Russian Monster Truck

Acest Monster Truck a fost facut special pt filmul “Dalnoboischiki” (Truck Drivers) ..productia filmului se desfasoara in Moscova
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Bugatti Type 12-2 Streamliner design study

Racer X Design has released a design study of its take on the famed Bugatti Veyron, one of many such designs popping up since the supercar’s release two years ago. The latest design is dubbed the ‘Bugatti Type 12-2 Streamliner Concept’ and is immediately recognizable as a Veyron from the front, although from the rear there is a mix of Veyron, Ferrari 599 and Alfa 8C.

The car is designed to be a four-seater GT although this is strictly a design study and there are no plans for production. The designer, Reuben Zammit, has certainly created something a bit shocking, although it seems a little derivative of other modern supercars rather than anything really groundbreaking. In terms of the engine, a VW-sourced W12 engine would be used with just two turbochargers (thus the 12-2 moniker).

While the design study will remain pure fantasy, there’s no harm in imagining what could be if car designers really had their way. For other Veyron design studies check out our previous story on the Bugatti Wimille, a four-door sedan Veyron that should make getting to the shops a little more fun.

Bugatti Type 12-2 Streamliner

Bugatti Wimille

X3 concept based on Mazda RX-7

Reuben Zammit has created a number of stunning designs over the past 12 months but unlike most designers he has been fortunate enough to have some of his designs approved for production. His Bugatti Type 12-2 Streamliner concept, which we saw earlier today, is pure fantasy but his new X3 sports coupe concept is built around an old Mazda RX-7 FD chassis and could actually be produced today with a minimum of fuss.

The proposed engine for the concept is a three-rotor turbocharged rotary engine developing more than 700hp. The target of the project was to create a chassis that’s more rigid than the stock version but keeps the car’s total mass under 1,200kg. Some of the innovations include a new carbon-fiber roof, gullwing doors (these actually stiffen the chassis since they act as a roll cage), a tilted windscreen and new heat outlets positioned in the doors.

To keep costs down, Zammit’s design leaves a number of features from the standard RX-7 unchanged. Parts that were left untouched include the windshield shape, wheelbase, vehicle track and running gear. Check out the gallery below to see a comparison between the new X3 concept and the original RX-7 sports coupe.

Husmen 699 GTO design study

Almost every other day we’ll come across new renderings or sketches of an outrageous concept car that doesn’t even come close to looking like a production model, but every now and then we see something that looks like it could be sitting in a showroom one day. Take the new Husmen 699 GTO, a car that was designed along the lines of greats such as the Ferrari 250 GTO and the current 599 GTB Fiorano.

The new design was created by Emre Husmen, a Transportation Design student from Italy’s famed Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), and could one day actually spawn a production model. Husmen claims to be in contact with an Italian coachbuilder over a deal to use one of his designs and that officials are gauging public perception of a number of his works including this latest 699 GTO.

The car is roughly the same size as Ferrari’s 599 but it would weigh around 200kg less because of full carbon-fiber construction. It would also output more than the Ferrari’s 6.0L V12 thanks to a twin supercharged V8 powerplant and be capable of running on biofuel. To protect the car from steep driveways or tricky reverse-parking maneuvers Husmen says the car would come with an adjustable hydraulic suspension system and rear camera.

Prodrive improves handling with Active Toe Control

Motorsports company Prodrive is developing a new vehicle dynamics system that actively adjusts toe angle (the symmetric angle that each wheel makes with the longitudinal axis of the vehicle) to improve vehicle handling. Dubbed ‘Active Toe Control,’ it works on the rear axle of front wheel drive cars to optimise the toe angle, depending on the speed of the vehicle. This helps overcome the static toe compromise of either giving a vehicle agile handling at lower speeds or making it more stable and predictable at high speed.

To give a vehicle additional low speed agility, the wheels usually have a certain degree of toe at the rear axle, while to make a car more stable at higher speeds, for emergency manoeuvres like a lane change, then toe-in is preferred. Because of this there’s always a compromise between low and high speed handling.

Prodrive claims its new system can match the handling of a vehicle with a complex multi-link rear suspension using just a traditional twist beam set-up. “Active Toe Control, fitted to an existing twist beam axle, can give many of the dynamic benefits of a multi-link system, but at less than half the cost,” Prodrive engineer Matt Taylor explains.

Officials are now looking for a hardware partner to take the project to a working prototype.

Chrysler asks public to help design future cars

Chrysler announced today that it’s recruiting members of the public for its new ‘Customer Advisory Board’, an online forum where individuals can voice their ideas about what they want to see in a new car. Anyone can join the forum, including consumers who have never previously owned a Chrysler product. The idea of a forum, rather than using expensive and time-consuming focus groups, has been a long time coming considering the amount of free ideas and feedback Chrysler could gain with relatively little effort.

Up to 5,000 individuals will be selected for membership, with a focus not just on ordinary complaints but ideas and features that consumers would like to see in future Chrysler products. The members of the advisory board will also get to view online videos and presentations from Chrysler, and consumer ideas gleaned from the online forum could be hitting drawing boards within two weeks of their suggestion.

Similar attempts to include customers in product design and promotion directly have been pioneered by world brands such as Apple and Nike, but an undertaking of this sort is supposedly a first for the auto industry. Typically focus groups have served the purpose of the new Advisory Board, but Chrysler expects that such a large cross-section of the community will be able to give a more cohesive image as to what consumers want.

To be eligible for the Customer Advisory Board, applicants need to be 18 years or older and must have a valid U.S. driver’s license. If you fit this description and are interested you can head over to ChryslerListens and submit an application today.

Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT design study

Before you get all excited and think Aston Martin is developing a new version of its entry-level GT, note that these new sketches were purely a design exercise by Austrian designer and former MG Rover employee Adam Gompertz. The concept behind the design was for a lightweight, race-inspired version of the Vantage V8 along the lines of the production N400 model.

Gompertz acquired much of his talent during his tenure at the Coventry School of Art and Design in the UK, where one of his creations, a Saab-badged six-seater MPV, was picked as a finalist in a 2004 design challenge organized by the school.

Since then Gompertz has focused on creating performance models like his latest Vantage V8 GT. The new design features an aggressive front bumper with chiseled lines and oversized intakes. The hardcore look continues along the rest of the car, with new side sills and a rear diffuser completing the list of visual changes to the standard car.

‘Avions Voisin’ name revived with new supercar concept

Just as Volkswagen Group’s Veyron supercar revived the longstanding Bugatti label, Portuguese-based designer Ernesto Freitas from Luso Motors envisages his new Voisin Concept injecting some life into France’s forgotten carmaker, Avions Voisin. At the moment his new Voisin Concept remains just a 3D simulated model but Freitas has plans to create a full scale model and hopes to display it at several international car shows.

Avions Voisin was a carmaker based in Paris, which built a number of luxury cars from 1919 up until 1939. During its prime Voisin was competing with the likes of Bugatti and Bentley but the label eventually experienced some financial strife and a number of its key engineers were lost to fellow French carmaker Renault.

Freitas’ latest design draws obvious inspiration from the Bugatti Veyron and has been designed to accommodate a V12 powerplant in its engine bay. The designer’s choice would be a V12 Audi diesel but for now it remains just a dream.

Some of Freitas’ previous works include last year’s Ferrari Dino and Hansen GT concepts, which you can view by clicking here.

GM settles on final design for Chevrolet Volt

Larry Burns, VP of Research and Development at GM has confirmed the carmaker has settled on a final design for the much anticipated Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, the car GM hopes will bring it back into competition against Toyota’s Prius and a host of new hybrid and electric cars.

While the production version won’t look exactly like the stunning concept, Burns has stated the production Volt will definitely bear a “family resemblance” to it. Reportedly, drag on the production version is 30% less than the hard-edged concept Volt, suggesting it has taken on a more rounded and friendly appearance. Pictured above is an official teaser that hints at the design of the final version.

The Volt is powered by an ‘E-Flex’ plug-in hybrid system, consisting of a lithium-ion battery with an electric-only driving range of around 40 miles. It also has a small, flex-fuel engine to recharge the battery on the road. So far the biggest hurdles for GM was shoehorning the large batteries and engine into the car and still having enough room for four adults and their luggage, reports The Detroit News.

With production expected to begin in just a couple of years, GM seems well on the way to ironing out any issues the Volt may have - batteries have already been produced that satisfied safety and size requirements but long-term durability testing is currently under way to determine their life expectancy.

The Volt is shaping up to be the car that will make or break GM this decade, with Vice-Chairman of GM, Bob Lutz, recently expounding on the massive opportunity that GM missed by not developing a hybrid program earlier. But the mistake seems to have strengthened Lutz’s resolve, who stated in a blog entry that GM “are going for the brass ring” with the Volt.

Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid concept

The ‘duck’ returns in Citroen 2CV design study

The Citroen 2CV was one of Citroen’s most iconic cars and became famous the world over for its distinctive looks and budget price. Affectionately nicknamed the ‘Duck’, the 2CV ended production in 1990 but a recent design study shows what the future may hold for the car if it’s ever revived.

Keeping the styling modern yet faithful to the original 2CV would have been a tough bill but the designer seems to have done it with the strongly arched roof line and sloping hood. In this respect, it looks similar to the C3 Pluriel, which also had a strongly arched roof line. The modern 2CV also gets partially covered rear-wheels as another throwback to its predecessor, but it has evolved in several ways - the concept 2CV has no B-pillar and the steering wheel gets two spokes instead of the usual one.

Power comes from the C2’s engine, a 1.0L, three-cylinder unit putting out around 70hp. While there’s no word from Citroen about any future 2CV’s, it seems the market is currently gravitating towards small, economical cars with a retro touch. Head over to Auto Motor und Sport to see a number of other sketches of the modern-day 2CV.

Chevrolet Riptide hybrid rally design study

Each year GM sponsors events and contests at various universities around the world to help nurture and encourage young designers with the hope that some of their talent will eventually benefit the carmaker’s future production models. In February, GM ran a design studio at Cincinnati’s College of Design and Art and one of the most promising concepts created during the event was the Chevrolet Riptide hybrid rally concept.

The concept was created by student designer Chris Kujawski as a challenge to the notion that hybrid cars can’t be aggressive or powerful. The concept is in fact a hybrid rally car powered by a turbocharged biodeisel engine and four electric motors, one mounted in each wheel. The two-tone body panels, made of lightweight aluminum and recycled plastic, are designed to reflect the dual nature of the powerplant.

New Griffin logo to debut on Vauxhall Insignia

The Griffin, a mythical half-eagle, half-lion beast, has been the face of Vauxhall for the better part of the past century. In its new guise, Vauxhall hopes logo will reflect its renewed focus on fresh design.

Recent redesigns of the Astra and Corsa and the upcoming all-new Insignia are the images Vauxhall wants to keep in buyers’ minds. The new logo is designed to capture the essence of these new cars and help the public see the company as it sees itself: modern, fresh and inspired. Nevertheless, it adheres to tradition by incorporating the same elements as previous logos.

The new badge will make its retail debut on the nose of the new Insignia, due for a public unveiling at the British International Motor Show in July. After that, all new Vauxhalls will roll out of the factory wearing the logo.

Mid-engine Corvette design study

The idea of a mid-engined Corvette is nothing new. In fact, Chevrolet has released a number of Corvette concepts over the years featuring a mid-engine layout and engineers are even toying with the idea for GM’s next-generation C7 model. Ambitious young designer Ivan Luccion has now created his own design for a possible mid-engine Corvette and uses earth’s fastest land animal, the Cheetah, as inspiration for his latest work.

Corvettes of the past have taken inspiration from water animals like sharks and stingrays but Luccion’s design is based around a land animal. Some unique elements borrowed from nature is the curvature of a Cheetah’s back, which can be seen in the profile of the car, as well as the animal’s fangs, translated into the concept’s front bumper.

Ivan Luccion is a U.S.-based designer and recently graduated from Brigham Young University after completing a degree in Industrial Design.

Faralli & Mazzanti Vulca V12 headed for production

Coachbuilder Faralli & Mazzanti (F&M) is probably most widely recognized for its Antas V8 GT but the Italian design house is working on building a new hero car, this time with a V12 heart. Unlike the previous Antas V8, which was based around a donor Maserati chassis, the new Vulca V12 was designed from the ground up and it’s set to enter production later this year with just ten cars scheduled to see the light of day.

The retro-styled 2+2 GT features an aluminum body and is powered by a 6.0L V12 with 445hp and 600Nm of torque in base models, a 7.1L unit with 520hp and 730Nm of torque for mid-spec models, and a range topping 7.5L V12 with a supercar-rivaling 600hp and 800Nm of torque in top spec cars. Pricing will range from about €280,000 for the 6.0L model and top out at more than €340,000 for the top-end cars.

Other options include 19in or 21in forged alloy wheels wrapped with 285mm rubber, and a leather or Alcantara lined interior with carbon-fiber trim.