kph.
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 Just like with Citroën's Pluriel versatility and flexibility are key words in this design. Besides the opening roof and the usable boot space the flexible seating configuration, which
In the interior translucent green weave material is used, in combination with leather on the seats. The transparent weave (and minimized design) should make the front seats appear less like a barrier to the people in the rear. With this the cabin looks roomy and organic.
A powerful engine complements this "versatile sportscar concept": a 6-cylinder 2.5 litre unit turning out some 200 hp. This is enough to propel the Musiro to a top speed of 250 kph and to accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in 7.9 seconds.
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 Ghia's StreetKa spider concept was
Manufacture of the car shouldn't be a problem since much of the parts used are already in stock: the chassis and the 1,7 litre 4-cylinder VVC engine are borrowed from the Ford Puma (in this concept in racing trim; the engine produces 153 hp) and the body shell is a modified version of that of the Ford Ka.
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 The car features a lightweight monocoque
Power comes from a highly tuned 4-cylinder 2-litre engine; turbocharged and intercooled it provides an amazing 380 hp at the flywheel. Other special features are a semi-automatic 6-speed gearbox, a fly-by-wire throttle, electrically adjustable pedals and steering column and a small hydraulically operated windscreen which raises just enough to deflect air over the heads of driver and passenger.
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 Remarkable
The engine bay is designed to accept a range of powertrain options, but it's likely that Jaguar's V8 engines will be reserved for the XK models. Motorization probably will start with the 240 hp AJ-V6 engine from the S-type saloon. A supercharged version of this engine with 300 hp on offer may be an option.
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 Lancia is another classic marque struggling
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 Mitsubishi
The SUW Active is powered by a special 4-cylinder 2-liter GDi engine that produces 250 hp and 343 Nm torque which is distributed by Mitsubishi's Invecs II automatic transmission.
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 Peugeot
The car has a carbon chassis constructed from aircraft type honeycombed panels. A 2946 cc V6 engine is fitted under the long bonnet which turns out 210 hp. It has variable timing at the air intake, four overhead camshafts and 24 valves. A 5-speed manual gearbox is placed in front of the engine.
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The car is four wheel driven by electro motors. Each wheel is individually powered by ten 500 Watt motors placed around the center of the wheel. Depending on the situation each motor can individually be switched on or off, and so the propulsion power can be varied from 0 to a total of 20 kW. The steering is done by varying the rotation of the wheels (more or less like in a tank), controlled by two "joy-sticks" on a rudder bar between the drivers legs.
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 The
The oddest of all "City Toyz" must be this E-doll. It's a sort of revival of the scooter or bubble car of the early 1950s. Like the Bobslid it carries three people, but this time next to each other, where the driver sits in the middle.
It has no side doors and the windscreen runs from the front all the way over to the rear of the car. The car is powered by two electric motors and measures 2.5 x 1.54 x 1.29 metres (length x width x height). The bubble-like passengers compartment is part of the self-supporting carbon-fiber body which also carries the batteries.
The driver operates E-doll with scooter-like handlebars incorporating a starter, twist-grip "gas" and brake controls and a twin-dial instrument panel. In the rear the chassis incorporates a trolley (here filled with colored balls) for shopping purposes.
The rear axle has two transverse control arms. To each of these control arms an electric motor straight out of the Peugeot Electric Scooter is attached, which drives the rear wheel by a belt. The two complete drive units are separated from the body and have a silver colored casing. In front here are two triangulated half-axles of a pseudo McPherson type.
It's a funny but unrealistic car; still, incorporating a shopping trolley in a car is a good and practical idea. I wonder if we'll see that in the future on production cars.
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A sporty and good looking City Toy is the Kart-up. It's a 2-seater roadster with a very large, very horizontal windscreen that's almost like a roof and opens with the bonnet in a forward direction. Power comes from a standard Peugeot V6 producing 210 hp and the Kart-up has a self-supporting carbon-fiber body.
The Kart-up measures a modest 3.28 x 1.52 x 1.08 metres (length x width x height). This light and arrow-like car must be very quick and exciting with its 210 hp engine, especially considering the low seating position.
I guess the most exuberant of all four City Toyz is the Vroomster. It's sort of like a motorcycle on four wheels. This car is a two-seater where the driver sits in front and has the fuel tank between his knees. The passenger has a smaller seat behind the driver.
The Vroomster is made of carbon-fiber with foam and is powered by a 4-cylinder 110 hp twin-cam 16-valve engine from the Peugeot 206. Like with the Kart-up a large windscreen also forms the roof and protects driver and passenger. The driver steers the car by a so-called "handle-bar steering wheel". Unlike a motorcycle both driver's and passenger's seat are fitted with three point safety belts.
The apple-green Vroomster measures 3.16 x 1.52 x 1.36 metres (length x width x height).
Peugeot's City Toyz are certainly very creative and provocative and most people seemed to enjoy looking at them. I liked them, and what I liked best was that not the high-tech aspect was stressed as seems to be the fashion these days, but the almost sculpture-like designs: very refreshing. ======================================== ======================
At the start of the new century the French Renault company has set out to acquire a more appealing up market status. Not only have they adopted the slogan "createur d'automobiles" as an extension to the French fashion tradition, but also a number of avant garde-styled concept cars have left the Renault ateliers over the past years.
One of the older concepts that was on display in Amsterdam was this Initiale, originally introduced in September 1995. Although the Initiale looks far more extreme, it is obvious that the design of the new Laguna production model was based on this car. The Initiale however was aimed at a much more exclusive market section than Renaults latest middle class saloon.
It is powered by a remarkable 3.5 litre V10 engine based on the RS6 Formula 1 racing engine, which was adapted for this car by Renault Sport. In this trim it turns out some 392 hp @ 8000 rpm and 360 Nm of torque @ 6200 rpm. It has a 6-speed gearbox and is capable of a top speed of 305 kph. Underneath the drive-train of the Safrane bi-turbo is fitted in combination with a newly designed platform. The Initiale's interior is opulent and trimmed with beige leather and maple wood. Of course all mod. cons. are fitted like climate control, a laser-disc player (not much use these days I guess), telephone and all sorts of driving aids. Anyway, it's a nice dramatic car to look at and though it's from the last century it doesn't look outdated.
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A more recent design is this Koleos, first shown at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. It's one of the now fashionable mixes of saloon car with off-road car for the so-called SUV-segment.
The Koleos shows the typical Renault monospace look with some dramatic styling elements, most notably in front. It has a modern hybrid propulsion system, a combination of a regular 4-cylinder 16 valve turbocharged engine of 170 hp and a 40 hp electric motor. The regular combustion engine drives the front wheels and the electric engine the rear wheels. For full terrain mode the both engines work together to offer 4x4 traction. In city traffic the system automatically switches to the electric motor to reduce pollution, while on the open road the petrol engine takes over.
A remarkable feature are the huge 21'' wheels which give it a butch all-terrain car look. The car also has a variable-height suspension to give it more ground clearance while in terrain and less drag while on the highway; the difference between these modes is some 10 cm. and is chosen automatically by a computer system attached to a number of sensors. A neat feature is that this car can be converted in a sort of a pick-up by lowering the rear window into the tailgate and sliding the roof section over the boot space horizontally under the roof panel.
This car didn't really appeal to me; it's a bit of a poseur car, much too high to be sensible.
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 Another combination car: the Seat Salsa
Another combination car: the Seat Salsa Emocion by the Spanish division of Volkswagen. Like many concepts presented in 2000 it's supposed to be a space car, an off-roader and a sports car in one. And like many of these cars it bears some similarity to a suppository.
Apparently this is a development of the earlier Salsa (Spanish for sauce) concept and for some reason it now has become an "emotional sauce". Seat calls this type of cars "Multi Driving Concept" and in this case three driving modes can be selected by a switch on the dashboard: street, sport and off-road. Each choice influences things like ride height (this car features a pneumatic variable height suspension system), automatic gear changes, power steering, what is shown on the instrument panel and on the video displays which can display images from cameras placed on the car.
The Salsa Emotion has a four wheel drive system with a Haldex central differential. It's propelled by a stock 2.8 litre V6 engine delivering 250 hp and 297 Nm torque @ 3200 rpm. To this engine an automatic 5-speed transmission is attached, which also allows sequential Tiptronic gear changes by controls on the steering wheel. Top speed is 233 kph and acceleration from 0-100 kph is possible in just under 8 seconds.
Like most modern concepts this car offers a wide range of electronic gadgets as driving aids, for added safety, for communication and in-car entertainment. In addition to that the (easy to clean) interior is fitted with a water cooler and two folding micro-scooters are fitted in the rear (quite a change from a spare wheel).
Again, cars like these don't appeal to me. The only emotion I feel when looking at this car is indifference.
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Suzuki presented a nifty little sports car which was shown first at the 1999 Tokio Motor Show. The EV-sport is an electric car, propelled by a General Motors developed electric motor in the rear. The batteries are placed under the floor for optimal road holding. In addition to the electric driving system a back-up petrol engine has been fitted, a 2-cylinder 0.4-litre lean burn unit which offers a 1itre on 35 kilometres gas consumption. It has a CVT transmission and drives the front wheels.
The car is extremely light-weight. It has an aluminum space frame and weighs 550 kg with only the petrol engine fitted. In hybrid setup it weighs some 600 kg and in completely electric setup the scales stop around 700 kg. Other dimensions are a length of just 2.675 m, a width of 1.475 m and a height of 1.45 m.
It's a pretty little car, the best looking zero-emission vehicle I've seen so far.
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To make absolutely clear that this is a concept car Volvo has called it the Performance Concept Car. Otherwise it could easily have been mixed up with a regular S60 model.
On the outside special front and rear spoilers and side-skirt distinguish the PCC, and of course the wonderful 19'' BBS magnesium racing wheels. More interesting are the technologies used in the PCC. Volvo's 2435 cc 5-cylinder engine is tuned to deliver 300 hp and an opulent 400 Nm of torque. This unit is fitted to a 6-speed gearbox which distributes the power to all wheels by a Haldex all wheel drive system. This system is chosen to optimize road holding and stability.
Even more special is its Four-C suspension system. Four-C stands for "Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept"; it's an active damper system developed in cooperation with Ohlins Racing. An array of sensors monitor the car's movements, wheel positions, speed and so on; the on-board computer systems analyses this data and adjusts the damper settings accordingly to offer best grip, comfort etc. The systems has three modes (comfort, sport and advanced sport) which can be selected and indicate the driver's preferred suspension behavior at that moment. Additionally the PCC is equipped with systems which control stability and traction which are also regulated according to the driver's preferred mode. According to Volvo this whole system offers enthusiastic sporty driving on demand in a car which is equally at home driving to the supermarket.
I guess we'll see this system in the near future as an option on (some of) Volvo's regular cars. It's remarkable how Volvo has changed from a manufacturer of boxy safety-oriented cars to one that can compete with BMW and Mercedes in a short span of time. Even without much of the image building activities these other so-called premium brands have invested in. Quite an achievement of company owner Ford.
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The wing on this plane is blinking.... lol
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This plane was on discovery channel, it's already in the making, and the company that is making it, is actually trying to get government's approval to
make them accessible to anyone.
The government will have to work out some sort of system for airspace similar to roads, intersections and traffic lights to minimize accidents.
I don't remember much more about this plane because this show was aired a long time ago...
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idea for pogoplane
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a cockpit sketch for the "Pogo Plane"
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sleek pogoplane
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Tank unexpectadly came upon a dry river bed. Rescuers had to dig for 4 hours to open the top hatch before everyone inside could get out. The heat must have been miserable.
Miss Adventure with '56 Aristocraft
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Small Boat...
Big Boat...
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anyhow... that's enough for now... let's see what you can come up with...
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May 16, 05
