General Motors has announced a partnership with a leading carbon fiber producer in an effort to research the possibility of widespread use of the material in its vehicles. Teijin Limited has pioneered a new manufacturing process for carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic that allows for cycle times of under one minute. Typically, creating carbon fiber parts from molds requires the use of slow-setting resin that simply takes too long to be practical for use on a large scale. As part of the tie-up with GM, Teijin will set up a new technical centre in the northern United States to support development.
Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics have the benefit of being up to 10 times stronger than conventional steel while offering one quarter of the weight. Of course, carbon fiber can also come with a suitably steep price tag, though Teijin’s techniques will likely help curb costs significantly. As manufacturers continue to push for ever more efficient vehicles, ditching the weight will become increasingly important.
The Nissan GT-R has become something of a cult favorite for a number of types of enthusiasts: supercar slayers, import tuners, and especially track-day junkies. Particularly in the UK, where congestion (and a proliferation of speed cameras) prevents stretching out your car’s legs, where there are legendary racing circuits abound and where, subsequently, Nissan has now rolled out a new Track Pack for the recently updated GT-R.
The Track Pack doesn’t touch the engine, so the same 542-horsepower twin-turbo V6 applies. What it does provide is better cooling for the brakes with extra ducting front and rear, lighter six-spoke Rays alloys, a stiffer suspension (whose dampers can, of course, still be softened for road use), and an interior stripped of its rear seats and bolstered in the front for harder cornering.
Nissan UK is pricing the Track Pack at £10,000 ($15,000) on top of the £74,450 ($116,000) purchase price of a stock GT-R, and fortunately, the kit’s addition doesn’t preclude it from being driven on public roads. Although the package is currently only available overseas, we’re hopeful that when the revised Godzilla makes its way to these shores, we’ll have a chance to get our driving gloves on it as well.
At this year’s 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, Bridgestone unveiled its latest development in tire technology that replaces air with a thermoplastic resin support structure. Unlike conventional tires, Bridgestone’s airless concepts never need to be pumped and can still run after being punctured. Although the exterior of the tire resembles the rugged structure of traditional tires, the interior is a completely different story.
We’ve seen plenty of tablets embedded into concepts and project cars, but Renault looks to be the first major automaker to bring a fully functional and embedded tablet into a production vehicle. And it’s doing it in two new cars due to arrive next year.
At the LeWeb consumer electronics show in France, Renault unveiled R-Link, a voice-activated telematics platform that combines entertainment, navigation and social functions into a single, integrated seven-inch touchscreen display.
The tablet – which we assume is removable, so this isn’t just a glorified touchscreen – can be controlled through either voice commands, the screen or the steering wheel, and Renault claims that 50 apps will be available when it launches on both the new Clio and Zoe models next year.
Navigation is provided by TomTom and Renault is courting developers to bring even more apps to market. However, the French automaker remains mum on specs and the operating system, both of which could pose a challenge to devs.
Toyota‘s GT 86 hasn’t even made its way into the hands of consumers, but a high-performance variant of the new sports coupe is already in the works out in Japan.
It doesn’t appear that Toyota’s willing to just sit around and play second fiddle to Subaru‘s BRZ with Chief Engineer Tetsuo Tada telling the media that supercharged test cars have already been made and are currently being scrutinized by Toyota Racing Development (TRD).
In the past, TRD has been known to develop superchargers for various Toyota models, including Scion‘s tC coupe. With the FR-S inevitably taking over as Scion’s top-of-the-line sports coupe, seeing a TRD variant equipped with a supercharger would be no surprise. Toyota prefers the supercharger approach since it’s simpler than increasing the engine size, and altering throttle response with a turbocharger would compromise the car’s performance objections.
What will be really exciting is if TRD takes on the GT 86 from bumper to bumper, offering styling accessories and even suspension components to go along with a supercharger option.
With every state looking to enact (or having already passed) legislation that makes it illegal to operate a mobile phone while behind the wheel, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology and Rutgers in New Jersey are taking it one massive step further.
A team led by Drs. Chen Stevens, Marco Gruteser and Richard Martin have created a system that utilizes a phone’s Bluetooth connection and a vehicle’s speakers to detect if the driver is using their handheld while driving. The algorithm-based system measures the acoustic signals emitted from the stereo and the proximity of the phone to the Bluetooth receiver, essentially pinging both systems to determine where the phone is being operated. If the signals are coming from the driver’s seat, it can shut down the phone with 95 percent accuracy, or around 80 percent if the phone is stashed in a cupholder or cubby.
Obviously, the system is designed to allow passengers to use their phones while the vehicle is in motion, but the biggest hurdles to overcome include the amount of road, wind and background noise interfering with the acoustic signals and a general lack of Bluetooth connectivity in most vehicles. Now the doctors just need an automaker to partner with…
Toyota unveiled a handful of production and concept Aqua models at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. As you may recall, the Aqua will serve as the Prius C in the United States when it lands at the Detroit Auto Show in early 2012. The Yaris-sized hatchback will come equipped with a 1.5-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine and an electric motor, though Toyota hasn’t said what we can expect in terms of total output. We do know that the vehicle’s svelte curb weight and smaller engine will likely translate into Prius-besting fuel economy numbers, so buyers can look forward to over 50 mpg in the city.
Kimi Räikkönen has only returned to Formula One a few days ago and the Finnish deadpan jokes are already back with him. This one is from Sebastian Vettel and it isn’t half bad. The whole thing is pretty funny but forward to 1:13 if you only have time for the I-just-got-off-the-ferry-from-Stockholm-and-all-I’ve-got-is-a-gallon-of-vodka-a-double-barreled-shotgun-and-my-2007-F1-world-champion-trophy moment.
Testing the next 911 is the gig of a lifetime, but as this development video from Porsche proves, it’s still a job. The Tangent Vector film crew was given behind-the-scenes access to the development of the 991, and the resulting ten-minute mini-documentary shows the length Porsche’s engineers will go to make sure the automaker’s latest and greatest arse-engined flagship is ready for the rigors of daily life. In this case, “daily life” for the development crew involves traversing the Arctic in -40 degree temperatures and keeping things on the road during a sandstorm. Get an eyeful in the video after the jump. Read more…
Ken Block has extended his tireless Ford promotion to SYNC, equipping his Hybrid Function Hoon Vehicle with FoMoCo’s infotainment system to star – along with DC BMX rider Kelly Bolton – in his latest video.
The day-in-the-life comes in three acts, beginning with Block driving one of his Gymkhana-prepped Fiestas to LA’s Cars and Coffee, followed by a brief lunch, filming of the previously released Gymkhana 4 and wrapping up with a parking lot smoke fest where Block and Bolton do what they do best.
Although we’re not sure what we’re impressed with more: Bolton doing a backflip off a ladder after Block topples it going sideways or the fact that Ken was able to drive his hardly street-legal H.F.H.V. around LA for the day. Check it all out after the jump.
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