solar motorcyle

It won’t have a modern motorcycle style, but if you think that a solar powered motorcycle can run for 80km and reach a maximum speed of 112 km/hr, it’s not so bad. And then style is not really at the heart of this argument.

This model is called the Prometheus and it was sent to us by the guys at Ecoblog.it. Designed by Prometheus Solar LLC and shown at the Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica (alternative cars show), this motorcycle runs off four big solar panels, strategically placed.

The Prometheus adopts lithium phosphate batteries of 4.6 kWh and is connceted to an electric Perm PMG 132 engine from Thunderstruck Motors.

Class A tiger fastest car

Dimensi

Panjang : 4.560mm

Tinggi : 1.186 mm

Lebar : 1.972 mm

Celah terendah : 115 mm

Jarak sumbu roda : 2.630 mm

Ban

Ban depan : 245/40R20

Ban belakang : 275/40R20

Velg depan : 8,5 x 20

Velg belakang : 10 x 20

Berat : 1450 kg

air car

After ten years of research and development of pollution-free engines and cars powered by compressed air, MDI launches Compressed Air Technology systems © : C.A.T's ©(*). The Series 34 CAT´s engines can be equipped with and run on dual energies - fossil fuels and compressed air - maintaining a zero-pollution emission in the city at speeds up to 60 km/h.

MDI

After fourteen years of research and development, Guy Negre has developed an engine that could become one of the biggest technological advances of this century, and boy does our enviornment need it!

Negre’s MDI has recently struck a deal with Tata Motors, India's largest automobile manufacturer, who will use his CAT (compressed air technology) motor for usage in a line of cars. Tata has already struck distribution deals for the air car with Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Panama.

These cars will use compressed air to drive its pistons. Re-fueling, if it can be called that will be as simple as stopping at an compressed air station where you can refuel for as little as $2.

According to Tata, the car will be able to reach a maximum speed of 68 miles per hour and will be able to travel roughly 125 miles per air refill.

Compresses Air To Run Vehicles

if you want to know technology and automotif in the future you can ask me in my blog

One of our local correspondent met with the founder of MDI, Guy Negre, and interviewed him and his team about his famous compressed air vehicles, CAV. What we found was an interesting fellow with ingenious solutions, backed by a dedicated team and financially supported by Tata.

The gist is that powering a vehicle with compressed air might sound far out but until we sat in it and actually drove, we never expected the technology performed that well. In a nutshell, the CAV uses compressed air in tanks that delivers air to a piston engine which propels the CAV.

History. MDI was founded in 1991 whose aim was to develop zero pollution engines. Guy Negre has designed about a hundred engines, and the idea is to promote and develop ecological energies with zero-pollution vehicles and systems.

Developing CAVs. Located in sunny south of France in Carros, MDI feverishly works on new technologies and innovative production methods. The fifty, or so engineers and technicians work on the compressed air vehicles, now with the support of Tata Motors who became the exclusive licensee for their technologies in India.

The road wasn’t always easy and the company has attracted an unwarranted share of detractors, mostly in France. Here are some of their important dates:

1996 creation of the first Compressed Air engines (1st generation).

1998 Creation of the first compressed air, cars, namely the Green Taxi. Picture below.

1999 “MDIs Industrial concept”

2001 Dual-energy technology - “stop and go” piston

2002 Presentation of the MiniCATs at the‘Mondial de l’auto’

2003 New thermodynamic cycle (active chamber)

2005 Creation of the “cold combustion” cycle.

2007 Signature of the TATA Motors agreement – Development of the OneCATS

2008 Development of the OneCATS and preparation of the Model factory

2009 Launching of the OneCATS

Test Driving An AirPod. Test driving the famous AirPod was unlike anything. It gave us an opportunity to take a closer look at the technology. To quote our corespondent: “I’ve driven a lot of cars and tested prototypes, but nothing prepared me for this. It’s all fly-by-wire, makes some noise when starting, is fairly quiet at speed and best part of it all, it only exhausts cold air.” It’s hard not to get excited reading this.

The compressed air engine has a lot of kick and the steering is no different than playing on a video game with a joy stick. We feel the new generation will have no problems driving these types of vehicles. For the rest of us, it’s all with your right hand. Maybe this is what pilots experienced going from Boeing to Airbus.

Considering the platform has two propelling wheels behind and two smaller ones in front for steering, the ride is smooth and stable. Shorter than a Smart ForTwo, with its pivotal front axle, it can turn around itself. Pressing the accelerator pedal unleashed the compressed air and the engine sounded like an old two-stroke starting, but after that, it was fairly quiet.

airpod-turn2

Our Thoughts. We were very impressed not only with the technology that went into using air to power a car. It’s no wonder he has scared a few who lobbied an opposition. None the less, his technology could well serve many transport scenario. It’s not hard to see what far reaching consequences MDI’s compress air technology. Fleets with heavy stop and go traffic, such as the postal office would greatly benefit from this. They could need is to install an air compressor and tank, and voila. And in order to further lower electricity consumption, solar panels and wind turbines could be used to power the compressor, making these cars truly non-polluting.

wind car

Dale Vince, who you’ll remember we talked about not too long ago regarding his wind-powered sports car concept, has made another video to update people on the car’s progress so far. Still no name for the car yet, but apparently “Mojo” is the favorite right now.

This supercar concept is based on a Lotus Exige, but Vince spends some time in this video detailing how he’s going to change the body work and also some time attacking hydrogen. I guess he’s run out of ammunition against Tesla, so he needs a new whipping post for his marketing efforts.

It should be noted that Vince is CEO of the UK’s largest wind power generation firm and that this car is not likely to see production, but is mainly Vince’s pet project.

hybrid car

A multi-disciplinary faculty-student project is underway to develop a plug in diesel-electric hybrid vehicle. The project is aimed at creating a retrofit kit to convert existing autos to hybrid operation. The base vehicle being used is an older Volkswagen Jetta. The project is a sophisticated blend of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems engineering.

To create a hybrid from the conventional internal combustion drivetrain, mechanical engineering students developed a way to move the transaxle and engine several inches to allow space for an electric clutch and timing belt pulley. The timing belt directly connects an electric motor to the transaxle while the diesel engine is connected to the transaxle through the electric clutch. This allows the electric motor or the diesel engine to be used independently or in conjunction depending upon operating requirements. While this is a simple concept, there are many technical challenges, including designing a mechanical system that can retrofitted into the limited space of an existing chassis, and developing a flexible and robust control system that can sense and respond to a wide range of operating conditions.

The project is a practical, real-world challenge that if successful would offer a proof-of-concept platform for a low-cost alternative for obtaining a hybrid vehicle. Results so far indicate that the system will be successful. In addition to its ultimate success, the project reflects OIT’s and OREC’s practical, hands-on sensibility and the goal of putting engineers into the work place with awareness and knowledge of renewable energy.

Bio-Diesel Production Plant Automation

Another multi-disciplinary project nearing successful completion is automating a small-scale bio-diesel production plant. While technology for bio-diesel production is proven, small-scale plants such as would be used on farms, in small businesses, and by individuals are batch operations in which the ingredients are added and the bio-diesel is produced over approximately a 96-hour period requiring frequent intervention by the user, e.g., to take measurements, open and close valves, monitor fluid levels. The goal of this project is to develop a simple, failsafe automation system that will allow a small producer to simply add ingredients, push a button, and have biodiesel in four days without further intervention.

While small-scale bio-diesel plants are common, this automation project appears to be unique. It is a interesting technical challenge involving expertise from students in several disciplines: mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, and computer systems engineering. The project is in its initial test phase and appears to be a success. Students are looking at wider potential applications involving creating a national, internet-based bio-diesel supply system connecting producers and users

aero electric car

With the resurgence of electric vehicle mania, but with costs for these vehicles still high relative to their gasoline counterparts, much of the focus on these cars in America has been in high-end (and costly) sports cars. Considering the requirements of a great speed demon, it’s little wonder electric is catching on so fast. I know I’m not the only one looking at converting my gasoline powered car to electric, and many car companies like Shelby are doing the same.

Shelby Supercars plans to trump the current electric salivation leader, Tesla Motors, with their own Ultimate Aero EV. It is said to be faster than any other electric car on the market with a whopping 500 horsepower motor. It’s definitely getting a lot of hype and publicity, with its sleek looks and it’s base on the world record holding Ultimate Aero (which broke the world record for fastest production car at 256.18mph).

The Aero EV will have the same chasis of the exotic “SuperCar” and will use a 373kW electric motor. The new drive train will feature “a revolutionary power source allowing for extended time between charging intervals, with the possibility of several years between charging,” according to Shelby. With electric design guru Tony Stark on the project, I guess anything is possible.

Prototypes will be unveiled in February with production rolling off the line by December of 2009.

Whatever the hype and seemingly far-fetched claims, the cars are very cool, sleek, and could possibly break the electric propulsion record. It’s likely they’ll be as unattainable as the Tesla or any of the high-end, high price tag vehicles we love to salivate over, but it’s worth dreaming about.

Kind of makes my electric conversion plans for my Toyota pickup look lame, though. Maybe I’ll paint it white and put speed stripes on it to feel better…

water powered car

Mobil tenaga air yang bisa melaju seperti jet dikembangkan oleh tiga penggemar otomotif dari Inggris yang memberi nama kelompoknya The British Steam Car yang berbasis di New Forest, Hampshire. Fred Marriott bersama kakak-beradik Francis dan Freelan Stanley. Ketiganya bersiap mengejutkan dunia otomotif dengan meluncurkan mobil bertenaga uap berkekuatan besar.

Seperti dilansir Dailymail, mobil yang panjangnya 25 kaki atau sekitar 7,5 meter ini mulai diuji coba, Rabu (25/3). Mereka berhasil meluncurkan mobil berbahan bakar air ini dengan kecepatan 127 mph menjelang ajang otomotif khusus untuk kendaraan bertenaga uap atau Supercar Tenaga Uap Abad ke-21, April depan di Inggris.

Ini adalah rekor baru sejak tahun 1906 untuk kendaraan besar yang total bobotnya mencapai 3 ton itu. Sebab, pada tahun 1906 rekor tersebut diciptakan untuk mobil jenis sedan.Mobil yang diberi nama Stanley Rocket ini mencatat rekor tercepat, yakni 127.659 mph di Florida.

Ini adalah rekor tercepat hingga saat ini meskipun Mariott yakin mereka bakal bisa lebih mempercepatnya lagi hingga 200 mph.“Ini adalah uji coba pertama dan kami belum menggunakan kecepatan maksimal,” ujar juru bicara The British, Matt Candy.

Untuk peluncuran pertama di ajang resmi ini, mereka sengaja menutup sejumlah saluran tenaga. Kekuatan sebenarnya akan mereka pertontonkan di ajang show, pekan depan.Mobil jenis vehicle ini didesain futuristik berbahan dasar komposit karbon dan aluminium.

Sedangkan untuk chasisnya adalah perpaduan alumunium dan baja. Bila mobil ini diluncurkan akan memunculkan semburan uap putih di buritannya.Untuk sekadar perbandingan, kekuatan gas yang disemburatkan mobil ini mencapai panas tiga megawatt atau sama dengan 9.000 pemasak teh.

Uap air yang dikeluarkan oleh ketel rata-rata 50 liter per menit dengan panas mencapai 400 derajat Celcius. Uap inilah yang kemudian menggerakkan dua turbin di belakang mobil.Upaya untuk menjadikan uap air sebagai bahan bakar alternatif memang terus dilakukan oleh pecandu otomotif meskipun hingga saat ini belum bisa menjadi alternatif sebagai kendaraan masa depan.

Meskipun bahan bakarnya murah, bakal sangat repot.Bayangkan, mobil yang didesain Stanley bersaudara ini sangat gemuk karena di sekeliling tubuhnya dipenuhi tabung-tabung atau ketel uap berisi air. Jumlahnya cukup banyak, yakni 12 ketel dan satu ketel isinya 140 liter air panas.

Satu ketel uap hanya cukup untuk dua mil saja.Namun demikian, penggemar mobil uap ini yakin bahwa teknologi uap bisa menjadi bahan pemikiran para penggemar otomotif paling ramah lingkungan ini.

Meskipun air sangat sulit dijadikan BBM, akan ada sumber energi alternatif yang tak memakan tempat, seperti LPG yang bisa hemat tempat, tetapi memiliki kekuatan uap yang cukup besar untuk menggerakkan mesin mobil.Dalam kelompok penggemar otomotif bertenaga air, hal itu memang tidak menjadi perhatian utama karena obsesi mereka adalah bagaimana menggeber mobil uap sama seperti mobil bertenaga fosil, seperti jet-jet darat pada F1.

Bahkan, sebagian teknologi F1 juga mereka kloning. Misalnya Don Wales, Donald Campbell, dan Sir Malcolm Campbell menggunakan teknologi pengereman yang sama dengan F1.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport 2009

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport 2009