OutNext - Passionately Curious

BMW CONFIRMS THE VISION EFFECT DYNAMIC FOR 2013

Featured first at the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamic concept is now even more real. This hybrid sports coupe with vertical doors and a three-cylinder turbodiesel engine also has a hybrid drive system at both the front and rear wheels. With a combined power output of 328 horsepower and a o-62 mph time of just 4.8 seconds.


The Vision Efficient Dynamic Concept is a 2+2 sports coupe that uses mostly off-the-shelf technology to get over 75 mpg in Euro standards, or about 62 mpg in US standards, while maintaining a very futuristic look and sporty driving experience. The concept has won plenty of awards and elicited enthusiastic responses from auto fanatics the world over. Just don’t expect the final production car to look just like the concept, though it will hopefully maintain a sportier look. Expect a price well north of $100,000 when this concept finally does become a reality.

RARE BUGATTI FOUND IN BRITAIN COULD REACH $4 MILLION

This rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante is expected to fetch 4 million Euros and possibly much more. when it is sold at auction in Paris next month. It is one of just 17 built by the company and its existence was known to only a handful of people during the last 50 years.

This particular car is even more valuable because it was originally owned by Earl Howe, a prominent British race car driver, and because its original equipment is intact, so it can restored without relying on replacement parts. It was discovered by the family of Dr Harold Carr in his garage in Gosforth, Newcastle. The car is unused since 1960.

Bugatti once represented the height of motoring achievement. It could go up to 130 miles per hour when most other cars topped out about 50 mph.

GINA BY BMW THE FIRST FLEXIBLE FABRIC SKIN CAR

If this is the future of automobiles ... I all for it! Gina concept car by BMW is by far the most amazing concept car I have ever seen.

The car's real sci-fi trick however is its ability to morph; changing shape like the liquid metal robot in Terminator 2 depending on what is required of it. Metal wires pin the hi-tech fabric to the body panels and electro-hydraulics attached to them can stretch it in different directions.

At the front of the car the traditional BMW twin headlights remain hidden until required, at which point the fabric is peeled open like a pair of eyelids. Rear lights are invisible under the fabric until lit. The familiar kidney grille can be altered to increase airflow, the side panels stretching apart and at the same time creating sharp creases along the front wings.

The doors open outwards and upwards, the fabric along the leading edge wrinkling to accommodate the movement and then smoothing out once the doors are closed to cover the front panel gap. At speed the rear deck of the car can 'grow' stretching upwards beneath the fabric to increase downforce.

The interior also morphs, the seat and instruments motoring into position once the driver is in place. Although the technology is clearly not intended for production, fabric bodies could point the way to low-cost, low-energy manufacturing techniques while the shape presages the next generation Z4 roadster.

SELF STORAGE PARKING

I love this concept for many reasons, it saves space, it park the car by itself (which can be good for some drivers) no more hit and run ... it looks good, and it would be perfect for me who is always looking for my car !!! Plus if anything goes wrong you can maybe swap your old car against a brand new one ... you never know with those "modern things" ;-)

For now those towers are just Volkswagen's car storage towers near the company's main factory in Wolfsburg, but this would be perfect for buildings in cities such as New York, and near see sights all over the world to visually protect the environment ... because I guess the system can also be built in ground if you don't want to see any tower.

SQUBA DIVING WITH YOUR CAR

sQuba, developed by the Swiss designer Rinspeed Inc., will be revealed at the Geneva Auto Show next month and will be the world’s first submersible car. If I may suggest, do not use the submersible option when your wife send you to buy some bread bread ;-)

Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht, known for his extraordinary automotive creations, is also a James Bond fan and kept revisiting in his mind, the scene from the 1977 Bond movie "The Spy Who Loved Me"."For three decades I have tried to imagine how it might be possible to build a car that can fly under water. Now we have made this dream come true.", Rinderknecht said. The car, which is stable at a depth of 10 meters, has zero emissions, is driven by three electric motors, and powered by rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries.

The car has an integrated tank of compressed air, much as the ones used in scuba diving, which will allow passengers to breathe while underwater.

MAZDA TAIKI

This is the first image of the Mazda Taiki concept car which will be shown at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show later this month. The challenge to create “a design that visually expresses the flow of air” was inspired by the image of a pair of Hagoromo, the flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly in Japanese legend, floating down from the sky.

+ Mazda

THE LAMBORGHINI REVENTON

Unvieled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last month, the Lamborghini Reventon can be yours and 19 others people for only $1.38 million (+ taxes). The Lamborghini Reventón has been entirely designed in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the original birthplace of the Lamborghini.

+ Lamborghini

BMW Unveiled the X6

BMW unveiled the BMW X6 sport activity vehicle (SAV) concept at the IAA 2007 in Frankfurt. The BMW X6 is supposed to be available in summer 2008 in Germany for about 65,000 Euro. The X6 will have a lower price in the United States. BMW works on a hybrid version of the BMW X6 as well. They call the 2-mode-hybrid BMW X6 ActiveHybrid. There are no details on the performance of this hybrid concept that BMW develops together with GM and Daimler.

+ BMW

BUSTED BY YOUR OWN CAR // NISSAN WANTS YOU HOME SAFE AND SOBER

Just like if being busted by your wife when you come home from the Pub was not enough. Tommorrow's cars will keep you off the road after a couple of beers. I may be joking but I think this new technology from Japan is a fantastic idea.

A Nissan concept car, the Fuga, with Breathalyzer-type detection systems may be on its way. Alcohol sensors sample the driver’s sweat via the shift-knob. Driver’s awareness is measured by whether a driver can maintain his proper lane (which will make it impossible for my mother to drive !!!) a camera that monitors drivers’ eyes for attentiveness and even the odor of alcohol (on the driver or passenger seats) will set off the alarm ... yes you can even forget to drive Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears back home !!!

+ Nissan

PIAGGIO MP3

I am so good when it comes to the "wheel" thing that when someone told me about the Piaggio mp3 I though it was a music mp3 ... I know shame on me ! I saw it for the first time last week in the south of France, and I have to say that I like it !

+ Piaggio