Turkey is famous for its carpets and sweets and within a few years it could well become the green counterpart of Detroit. Cars like the Antro Solo could be mass produced there and exported to parts of the world. Antro what? Let me explain.
The Antro Solo is a three-seater, 600 pound, 100 mpg, 87 mph car. It will be all yours for just $18,000 in the year 2012. Built entirely of carbon fiber and composites, the power to run the car comes from not one or two, but four sources: gas, battery, solar panels and... PEDALS !
more pedaling after the jump
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General Motors demonstrated its progress on developing a future advanced engine technology for consumers that squeezes more miles per gallon of gas and reduces emissions. GM engineers have brought the advanced combustion technology from the laboratory to the test track and, now, to the highway in a driveable concept vehicle - a Saturn Aura equipped with homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI).
GM demonstrated its latest progress with the HCCI technology during a media test-drive program in the Washington, D.C. and the New York City areas. Journalists drove the HCCI-enabled Aura concept on public roads to get a real-world feel for the efficient and low-emissions engine. HCCI provides up to a 15-percent fuel savings when combined with several additional advanced technologies, while meeting current emissions standards.
The Saturn Aura concept vehicle is capable of operating in HCCI mode during idle, in addition to highway driving. The HCCI operation at idle represents a significant technological advance that GM engineers believe could be the first for the industry. The breakthrough enables a wider range of HCCI operation, extending the efficiency-enhancing benefit of the technology.
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Real or not, this M1 Prototype looks amazing, and we only hope that BMW will built it in the near future, or that the production version will look at list as hot as this one!
Only few days after the launch of the M1 Hommage Concept, FreshTarmac claims the thing you see in the picture is the 2008 BMW M1 Prototype.
It looks like its sitting on a stretched chassis of the current BMW M3 incorporating various parts including the front fascia and the hood.
It’s for sale, in Brussels, Belgium. Though AutoBlog reports that the car was originally designed to the specifications of Luigi Chinetti, at one time Ferrari’s importer to the United States, it actually has a more interesting history.
In fact, this car was something of a joint project of General Motors and Chinetti, originally envisioned as a super-luxury vehicle that could compete with expensive grand touring vehicles being imported into the United States. The project started in 1968, with GM providing the powertrain, Chinetti the engineering, and Zagato assigned to provide the bodywork. In the following year, however, GM pulled out of the project due to delays in meeting project deadlines.
(more after jump)
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Though it was wearing black padding over the rear quarter panels, trunk, rear bumper and fascia, it was clearly a production version of the Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept premiered to rave reviews at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this year.
Visually, the production car carries over the center-mounted split rear exhaust from the concept car, as well as the skeg line along the lower part of the car, at the bottom of the doors and on the rocker panel area. The car also appears to wear rear parking sensors and have the same sharply slanted roofline of the concept car. So, at least from what can be seen, it appears that Cadillac is being true to the concept car in the production version.
General Motors hasn’t hinted at a production timetable. But, the original CTS sedan premiered as a concept car at the NAIAS the year prior to introduction of the production version. If Cadillac follows a similar timetable for the coupe, it will be a 2009 model.
