Cars Galleries

The E500 is the flagship model in Mercedes' new E-class coupe range

Mercedes E500

20 Nov 2009 | Cars

Nissan 370Z

20 Nov 2009 | Cars

The Lamborghini Murcielago LP670

Lamborghini Murcielago LP670

11 Nov 2009 | Cars

Nissan Land GliderNarrow-bodied tandem-style one-plus-one driving pods could just become a new automotive trend. The four-wheeler Land Glider concept is only 1100mm wide, can tilt through corners like a motorbike and is being taken very seriously by Nissan as a possible future urban transport device as an addition to say, a weekend out of town GT-R super car. Power comes from two electric motors in the rear tapping into lithium-ion batteries mounted beneath the floor to ensure zero-emission motoring with wireless recharging at induction plate refuelling spots. www.nissan.co.jp

Tokyo Motor Show 2009

10 Nov 2009 | Cars

Other Cars Galleries

Built by Germany's Gullwing Gmbh, the AC MKVI GT's iconic body shape dates back to the early 60's

Retro supercars: carmakers capitalize on automative nostalgia

Audi e-tronThe e-tron study is a two-seater coupe made out of lightweight aluminium and carbonfibre, and powered by a lithium ion battery positioned at the front to achieve a 58% rear weight distribution with the four electric motors housed at the four corners of the car. The sports car promises sports car power – 313bhp and torque is 3319lb ft – reaching 62mph in just 4.8 seconds and able to speed up to 154mph.Working with the R8, the design team lead by Stefan Sielaff, set out to explore how to transform the sports car into an electric car. ‘You cannot just take a car like the R8 and simply replace the engine with an electric one,’ he says. ‘We started to test to see what could be the language, the formal repertoire, for our future electric car.’The e-tron maintains certain Audi generic codes, but adds to this an extra dose of form follows function. For instance Sielaff and his team created cooling systems, much like a household radiator, which when needed act like fans directing the extra heat created by the battery. Weight has been shed wherever possible. The thin seats are made of magnesium and the slim dashboard houses only the most essential information. The company doesn’t believe you can design green cars from a rational point of view. ‘It has to be emotional,’ says Sielaff. He makes a comparison to food. ‘No one wanted to eat Soya products 10 or 20 years ago. But now healthy products on the whole have been made desirable. You need to make green cars delicious in the same way.'

Frankfurt Motor Show 2009

smart fortwo ED

Toyota is top of the pile when it comes to building hybrids, so it was only a matter of time before the two schools of engineering – sybaritic expertise and fuel-sipping know-how – got together

The Bugatti factory, Molsheim

Aston Martin DBS Volante

Toyota Prius Mk3

Ferrari 458 Italia

An official 'spy shot' of disguised SLS AMG car being tested

The new SLS from Mercedes Benz/AMG

Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder

Jaguar XKR Convertible

Featured Gallery

Aston Martin DBS Volante (scroll down to read more) The DBS Volante is an undeniably elegant car. Aston Martin’s 16th convertible in 95 years is a 2+2 featuring two occasional rear seats. The soft-top option reduces weight by as much as 90 kilos and is as safe as a retractable hard roof thanks to an insular layer.

Design director Marek Reichman points to one crucial line on the surface of the DBS Volante which runs from the front of the bonnet, across the window graphic and onto the rear to form one continuous line.

‘It’s a very elegant flowing line,’ he muses, noting that in rear view it actually accentuates the hips, shoulder and the width of the car without making it look flat. It gives the car ‘a lot of tension’ he says, comparing it to a runner’s physique where ‘there is power’.

There is something very structured about the car’s muscularity which the designer says is very much part of the DBS formal language. ‘If it’s too masculine then it doesn’t always have the right element of beauty,’ he notes.

The car comes equipped with Bang & Olufsen’s BeoSound DBS sound system with 13 speakers as standard. ‘The sound quality is unbelievable with the top open or closed,’ the designer promises.

Aston Martin DBS Volante, £169,000 tbc, available from June 2009
www.astonmartin.com

Geneva Motor Show 2009

Geneva Motor Show 2009 report…

11 Mar 2009 | Cars

Page 0 of 2 Cars Gallery Archives | Next