The pledge

The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician Koenigsegg takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary.

The Turn

Now you’re looking for the secret..but you won’t find it because of course, it’s already doing 380 kmph. You will never know. You will be fooled.

Taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary

Awfully quite around this place. Not for long!

Continuing the analogy of Mr. Koenigsegg’s new car launch with “The Prestige”, things seem even more fitting now when we look under the spirit of the ghost. The dispute between magicians and wizards (as shown in the movie too) is clearly visible through Koenigsegg’s work also and being the magician that he is, has completely disregarded Nikola Tesla’s electric motors. So what we have is only a turbocharged 5L V8 producing two numbers i never thought could exist mutually- Power output of 1360 bhp and torque is a staggering 1000Nm! Thousand! Somewhere right now, AMG engineers feel a cold shiver.

Power of the Ghost

For a very long time now I have been watching the progress of the 3D printers closely and I can honestly say I’m quite a strong supporter of this breakthrough rapid prototyping technology. Formula SAE cars, the Urbee  concept and many more are just humble examples of the this technology creeping into the automotive  industry. Koenigsegg has incorporated Variable Geometry Turbocharger( VGT) and Titanium exhausts, both of which are 3D printed. This gives Koenigsegg unlimited freedom to develop optimised turbine blade designs and at much lower costs.

Printable Titanium Exhaust

© Shweta Rawat

The post Koenigsegg One:1 – The Mistimed Prestige appeared first on AutoSpace.

Yes he’s an atheist, despises the Lexus SC, and some say that he’s The Stig’s brother-in-law. All we know is that he has left us Lambophiles with a great deal of satisfaction. Thank you Piston Claus, for the latest Lamborghini, the HURACAN! (Insert lightning storms and bulls stampede here)

Introduzione:

In the truest tradition of our religion (read Lamborghini), at the launch of a new bull we sacrifice one black horse (preferably in a prancing posture) to our great lord, Ferrucio Lamborghini. This holy tradition that we follow symbolizes the death of one Ferrari for every new Lamborghini that is born in the womb of Modena, only to add fuel (direct injection, of course) to the evident rivalry between the two.

So what do we get on first look: Audi’s persistent complaint about polishing the sharp cuts in Lambo’s body panels seems to be slowly taking effect as can be seen in the new Huracan. After you feel and absorb every angle of the car through that desktop screen, you can sense a beautiful mix of the designs of their past concepts and production vehicles. The rear has a strong oomph of the Sesto Elemento, the front headlights and fenders remind us of the Estoque (The bull that never was), the stance of an Aventador. Although the two humble creases on the front bonnet remind us of the yester years of the Gallardo family, showcasing that the Huracan family will proudly carry on the legacy of it’s past.

Tech Analysis- More than meets the eye:

The Huracan’s design may be a hybrid of many Lambos, but the heart remains the same. Powered by a 5.2L V10, the same as the last Gallardo except more powerful. Power has escalated to a minor yet progressive increment of 610bhp. But don’t be ignorant of what this means because after running down a few calculations of my own, it turns out that the Huracan’s specific power output of 117.307hp/L is the highest for any naturally aspirated V10 engine EVER MADE. What this means is that the conventional trend of engine downsizing to increase specific power output is disregarded by the Italians as they continue to maintain the beautifully honed engine volume of 5204cc.

Inside the Huracan!

No details about the full specifications yet but Lambo claim a 0-60 stint in 3.2s. Kerb weight is down to 1422kg– a figure that has made Piston Claus awkwardly conscious. Chassis is a hybrid of Carbon fiber and Aluminium and the engine is coupled to the ‘box via dual-clutches. Torque reads a mountainous 560Nm at 6500rpm. Carbon Ceramic disc brakes come as standard. The wheels are no wind-sucking-to-cool-the-discs type crazy, but a practical 5 spoke Aluminum 19”.  Front windshield is more inclined almost like the Super Trofeo Stradale version. From what can be seen, it looks like the rear track width is lesser than that of the front. That is surely uncalled for by a Lambo but will prove advantageous in terms of handling. The three driving modes of Strada, Sport, and Corsa are also included.

Hexagonal fest!

This brings me to the interior of the car- The center dash buttons can be commonly mistaken for launching nuke missiles. Like Mercedes’ classic cross shaped air vents (emphatically seen in the SLS), Lambo have a striking and cheeky hexagon tubed air-con vents. Almost seems like carbon nano tubes came to reality. Even at the head of the glove box, the angular hexagonal faces are taken from the rear grill of the Egoista. One look at the instrument cluster panel housing will assure you that it’s giving BMW’s i8 a run for it’s money. Elongated paddle shifts stand out as you enter the cockpit, first seen in the Aventador J.

Climax:
 With the name as striking as the new Lambo itself, the origin of it is interpreted  differently. The general Spanish speaking peeps say it means “hurricane”, but ask a  Spanish historian and he/she would tell you that it was a legendary animal (part  human, part bull) that fought gallantly in Alicante, Spain in 1879. We assume this  to be the closest reason for such a name, and it’s not too hard to pronounce either  now that we’ve exercised our cheek muscles trying to get the Pagani Huayra right.

Over the years, as hardcore Lambophiles, we have witnessed the beautiful  evolution and growth of the company and as true enthusiasts we almost feel part of  this family.

The video series made OFFICIALLY by Lamborghini as a teaser proves a point- that they have not only made boys of all ages wet their beds, but have acknowledged the compelling passion of true Lambo fans. Watch the video and all it’s parts to understand what I mean.

Huracan Spyder rendered.

As a way of giving back something to this beautiful company, my wingman Soumya Kanta Das, who’s an ace automotive designer (self-taught), has rendered the Huracan Spyder version already, a move that Lambo would naturally consider in the near future. Mind you, he did this in exactly one hour! So Mr.Stephan Winkelmann, if you’re reading this, you know whom to hire next.

Finale:

Before we end this Italian drama here, we got to admit- there’s a lot of room for improvement. Lamborghini’s first models are similar to Android phones- once you have it, there’s much that can be experimented with. It even takes a while to accept and realize how beautifully refined this new Lamborghini really is, given the fact that the last two launches (The Veneno and Egoista) were just outright mental.

But when you look at it over and over again, you are filled with a sense of inner peace knowing that Lamborghini not only gave the Gallardo family a fitting end but also justified its successor. It’s as if Vito Corleone handed over the mafia family to Michael Corleone knowing he would be the perfect heir. Once again, Lamborghini has the last word.

Ferrucio Lamborghini-The real Godfather

The post The Huracan: Lamborghini’s Michael Corleone appeared first on AutoSpace.

BAC(k) to the future!

Today’s Topic: Google haven’t done their homework. 

A small company from Cheshire, UK that was started by the Briggs bros. believes in a small and efficient working force. So it took a team just of 8 people to build the radical BAC Mono. With only a brief glance, other cars would WOW and believe that this is what future holds for them.
So in the unlikely moment of your busy life you may ask yourself- How many Google workers does it take to make a car? Well it’s 15 apparently. Seven more than BAC and yet you can’t even drive it.

Now I’m shedding light on what is more of a bottled up frustration in petrol heads like us- the birth of autonomous vehicles or better known as “driverless” cars. This epiphany could be a controversial one and I sense some abuses and counter arguments being thrown at me by the end of this read, but I’d like to take my chances here.

With technology always on the rise, I understand that this is certainly a hoorah moment for Google’s computer geeks and programmers who can feel proud of running a car for 300,000 miles (without crashing) by just few lines of coding. But there is a question that the automotive world is asking and nobody seems to be paying attention- Is there really a need for such a technology? Watch the video below to know Google’s skunk works.

For almost 40 years and more now the environmental agencies and local tree huggers have been pointing fingers at the auto industry for being one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. And since then cars have been compromised on all sorts of other things just to pollute lesser. Car bodies being more slippery for lesser drag and hence lesser fuel consumption, composite materials to reduce weight, infinite iterations on engine design, fuel metering systems and changes in fuel composition itself; if you pick up a magazine, you’ll be convinced that we (the automotive industry) have almost perfected this world and that we’re only going to get better at it.
So how exactly is Google planning to appease UNEP, IPCC, WNO etc. by making a driverless car?

Firstly, lets throw our fears out. I’m not doubting the abilities of Google, but then I’d never want to let a computer control all the driving functions of my car and run it in “autopilot” mode. The last time I let computers take control of my life, I almost ignored a small earthquake just so I could finish first in this racing game called POD. Looking at the aerospace industry and how they haven’t been hasty about having self flying passenger planes is something truly to be appreciative of their progressive approach towards perfection.

Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to ‘see’ other traffic, as well as detailed maps to navigate the road ahead.

On Google’s official blog it is mentioned so. Google also mentions that about 750MB of data is analysed and collected by the on-board computers every second. Such heavy dependence on these wired friends makes me wonder if Google have considered what would happen if their car is subjected to a large Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) field. All the brains of the car would seize at quickest moment bringing the car to a “ctrl-alt-del” moment.

Street view that Google’s cars see.

In another feat by Google in trying to explain and impress their technology to the commoners, they recently uploaded the image of what the on-board computer “sees” while making a turn. One of the software developers said- “If it sees a cigarette butt, it knows a person might be creeping out from between cars. If it sees a rolling ball it knows a child might run out from a driveway.” 

Making sensors that sensitive and softwares with such complex algorithms is like making the exact same mistake the car industry made decades ago. The best example would be the pressure sensors of air bags and how researchers are trying to “de-sensitize” these sensors so that the air bags wouldn’t blow up in the cabin for the smallest of bumps like when a car tries to mount the curb.

With three of such insignificant incidents discussed above, how then does Google chose to stay true their word about cutting yearly road accidents by as much as HALF with such technology? The more you dwell in this topic, the more it makes you feel that Google decided to adopt a Toyota Prius and just strap some Google equipment without really learning from the pioneers themselves.

Audi with its A7 boasted of an almost convincing video of a self parking car that drops the working man at the lobby, seeks out for a vacant parking spot, hibernates, and at the touch of a button is back in the lobby, ALL BY ITSELF!
But notice closely and you’ll notice lot of loopholes in this concept – what if the phone battery dies out and you cant override the code to open your car? What if the closest parking spot that the car finds is at least 7 miles away or worse, what if it can’t find a parking spot at all and then cause havoc on city streets? What about the heavy battery consumption required to run such electrically dependent auxiliary systems that might drain the charge if parked for too long?

In fact, Mercedes even though they are uber confident about their “steering assist” in the 2014 S-Class (Yes, 2014!), which is another name for autopilot mode, emphasised that the autonomous drive (or steering assist) will only work as long as the driver has his hands fixed firmly on the steering wheel, and that it cannot tackle turns by itself after a certain speed of 40kmph.

All of this should help Google understand the automotive industry’s progressive approach towards better mobility. Clearly, Google haven’t done their homework.

So dear Google programmers, look through your “glass” carefully (pun intended) and understand that automotive technology and mobility should be left in the rightful hands of our people as shown in the image below.

And if you do chose to continue this project, could you at least choose a less hideous car than the Prius? M4 maybe? I’m sure that blind man you brought along as your test drive for that driverless Toyota would’ve loved to drive “feel like driving” a sexier car than a Prius.

The post Epiphanic Echoes #4: Car Philosophies From An Alfista appeared first on AutoSpace.

TORO! TORO!

Being a 90’s kid, I’ve seen the births of many Lamborghinis right from the Gallardo and all it’s variants right up to the latest LP570-4, to the Murcielagos and its variants after the first LP640-4 was launched, the Reventon, Aventador, the Aventador J, the Urus etc etc. I remember a week before my 12th birthday I first read an article about “Lamborghini to hit Indian Shores” in the local newspapers and have followed the release of these bulls into our already chaotic land right from the start. Yes, at the risk of sounding a complete lunatic, it’s safe to say that I play Lamborghinis quite close to my chest. And in my last 9 years of lunacy, i must say that this must be the first time I didn’t wave my Muleta (the red cape used by the Matador) frantically to welcome this new bull in my life.

So I believe there’s a need to clear some tension that’s surrounding this new Lamborghini Egoista because there’s a  lot of negative comments lingering around this car and its not much appreciated. Some say they’ve gone too far with the “extremism” philosophy that Lamborghini is well known for. Others say that maybe the heavy aerospace influence has finally got the best of them and that they’ve taken the aerodynamic theory of “cutting through the air” a bit TOO seriously if you look at the front of it. Others are seriously considering handing the lambo designers a set of “French curves” stencils to go easy on the angular cuts that makes you bleed just when you look at them.

But if you were born in the 70’s, then all of this would come to you as a sort of déjà vú, because these were probably the exact same reactions the public gave when the Lamborghini Countach was unveiled back in 1974. History indeed repeats itself.

Lets take a step back and first try to understand the technicalities involved with this machine. Designed by Walter De Silva, the design inspiration was taken from an Apache helicopter. Lambo’s nomenclature department decided not to sacrifice another bull and its lineage to name their new car. They instead referred to the Italian dictionary. The word “Egoista” means selfish and it stands true to its word, as it is a single seater cockpit.

Goodbye Scissor doors!

A brief yet important transition in Lamborghini legacy to replace the already mental scissor doors with a floating canopy. The cockpit is centrally placed and in order to get in it, you need to tenderly place your feet on the appropriate markings and then twist and turn and fold yourself before you see an orange adorned monocell. And the complication doesn’t end there. Lamborghini have placed only the bare requirements in the little space that you need to detach the steering wheel from its steering column, like that of a formula 1 car, to even fit inside it.

Powered by the Gallardo’s 5.7L V10 engine, and no other details of the powertrain, one can only pray for mercy. Four projector lamps hidden well within the crevasse of the front slits, some sort of wacky warning lights on the roof, a bare naked rare to reveal the mammoth firepower that has more room now that the passenger is kicked out of the picture. Rumour also has it that the Egoista when viewed from the 3/4th isometric view, seems like a bull poised with its horns low towards the ground. Everything about this car re-defines “FUTURISM”.
The most stand out technology that you’ll notice once you’re in is the heads-up display.
Lamborghini is so inclined towards fighting with the apaches that the orange tinted cockpit is made up of anti-radar material. Even the orange paint on those not so conventional Lambo wheels are of anti radiation material. What ever that means.

Centralized cockpit of the Egoista.

All of this still sounds maddening and thoughts occur that this is how Lamborghinis should continue to exist and that it shouldn’t be adulterated with the sophistication of those German owners. I still look at the pictures again and again but I’m still only half convinced. I mean, orange wheels and canopies..Seriously, Lamborghini?

Horacio Pagani (first from right) with a developmental Countach

Last night I was restless and my thoughts were a turbulent one as I was still not able to adjust to this new philosophy, and it was somewhere at 0300 hours while reading about Horacio Pagani that I found my answers. It was Pagani’s last few years at Lamborghini and some hidden pictures of his concept on the Lamborghini Countach (to celebrate the 25th anniversary) in which I found solace.
To make you understand, you really need to place yourself in the shoes of the current Lamborghini team. It isn’t a car that is meant to be sold, taken that there will be a lot of buyers, but that isn’t the point.

It REALLY is the setting in which the car was unveiled that really gives us the answers. They didn’t choose to unveil it in any of the international  motor shows or even reveal a single hint of this machine. On the LAST DAY OF the epic 4 day celebration of lamborghini’s 50th anniversary, they chose to reveal it to the world in the comfort of their own home, Sant’ Agata Bolognese, Italy.

It’s a tribute for Lamborghini by Lamborghini itself. A toast to all their insanity, a treasure to look back and realise that there really is no other company that can possibly go this berserk.
Almost 25 years back the Countach was a misfit in the automotive world but was one of the most influential cars that defined the wedge shaped design of the 70’s in the automotive world and LITERALLY set a trend.
Here we are now  25 years later, with the Lamborghini Egoista, oblivious to the fact that it will continue setting the trend in terms of design language and technology for the next quarter of the century.

You can choose to continue living your life and regard this as another impossible dream. A land that one can never reach. But if you really are the Lambophile that you claim to be, then understanding this entire situation from their perspective would really restore you’re faith in the Italian company.

So if somebody tells you the Egoista is where Lamborghini really crossed the line between practicality and madness, then assure them that indeed it is a leper! An outcast! IT IS A CAR THAT OUR AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY DESERVES, BUT NOT THE ONE THAT NEEDS RIGHT NOW!

A Silent Guardian!

The post Lamborghini Egoista: History Repeats Itself! appeared first on AutoSpace.

Formula SAE was conceived in 1978 by the Society of Automotive Engineers and has steadily grown from a just handful of US teams to 600 teams worldwide. The best engineering institutions compete against one another with one goal in mind: To be the best in the world.
Students come together to design, build, and race a Formula-style race car. A new car is created every year. Team members think constantly about the improvements on the car, and what will make the current year’s car outperform the last. But there is no way yet to bypass the laws of thermodynamics, drag coefficients and tire slip angles and most of all making a FSAE car is not a personal project, it’s a multidisciplinary effort which requires experts from each discipline to sit together, brainstorm and find best engineering solution possible, hence in that regard Pravega Racing had its first design review of the current season on the 10th of February,2013 where each department revealed their goal for this season and also the approach they have adopted to ensure that the goal is achieved so as to compliment the extremely tight schedule they have to follow in order to complete the car in time.

Apart from the intense technical review where the entire team discussed, argued upon and polished every design and technical decision down to the tee, another very interesting and exceptionally fruitful discussion was when the entire team sat together to solve the biggest problem of them all, how well does what we do technically fit the bigger picture? There has to be a vision that the team is following, something that the entire process of designing, manufacturing, testing and racing leads to.
Without that image all those efforts would be nothing more than a drop in the ocean but with this vision in mind, truly amazing things can be given shape. And after an exhausting session of to and fro the solution took form in front of them, in true engineering fashion, on a whiteboard at two in the morning.

Gallery: 

The post Pravega Racing Design Review – Engineering The Future appeared first on AutoSpace.

There are two problems with proposing a revolutionary idea in this vast engineering playground. Firstly, there aren’t any! Before you could even begin to ink the idea as a result of your lucid dreaming, some bloke from another land would’ve already accomplished what you wanted to.

Secondly, and this is the more itchy one- As society, our reflex tells us to completely ridicule any sign of ingenuity when it presents itself through the eyes of a visionary. Naming the likes of Leonardo Davinci, Wright brothers, Marie Curey, justifies what I’m trying to say.

Unfortunately, the society that I actively try to be a part of has foolishly continued the trend and discarded what could have been a potential revolution in terms of design, fuel efficiency and more importantly- Motorsports.

Nissan have no longer decided to take part in Ben Bowlby’s DELTAWING endeavor as engine supplier. Michelin, the tire company that made bespoke 4 inch (YES! only 4″) thick front tires only for the Deltawing, have also fled from the scene. The project has hit the road block and they have officially opted out from this monumental project. Now there no longer will be a “bat mobile” on the grids of this year’s various American Le Mans(ALMS) events.

But it’s more than just the visually radical car that we are going to miss now, aren’t we? If you’ve read my post on the Deltawing, my enthusiasm bubbling through the article about it’s conceptual design philosophy and overcoming its engineering challenges is proof enough that I for one was in full support of this act. Like many others I believed in Deltawing, and like many others, I too have been deceived.

But who’s to blame, you ask? Well of course the various motorsport organisations that govern the rules and regulations and run the races every year. If you’ve been following the motorsport planet closely then you’ll know that this isn’t the first time an avant-garde concept like this has been severed.

More popularly known as “Fancar”!

The Brabham BT46, a true contender back in its prime F1 days, had an unbelievably perfect success rate. It won all the races it ever took part in. But the history books will hide the fact it had a lifespan as that of a month. A large fan placed near the rear diffuser (intended for engine cooling purposes) apparently sucked in so much air from beneath the car, that the enormous ground effect created so much downforce compared to other cars on the grid that it won on its debut. Even though none of the rules at the time were broken, the FIA swallowed this bitter truth as a biased racing form than outright genius and hence banned it! Since then, the BT46 never saw the light of day ever again.

Various racing teams have a cheeky way of working around the rules that govern the designing of the car. It really depends on how you perceive the regulations. So back in 1978, Tyrell showcased the world what formula1 historians call as “the most recognizable design in the history of world motorsports”. In order to increase the frontal downforce, the Tyrell P34 had four wheels on the front axles and two on the rear. This increased the contact patch on the front axles, hence giving a tighter grip compared to any other team back in the day. The design was such a success that FIA re-amended the rule that “FOUR is the maximum number of wheels allowed”. Talk about hypocrisy!

The most recent incidence we can all relate to was in the 2011 F1 season with Adrian Newey. For some reason, we at Autospace cant stop loving him. His exhaust blown diffuser (EBD) concept single handedly propelled RED BULL racing team to partial championship victory half way through the season itself. The FIA once again played as wet blanket and ruled out EBDs the following season, only to stimulate an “overall competitive environment” and to increase TV viewership.

So why is the Deltawing a victim, then? The same reason why the previous cars mentioned here were given the axe. Rear wheel steering, almost negligible frontal area, using only half the engine power, enduring only half the drag, doubling the fuel economy (so as to have fewer runs into the pit lane) and still being able to clock in the same lap times as that of Toyota TS030 hybrid or the Audi R18 hybrid and other already established Le Mans cars is TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

So another one bites the dust. The world failed to recognize the limitless opportunities that could have progressed through the pioneering work of Ben Bowlby and his creation and once again we are on the losing side. One cannot summarize “The good, the bad and the ugly” of the Deltawing project solely because the Deltawing’s fight was indeed an ugly one.

But this sad story may have a happy ending. Good innovations die hard and something tells me  Mr. Bowlby isn’t done with the world just yet!

P.S- Give this guy some love. Visit his website and be AMAZED! (http://aliasguy.com/)

The post Epiphanic Echoes #3: Car Philosophies From An Alfista appeared first on AutoSpace.

The post Toyota: The Automobile Industry’s Clairvoyant appeared first on AutoSpace.

The concept behind Formula SAE is that a fictional manufacturing company has contracted a student design team to develop a small Formula-style race car. The prototype race car is to be evaluated for its potential as a production item. The target marketing group for the race car is the non-professional weekend autocross racer. Each student team designs, builds and tests a prototype based on a series of rules, whose purpose is both ensuring on-track safety (the cars are driven by the students themselves) and promoting clever problem solving.

According to Ross James Brawn OBE, Team principal- Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula one team

Formula SAE is a fantastic initiative which gives its entrants the freedom of design to test their ingenuity whilst also providing practical experience of working to specific deadline, budget and regulations.

Whilst Formula SAE can provide a grounding in motorsport, with many of our engineers at Mercedes AMG Petronas having taken part during their university days, it also provides the foundations for all forms of engineering if students wish to take their career in different  direction. I have no doubt that skill learnt by participating in Formula SAE will help towards the achievement of future success.

And this is where our racing partner, Pravega Racing (India), comes in. One of the best Formula SAE teams from a country which is barreling ahead on its way to become an automotive superpower, the team has shown immense promise in its recent stints on the world stage and we at AutoSpace couldn’t be happier to lend our complete support to their efforts.

It was four years ago, that the passion for motorsports in the hearts of young engineers at VIT University (India) metamorphosed into formula style open wheeled, open cockpit racecar that competed with the best in the world. This passion for excellence has guided the team over the years, successfully building four lean mean and efficient machines that have brought laurels to the students and the university. Formula SAE is in true sense engineering expressed for these young automobile enthusiasts.

It is a rude awakening to watch these young engineers work because the idea of making a car is so oversimplified in our minds with all those movies showing cars being built overnight, that when you see them work night after night for endless hours you’ll first wonder what they actually are doing before a sense of respect dawns on you. Designing, manufacturing, assembling, testing and racing a car while simultaneously pursuing your engineering degree is something that deserves respect and AutoSpace salutes them for being so relentless in their drive for automotive perfection.

And then there is a completely different side to it too. Humans are social animals, we socialize, herd, help and procreate in a lifelong effort to sustain our species but the members of the automotive sector contrary to all this just tear and rip at each other, companies at war with other companies, blogs slandering about each other and even automotive television shows fighting for supremacy, without any regard for the future of the industry as a whole. And this is where the importance of teams like Pravega Racing becomes obvious. These are nonprofit teams comprising of only students, brilliant students at that, and hence the opportunity for the industry to fund honest, nonprofit and constantly ongoing researsch as the team jumps form one season to another. This is the research and these are the students who will sustain the entire industry in less than ten years’ time and the industry today including all OEMs, manufacturers and services sector has a chance to invest in its own future. And the sweetest part is that it is not ten years down the line that your investment bears fruit. Apart from giving you a huge amount of publicity at the Formula SAE event, which brings together students and officials from various countries, the team also offers exposure nationally through the auto expos, technical fests. Adding to this is the media coverage which will give a great impetus to your publicity. With your help, Pravega Racing can compete at the highest level and bring laurels to the country.

 Video:

The post Pravega Racing: Art Of Engineering appeared first on AutoSpace.

But wait on. Is there something we are missing? Yea, now as I said the preferences may differ and in one example of such a case, The UK council has decided to switch off the streetlights, or rather call it the road-lights as early as 9:00 pm. This could look even more daunting when you consider the fact that in winters, the days gonna be shorter. While on reading this piece of article up to this very point, you may start wondering about the effects of this on the transportation. But trust me you do not need to even flex a single brain muscle of yours.

From The Windshield

Meet this guy, Mr. Daan Roosegarde, a Dutchman. Roosegarde in partnership with the Hejmans infrastructure have developed an idea which can solve this problem with surprisingly positive effect. What this man from this RVPs country has come up with is worth admiration. They have come up with a design which would light up the road highways in the night using this glow-in-the-dark time photo luminescing powder. This powder would be used instead of the road markings on the roadways of the Netherlands. The characteristic of this powder is that it charges up in the sunlight in the day and can provide 10 hours of luminescence in the dark. This is not all. They have also collaborated with the paint companies and come up with paint markers to be put up on the road, for instance snowy flakes and clouds. When the temperature falls to a certain minimum level, these markers would glow up in order to indicate the drivers that the road is slippery and they better watch out for their tyre’s slip angles. This whole setup is going to be installed in the mid 2013 in the Brabant Dutch Province initially.

While In Winters

If you thought this was a genius idea, then hold on to it for a moment.  What they have got in the stock is a system of interactive lights along the highway that would light up once the cars approach and a special lane along the side of the highways which would facilitate the recharging of the electric vehicle while they are on the move. The complete scenario would take some three to five years to fall in place.

But then for now keep an eye on the Dutch Highways, as the mid 2013 could just be the time for people to facilitate their dropping jaws.

Watch out the video below for an interactive insight and the gallery for your downloads.

Video:

(Details courtesy wired.co.uk)

Adios,

Krish.

The post Stars To Lend Their Glitter To The Dutch Highways appeared first on AutoSpace.

Hmmm… but What is Drafting?

The practice of two or more cars running nose to tail to create more speed for the group is called drafting. The car on the tail is known as car in the draft. Race cars use drafting to gain speed and to go faster by having less drag. The beginning of the technique of drafting is said to came from NASCAR racing. Racing legend Junior Johnson is acknowledged as the first driver to use drafting as a competitive tactic. In 1960, Johnson was driving an under powered Chevy with several dominant Pontiac cars on the track at that time. He noticed the while keeping his car behind the car of Bobby Johns who was driving one of the Pontiac, he could keep pace with the bigger and faster vehicles. This was the beginning of the technique of drafting.

In that race, Johns reportedly was in a drafting position with another driver and the lower pressure from the slipstream was so intense it sucked Johns’ rear window out of his car. Johns spun out and crashed and Junior Johnson won the race.

Amazing!, but what is the Physics behind drafting?
Logic behind the drafting is pretty simple but first we need to understand, how aerodynamics offers resistance or drag?
There are two types of drag – Friction and Pressure. Friction drag is due the friction between air and the surface of the object which means more the streamline object lesser will be the friction drag where as pressure drag is due to pressure difference between front and back of the car, as the air flowing over a car leaves a low pressure region at the back relative to the front. This pressure difference multiplied by the effective area of the car gives a force opposite to the direction of motion of the car which is known as pressure drag.

Now the above mentioned physics is exploited while drafting. As the car in the front (as shown in the figure) moves, it create a envelop of very less amount of air behind it thus reducing the friction drag for the cars behind. Also as the lead car moves it creates a low pressure region or say partial vacuum, at the back which sucks the car at the back to the front thus reducing pressure drag too and allowing it to gain more speed. The technique of drafting is beneficial not only for the car at the back but also in the front. Collectively both cars can move faster than a single car on the side ways and that is because car at the back of lead car reduces the low pressure area behind the lead car and thus reducing pressure drag.

Here is a video to help you understand drafting more easily:

Is drafting phenomenon limited to race cars?

No, the concept of drafting existed in nature way before humans could notice it.
Have you seen birds moving in V formation?  The V formation greatly boosts the efficiency and range of flying birds, particularly over long migratory routes.  In a V formation of 25 birds, each bird can achieve a reduction of drag by up to 65% and as a result increase their range by 71%.

NASA also exploits the concept of reducing friction drag in a little different way. Notice the front of the space shuttle as shown. You could find that on one hand where most of the supersonic aircraft have a very streamlined nose, space shuttle have a very blunt nose. But why?
Since if shuttle have streamline nose the air will flow around the body. Now as the high speed air flows around the surface, it tends to heat the surface. As space shuttle re-enters the earth atmosphere, the resistance offered by air is so high that it can heat the surface of  shuttle above 3000 degree Celsius and can result in complete meltdown of wings. So what NASA’s engineers did is that they designed the shuttle with a blunt nose.

Blunt nose creates a envelop of low air density around the aircraft or deflecting  the air away from the aircraft (as shown) and thus reducing air friction and hence the temperature of the wings. So, you can say that wings are in draft to nose :P.

That’s it, this is all about drafting. So, whenever you jump on highway with your car, try to feel this effect, but don’t get too close because your journey may end up in the hospital.

Also, did you seen any other examples of drafting? Do let me know in comments!

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