The design house Pininfarina is responsible for some of the most beautiful four wheeled creations throughout the history of the automobile; however the Italian design studio has also been an innovative force, constantly adapting to the needs of the day in order to ensure the continuation of personal transportation. One thing that any Italian based manufacturing facility is known for is an outright sense of style and the ability to instill beauty into everything they do. That is why Pininfarina has just unveiled their latest concept, the Nido, an attractive, small and safe vehicle geared at replacing densely populated urban environments with a low emissions vehicle that was designed from day one to not only look good but provide peace of mind to the occupants inside.
In Italian, the word Nido means nest, however we see the compact city car concept as what is usually being safeguarded in a nest, eggs. Some of the design sketches show the early concept as being a round egg shaped vehicle with the passengers occupying a yellowish yolk like protected space in the middle. So the Nido is a 21st century attempt to solve the age-old high school science project, how to keep the insides intact upon impact. Pininfarina’s engineers have designed the Nido with a separate passenger compartment built inside the concept’s frame and body that is connected to the outer shell with energy absorbing cushions placed around the passenger’s compartment. The bright orange polymer cushions would act like springs upon impact, absorbing the forces exerted by the instant deceleration, however unlike energy storing metal coils that would spring back returning all that pressure onto the passengers, a cushion simply acts like an oversized pillow in a briefcase.
Pininfarina knows that no matter how great a car is, it has no chance at being remembered if it is unattractive. So that is why the designers worked with the safety focused engineers from the beginning to create the Nido city car concept. The Nido follows the traditional rules of automobile styling rules with four wheels, two headlights and a large grill in the middle of the front bumper that almost looks back at you. One place where the Nido concept brakes from ordinary cars is the lack of a hood; this begs the question, what is going to power the compact city car and which wheels will be driven? The most likely answer is that similarly to the Smart and Nano, the power plant will be placed behind the two passengers, however the Pininfarina Nido’s lightweight construction would make it an ideal candidate to be a battery electric vehicle.
Press release after the jump.
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Pininfarina unveiled at the Paris Auto Show the B0 (B-Zero) concept vehicle, an electric car that will go into mass production model, with the first units coming off the production line at the end of 2009.
The B0 is powered by batteries that can be recharged in just a few hours. The battery does not require any maintenance and has a lifespan of around 200,000 km (125,000 miles). The car’s LMP batteries thus help combat air pollution. The batteries of the B0 also contribute to reducing noise, another nuisance which affects people’s quality of life in urban environments.
Because it is 100% electric powered, the B0 does not generate any pollution. But the process of generating the electricity which the car uses must also, as far as possible, not have produced any atmospheric pollution. That is why the creators of the B0 have designed it to incorporate every possible solution designed to optimise the car’s energy efficiency and use of clean energy sources.
Press release after the jump.
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After four weeks of teaser imagine and desultory informations about the Sintesi Concept, here are the official informations and images about the concept.
The Sintesi is a sports car with four doors and four seats, developed by a highly innovative approach: it does not consider the car as a shape that covers the mechanicals, but one that gives a shape to the mechanicals around the passengers, starting from the latter. This approach, which is known as “Liquid” Packaging, has overturned traditional volumetric balances, improving weight distribution and lowering the centre of gravity, which are important elements for driving dynamics.
This was made possible by close collaboration with Nuvera, which developed the Quadrivium Fuel Cells system, the various components of which were distributed around the car, with four fuel cells positioned near to the wheels. The result is that the space for passengers is much more generous – in proportion to the total volume of the car – without detracting from the sporty line with its relaxed, elegant profile which is sleek, tapered and aerodynamic (Cd = 0.27). The modular nature of the fuel cells, combined with the batteries and a sophisticated overall electronic architecture (developed with PI Shurlok), allows for modular use of the available power depending on driving conditions.
Full details after the jump.
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The Ferrari 375 was introduced at the Paris Salon in 1953. During its production run which lasted until May of 1954, less than 45 examples of the 375 America were produced. The car was constructed for Ferrari’s clientele who had the means to afford one of these beautiful creations. Since they were produced in limited numbers, the production took far longer than volume models.
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Produced in 2005 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the British Louis Vuitton Classic company, Pininfarina Enjoy became a genuine innovative car
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Set to make its world debut at the British Louis Vuitton Classic, scheduled for 5 June 2004 at Waddesdon Manor (Waddesdon, Great Britain), is the Pininfarina Enjoy, inspired by the concept car of the same name which was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in 2003. This is a dream come true, even if just for the lucky few. Because Pininfarina intends to weigh, through a promotional tour, the interest of collectors and enthusiasts towards a special car which is supposed to be manufactured and sold in only 75 units during 2005 to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary. And thanks to the Enjoy Pininfarina has started up a new prestigious partnership with the most important luxury brand in the world, Louis Vuitton, which was commissioned to work on the interiors of the vehicle.
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The Nido concept builds upon Pininfarina�s grand tradition of continuous investment in research and development programs in each of the Company’s areas - Design, Engineering and Manufacturing - to quickly and methodically tackle contemporary problems as they arise in the automotive industry. For example, during the 70�s energy crisis, the industry looked towards aerodynamics and alternative energy sources to cut fuel consumption. Pininfarina responded by developing the CNR Energetica 1 prototype, an ideal aerodynamic body shape, and the electric powered Ecos. In the 80’s Pininfarina’s pioneering research into lightweight material application bore the Audi Quartz and Lancia Hit prototypes, which explored the use of new light metallic and composite materials.
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