Wednesday, February 29, 2012

BMW i3 Electric Idea Sedan – 2013

BMW has finally given us our first authorized, unconcealed look at its advanced, all-electric city car. For now the i3 is tranquil labeled an idea, but this car is greatly added complete than the Megacity concept that preceded it. The four-passenger i3 concept is possibly the most advanced take on electric cars yet, and draws on BMW's familiarity with a fleet of 600 Mini E and 1000 BMW Energetic electric cars.

BMW i3 Electric Car

The i3 is built around a new skeleton concept called Life Drive, which divides the vehicle into sections for Life, the passenger section, and Drive, the power train and battery. For the i3, the bottom half of the car is the Drive section, and is completed typically of lightweight aluminum; the Life passenger section sits on top and is built since Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP). Employing this lightweight equipment keeps the i3's weight along to just 2750 pounds.

BMW says that CFRP is as muscular as but 50 percent lighter than steel. Better yet, it never rusts and supposedly offers better security than steel in a crash. CFRP only forms the Life sections shell, however, as expendable plastic panels form the i3's true framework. The i3's electric motor was developed by BMW because the company required fixed control over the feel and performance of its power trains. It is rated at 170 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, and has single-speed diffusion.

BMW i3 Electric Car

The motor is feed by a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack that is mounted below the floor of the passenger section. This means there is no interruption or diffusion subway in the cabin, and also helps keep the i3's center of gravity low for better behavior and strength.

Though the highest range per charge is rated at 140 miles, BMW admits real-world i3 mileage will be between 80 and 100 miles. Statistics from the Mini E trials trained BMW that a battery range of 74 to 93 miles would gratify 90 percent of all drivers. The i3 concept can reach 62 mph in 7.9 seconds, and its top speed is partial to 93 mph because BMW says superior velocities would drain the battery too speedily.

A full charge is said to take just six hours via a typical European passage, while an optional fast-charger succumb an 80-percent charge in just one hour. Charge times on American 120-volt outlets will expected is longer.


Saturday, February 4, 2012

First Appear: Audi E-Tron Concept



The Audi e-Tron concept attempts to wed the ideas of battery power and high-performance sports cars. The sexy two-seater uses a lithium-ion battery pack, which is liquid-cooled and situated behind the passenger section. Audi puts the e-Tron's 0-to-62 mph time at 4.8 seconds -- that's 0.2 second following the R8 V-8 -- but top speed is limited to only 124 mph, as higher speeds speedily consume the battery. For the e-Tron, Audi is declaring a 154-mile range.

Continuing the R8 relationship, the e-Tron is regarding 7 inches shorter in length, half-a-foot narrower, and an inch lower. It uses an aluminum space surround and fiber-reinforced plastic for the doors, roof, fenders, and lids. The advertised curb weight is 3527 lbs, 58 percent of which is over the raise hinge. An R8 V-8 is concerning 90 lbs lighter. In the e-Tron, the succession accounts for 1036 lbs of its full amount.

The e-Tron's other high-tech skin texture contain a heat pump for interior climate control, closeable air intakes, an iPhone-like touch-screen scroll pad to control Audi's MMI interface, and intellectual, all-LED lighting that uses a forward-looking camera to vary the light pattern of the headlights in reaction to oncoming interchange and also takes clues from the nav system to turn on cornering lights as the car approaches a camber.

The e-Tron is not regarding to start stealing sales from the Tesla roadster. Instead, Audi's battery-powered e-Tron concept is the high-visibility kick-off to a three-year project consolidating its research on exciting mobility.


Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Honda's CR-Z wins Wheels Car of the Year Award


A HYBRID car has won Australia's most coveted motoring prize, the Wheels magazine Car of the Year Award.




The Honda CR-Z sports car took the gong from five other finalists including the latest Ford Focus, the Audi A6, the Skoda Yeti and the Volkswagen Scirocco.