Tag: [w/video]

Teased: BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, BMW, Design/Style, Electric, Luxury

BMW i8 Profile Shot

The new BMW i8 plug-in electric supercar isn’t set to make its official debut until September 10, when it will glide onto the Frankfurt Motor Show stage amidst a sea of flash photography. Of course, that isn’t so true in today’s world, where debuts are always preceded (often carefully) by “leaks.”

Take this trio of images of the BMW i8 – there’s just enough of the exterior on display in the profile shot to draw attention, without showing important styling points that might be present on the front or back of the car. The same goes for the video attached below. The cabin shot is cool, but isn’t particularly earth-shattering when it comes to BMW interiors. As for the skeletal shot, we can see the 1.5-liter, turbocharged engine positioned between the rear axles, the battery pack found in what would be the transmission tunnel and the front-mounted electric motors.

We’ll have a full set of live images when the BMW i8 makes its debut in Frankfurt next week. Until then, have a look in the gallery and at the video below, and let us know what you think of BMW’s next big thing.

Continue reading BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]

BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Teased: BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]”

Teased: BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]

Filed under: Frankfurt Motor Show, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, BMW, Design/Style, Electric, Luxury

BMW i8 Profile Shot

The new BMW i8 plug-in electric supercar isn’t set to make its official debut until September 10, when it will glide onto the Frankfurt Motor Show stage amidst a sea of flash photography. Of course, that isn’t so true in today’s world, where debuts are always preceded (often carefully) by “leaks.”

Take this trio of images of the BMW i8 – there’s just enough of the exterior on display in the profile shot to draw attention, without showing important styling points that might be present on the front or back of the car. The same goes for the video attached below. The cabin shot is cool, but isn’t particularly earth-shattering when it comes to BMW interiors. As for the skeletal shot, we can see the 1.5-liter, turbocharged engine positioned between the rear axles, the battery pack found in what would be the transmission tunnel and the front-mounted electric motors.

We’ll have a full set of live images when the BMW i8 makes its debut in Frankfurt next week. Until then, have a look in the gallery and at the video below, and let us know what you think of BMW’s next big thing.

Continue reading BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]

BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Teased: BMW i8 official images leak ahead of Frankfurt [w/video]”

260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Europe/EU

A half Nissan Leaf participates in the world record EV gathering in Oslo, Norway

Norway has long led Europe in electric vehicle adoption, and now the country’s EV advocates can boast of holding a new world record: the largest-ever gathering of moving electric vehicles. We are particularly amused that the record was set by 260 and a half EVs, since one of the cars was a cutaway version of the Nissan Leaf. The sliced EV is complete enough to drive, and was thus eligible to participate in the emissions-free parade.

Organized by the Electric Vehicle Union (EVU) and the Norwegian EV Association, the 2.5-mile parade featured a lot of Leafs (understandable, since it’s the world’s best-selling electric car) and took place in and around Oslo, Norway’s capital. For proof, the drive “was monitored by two-camera carrying drones to ensure that all vehicles were moving simultaneously and qualified for the new world record.” In support, Nissan announced it wants to have its EVs from around the world reach a cumulative 1 billion all-electric kilometers (621,371 miles) by the first day of 2015. A video featuring snippets of happy EV drivers talking about their cars and a press release about the event are available below.

The previous EV record was set last December when 225 Leaf EVs gathered at Silverstone in the UK. 260.5 certainly is a lot, but we have National Plug In Day coming up in the US at the end of the month, so we’ll see if this new record stands for more than 30 days.

Continue reading 260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video]

260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video]”

260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Europe/EU

A half Nissan Leaf participates in the world record EV gathering in Oslo, Norway

Norway has long led Europe in electric vehicle adoption, and now the country’s EV advocates can boast of holding a new world record: the largest-ever gathering of moving electric vehicles. We are particularly amused that the record was set by 260 and a half EVs, since one of the cars was a cutaway version of the Nissan Leaf. The sliced EV is complete enough to drive, and was thus eligible to participate in the emissions-free parade.

Organized by the Electric Vehicle Union (EVU) and the Norwegian EV Association, the 2.5-mile parade featured a lot of Leafs (understandable, since it’s the world’s best-selling electric car) and took place in and around Oslo, Norway’s capital. For proof, the drive “was monitored by two-camera carrying drones to ensure that all vehicles were moving simultaneously and qualified for the new world record.” In support, Nissan announced it wants to have its EVs from around the world reach a cumulative 1 billion all-electric kilometers (621,371 miles) by the first day of 2015. A video featuring snippets of happy EV drivers talking about their cars and a press release about the event are available below.

The previous EV record was set last December when 225 Leaf EVs gathered at Silverstone in the UK. 260.5 certainly is a lot, but we have National Plug In Day coming up in the US at the end of the month, so we’ll see if this new record stands for more than 30 days.

Continue reading 260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video]

260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Tue, 03 Sep 2013 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “260.5 EVs set world record for electric vehicle parade [w/video]”

Official: Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrid, Technology, Nissan, UK, Electric, Racing

Nissan ZEOD RC Electric Race Car Assembly

Nissan is working away on its ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) which is still on pace for a Le Mans arrival in 2014. As of right now, the DeltaWing-shaped car’s carbon-fiber tub and chassis have been completed. The next step will be installing the twin electric motors and fitting the seat of driver and GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. If the current schedule sticks, the zero-emissions racer will hit a UK track for test laps in September.

But while those initial shakedown laps will be under full electric power, it’s unclear whether the setup fielded in the UK will survive until Le Mans. Nissan itself says that it will be testing a number of “electrified” drivetrains ahead of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is a significant departure from race car design – usually, the teams know what’s powering their car before they start building it.

“Just developing a single powertrain option in only 12 months would be a mammoth task but we’re looking to carefully examine a number of options to ascertain which will be best suited for Le Mans,” said Darren Cox, Nissan’s global motorsport director. Take a look below for a video and press release from Nissan documenting the ZEOD RC’s build process.

Continue reading Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Official: Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]”

Official: Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Hybrid, Technology, Nissan, UK, Electric, Racing

Nissan ZEOD RC Electric Race Car Assembly

Nissan is working away on its ZEOD RC (Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car) which is still on pace for a Le Mans arrival in 2014. As of right now, the DeltaWing-shaped car’s carbon-fiber tub and chassis have been completed. The next step will be installing the twin electric motors and fitting the seat of driver and GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez. If the current schedule sticks, the zero-emissions racer will hit a UK track for test laps in September.

But while those initial shakedown laps will be under full electric power, it’s unclear whether the setup fielded in the UK will survive until Le Mans. Nissan itself says that it will be testing a number of “electrified” drivetrains ahead of the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, which is a significant departure from race car design – usually, the teams know what’s powering their car before they start building it.

“Just developing a single powertrain option in only 12 months would be a mammoth task but we’re looking to carefully examine a number of options to ascertain which will be best suited for Le Mans,” said Darren Cox, Nissan’s global motorsport director. Take a look below for a video and press release from Nissan documenting the ZEOD RC’s build process.

Continue reading Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]

Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Sep 2013 15:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Official: Nissan’s Le Mans-bound ZEOD RC electric racecar nearing completion [w/video]”

ETC: MO-TO wooden cars are begging for a spot on your desk [w/video]

Filed under: Classics, Videos, Toys/Games

MO-TO toy cars cop car

Normally when we report on promising crowd-funding projects, we’re writing about things and ideas that we’d like to see come to life. In the case of this new MO-TO wooden toy car collection from Candylab Toys, however, the online world has already voted loudly that the product should come to market. With close to 900 backers raising about $52,000 more than the Kickstarter goal of twenty grand, MO-TO designers Vlad and Florin seem to have a small hit on their hands.

One browse through the MO-TO promo page, and we can see why. The wooden cars may seem to be children’s toys in some of the images, but the forms inspired by muscle cars of the 1970s are destined for the office shelves and desks of car guys everywhere.

Beechwood bodies coated in glossy, high-contrast paint; rubber tires on white wheels; and long, low proportions all make the MO-TO cars pretty slick to look at. The Police Cruiser model is straight out of central casting and likely to be a favorite, but our hearts swoon for the fastback shape of the Rare Bird MOPAR tribute car. A $25 special model has long since sold out, but you can still get into the specially marked Kickstarter cars for $30 (not an outrageous price in the “heirloom quality” world of toys). Scroll below to see more in the MO-TO video.

Continue reading MO-TO wooden cars are begging for a spot on your desk [w/video]

MO-TO wooden cars are begging for a spot on your desk [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Aug 2013 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “ETC: MO-TO wooden cars are begging for a spot on your desk [w/video]”

Report: Toyota again hints that a new Supra is under development [w/video]

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Videos, Toyota

Now that the NSX is on its way back, the list of sports car revivals most yearned for by US enthusiasts is probably down to the Mazda RX-7, Nissan 240SX, Lotus Elise and Toyota Supra. There’s been a lot of talk about that last one over the past year especially, with rumors of an all-wheel-drive coupe utilizing a CVT last May, a Toyota engineer declaring he was instructed to develop a new Supra in November (and another MR2 in case you’re wondering), a tie-up with BMW in January of this year that highlighted a “mid-size sports vehicle” and the incoming company chairman saying he wants something “comparable” to the Supra just two months ago. Oh, and there was Toyota UK going on a public stroll down Supra History Lane last month.

This week, Bloomberg spoke to Toyota USA Sales CEO Kazuo Ohara on a variety of topics, from pickup trucks to US hybrid sales to the value of the yen, then opened up the Supra issue in the last 40 seconds. While making sure to start his answer with the fact that nothing is confirmed, Ohara’s reply to the resurrection of the coupe was “We have several options… and a kind of Supra successor is one of the options we have.” That doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, but Ohara’s last line was, “In the future we can give you better news.” We don’t know if “better news” means confirmation of a Supra, or the announcement that they’ve confirmed something at all. So if you thought you could get off the edge of your seat, well, not just yet.

You can watch the complete Bloomberg interview below.

Continue reading Toyota again hints that a new Supra is under development [w/video]

Toyota again hints that a new Supra is under development [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Aug 2013 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Toyota again hints that a new Supra is under development [w/video]”

Official: Honda demonstrates new Vehicle-to-Pedestrian safety tech [w/video]

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Videos, Acura, Honda

We’re fresh from a balmy rooftop deck in downtown Detroit, where Honda held a meeting this week to discuss and demonstrate a few upcoming advanced safety features. A clear focus of the mini event was the company’s new Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) technology, with a suite of Vehicle-to-Motorcycle (V2M) tech a significant second course.

With spirits still high from announcing the 2014 Odyssey as the first minivan to win the Top Safety Pick+ status from IIHS – and after seeing the application of new high-strength-steel sections of the Acura MDX body structure – Honda shared the fruits of some safety tech that is still in the research phase.

Continue reading Honda demonstrates new Vehicle-to-Pedestrian safety tech [w/video]

Honda demonstrates new Vehicle-to-Pedestrian safety tech [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Aug 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Official: Honda demonstrates new Vehicle-to-Pedestrian safety tech [w/video]”

Report: Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video]

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Celebrities

A Jeff Gordon team merchandising bus caught fire on a Georgia freeway.

A bus belonging to NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon caught fire on the side of the I-85 freeway in Georgia Wednesday afternoon as it was headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Avocare 500 this weekend, the West Jackson Fire Department reports. There were no injuries, and Gordon was not onboard what appears to be a team merchandising bus, authorities say.

Firefighters shut down the southbound side of the freeway while they put out the flames, and they say the fire didn’t spread to the trailer being towed by the bus.

The fire department didn’t mention what caused the fire. Perhaps somebody dropped a cigarette onto some hard liquor while sorting bobble heads? What happens on the tour bus stays on the tour bus… Check out the fire department’s press release and watch a video report below.

Continue reading Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video]

Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Aug 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Jeff Gordon merch bus goes up in flames [w/video]”