Here are somemore details on the upcoming new Audi R8 supercar, based on the Le Mans concept above. A quick recap, the car is supposed to come in 2 variants, one with an entry-level high-revving 4.2 V8 making 415hp and 430Nm of torque. The top of the line version features a 5 liter V10 from the Lamborghini Gallardo twin-turbocharged to make 610hp and 745Nm of torque. Click here to read the rest of 2007 Audi R8 Technical Specifications
You’ve heard of carbon fibre bonnets, roofs, and even sports rims, but have you heard of carbon fibre tyres? Goodyear announced it’s new Goodyear Eagle with ResponsEdge Technology which will begin to be available in May 2006. Click here to read the rest of New Goodyear Eagle with ResponsEdge Technology
Click here to read the rest of Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management i-VTEC
Honda is famous for their 4-cylinder VTEC and i-VTEC engines, but they also have V6 engines in their stables. The Acura NSX had a 3.2 liter V6 and the current shark-faced top of the range CBU Honda Accord on our markets has a 3.0 liter SOHC VTEC V6 engine with the code J30A under the hood. However, USDM and Japanese versions of our Accord (actually called the Honda Inspire in Japan) has a new i-VTEC version of the J30A.
A team of engineers at Keio University led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu has developed this 8-wheeled electric car called the Eliica. Eliica stands for ‘Electric Lithium-Ion battery Car’ and it has some pretty impressive performance statistics.
With 600kW of power on tap, 0-100km/h only takes 4 seconds and 0-160km/h takes 7 seconds – this means it’s acceleration times are faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo. During a test on the Nardo high-speed test track in Italy, the Eliica managed to record a top speed of 370km/h, though theoretically it could touch 400km/h on smoother roads. What makes this car excellent on windy tracks is it runs on a single gear, so acceleration is very linear.
The Eliica is more than 5 meters long, shaped like a bullet and stores it’s batteries and motors low in the chassis, creating a low centre of gravity. It is also low for maximum aerodynamic efficiency, which means headroom is limited. No one taller than 178cm can fit in the car which rules me out since I’m about 181cm.
BMW’s Group Research and Engineering division has come up with something new to squeeze out every ounce of performance from a combustion engine. Let’s have a look at BMW’s Turbosteamer. Click here to read the rest of BMW TurboSteamer
I previously blogged about AirZed introducing WiMAX broadband services here in Malaysia. The only package available right now is the Business package which provides 1mbps download and 512kbps upload with 1 fixed IP. It costs RM468 a month.
I had the opportunity to test out the service just now and I have to say I’m impressed. The picture you see on the left is the WiMAX antenna, which was positioned to face the base station not too far away. The WiMAX antenna can be put facing a window or outdoors. For outdoor usage, STP cables are used instead of normal UTP cables.
The antenna has a small display below it showing signal strength. Signal strength in our area was almost full bar.
The STP cable from the antenna goes to a little box which looks like a power brick. From there, a UTP cable goes to a server or router, or whatever you want to connect the service to.
I did a few tests and I managed to saturate the 1024/512 connection that the test connection had. Ping times to local ISPs had the typical wireless high latency but still pretty good. The main link was an NTT MSC ArcNet line which has a reputation of being a premium connection provider here in Malaysia, with excellent international links. I can understand why.
More information on Airzed’s WiMAX packages here.
A team of 4 university students from York University have created an experimental project that could help identify car thieves or car accessory thieves at least. Click here to read the rest of An alarm system that snaps photos
Not sure if stuff like these belong in gadget blogs or a car blog! Jaguar has showcased it’s new Pyrotechnic Pedestrian Deployable Bonnet System used on the Jaguar XK. Click here to read the rest of Jaguar XK safety lid
Google has launched a free Wi-Fi service in San Fransisco. Together with it’s Wi-Fi service, it has also launched a free VPN service so that Wi-Fi users can encrypt their over-the-air data.
Since their e-mail service is called Gmail, I wonder why they didn’t name their Wi-Fi hotspot G-Spot.
Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen implements RFID tracking
Volkswagen has implemented Identec’s i-Q8 active arphid tag in their post-production/pre-delivery line for their Autostadt (Auto-City).
I was surfing Jaring’s website to find out more information about it’s wired broadband service when I came across this clause in it’s MY015 Reach package.
8. Free usage of up to 2000MB of data for upload and download (Until 30th September 2005 only). Excess usage charge is RM15 for every 1000MB.
Since JARING has started implementing this, is this a sign that are we going to see data transfer caps in all our broadband packages including those from TMNet?
This is a very big turn-off indeed. 2GB of data for a 1mbps line runs out really fast even if you’re not a download freak.
Refer to this page at Jaring.
This is a short post. Rushing my Final Year Project prototype presentation. Will be back with more auto posts after I’m done!
Google’s IM long-anticipated IM service Google Talk is out. Head over to Kah Soon for screenshots.
What I like about it is it’s open to other third party IM clients as it’s based on the open source Jabber/XMPP protocol. A list of supported clients is available here. I’m going to use it with my Trillian Pro.
This is something which I’ve never thought would happen. Telekom Malaysia, recently rebranded as TM has opened up it’s last mile POTS access. This means other broadband providers can offer internet access through areas covered by TM phone lines instead of just being limited to Streamyx and sometimes unreliable wireless broadband service. Click here to read the rest of TM opens last mile, Jaring first customer
I’ve stumbled upon this new way of making combustion engines called Round Engine, or it’s more techy-sounding name Variable Geometry Toroidal (VGT).
At first I thought it’s some kind of rotary engine but it’s not. I will talk about how it’s different later.
VGT Technologies Inc likens their VGT engine to a pushing merry go round, while normal engines are paddling bicycles. Click here to read the rest of Variable Geometry Toroidal Engine (Round Engine)
Carbon fibre is a black fabric weave held together by a transparent resin and weighs one-third to one-fifth the weight of similiar-strength steel. Carbon fibre has had it’s place for a long time in applications such as aerospace and automotive but it is becoming increasingly popular in other fields as well. Click here to read the rest of Carbon Fiber
