Cars of the future

Ever wondered what cars will be like in the future? Flying cars have been talked about for years, and there’s a very real possibility they’ll be driverless.

But what will they actually look like? Well, student designers at the Royal College of Art have submitted their most creative ideas for the annual Pilkington Vehicle Design Awards. We’ve obtained the pictures for you to take a look through… could these be the future of motoring?We don't have much info on Yalim Erkaya's 'Mujo', but it's certainly a striking design.ow, if future Maseratis look like this effort from Ji Won Yun, we won’t complain.This is a semi-public autonomous vehicle (think taxi) that, according to its creator Yuan Fang, fills the gap between indoor and outdoor space.This is the vision of Alexander Ibbett. It's a basic drivetrain and underbody, onto which owners could 'download' their own designsHoe-young Hwang's take on the Bentley of the future is a 21st-century revival of the Arts and Craft movement, inspired by Bentley's heritage of handcraft.Robert Crick says his work is a vision of cars that feel as though they are 'more than just a branded tin can'.

'The purpose of my project is to create a vehicle that stimulates the mind and the body,' he says. 'The car itself becomes a tool for inspiration.'This cross between bike and car is the work of Henri Peugeot (with a name like that, it was surely almost inevitable that he would go into vehicle design).

his is 'Wreck-less' by Selim Benhabib. It uses the expected advances in tech that will prevent cars from crashing to make what he calls a daring, vulnerable vehicle that gives more freedom, courtesy of a 'digital forcefield' around the car. The future is delicate, light, agile and fun, he says.This is Vera Jiyoung Park with her BMW B MIND concept.

Evoking Style: The Range Rover Evoque(road test)

The smallest, lightest and most fuel-efficient Range Rover (RR) ever produced. 'How much of a Range Rover is it?' This is one massive burden every Evoque must be carrying as it rolls out of the Halewood factory, near Liverpool. By the time they reach the Indian shores, more load is added in the form of import duties and taxes. So now the question is, as the British say, will it be worth all the quid? We'll try to answer that in this report.

Design

To cut a long chase short, the Evoque looks just stunning! This is Range Rover's new design direction, traces of which are also visible in the DC100 Defender concept showcased at the Auto Expo earlier this year. The Evoque is an ultra-modern take on British SUVs. It's compact, chic and super sexy. Sorry, I had to use the word, after allVictoria Beckham was part of its design and style team. This spunky mini-SUV will make more heads turn than many oversized, boxy SUVs that you might have bought to do the same.

Soft front design, with slit-eye type menacing Xenon with LED headlight. Large wheels, flared wheel arches that encroach upon the bonnet on the sides, low roof-lines that taper further towards the tail, squeezing the rear windows. The design opposes traditional Range Rovers and yet manages to be very, very attractive. The Evoque is macho and intelligent in a metrosexual way. It's sensitive and brawny, a little bit like Christian Bale in American Psycho.Interior

Most Range Rovers have high seats and low window-lines, so that you get a better view while driving. But the Evoque is a complete contrast. You sit rather low, as in a sports car, so obviously the driving position is more snug, but the outside visibility is challenged. The large external rear-view mirrors disrupt your front side view, while little can be seen through the tiny glass on the boot lid block.Contrary to the car's coupé-like external design, the cabin room will take you by surprise. Even while seated on the rear bench, the narrowing window actually does little to make you feel claustrophobic. You are seated low, so there is a good amount of headroom and even the legroom is decent. Moreover, the large panoramic glass roof makes the cabin nice and bright. Whereas the seats themselves are supportive and comfortable, though some more under-thigh support is desirable. The ambient lighting add to the experience and you have a range of colours to choose from to suit your mood.You also get an impressive list of standard equipment, such as a Meridian music system with USB and iPod connectivity, a high-resolution eight-inch touchscreen, parking sensors with thermal display, airbags in front and side curtain, Bluetooth telephone connectivity, rain-sensing wipers, electrically adjustable seats and push button start. Even from the inside, this SUV is fun and sophisticated, that's one tough combination to maintain.We got to test the SD4 variant, which is powered by a 2.2-litre, four-cylinder, transverse, diesel motor that produces 190 PS of maximum power, while a healthy 420 Nm is available right from 1,750 RPM. This SUV is also offered with a two-litre, 240 PS and 340 Nm petrol engine. But, believe me, you won't miss the petrol-powered motor, as this diesel engine is very quiet and extremely refined. You can hardly hear the characteristic diesel clatter or the spinning turbo in the cabin, even when you rev it hard.The motor is mated with a six-speed automatic transmission that can be engaged by a super-slick rotary shifter and you also get steering-mounted paddle shifters. Using the drive selector, one can pick either the 'Normal' or 'Sport' mode. Either way, the automatic gearbox feels slack and doesn't feel as quick as the spec-sheet suggests. This becomes more evident while overtaking. Prod hard on the accelerator to make it take off in urgency, but it has a mind of its own. The six-speed gear box seems stubborn at times when one uses the steering-mounted paddle shifts, but it refused to shift down.Having said that, you can't call the Evoque slow in any way, because once it overcomes the lag, it can be quite a performer. The 2.2-litre motor achieves 0-100 kph in a very respectable 9.91 seconds. That's a couple of seconds faster than several white-collared sedans. It's just that it can't handle pressure, but if you don't push it too hard, the silky smooth engine won't fail to impress.

Electronics like roll stability control (RSC) and dynamic stability control (DSC) free the Evoque of any unsettling body-roll and further improve its handling. It takes on bad roads and a fair bit of off-roading with dignity, like any true-blooded Range Rover. But while driving on the rare flat tar roads, the impact over the common ditches and potholes can be felt through the cabin, making the ride unpleasant. The electrically assisted rack and pinion steering might feel light compared to other Range Rovers, but as the speed increases, feels pretty direct.To be fair to the Evoque, nobody would be buying it to take it off-road. But just in case you do, its good ground clearance and short overhangs will help it take on a good amount of off-roading, mud and slush. Although internationally it is offered both in 4x2 and 4x4 variants, in Indian it comes with the 4x4 as standard. It is also armed with Range Rover's 'terrain response system' featuring some pre-set driving condition modes.

Basically, this system adjusts the Evoque's gearbox, ESP, ABS and engine response to improve traction, sensing the surface you are driving on. Just below the slick gear dial are a couple of buttons that help you toggle between the pre-set modes like 'Normal', 'Snow', 'Slush' and ruts, and 'Incline' road conditions. 'Hill Descent' is also a standard feature, so that you don't have to worry about rolling down an incline, as the system kicks in, while you simply sit back and concentrate on pointing the front wheels in the right direction. And then it can even sail through knee-deep water, so surviving Indian monsoons shouldn't be an issue either.Ride And Driveablity

The mini-SUV is loosely based on elder sibling Freelander and is sprung on McPherson struts up front and multi-link, coil spring at the rear. But what makes a big difference is that the Evoque is roughly 100 kg lighter and has achieved this feat by using lightweight material such as aluminium and, more importantly, because of its relatively small size. This not only improve suspension performance by increasing stiffness and reducing unsprung weight, but also contributes towards increasing efficiency. Fourteen km per litre on the highway isn't bad, is it?

New Aston Martin DBS Ultimate

Aston Martin has revealed a strictly limited edition new DBS - and, in a reward to loyal customers, has done so via its customer website rather than an official announcement. The new DBS Ultimate is on sale now.
The new Aston Martin DBS Ultimate is offered either as a coupe or a Volante, in a choice of three colours: Carbon Black II, Quantum Silver or Silver Fox. It comes with the regular 510hp 6.0-litre V12 and has the choice of either manual or Touchtronic automatic transmissions.At the front, the DBS Ultimate has a revised version of Aston Martin's most famous identifier, the grille: it comes in a special dark finish, with complementary black tail pipes at the rear. Brake calipers are available in yellow, red or black, and there's carbon figure detailing for the door mirrors and rear lamp in-fills, while the taillights themselves are also smoked.An additional identifier for DBS Ultimate is the red 'S' in the DBS badge, plus a unique number plate surround and a painted decklid rear. This can be finished either in gloss or satin.Inside, the Aston Martin DBS features diamond quilt stitching, with either red or silver contrast thread. The seats of the DBS Ultimate mirror the special logo on the rear of the one-of-100 Aston Martin, with a red 'S' embroidered in.A neat detail touch is the leather-trimmed paddleshift levers: Aston calls the colour 'spicy red'.

The launch of the DBS Ultimate comes as rumours circulate about Aston Martin's replacement for the DB9 and DBS range. Whether this really will be the swansong for the DBS range remains to be seen.Production of the Aston Martin DBS Ultimate begins in June, so deliveries should commence in late summer: individually numbered sill plaques will identify each of the 100 cars.

2014 Bentley Continental GT3-R revealed

The Bentley Continental GT3-R proves that a year is a long time in motorsport. Just 12 months after Bentley unleashed the awesome and, quite frankly, terrifying Continental GT3 racing car at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed, we’re being treated to a road-going version.

With 580hp and a bold makeover it's certainly not for the faint-hearted. As you'd expect of a car that is Bentley's fastest production model ever...

Let’s start with the killer headline - its pace. According to Bentley, the Continental GT3-R will pummel its way to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds, or 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds if we’re using good old-fashioned British timing standards.

Pah, you might say, what’s 3.8 seconds in a game of Top Trumps? A Ferrari 458 Speciale will do the sprint in 3.0 seconds, a Porsche 911 GT3 in 3.5. But neither of those weighs in 2,195kg. Which is about the same as Chipping Norton.While 2.2 tonnes remains decidedly heavy, that is still some 100kg lighter than a Bentley Continental GT V8 S. That’s because Bentley has put the Continental GT3-R on a strict weight-saving diet.

It’s not stripped back in the same way as the race-going GT3 – which is nearly a tonne lighter than the production car – but with details such as a set of lightweight forged 21-inch alloy wheels and an all-new titanium exhaust help keep the road-going Bentley’s weight down.

On the bonnet you’ll find a pair vents which - while clearly providing a link to the GT3 racing car - are also tasked with ensuring this high-speed luxury suite stays cool on the road.

For while it’s powered by the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 as the regular Continental GT V8, output is up to 580hp and 518lb ft of torque.

You know that this thing will sprint to 62mph quicker than any road-going Bentley in history, but it’s also worth noting that the GT3-R will go on to a top speed of 170mph. Which is actually slower than the standard car.

This is due to the unique close ratio gearing that helps it accelerate to quickly. Bentley claims the Continental GT3-R is a 'Grand Tourer with the performance of a racer'. And we’re inclined to agree with them.

If you’ve ever tried stopping a five-star hotel room at 170mph, you’ll know what a job it can be. Which is why Bentley has had the sense to fit some extra large anchors to the Continental GT3-R.

The Carbon Silicon Carbide (CSiC) braking system features 420mm discs and eight-piston calipers at the front, plus 356mm discs at the rear. Bentley claims the brakes deliver enough energy to power a family home for six hours. So maybe we can get an environmental grant to run a GT3-R for a year?

So, it goes fast in a straight line and has serious stopping power, but how well will the Bentley Continental GT3-R handle? Well, given that this is the first Bentley in history to offer torque vectoring, we suspect the answer to that is 'pretty well'.

The drivetrain is able to control the torque at each of the rear wheels, with Bentley also recalibrating the software to provide a wider gap between Drive and Sport modes. According to Bentley, Sport is designed for 'more spirited driving'.

If, up until this point, you’ve been drooling over the photos and not paying attention to the words (and who could blame you), you will have noticed that the Continental GT3-R bares more than a passing resemblance to the GT3 racing car.

Sadly, the mahoosive rear wing and ‘avoid-speed-humps-at-all-costs’ front splitter have gone, but there are still one or two notable additions to ensure your GT3-R stands out from the common or garden Continental GT.The front splitter and rear wing - both of which are significantly smaller than the racing car versions - are both finished in carbonfibre, while all cars will be finished in Glacier White paint.

Further links to the GT3 racing car are provided by the contrasting two-tone green decals, as well as the headlight surrounds, grille, window surrounds and bumper strips, all of which are finished in gloss black.Make no mistake, this thing will sound like Thor clearing his throat after polishing off a packet of extra-hot wasabi peanuts.

That’s thanks to the titanium exhaust, which Bentley claims has allowed it to give the GT3-R 'a unique baritone roar'. It’s also 7kg lighter than the standard systemInside the GT3-R, you’ll find that things aren’t quite as stripped-back as the GT3 racing car. There are just the two seats, though, and a sporting blend of carbonfibre, Alcantara and leather.

The green theme is also carried through to the inside, with contrasting stitching and GT3-R badges.

If you fancy getting your hands on the fastest-accelerating road-going Bentley in history, you might need to be as quick heading down to your local Bentley dealer.

Only 300 will be built and UK buyers will need to share the allocation with Bentley fans across the world. And the vast majority of the firm’s output is exported.

Yamaha launches upgraded FZ and FZ-S bikes at Rs 76,250 onwards

Japanese two-wheeler maker Yamaha today launched upgraded variants of its 150 CC bikes - FZ and FZ-S - priced up to Rs 78,250 (ex-showroom Delhi).

The company, which had first launched the FZ series in India in 2008, will start selling the two variants - FZ Version 2.0 and FZ-S Version 2.0 from tomorrow.

While the new FZ variant is priced at Rs 76,250, the FZ-S version would be retailed at Rs 78,250 (ex-showroom Delhi).

While the new FZ variant is priced at Rs 76,250, the FZ-S version would be retailed at Rs 78,250 (ex-showroom Delhi).

"With these new model introductions, we certainly hope to strengthen our foothold in the segment," Yamaha Motor India Sales Vice President- Sales & Marketing Roy Kurian told reporters here.

The company is currently selling around 18,000 units per month of the FZ series, including Fazer and with the launch of these two variants the Japanese firm expects to sell around 24,000 units per month, Kurian added.

On the company's upcoming manufacturing plant in Chennai, Kurian said: "Construction at the plant is progressing well and production would begin from November".

The Chennai facility, on which the company is investing Rs 1,500 crore, will have a production capacity of 1.8 million.

Mercedes C-Class vs BMW 3 series

The world is getting a bit complicated these days. BMW is trying to be Mercedes and Mercedes is trying to be BMW. And when we say that, we mean BMW is going a bit softer and more inclined towards comfort, while Mercedes is focusing on giving you more pleasure while you’re behind the wheel.

A classic example of that is the latest 3 series. It’s shifted its focus from being the best-driving executive sedan to a more comfort-oriented one. The C-Class on the other hand, in the previousgeneration, was nice and comfortable, but it was apparent that spotlight was on comfort more than driving pleasure

There’s an all-new C-Class now. And it’s going to rewrite some rules.

Couple of years back, BMW got the new 3 to India. It sported a brand new shape – more in sync with BMW’s new design language. The headlamps merge smoothly into the kidney grille and the hood is now longer. Overall, it looks more complete than the previous generation and the proportions complement the overall design.

At the rear, the 3 looks more like the 5 series with typical BMW-like tail lamps and a well-proportioned boot. At the side too, sharp lines run through the doors and go all the way to the back. They make the 3 look sporty.

 have taken a lot of inspiration from Merc’s flagship sedan, the S-Class, while designing the new C. It almost looks like a baby S. That isn’t a bad thing, because the S itself is the epitome of car design.

Merc designers have taken a lot of inspiration from Merc’s flagship sedan, the S-Class, while designing the new C. It almost looks like a baby S. That isn’t a bad thing, because the S itself is the epitome of car design.

    

The C comes with an option of three faces in three different trims – the Avantgarde, Exclusive and the AMG trim. The Avantgarde comes only with two thick horizontal slats in the grille, whereas the Exclusive’s grille is shaped exactly like the S-Class. The AMG looks a bit sportier and gets air vents in the bumpers. There’s still no clarity on which face will make it to India.

At the back too, there’s a lot of similarity with the S-Class. The stubby boot on the C gels well into the design and doesn't make it look out of shape. The design balances classiness and sportiness well.

The 3 series never been a very spacious car, especially if you’re seated at the back. BMW acknowledged that issue by getting the 3GT to India a few months back – it offers great comfort and space for back seaters. In the regular though, you’d be more comfortable at the front.

The dash layout, again, is typical BMW with everything nicely placed and ergonomic. The materials used are top grade and the fit and finish will ensure that there’s nothing to complain about.

The top-end gets the iDrive multimedia system with a large screen at the centre and easy-to-use dial on the centre console to control your audio and navigation needs.

BMW offers two engine options in the 3 – the 328i and the 320d. The 328i is a four cylinder 2-litre petrol block that’s good for 245bhp and 350Nm of torque. The twin turbos make sure that you maximum torque at very low revs. And it stays that way even as you go higher up in the rev range. This is the quicker powertrain of the lot, and with that under the hood, the 3 hits 100kph in just 6.1 seconds.

The 320d has always been the preferred choice in the earlier generations of the 3 in India. It’s fuel efficient and adequately powerful. The 2-litre diesel block generates 184bhp and 380Nm of pulling power. The fuel efficiency is rated at 18kpl.

Both the engines are mated to eight-speed gearboxes. That are quick and know their business well.

On the Merc, There’s no word on which engines will make it to India but one thing is certain, the 2.1-litre oil-burner will surely be here. In the 220 tune, it puts out 170 horses and 400Nm of twist. If you want more oomph, there’s the 250 tune – it develops 204bhp and 500Nm. If you ask me, the 220 spec is more than sufficient. Very rarely would you need any more power.
Merc has something for diesel haters too – a 2-litre turbo-petrol that’s good for 211bhp. Obviously, torque isn’t as impressive as the diesels – it’s rated at 350 Newton metres. The 250s – both petrol and diesel – are as quick as each other. They both hit 100kph in 6.6 seconds and they both have a top whack of about 250kph.

The engines are mated to seven-speed gearboxes. But like the previous generation, the grouse remains that they’re not too brisk at their work and you might find them in the wrond gear at times.

The new C is both sportier and more comfortable at the same time. And this unthinkable deed has been achieved by another genius technology – adaptive suspension. Yes, it’s the same tech that a lot of cars already have, but in this C, it changes the character of the car by a great extent.

You set the agility level to Comfort and the springs and the dampers can take care of potholes pretty well. In Sport mode, it adapts the suspension to more agile. It makes the car sit lower to the ground by 25mm and stiffens up the setup. The steering gets tighter and sharper. Striking that fine balance between good ride and sharp handling is always every engineer’s dream or nightmare at times. But the new C, Merc seems to have hit that bull’s eye.

Both these cars have their bits of things that you’ll like and bits that you’ll dislike. Both these cars aren’t the best choices if you're looking at great back-seat comfort.

The 3 series demands for Rs 38-47 lakh (on-road, Mumbai) of your money depending on which variant and engine you choose for. And that’s no pocket change. In fact, that’s almost entering the bigger 5 series territory. The C too, when it’s launched (later this year), will be bit pricier than what it is now. And by that, we mean anything between Rs 37-45 lakh (on-road, Mumbai).

The 3 is a bit tilted towards comfort than sportiness, unlike what it was earlier. The C though manages to strike the balance just right with sportiness and comfort. It gets new tech and toys, gets a more luxurious cabin and looks good too. That’s enough of a reason to look away from the 3.

BMW 3 series
328i – 4cyl, 1997cc, turbo-petrol, 245bhp, 350Nm, 8A, RWD, 0-100kph: 6.1sec
320d – 4cyl, 1995cc, diesel, 184bhp, 380Nm, 8A, RWD, 0-100kph: 7.6sec
LxWxH: 4624x2013x1429mm
Price: Rs 38-47 lakh (on-road, Mumbai)

Mercedes C-Class
C220CDI: 4 cyl, 2143cc, diesel, 170bhp, 400Nm, 7A, RWD, 0-100kph: 7.7sec, top speed: 234kph
C250CDI: 4cyl, 2143cc, diesel, 204bhp, 500Nm, 7A, RWD, 0-100kph: 6.6sec, top speed: 247kph
C250: 4cyl, 1991cc, petrol, 211bhp, 350Nm, 7A, RWD, 0-100kph: 6.6sec, top speed: 250kph
LxWxH: 4686x1810x1442mm
Price: 38-45lakh (estimated, on-road, Mumbai)

Fastest Range Rover ever is coming

So here it is: confirmed news of a high-performance Range Rover Sportpushing out 542bhp. Given where most Sports ply their trade, we suppose this is bowing to the inevitable. Yes, it won’t be much cop off-road, but will any future customers of the latest product out of JaguarLand Rover’s new Special Vehicle Operations Unit really care?

There’s no official word on the drivetrain for the fastest production Range Rover ever, although its stable-mates – the Jaguar XKR-S and XJR – also push out 542bhp from their 5-litre supercharged V8s. So it’s not too much of a stretch to guess what will be under the Sport SVR’s bonnet. Uprated brakes are also likely. 

As the series of videos drip-fed over this last week revealed, a camouflaged prototype has been pounding the ‘Ring in the last few months. Development will continue prior to the car going on sale in 2015. If you can’t wait, it will making its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend.

Here's the McLaren MSO 650S!

The world has gone special projects mad this week. Jaguar announces the Project 7 will be built as a limited-edition production run. We drove the Aston Martin Vantage N430. And now McLaren’s Special Operations department gets stuck in with a unique 650S.

We say unique, but McLaren will actually build 50 of these MSO 650Ses, as either coupes or spiders. And each with a starting, and startling, price of £252,500 (that's Rs 2.6 crore without taxes and duty).

For that price premium over a normal 650S, you get a choice of three paint finishes – Papaya Spark, Agrigan Black and Sarigan Quartz (orange, black and silver) – as well as unique and lightweight alloy wheels. These are 4kg lighter than the standard alloys, helped by the fact they’ve got titanium wheel bolts. Best make sure it’s got locking wheel nuts…

Inside, the MSO boys have sprinkled the interior with carbon black leather and liberal lashings of Alcantara, as well as a signature dedication plaque. Each car also comes with a Frank Stephenson-signed sketch (the designer of the 650S) and an MSO branded leather holdall.

No mechanical tweaks, no aero alterations, and over £50,000 (Rs 51 lakh approx) more than the rather excellent standard car. Still, you can rest assured you will be more exclusive than current 650S owner Paris Hilton...

BMW rolls out diesel variant of X5 at Rs 70.9 lakh

New Delhi: German luxury carmaker BMW on Thursday rolled out a diesel variant of its locally manufactured Sports Utility Vehicle, X5, from its Chennai plant at an ex-showroom price of Rs 70.9 lakh.

Initial deliveries of the all-new BMW X5 in India will commence by June as an overwhelming demand for the vehicle in the market has pushed the waiting period to three months, BMW said in a statement.

The diesel variant of the BMW X5 xDrive30d model, which was launched last month, is being locally produced at BMW's plant in Chennai.

"The third generation BMW X5 has received tremendous customer response and excitement since it was first displayed at the Delhi Auto Expo 2014," BMW Group India President Philipp von Sahr said.

The company might also consider ramping up the production to meet the huge demand in the Indian market, he added.

"The team at the facility will build the all-new BMW X5 with uncompromising engineering. We are confident that the BMW X5 produced in Chennai will further increase our momentum in the Indian luxury car segment," said Robert Frittrang, Managing Director of BMW's Chennai plant.

Ferrari 458 Italia facelift to offer a Turbocharged V8

If report from the Car UK is to be believed, the 458 Italia is all set to drop the naturally aspirated V8 and is going down the turbocharged way. It's heart-breaking! The facelifted Ferrari 458 Italia, which is most likely to hit streets next year, will sport a turbocharged V8 petrol motor as standard. Putting a turbocharged engine into the California T, plus the arrival of this news, suggests that the Italian sports carmaker will be implementing the same thing in its other models too.

According to the report, 458 Italia will be powered by the high-end version of the California T’s 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 motor. In the California T, the 3.9-litre twin-turbocharged V8 produces 552hp and 754 Nm of peak torque, while under the hood of facelifted 458 Italia, the engine will be tuned to churn out 670hp. A total 100 bhp more than the current naturally-aspirated 4.5-liter V8. This new 458 could be named as 458M or 458T.

Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari’s CEO, said, “The 458M’s engine will rev higher and be larger than the California T’s. It’s also likely that the motor in the 458M will feature larger turbos and dry sump lubrication.” To maintain the natural aspirated V8 growl and to avoid that dull-typical turbocharged sound (which enthusiasts hate), Ferrari engineers are working on a complex mechanism, including the exhaust and the engine management chipset.

It won't be more than a heart transplant, states the report. Apart from some tit-bits inside-out, and the engine change, no major turn-around is expected. It certainly won’t be as drastic as California's transformation into the California T, where Ferrari changed everything they could.
 
If the speculations are found to be true, the Ferrari 458 will be another supercar to join a long lineup, that went the turbocharged engine way, instead of their major fan following been the natural aspirated lovers, seems like the demand of the hour!
“Just as importantly, the 458 is well known for its tail-happy character. With natural aspiration, the linear power delivery meant it was easy for the driver to modulate the power. Well, Ferrari will strive to bring the turbo’s behavior as close to this as possible. Spanners crossed.” AE quoted over this development.

5 Future Car Technologies That Truly Have a Chance

5  Cars That Communicate with Each Other and the Road

Car manufacturers and the U.S. government are seriously looking into and researching two technologies that would enable future cars to communicate with each other and with objects around them.

Imagine approaching an intersection as another car runs a red light. You don't see them at first, but your car gets a signal from the other car that it's directly in your path and warns you of the potential collision, or even hits the brakes automatically to avoid an accident. A developing technology called Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication, or V2V, is being tested by automotive manufacturers like Ford as a way to help reduce the amount of accidents on the road.

V2V works by using wireless signals to send information back and forth between cars about their location, speed and direction. The information is then communicated to the cars around it in order to provide information on how to keep the vehicles safe distances from each other. At MIT, engineers are working on V2V algorithms that calculate information from cars to determine what the best evasive measure should be if another car started coming into its own projected path. A study put out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2010 says that V2V has the potential to reduce 79 percent of target vehicle crashes on the road [source: Green Car Congress].

But researchers aren't only considering V2V communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, or V2I, is being tested as well. V2I would allow vehicles to communicate with things like road signs or traffic signalsand provide information to the vehicle about safety issues. V2I could also request traffic information from atraffic management system and access the best possible routes. Reports by the NHTSA say that incorporating V2I into vehicles, along with V2V systems, would reduce all target vehicle crashes by 81 percent [source: Green Car Congress].

These technologies could transform the way we drive and increase automotive safety dramatically. Good thing car companies and the government are already working to try to make this a reality.

All of this communication and preemptive vehicle assistance leads us into our next future technology, so go on to the next page to find out what it is.

4  Self-Driving Cars

The idea of a self-driving car isn't a new idea. Many TV shows and movies have had the idea and there are already cars on the road that can park themselves. But a truly self-driving car means exactly that, one that can drive itself, and they're probably closer to being a reality than you might think.

In California and Nevada, Google engineers have already tested self-driving cars on more than 200,000 miles (321,869 kilometers) of public highways and roads [source: Thrun]. Google's cars not only record images of the road, but their computerized maps view road signs, find alternative routes and see traffic lights before they're even visible to a person. By using lasers, radars and cameras, the cars can analyze and process information about their surroundings faster than a human can.

If self-driving cars do make it to mass production, we might have a little more time on our hands. Americans spend an average of 100 hours sitting in traffic every year [source: Cowen]. Cars that drive themselves would most likely have the option to engage in platooning, where multiple cars drive very close to each and act as one unit. Some people believe platooning would decrease highway accidents because the cars would be communicating and reacting to each other simultaneously, without the on-going distractions that drivers face.

In some of Google's tests, the cars learned the details of a road by driving on it several times, and when it was time to drive itself, it was able to identify when there were pedestrians crossing and stopped to let them pass by. Self-driving cars could make transportation safer for all of us by eliminating the cause of 95 percent of today's accidents: human error [source: Truong].

Although self-driving cars may seem far off, GM has already done its own testing and some people believe that you'll see some sort of self-driving car in showrooms in the next decade.

Go on to the next page to learn how we may be viewing all of our car's data in the near future.

3 Augmented Reality Dashboards

GPS and other in-car displays are great for getting us from point A to point B, and some high-end vehicles even have displays on the windshield, but in the near future cars will be able to identify external objects in front of the driver and display information about them on the windshield.

Think of the Terminator, or many other science fiction stories, where a robot looks at a person or an object and automatically brings up information about them and can identify who or what they are. Augmented Reality dashboards, AR for short, will function in a similar way for drivers. BMW has already implemented a windshield display in some of their vehicles which displays basic information, but they're also developing augmented reality dashboards that will be able to identify objects in front a vehicle and tell the driver how far they are away from the object. The AR display will overlay information on top of what a driver is seeing in real life.

So if you're approaching a car too quickly, a red box may appear on the car you're approaching and arrows will appear showing you how to maneuver into the next lane before you collide with the other car. An augmented reality GPS system could highlight the actual lane you need to be in and show you where you need to turn down the road without you ever having to take your eyes off the road.

BMW is also researching the use of augmented reality for automotive technicians. They produced a videowhere a BMW technician uses AR glasses to look at an engine, identify what parts need to be replaced and then shows step-by-step instructions on how to fix it.

AR is also being researched for passengers as well. Toyota has produced working concepts of their AR system that would allow passengers to zoom in on objects outside of the car, select and identify objects, as well as view the distance of an object from the car using a touch-screen window.

Augmented reality may not be here yet, but if these car companies have their way, we'll be seeing it in our future cars a little ways down the road.

Go on to the next page to learn about a new use for an old technology

2 Airbags That Help Stop Cars

Ever since airbags were been added to vehicles, they've continued to make their way around the inside of our vehicles. We now have curtain airbags, side airbags, knee airbags, seat belts airbags and even ones that deploy under us. Maybe all of us don't have them in our cars, but they're on the road. And Mercedes is working on a new way to use airbags that moves them away from a passive safety measure and makes it part of an active safety system.

Mercedes is experimenting with airbags that deploy from underneath the car that will help stop a vehicle before a crash. The airbags are part of the overall active safety system and deploy when sensors determine that at impact is inevitable. The bags have a friction coating that helps slow the car down and can double the stopping power of the vehicle. The bags also lift the vehicle up to eight centimeters, which counters the car's dipping motion during hard braking, improves bumper-to-bumper contact and helps prevent passengers from sliding under seat belts during a collision.

What gives this kind of airbag potential as a future technology is that it uses existing vehicle safety systems. Although Mercedes has been working on this technology for several years, it isn't available on any production models yet and may not be seen on the road for another few years.

With the current evolution of airbags and their pervasiveness within the automotive world, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine future cars using airbags to not only protect passengers, but to actually stop cars as well.

Go on to the next page to learn about the next future car technology.

1 Energy-storing Body Panels

Exxon Mobil predicts that by 2040, half of all new cars coming off the production line will be hybrids [source: Kahn]. That's great news for the environment, but one of the problems with hybrids is that the batteries take up a lot of space and are very heavy. Even with advances in lithium-ion batteries, hybrids have a significant amount of weight from their batteries. That's where energy-storing body panels come in.

In Europe, a group of nine auto manufacturers are currently researching and testing body panels that can store energy and charge faster than conventional batteries of today. The body panels being tested are made of polymer fiber and carbon resin that are strong enough to be used in vehicles and pliable enough to be molded into panels. These panels could reduce a car's weight by up to 15 percent [source: Volvo].

The panels would capture energy produced by technologies like regenerative braking or when the car is plugged in overnight and then feed that energy back to the car when it's needed [source: Volvo]. Not only would this help reduce the size of hybrid batteries, but the extra savings in weight would eliminate wasted energy used to move the weight from the batteries.

Toyota is also looking into lightweight energy storing panels, but they're taking it one step further and researching body panels that would actually capture solar energy and store it in a lightweight panel [source:Bey].

Whether future body panels collect energy or just store it, automotive companies are looking into new ways to make our cars more energy efficient and lightweight