Technologies in the new BMW 7-Series
BMW's Director of Functional Integration Dirk Hacker talks about the various technologies and driver aids in the new F01 BMW 7-Series such as the Integral Active Steering (rear wheel steering), Driving Dynamic …
BMW Highbeam Assist based on Gentex SmartBeam technology
How often do we use our high beams? Many of us barely use them, in fact whenever I turn on my high beams in areas where there is no oncoming traffic and …
Lotus Sound Synthesis technology can give electric cars the rumble of a V8
Lotus used a Toyota Prius as a demonstrator vehicle and applied its new Sound Synthesis system to it.
Nissan develops “ECO pedal” for fuel economy
Most manufacturers encourage fuel efficient driving behaviour by rewarding the driver with a little indicator whenever the driver is driving in a fuel efficient manner. Honda uses a little green ECO light, …
Audi’s new supercharged 3.0 V6 TFSI engine
Audi has unveiled official details on its upcoming new supercharged 3.0 V6 TFSI engine, that will likely make its first debut installed in the upcoming Audi S4 and as an engine variant …
Production Mazda Smart Idle Stop System in 2009
Mazda has announced the world's first idle-start-stop system that restarts the engine without the use of a special starter, and will put the system into one of its production cars in 2009. …
Antonov Dual-Speed Ancillaries
We previously saw Antonov advocating the use of a dual-speed supercharger which allowed boost to be delivered effectively over a wider range of engine speeds. Antonov seems to be taking this dual-speed …
Volkswagen teams up with Sanyo for battery R&D
Volkswagen is partnering up with Sanyo to jointly develop high-performance energy storage systems, or in laymen speak batteries that can store LOTS of juice. According to Vee-Dub, Sanyo is currently the world's …
Ricardo 2/4SIGHT engine: switches between two stroke and four stroke cycles
Click to enlarge Ricardo Engineering Consultants (the company that designed and produced the Bugatti Veyron's DSG gearbox and designed the JCB Dieselmax's engine) has produced a prototype 2.0 litre V6 engine called …
International Engine of The Year 2008 Results
BMW has conquered the 2008 International Engine Of The Year awards again, with the N54 Bi-Turbo in the BMW 335i and the BMW 135i taking home the overall award and the 2.5 …
Antonov Dual-Speed Supercharger
UK-based Antonov Automotive Technologies is advocating the use of a dual-speed supercharger (which they are already producing and continuously improving) for the current trend of downsizing displacement and force inducting engines in …
Prodrive’s Active Toe Control could revolutionize suspension design
Prodrive is currently developing an innovative system called Active Toe Control that may eliminate the need for complicated multi-link rear suspension setups. Active Toe Control works on the rear axle of a …
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Technical Features
Mitsubishi Motors has published a list of what they claim are technical innovations in the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. The list does look very fancy indeed, and stuff like ETACs will …
Nokia N78 with FM Transmitter
FM transmitters have become a rather popular car accessory these days, as most car manufacturers have yet to settle on MP3-capable CD players as a standard feature. Burning a limited amount of …
New 7-speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT
UPDATE: Apparently this is an innovative use of a single clutch combined with the 7G-Tronic automated transmission (replacing the torque converter for startups), and not a dual clutch transmission. The MCT (Multi-Clutch …
Variable Compression Ratio Engine Concepts
The modern automobile engine has fixed compression ratios, that currently usually hover at about 10.0:1 or 10.5:1 for normally aspirated engines and much lower for turbocharged engines. Cars with direct injection can …
Ghostrider: the robotic motorcycle
The 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge is a 130 mile desert course - while this might seem mild compared to the Baja 1000 or other similiar off-road courses, what makes the DARPA Grand …
Fiat’s DDC dual clutch to debut in September 2009
Fiat Group Automobiles has announced that they will unveil its first dual-clutch gearbox in September 2009. The gearbox will be designed and built by Fiat Powertrain Technologies at an investment of 500 …
GM plans turbocharged 1.4 liter Ecotec engine
General Motors is planning a new series of small turbocharged Ecotec engines, similiar to Volkswagen's TSI and Fiat's T-JET series. First in the line up will be a 1.4 litre turbocharged gasoline …
BMW M DKG: Dual Clutch Transmission for the M3
Here is the full scoop on the new seven speed dual clutch transmission to debut in the BMW M3. Instead of M DCT as previously speculated, the transmission will be called the …
