Saturday, October 10, 2015

The all-electric Porsche Mission E Concept is sniffing Tesla blood

Marking its début at the IAA in Frankfurt, Porsche presented its first all-electrically powered four-seat sports car in the brand’s history. The reason its here because a certain car called the Tesla Model S has been around for a while now, creating a dent in the automotive universe.

The Mission E is a sports car with four doors and four single seats, and boasts of 600 hp (440 kW) system power and over 500 km driving range. It also features all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, and a zero to 100 km/h acceleration in under 3.5 seconds and a charging time of around 15 minutes to reach an 80 per cent charge of electrical energy.



Drive system & range:

Porsche Mission E Concept (9)

The drive system of the Mission E is all new, and incorporates two permanently-excited synchronous motors (PSM) – similar to those used in the 919 hybrid endurance race car, which are responsible for acceleration and recover bra­king energy. Together the two motors produce over 600 hp, propelling the Mission E to a speed of 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds and to 200 km/h in under twelve seconds.

The Mission E’s all-wheel drive system works in conjunction with Porsche Torque Vectoring, which automatically distributes torque to the individual wheels, while all-wheel steering makes changing directions that much easier. Porsche says that the Mission E is potent enough to lap the North Loop of the Nürburgring in under eight minutes.

Porsche Mission E Concept (5)

The Mission E can travel over 500 km on one battery charge, and it can be charged with enough energy for around 400 km more driving range in less than 15 minutes, a record time for electric vehicles. This is possible due to the use of 800-volt technology for the first time, as compared to today’s electric vehicles that operate at 400 volts. Doubling the voltage results in shorter charging times and lower weight, because lighter, smaller gage copper cables are sufficient for energy transport.

Driving dynamics:

Being a Porsche, the Mission E features optimal weight distribution and a low centre of gravity. The battery mounted in the car’s underbody, which is based on the latest lithium-ion technology, runs the whole length between the front and rear axles. The body as a whole is made up of a functional mix of aluminium, steel and carbon fibre reinforced polymer. The wheels are made of carbon: the Mission E has wide tyres mounted on 21-inch wheels in front and 22-inch wheels at the rear.

Design:

Porsche Mission E Concept (7)

The Mission E is unmistakably a Porsche. The overall demeanour combines the athleticism of Zuffenhausen’s finest sports cars, along with a stretched, four-door physique, all appointed beautifully within a low height of just 130 cm. The Panamera feels like a hearse in comparison. Integrated aerodynamics are defined air inlets and outlets – on the front, sides and at the rear – typify the body’s full flow-through design that allow it skim the air around it with grace and efficiency. Integrated air guides improve air ­flow around the wheels, for instance, and air outlets on the sides reduce overpressure in the wheel wells, thereby reducing lift.

The front fascia relates the concept car to the 918 Spyder and Porsche race cars, especially the new type of matrix LED headlights, which are an evolution of the brand’s typical four-point light design. The four LED units are grouped around a flat sensor for assistance systems whose border serves as an indicator light. The line of the side windows is also similar to that of the 911, however, with one important difference – two counter-opening doors, which hide no B-pillar between themselves. The door mirrors have been sacrificed for better aerodynamics, and replaced by inconspicuous video cameras in the front fenders.

Porsche Mission E Concept (6)

The rear design is typically Porsche, and imbibes a raked rear windscreen, which draws inward at the rear, creating space for the sculpted shape of the rear haunches. A three-dimensional “PORSCHE” badge illuminated from inside hovers beneath an arch of light that extends across the entire width in a black glass element.

Interior:

Porsche Mission E Concept (2)

The clean and structured interior design of the Mission E does away with a transmission tunnel, which opens up space and gives a lighter and more airy atmosphere to the entire interior. The four occupants get individual race bucket seats to themselves. The driver’s cockpit is honed to offer lesser distractions while driving, and features a free-standing, curved display incorporating OLED technology.

The instrument cluster shows five round instruments the display, which are re-organizable. Furthermore, the whole display follows the seat position and body attitude of the driver to make sure all relevant information such as vehicle speed is always within the driver’s line of sight, and reduce parallax effect.

The Mission E can even portray driving fun: a camera mounted in the rear-view mirror recog ­nizes the driver’s good mood and shows it as an emoticon in the round instrument. The fun factor can be saved together with individual information such as the route or speed, and it can be shared with friends via a social media link.

Porsche Mission E Concept (4)

Media, navigation, cli­mate control, contacts and vehicle settings can be accessed touch-free using gesture control technology. The concept vehicle can also be configured externally from a tablet via Porsche Car Connect, changing the character of the vehicle by updating additional functions for the chassis, engine or infotainment system.

The virtual exterior mirrors employ lower corners of the windscreen show the images of the outside cameras that are mounted in the front wings. The benefits: the driver gets a better view of images and the surroundings, and safety information can also be actively displayed there.

Porsche Mission E Concept (1)
Porsche Mission E Concept (5)
Porsche Mission E Concept (6)

Friday, October 9, 2015

2015 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV to be launched

Cevrolet India will be launching its big brute SUV, the Trailblazer on October 21, 2015. The SUV is 4.8m long, 1.9m wide and stands at a height of 1.8m. It will come in via the CBU route and will be available in a single top-spec LTZ trim.

Mercedes-Benz

The car weighs in at 2068kg and has a wheelbase of 2,845mm, with a massive ground clearance of 231mm. The fuel tank capacity stands at 76 litres. On the looks front, the new Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV is burly, like em all big SUVs do and has projector headlamps. It is based on a ladder frame chassis and gets 18-inch wheels. On the inside, the new Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV has black dashboard with beige upholstery, a Bluetooth-enabled touchscreen infotainment system, multifunction steering wheel, leather seats with electric adjustment for the driver and automatic climate control.

Chevrolet-Trailblazer-copy

While globally there are two engine options available for the Chevrolet Trailblazer, the Indian market will get the higher-spec 200PS 2.8-litre turbodiesel motor with a 6-speed automatic transmission. While 4-wheel drive is offered internationally, the Indian market gets a 2-wheel drive option. GM isn’t expected to discontinue the Captiva since it is brought in as a CBU as well and according to the company has decent demand in India. We expect the 2-wheel drive Chevrolet Trailblazer to be priced around Rs 27 lakh, just below the AWD Captiva.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Car new

The highly-anticipated Mitsubishi 2016 Pajero Sport will be unveiled to the world on August 1, 2015. A day before its official debut at the 2015 Bangkok Big Motor Sale, a Thai website has reported that new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport will be offered in three variants; namely, GLS, GT and GT with all-wheel drive. The GLS variant will be priced at 1.138 million Baht (INR 20.69 lakh)* and the GT variant will be priced at 1.25 million Baht (INR 22.72 lakh)*, and the top-end GT AWD variant will wear a price tag of 1.45 million Baht (INR 26.36 lakh)*. The website has also snapped a picture of the new SUV’s rear. The biggest change noticed here are the new vertically-oriented taillights, over the predecessor’s horizontally-oriented units. *Note – Expected Thai prices mentioned The front fascia of the 2016 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport wears the carmaker’s new ‘Dynamic Shield’ design, similar to one found on the new-gen Outlander. Other design touches include a set of sleek headlamps, aggressively styled, chrome-garnished front grille, muscular wheel arches, LED DRLs, plus blackened B- and C-pillars. Underneath, the 2016 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport is based on the new-generation Triton pickup truck. The Japanese carmaker will likely use the Triton’s 2.4-litre turbo-diesel, four-cylinder, MIVEC engine that develops 181 PS of power and 430 Nm of twist; the powerplant will be mated to a 6-speed manual and automatic transmission. Having said that, Mitsubishi may also offer an all-new 8-speed unit with the 2016 Pajero Sport, though that remains to be seen. Concerning the AWD variants, power from the motor will be sent to all four wheels via Mitsubishi’s Super Select all-wheel drive system.