Spy Rides Driving a super car at high speed is believed to provide a different sensation for some connoisseurs of the automotive world compared to ordinary cars. Well, it's an activity that can pump adrenaline to its maximum level, however, keep in mind that being able to do it smoothly and well without injuring yourself and others requires good skills.
British Automotive Engineering (BAE) is recently completed working on a new Bond-style sports car in Essex, Great Britain named Vantare GT. (Picture from: Enioquevedo)
If you have good driving skills plus have a lot of money today, you don't have to be the leading actor on the spy-action movies like James Bond, and others to be able to get behind the wheel and drive supercars like Aston Martin and others. Because some time ago British Automotive Engineeeing (BAE), a leading British coachbuilder company has managed to build a new supercar for you built based on one of James Bond's fast cars, Aston Martin DB9.
BAE Vantare GT is a new Bond-style grand tourer exclusively built based on the Aston Martin DB9 with a V12 engine under the hood. (Picture from: Enioquevedo)
As quoted of Secret-Classics, BAE built the sports car in Essex, Great Britain is expected to continue to carry a new Bond-style grand tourer with a V12 under the hood. Furthermore, the supercar's development process was led by an actor and TV presenter Bradley Walsh whose chosen to build it exclusively based on the Aston Martin DB9, which was launched off the production line at Gaydon between 2004 and 2016.
BAE Vantare GT is appeared with a new look in the style of the DB5 classic sports cars, such as those driven by Sean Connery's while roled as James Bond, the famous British 007 spy-agent. (Picture from: Secret-Classics)
And in the car building process, the donor was stripped of up to leave only the roof and windows, and then re-formed in such way to a new sporty ride in the style of a classic sports car, such as those driven by Sean Connery while roled as James Bond, the famous British 007 spy-agent. State-of-the-art hybrid materials such as carbon fiber composite are used for this purpose.
As a result, we can now see a classy sports car called the BAE Vantare GT which is made in a limited number of only 10 units, it is also mentioned that each car owner can configure their respective cars freely.
State-of-the-art hybrid materials such as carbon fiber composite are used for this BAE Vantare GT's bodywork. (Picture from: Enioquevedo)
In addition to the colors for the paintwork and interior, it also includes mechanical upgrades that provide more power. For your information, without any modifications, the six-liter V12 with automatic transmission has ensured that this sporty Bond-style car can accelerate from rest to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds and reach a top speed of over 180 mph.
Then in the cabin, installed a pair of leather seats which are available in a choice of smooth or suede colors and modern or classic. There are also polished aluminum elements and handcrafted exposed carbon trim. Standard equipment also includes an advanced infotainment system with a nine-inch touchscreen, navigation system, DAB radio as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Now for those of you who are interested in driving it at high speed, then prepare a lot of money, because this car is priced by the maker starting at £275,000 or approx Rp. 5.3 billions. Wow..! *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BAEVANTARE | SECRET-CLASSICS | ENIOQUEVEDO ]
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Electric Wings The trend of vehicle electrification has grown steadily over the last few years. Not only targeting motorcycles, cars, to buses and trucks, the trend has also begun to penetrate the aircraft industry. This could be seen on an electric powered small private aircraft developed by Eviation, an Israeli technology start-up.
This is Alice, an electric-powered aircraft developed by an Israeli company named Eviation and was debuted at the Paris Air Show 2019. (Picture from: IndoZone)
Recently the Israeli start-up developed its first commercial electric-powered aircraft named Alice. The electric-powered aircraft was exhibited for the first time at the Paris Air Show 2019. This aircraft is scheduled to fly for the first time this year and be sold to the market in 2022.
As quoted of Bussines Insider, the Alice eco-friendly aircraft is able to carry nine passengers and two crew and also capable of traveling a distance of 1,000 km, with a maximum speed of 240 knots or 445 kph on a single battery charge.
The Eviation Alice eco-friendly aircraft is able to carry nine passengers and two
crew. (Picture from:OtoDetik)
And the battery of the aircraft was a very large lithium-ion battery weighing around 3,600 kg. For the business purposed, the fuselage design is made of lightweight materials with three propellers attached on both wings and tail.
This eco-friendly aircraft fleet is claimed to be able to reduce air ticket prices between 40% -80%. This is because electric aircraft do not cost as much as the operating costs of conventional aircraft. The calculation is that electric planes only need US$ 200 per flight hour for operation.
The Eviation Alice electric-powered aircraft also capable of traveling a distance of 1,000 km, with a
maximum speed of 240 knots or 445 kph on a single battery charge. (Picture from:OtoDetik)
Seeing this, the CEO and Co Founder of Eviation, Omer Bar-Yohay estimates that the Alice aircraft will be certified in 2022. Where, US-based airline Cape Air has decided to buy this plane at a price of US $ 4 million or approx Rp. 56.4 billion.
And the American company itself plans to use Alice's electric plane to serve regional routes from Boston to Nantucket, Marthy's Vineyard, to New Hampshire and New York. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | EVIATION | ]
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Savage Noble As a typical British car marque, perhaps Noble is a brand that not many people know. Understandably the British car maker has never again sold its car products since the launch of its last model, the Noble M600 in 2011.
The new Noble M500 has all the qualities needed to compete on an equal footing with all other sports cars in its class. (Picture from: BlackXperience)
For those who are familiar with the Noble brand, they must have imagined the deep acceleration, masculine, and extreme touch. As always, the Noble supercar uses a manual gearbox and doesn't like the unnecessary weight through safety features, so the car has something to impress while to drive.
This is unlikely to change, when the manufacturer intends to launch a new model called the Nobel M500 while sticking to the tradition of allowing only experienced drivers behind the wheel to get the most out of it.
Noble clarified that the M500 is still a prototype, but will retain most of the exterior and interior elements. (Picture from: BlackXperience)
Although allegedly less extreme, the new sports car is targeted to replace the M600, the only car made by the company at this time. The Nobel M500 was first revealed at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the latest news being that the British brand was producing it with a target of the delivery to customers starting later of this year.
As is the case with its predecessors, such the very rare M600 and M400, the Noble M500 is a mid-engined two-seats sports coupe, which has also a powerful rear axle. But as its drivetrain instead of a V8, the M500 uses a 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine which can also be found under the rear deck of the Ford GT and the mentioned engine is claimed capable to produce power around 550 horsepower, which makes it a good competitor to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
The new Noble M500 bodywork uses composite panels reinforced with glass built over steel tubes chassis, with the engine mounted in the middle. (Picture from: TracedNews)
Speaking to the media, Peter Boutwood, Managing Director of Noble Automotive is mentioned that the offering for this less extreme and 'very much like the M600' model will continue to run. Beside it's equipped with a double-wishbone suspension with coilovers and passive dampers, the Noble M500 also offered exclusively with a six-speed Graziano manual transmission.
While the steering wheel performance will be hydraulically assisted, it is intended to guarantee enricher feedbacks with thrilled driving experience. Although to this day, there are no images related to the M500 interior, as reported by Autocar that the car cabin has digital instrument panel and central infotainment screen assist the driver during intense driving, also a pair of Recaro Podium racing seats, although seats that are not too extreme will also reportedly be offered.
The Noble M500 is powered by the same twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 as the Ford GT and coupled with a six-speed manual transmission. (Picture from: GoOto)
Furthermore, when compared to the Noble M600, access to and from the M500's cabin is much easier thanks to the smaller door frame. As before, anti-lock brakes and airbags were avoided, meaning there's no single one M500 could be legally run in the US roads due to absence of such those safety features mentioned above.
As before, anti-lock brakes and airbags were avoided, meaning there's no
single one M500 could be legally run in the US roads due to absence of
such those safety features. (Picture from: BlackXperience)
Currently, the high-speed testing isn't over yet and there may still be some minor changes, the bodywork uses composite panels reinforced with glass built over steel tubes chassis, with the engine mounted in the middle. However, Noble also intends to offer carbon fiber components as an option to reduce weight. Even without this, the company targets a production weight of around 2,750 lbs.
When the production phase finally gets underway, the automaker hopes could be produced the M500 as much 50 units per year. Regarding the price, although until now the British auto company hasn't revealed yet but reportedly has a price around £ 150,000 or equivalent to Rp. 2.94 billion. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | AUTOCAR | TRACEDNEWS ]
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Wedge Shaped Now we will look at a classic car that comes from a country in the southernmost hemisphere, namely New Zealand. Indeed, the car industries of the Kiwi-land are rarely heard if compared to its neighbor Australia. So it's not surprising that some of you may have never known the following unique sports cars made by the automaker from New Zealand.
The Heron MJ-1 is a two-seater sports coupe with a fiberglass body that was produced in limited quantities from 1981 to 1998 by Heron Cars. (Picture from: Issuu.com)
The mentioned car is the Heron MJ-1, a two-seater sports coupe with a fiberglass body that was produced in limited quantities from 1981 to 1998 by Heron Cars, a New Zealland automotive craftsmen founded by Ross Baker. This car began to be designed in 1980, and made its debut at the 1981 Auckland Motor Show,
It's style was derived from the Lotus Esprit, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design in 1972. It featured very similar proportions and angular shapes or what is commonly called the wedge shape which was widely used in mid-engined cars of the era.
The Heron MJ-1's style was derived from the Lotus Esprit, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design in 1972. (Picture from: Issuu.com)
The first production version was built in 1984 with engine options ranging from a Fiat 125 4-cylinder engine to V8. It was built on a fiberglass monocoque chassis, to which tubular steel front and rear subframes mounted, with parts from various donors, and fiberglass body panels.
The first production version was built in 1984 with engine options ranging from a Fiat 125 4-cylinder engine to V8. (Picture from: Issuu.com)
Then the Summit Engineering became involved into the company to provide the necessary finance in return for a two-thirds share. The original concept was a very simple car using reconditioned parts supplied by the customer, after that Heron assembling them into a complete roadworthy car.
The original concept was a very simple car using reconditioned parts
supplied by the customer, after that Heron assembling them into a
complete roadworthy car. (Picture from: Issuu.com)
Instead Summit wants the cars to be built entirely in-house using new parts. This caused serious problems in production, as the cost of production increased drastically. After an acrimonious split, Heron's founder Ross Baker bought them out and carried on until 1998.
The
Heron MJ-1 was built on a fiberglass monocoque chassis, to which tubular steel
front and rear subframes mounted, with parts from various donors, and
fiberglass body panels. (Picture from: Auto5p.eu)
It is believed that 6 prototypes and 19 production MJ-1's were ultimately built. Because of the costs of importing vehicles to New Zealand, Heron Cars was among a number of homegrown sports cars sold in that market which also included the Almac Sabre, Buckler, and Scorpion (a Sterling/Nova clone).
Eventually, the Japanese cheaper competitors were came and killed a number of these local makes. However, a small specialty car industry such Heron Cars still survives in NZ at least until 2018. But now they are no longer visible in the global automotive world. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | HERON CARS | RARECOMPONENTCARS | ISSUU.COM ]
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The Legend is back Finally Stellantis officially launched an electric car concept called the Chrysler Airflow Concept at the CES 2022 exhibition in Las Vegas, United States. The concept car was briefly reviewed at the Stellantis EV Day and Software Day presentations at the end of 2021, where the Chrysler Airflow was presented as Chrysler's first battery electric vehicle due in 2025.
Finally the Airflow Concept revealed at the CES 2022 as the first battery electric vehicle of Chrysler. (Picture from: AiraTransport)
This is because the brand has promised to move into the line of electric cars by 2028. And to represent "the future direction of the Chrysler brand," the Airflow Concept provides a compelling glimpse into the future and design language of Chrysler's all-electric. Plus, the fully connected customer experience and advanced mobility features this future EV (electric vehicle) will offer.
The Airflow Concept provides a compelling glimpse into the future and design language of Chrysler's all-electric vehicle. (Picture from: Auto-Motor-und-Sports)
From a design standpoint, the Airflow Concept proudly features the Chrysler Wing logo tied to the car's grille/light bar illuminated with crystal LED headlights. This vehicle has an elegant yet athletic profile thanks to its low ride position, sleek roofline, two colors and muscle car feel.
In addition, the long wheelbase and wide track, along with large 22-inch rims, contribute to a steady stance. This at the same time provides “excellent handling and dynamic performance.” At the rear, the crystal LED headlights are joined by a light bar that accentuates the wide position of the vehicle, with the illuminated Airflow inscription placed between the lights.
The technology is seamlessly integrated in the Chrysler Airflow Concept's cabin in the form of a dark glass sculpture. (Picture from: OtoBisnis)
Despite using a well-known name from Chrysler's past, the only reference to aerodynamics in its press release is about "aerodynamics, a smooth underbody". This helps the car achieve optimal driving range. Inside, the Chrysler Airflow features an open and spacious lounge area thanks to a panoramic roof, functional and ambient lighting, and soft leather seats resting on pedestals.
Also, the technology is seamlessly integrated in the cabin in the form of a dark glass sculpture. The crystal texture on the start/stop buttons and steering controls is a nice touch. The interior is more than just a fun place to spend time. Chrysler Airflow integrates the new STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit software and electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures to provide seamless connectivity for drivers and passengers.
The interior is more than just a fun place to spend time. Chrysler
Airflow integrates the new STLA Brain and STLA SmartCockpit software and
electrical/electronic (E/E) architectures. (Picture from: OtoBisnis)
The car's cabin is connected by connectivity, bringing the consumer's digital lifestyle into the vehicle, with state-of-the-art technology creating a customized space for each passenger. Using a menu-based format, screens or screens can be personalized, simplified, and grouped by individuals and interests. Information on the screen can be shared with all passengers with a swipe. Each screen serves as a personalized space to access the digital world through connected entertainment, apps and downloads.
There is even a built-in camera on each seat, allowing passengers to participate in group video conferencing. Obviously, the Airflow Concept benefits from over-the-air (OTA) updates as well as Artificial Intelligent based applications such as navigation, voice assistance, e-commerce marketplace, and payment services.
The Chrysler Airflow Concept is powered by two 150 kW (201 hp) electric motors, one at the front and one at the rear. (Picture from: Otomobile.id)
But unfortunately the Stellantis did not reveal on which platform the Chrysler Airflow will be made. But what is clear, they say, is that this car is powered by two 150 kW (201 hp) electric motors, one at the front and one at the rear.
It is also powered by a battery designed to reach 350-400 miles (563-643 km) on a single charge and offers fast charging functionality. Judging from the forecast range and output, it is likely the STLA Medium architecture that Stellantis will use for 2024.
And the concept is designed to accommodate larger capacity EDMs, “offering the potential for future high-performance applications.” Chrysler also said that the Airflow Concept features the STLA AutoDrive Level 3 autonomous drive system, which can also be upgraded via an OTA update. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CARSCOOPS ]
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Flying Hypercar The development of automotive technology does not only focus on electric-powered and autonomous vehicles, but also flying cars. The development of this type of vehicle is largely based on futuristic assumptions which are intended as a solution to the current problem of urban society, namely traffic congestion due to more increasing population.
The Bellwether Industries’ Volar eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aerial ride named the Antelope is a flying hypercar for private owners. (Picture from: Khaleej Times)
Although the development of this type of vehicle is mostly still in the assessment stage and is still far from practical as conventional vehicles currently exist, nevertheless all of them deserve appreciation as an inspiring and innovative technological breakthrough.
Recently, there's one futuristic hypercar-likened flying ride had successfully completed a series of test flights in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Its flight tests is revealed, a day after the Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) was held its first legal forum to review the legislation for flying taxis.
This Bellwether Industries’ Volar eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) is the world’s first aerial ride without a large wingspan or exposed blades, making it ideal for urban use. (Picture from: New Atlas)
Those electric-powered hypercar-likened flying ride is called the Bellwether Industries Volar eVTOL aka the Antelope is designed and developed by a London-based startup company named Bellwether Industries. And by November 2021, the Antelope prototype (in half-scale) has managed to complete a series of testing in Dubai.
The company said that the ultimate vision of a full-scale the Antelope Volar eVTOL ride will be a 4-to-5-seat aircraft carrying out intracity travels at an altitude of 3,000 feet (915 metres) with a speed of up to 220 kilometres per hour (135 miles per hour).
As qouted of Khaleej Times, in the last two years, the whole team whose developed the Bellwether Volar eVTOL (stands for 'electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing') aerial vehicle has also carried out several iteration phases to improve the the prototype's flight capability and performances.
The Bellwether Volar eVTOL prototype called the Antelope in half-scale has managed to complete its free-flight tests in Dubai. (Picture from: Coventry Telegraph)
“Our Volar flying prototype smoothly and proves our pursuit of innovation and technology. We believe in our volar and will strive for perfection with continuous improvement," said Kai-Tse Lin, chief operating officer and co-founder of Bellwether Industries.
“The test flight was carried out at an altitude of 13 feet at a speed of 40 km per hour. This test demonstrates the stability and controllability of the prototype. This step will be the beginning of a series of development projects," he added.
Bellwether says the ultimate vision of a full-scale Volar will be a 4-to-5-seat aircraft carrying out intracity travels at an altitude of 3,000 feet (915 metres) with a speed of up to 220 kilometres per hour (135 miles per hour). (Picture from: Khaleej Times)
As proof of the success of the test, the company then posted a short video of the Volar's test flight on social media titled "The era of urban air mobility has begun." As you can see on the video the flying vehicle was capable taking off from an open area of the park, then flying in a while before landing again safely.
The current prototype only has two seats, in the future, the hypercar-likened flying ride can be filled with five seats that capable to fly about 5 people. The company mentioned that its flying hypercar is designed to replace the currently conventional road-use vehicle, and also could be said the Bellwether Industries' Antelope is the world's first eVTOL flying ride without a large of wingspans or exposed propeller blades.
Next development of the Antelope aerial ride prototype in the full-scale is scheduled to be completed and ready to re-test in 2023. Furthermore the company said as qouted of its official website, they believe that people traveling in the sky are inevitable in the next 10 years. Therefore, and that's the reason they made the Volar aerial ride afor anyone to fly anytime and anywhere to any point.
Although the Volar was not the first flying cars have been explored in Dubai. As we all knew during the 2021 Dubai Air Show, there's a Florida-based LuftCar said it was developing an autonomous land-rides that could be mounted and removed from the flying module.
As we all knew, Dubai has passed a law regulating the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in July 2020. So in November, the RTA said it was reviewing the legislation of the flying taxis and self-driving skypods.
This seems to be in line with the Dubai's ambitious Sky Dome project which be allowed the city's skies filled by manned or unmanned aerial rides that will link places and buildings via landing pads and mini airports across the city. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BELLWETHER INDUSTRIES | EVTOL | KHALEEJ TIMES | THENATIONALNEWS ]
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Then in the cabin, installed a pair of leather seats which are available in a choice of smooth or suede colors and modern or classic. There are also polished aluminum elements and handcrafted exposed carbon trim. Standard equipment also includes an advanced infotainment system with a nine-inch touchscreen, navigation system, DAB radio as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
