Audi Aicon

 Aicon: Audi technology demonstrator

Design study, technology demonstrator, mobility concept: The Audi Aicon exploits every possibility offered by a autonomous luxury sedan of the future with unprecedented consistency. As a design study, the four-door 2+2 boldly leaps ahead to show the exterior and interior design of the next decades. The technology demonstrator combines innovations relating to the drivetrain, suspension, digitalization and sustainability in a visionary manner. And as a mobility concept, the Audi Aicon shows the world of tomorrow, in which the advantages of door-to-door individual transportation are combined with the luxurious ambiance of a first-class airline cabin.
Pure presence – the exterior

Design

The Audi Aicon looks spectacular from any angle. Its sheer size – an exterior length of 5,444 millimeters (17.9 ft), a width of 2,100 millimeters (6.9 ft) and a height of 1,506 millimeters (4.9 ft) – places it in the automotive top tier, the D segment.The designers reduced the front and rear ends to a minimum of lines and focused on large, uninterrupted surfaces. As with the Audi e-tron Sportback concept, the Aicon front features the inverted hexagonal Singleframe, a typical feature of the upcoming generation of electric cars from Audi. The sharply inclined silhouette of the entire front end evokes a sense of forging ahead – this, too, is a typical sports car body line.

 

Emotion and information – the LED lighting technology

Conventional headlights and lighting units are absent from both the front and rear of this car. Instead there are fully digital display surfaces comprising hundreds of triangular pixel segments. They are three-dimensional recreations of the Audi AI symbol. Grouped around the Singleframe are large light fields, in which – as at the rear – more than 600 3D pixels are arranged in space. The large surfaces and high pixel count enable versatile graphics, animations and information visualizations in any color. The Audi Aicon is thus no longer bound to a daytime running lights look, but rather can adapt to the driving situation and even its passengers. The customization is boundless. Horizontally cut lighting segments to the left and right of the Singleframe look like eyes and can be expanded to resemble wide pupils or squinted for an aggressive look. If the car detects passers-by or other road users, it literally makes eye contact with them and follows them with its “eyes.”

Accommodating – operation and communication

The oft-cited paradigm change in the automotive world – it shows in the Audi Aicon. One glance is all it takes to realize that all of the controls and displays are missing. Steering wheel, pedals, groups of buttons and instruments – nothing. Instead just wide, uninterrupted surfaces. The interior quickly comes to life once passengers enter. Illuminated lines of LEDs set colorful accents in the area of the doors. The front display lights up with a welcome message. PIA, the empathetic electronic vehicle assistant, recognizes the passenger by his phone and activates all of his personal settings. There are custom settings for the air conditioning and seating position, interior light color and the layout of the infotainment system. The navigation system awaits entry of a destination, and all accessible channels of communication are ready for use, connected via the fastest available standard.

New are the variably positionable control interfaces in the encircling door rail. Depending on the position of the seats, which can be shifted by up to 50 centimeters (19.7 in), ergonomically perfectly positioned touch and display elements are available in the digitized wrap-around. Your hand instinctively finds its way to the touch-sensitive control panels.

There are multiple input modes available for engaging with the car. Besides the haptic-manual layer, there are also voice control and eye tracking, in which sensors in the front end of the interior track where the passenger is looking.

The full range of services offered by modern communications electronics are available at all times in the Audi Aicon. Travelers can relax and watch a film or surf the web. Video conferences are another option, as is interaction on social media. Depending on the seating position, the passengers can use the large front display as the output surface or a virtual head-up image displayed above it in the windshield.

The glass roof panels can block out the sunlight, if desired. Their transparency level changes upon application of an electric voltage. Integrated OLED lighting elements allow for precise mood lighting or the even illumination of the interior when getting in or out of the car, for instance.

The Audi Aicon opens up a new world of mobility to its passengers. Freed from the tasks of driving, they can choose how to spend their time in the car. Working, communicating or simply just relaxing and even napping: Anything is possible while the car autonomously and safely finds its way.

Power unit

A highly efficient electric drive provides for the dynamics of the Audi Aicon. A total of four electric motors are located in the area of the front and rear axles. The energy storage units are integrated into the area below the floor. The four electric motors produce a total of 260 kW and 550 Newtonmeters (405.7 lb-ft). Each drives one wheel, enabling electronically controlled, variable quattro all-wheel drive. Maximum acceleration played a less important role in the specification than maximum efficiency and thus also range.

This operating strategy is also pursued by the powertrain and electric brake units, which use recuperation to recover energy. Targeted lightweight construction of the multimaterial body and optimized aerodynamics also help the Audi Aicon to achieve ranges between 700 and 800 kilometers (435.0 - 497.1 mi) on a single charge.

Even charging has been reduced to a minimum. Thanks to a high-voltage system with 800 volts, the Aicon’s battery unit can be charged to 80 percent of capacity in less than 30 minutes. The car is also equipped with a unit of inductive, i.e. wireless, charging. The Aicon manages both without a driver. In an AI Zone, it can pull up to a charging station on its own and charge its battery without any human assistance.

As a true quattro, the Audi Aicon offers ample performance and even autonomously always reaches its destination safely regardless of the weather or road surface. The suspension is designed for maximum comfort. Pneumatic spring and damper units smooth out any road surface irregularities.

The Audi Aicon is an all-arounder well prepared for its primary task: to offer a maximum of comfort, communications technology and freedom for its occupants during a long journey. It combines the scopes for autonomous driving in an urban environment and on the highway with an unprecedented range for an electric drive. The Aicon will be followed by further multitalented Audi models, each with their own specialized discipline, ensuring that the vehicle range of the brand with the four rings remains as diverse as it is fascinating.

The Interior

Source: http://www.audi.com/en/models/showcars/aicon.html

The Effeffe Berlinetta "cafe racer" - legendary 50's car

An Italian dream made true

Today completely hand made, according to the standards of the legendary 50's, it is a car that will appeal to those audiences, who lived or dream the myth of those racing cars that ran on the streets of the "Mille Miglia", the "Targa Florio" or the "Carrera Panamericana" and at the meantime they were used in the weekend to go to the theater. A made in Italy masterpiece of design and engineering.

 

Passion and experience come together in the creation of this model, thanks to its design, recalls the “dream car” of many fans bringing them back a long time ago.

 

 

The tubular frame is designed with the help of CAD systems and innovative programs for the checking of the successive stages of cutting and automatic resistance control.
The result is a very rigid but at the same time considerably light frame.
All aluminum body, hand-hammered. The details of the body , grids, frame strips, door and bonnet handles are entirely hand-made.

 

The Effeffe Berlinetta "cafe racer" do not leave anything to chance, his whole "being" goes straight to the point and leaves no time to get lost in unnecessary frills.
Built and finished trying to guess and satisfy not only the aesthetic taste of his driver and immediately expressing his great personality.

 

 

 

 

Technical features

Engine

Engine deriving from Alfa Romeo entirely in aluminium
Engine : front central, straight four
Cubic capacity : 1962 cmc.
Maximum power : 180 HP DIN a 6500 rpm
Distribution :  by twin overhead camshaft driven by double chains
Feed : 2 horizontal Weber 45 DCOE double choke

Drive train

Rear-wheel drive
Clutch : single dry-plate
Gearbox : 5 gear all synchronized, plus reverse, floor shift
Gear ratios : I°, 1:3,30 – II° , 1:1,99 – III° , 1:1,35 – IV° , 1:1 – V° , 0,79 , RM , 3,01
Axle ration  :   9/41
Wire Wheel : classic centre lock, centre cap and splined hubs, rims in steel,  15x6.00”
Tyres : Dunlop Racing M5.00x15” or M 5.50x15” or M 6.00x15”, radial 205 VR15

Chassis & body

Chassis : frame work in welded steel tubes
Body : 2 seat coupè, 2 doors, in aluminium hand made

Front suspension : independent with wishbones. The adjustable pull stiffener liner is joined to hight and length adjustable bush upper swineing arm. Stabilizer bar. Strut bar. Push-rod coil spring and coaxially double acting shock-absorber.

Rear suspension : rigid axle. Lower trailing arms, with adjustable upper trailing arms, live axle on adjustable T-joint. Watt’s linkage to prevent relative sideways motion between the axle and frame work. Stabilizer bar. Coil spring and coaxially double-acting shock-absorber
Brakes : disc front and rear with brake pump lightweight Ate.
The two rear brakes have the cylinder separate from the caliper.
Steering : rack
Dry weight : 790 Kg
Power/weight ratio : 4,38 kg/HP
 

 

The driver's seat

Everything at the service of the pilot. The Jaeger tachometer with 10,000 full scale, a true legend in the world of racing many years ago, tachometer, oil pressure and temperature, water temperature, voltmeter. These are indicators for the monitoring of all the important parameters when the gait is at limit, and the pilot has to get these information at a glance. All information that we have probably forgotten over the time. Nardi steering wheel with mahogany rim and spokes in aluminum, diameter 360 mm. The knob of the gear lever, another must. The faithful reproduction of what the velocissine Alfa Romeo GTA and GTAm that both won on circuits throughout the world. The adjustable pedals in aluminum derived from the Sport.

 

The interiors

The bucket seats, a "baquets" with legs raised support, made of a soft leather, the lining of the upper part of the dashboard in matt leather and the rest enameled in the same finish as the rest of the body, the secondary controls in chrome lever, the central tunnel, the door panels and the inner lining of the boot in the finest leather with diamond stitching and all 'English, floor carpets of pure wool to report sensations and scents of the past.

Source: http://www.effeffecars.com/

Maserati Mostro Zagato Coupe - A concept with history

 Developed to celebrate the centenary of the House of the Trident. What a "monster" this Mostro!

If you're into old school, chances are you are aware of the 1957 Maserati 450S Costin Zagato Coupe and its marvelous styling. A thoroughbred racing car turned grand tourer, chassis #4501 and Stirling Moss were a great team back in the 1950s.

Based on the racing pedigree and bewitching lines of the 450S Costin Zagato Coupe, the Italian marque and similarly Italian coachbuilder joined hands yet again to create a venerable successor to the veteran 450S.

The jaw-dropping gorgeous Maserati Mostro is the latest creation of Zagato's "Iconic decade," whatever that means. Don't try to look for a meaning to those words because it's a typically Italian thing. Slated to premiere at the Concorso d'Elegance Villa d'Este, this partnership between Zagato and Maserati will spawn 5 examples of the Mostro breed, all of them already spoken for.

Developed to celebrate the centenary of the House of the Trident, all Maserati Mostro units will be delivered before December 2015, at the end of the automaker's anniversary year and just in time for Christmas Eve.

A track-only machine with monstrous (no pun intended) performance, the two-seater super GT uses a carbon fiber chassis coupled to a mid-structure made of steel tubes and a subframe that sustains the fuel tank, rear suspension, transmission and exhaust. The body shell of the Italian GT is 100% carbon fiber.

The Engine

Animated by central-front mounted Maserati V8 with dry-sump lubrication, the Maserati Mostro's naturally aspirated tower-of-unspecified-power is mated to a semi-automatic six-speed transmission.
Chassis-wise, the 19-inch alloy wheels hide a track-focused pushrod suspension. If you're remotely curious about the pricing of this thing, tough luck with that. Told you this is how the cookie crumbles in Italy.

 

Zagato confirms that the Mostro is designed for the track, but will be "ready for street homologation." While its makers promise that like the original "il Mostro" it will dominate a racing circuit, it will be totally road legal too and it’s understood that the huge, fixed rear wing is removable for a better cruising aesthetic. The carrozzeria will build five examples before Maserati's current centenary year is over. Each has already been spoken for, though none are headed to customers in the US. Coachbuilders seldom reveal pricing for this type of project (particularly when they've all been pre-sold), but we're told that "none of Zagato's atelier cars exceed 1 million. As collectible cars, the value of a Zagato typically overcomes the purchasing price within a few years."

 The Interior

Sources: http://www.maseratimarin.com/blog/2015/may/22/maserati-mostro-zagato-production-limited-to-5-units.htm and http://fabwheelsdigest.blogspot.pt/2015/06/2015-maserati-mostro-zagato-coupe.html

New Honda NSX 2017

10 years waiting for the new NSX...it worths, or not?

After nearly a decade in the making and more than 250 prototypes, the all-new Honda NSX 2017 is finally here.

On the 16th of November 2016, Crown Honda history was made when the first batch of NSX supercars in the UK was delivered to our Hendon dealership. As the home of the NSX, we have NSX specialists and technicians on-hand who have received bespoke training on the supercar in institutions as far away as Japan.

A completely new sports car concept

The new NSX connects you to the road like no other. It’s a refined breed of supercar, precise in every detail, which combines real-world driving with fiery performance on the track.

The NSX strikes a perfect balance between form and function. The aerodynamic lines of the NSX create a strong presence on the road, effectively maximising downforce at high speeds. What’s more, the A-pillar design was inspired by the ancient art of origami. The unique three-dimensional forming and tempering process gives the NSX the lowest centre of gravity in its class and is a world first in the automobile industry.

The NSX is almost thrice as stable as its rivals thanks to a process whereby molten metal is poured into sand and then blasted with water. It’s the first time ablation casting technology has been used in the production of a car.

The petrol engine and the electric motors

The engine is a turbocharged, 3.5-litre V6 that produces 550bhp and can do 0-62mph in under three seconds. Every engine is custom-built by the hands of one of six master builders. It's this human touch that brings the NSX to life.

Three electric motors combine with a V6 engine to drive all four wheels, rendering each individual wheel more powerful and precise. The all-wheel drive and electric motor combination is another world first that serves to make your mind and body feel as though they are wired to the supercar. The response from the NSX is instantaneous – think about turning and it turns, an extension of your own will.

"Possibly the most important consideration for me and the team when it came to the power unit was how to make the performance of the car accessible at all times. The power unit we have used gives the driver instant response, particularly in those first few milliseconds after the driver has made any input – whether that be acceleration, braking or turning. By directly supporting all driver demands – the throttle, braking and especially the steering, the handling of the car just comes alive." - Honda engineer Ted Klaus

Quick shifting

The nine-speed Dual Clutch Transmission synchronises beautifully with the V6 power plant and Direct Drive Motor unit, making full use of the power output and broad power band of the NSX. Gear shifting is lightning fast when you need it and combines with the NSX’s rapid response; it’s perfect for a track day and seamlessly smooth on the road, too.

Twin-turbochargers

Through smaller, lighter turbochargers more output is achieved by using two unique ‘Electronic Wastegate’ types of unit. These compact turbines save space and regulate maximum boost pressure for less delay and greater performance.

Aerodynamics and performace

Like a living organism, the NSX inhales air through the Total Airflow system to maximise performance and to cool the brakes, thermal units and powertrain components, and exhales air through vents to minimise drag.

But it’s not just the performance of the NSX that will set your pulse racing. The NSX is a mobile VIP lounge, with leather upholstery and high-tech audio.

The infotainment system can read and write your text messages and you can play all of your favourite tunes hands free on an eight-inch TFT display that features maps, audio, integrated Carplay and Auto.


The Total Airflow Management system allows you to tune the NSX to suit your perfect driving mode, be it:
Track mode - this is where the NSX reveals its racing DNA. With the sport hybrid system working to its full capacity, you’ll experience spine-tingling acceleration, cornering and braking. Point the NSX to where you want it to go, and it goes.

Dynamic Mode Control - the driver-centred cockpit puts you at the very heart of the NSX driving experience, instantly connecting you to the different driving modes.
Sport mode - this setting affords you the perfect blend of sound from the V6 engine and tailored performance for driving on normal roads.


Sport+ mode - this level stiffens up the steering and provides quicker shifting through the Dual Clutch Transmission, encouraging you toward the NSX’s red line.

Quiet mode - the NSX can run quietly on electric power alone over short distances for when you need silent running.

The Interior

Seats, door panels and the centre console are all shaped to hold the driver and the passenger securely in place. It’s a cockpit designed for comfortable everyday driving, as well as providing the physical connection you need on the track. Fit for all types of driving, we've even thought about boot space, too – it has the largest capacity in it's class.

The interior is holistic, an all-embracing combination of the tiniest details. The touch and feel of the NSX from the driving position is unique – higher levels of involvement – something you have to experience yourself to fully appreciate and understand it.

Source: http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/new/nsx/overview.html