The Clever Car is in a class of motorized vehicles known as ’tilting three wheelers, which have been around since 1886. Although the concept is nothing entirely new, the team at Clever is developing an amazing, compact version mainly for urban use. The vehicle has the ability to carry two passengers, giving it very little mass resulting in very low consumption and therefore very low emissions. Housing a 230 cc one-cylinder compressed natural gas (CNG) engine complete with natural gas tank system that can be refilled at normal natural gas filling stations or even supermarkets. The replacement gas tanks weigh just under 15 lbs allowing for easy handling and easy refilling. You can also store additional tanks at home so you wouldn’t have to drive to a refilling point when on empty. Climbing from zero to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds The Clever will allow you to zip around town and finish your weekly errands.
Chris Bangle, head of design at BMW and his team are pushing the boundaries of appearance and materials as well as functions and the manufacturing process with GINA. Instead of the steel or aluminum bodies of traditional cars, this beauty has a body of seamless fabric stretched over a movable metal frame which the driver can change at will. Theoretically, you could do things such as adjust your bumper inward to maneuver through a tight space.
GINA (Geometry and functions In ‘N’ Adaptions) has been in development for six years. It’s designed on the Z8 chassis and has a 4.4-liter V8 with a six-speed automatic transmission. The fabric skin is made of polyurethane-coated Lycra which is resilient, durable and water resistant. This sexy skin is translucent, allowing the tail lights to shine through the back. In the front, the headlights are revealed in a way strikingly similar to a cat opening its eyes, giving the car a stunning anthropomorphic quality. Read the rest of this entry »
