Skip to main content

Rinspeed Budii autonomous EV revealed

Swiss concept house Rinspeed will unveil the Budii autononmous electric car at the Geneva motor show in March. The Budii, which is based on the BMW i3, has been fitted with a new steer-by-wire system and a steering wheel that can be folded away when it is not in use. The wheel can also switch sides to provide both left and right-hand drive.

Rinspeed has worked with a number of suppliers for the technology used in the Budii concept. Infotainment specialist Harman Kardon have designed a system that “independently identifies the habits and preferences of the driver and reduces the necessary operating steps (to drive the car) to a minimum”. The car also rides on a new air suspension system that has a ride height adjustment range of 100mm.
Also incorporated is a ‘telescoping laser scanner’, which rises up from the Budii’s roof and works in combination with a 3D camera to scan the terrain ahead of the vehicle, allowing the car to automatically adjust the ride height and suspension.
The i3’s clamshell door arrangement has been modified with an electric opening and closing system, while the newly styled exterior panels incorporate the brake lights, tail lights and indicators. A new electric heating system is said to be “95 percent efficient” and can pre-warm the battery pack. It is controlled by a smartphone or smartwatch.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Lamborghini Urus India review, test drive

             On first introduction, it’s a recipe for intimidation. It’s claimed to be the fastest SUV in the world (0-100kph in 3.6sec and a top speed of 305kph puts it nearly in supercar territory), and it’s made by Lamborghini – creator of some of the most savage vehicles on the market. Things – as with any Lamborghini, for that matter – would be a lot less daunting if we were driving on a smooth European country road, a wide motorway, or even a race track. But today we’re driving the Urus on a narrow  ghat  road, as well as through some heavy Pune traffic. Perhaps the intention was to demonstrate that this is the first Lamborghini ever to go on sale in India that truly works in our conditions – but still, I doubt they accounted for rush hour. It’s requisitely mad to look at, employing as many ‘sporty’ design tropes to an SUV body style as possible – the only thing missing is a massive wing on the back; and somehow, it works. It’s ...

Skoda Vision RS concept previews new hatchback

Skoda has set the stage for its forthcoming Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus rival with the Vision RS, a concept car that features a performance plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. Under the sporty details and concept flourishes, the Vision RS bears a close resemblance to the Rapid hatchback that will be introduced next year. The fact that it has been previewed in vRS form, complete with 245hp PHEV powertrain, shows how much further upmarket the new Rapid will go compared with the current value-led model. Skoda product marketing chief Björn Kroll said: “The current Rapid is too low-market. For this one, we have tried to balance it out.” Skoda will drop the slow-selling liftback version and concentrate on the Spaceback hatch for the new Rapid. At 4,356mm, the concept is just over 50mm longer than the current Rapid, and it has a 440-litre boot that's up by 25 litres. The concept retains some of the current Rapid’s des...

What to avoid during a car service

                   When it comes to getting their cars serviced at authorised outlets, owners usually go the whole hog. They want their cars coming out of service centres looking brand new, and are willing to pay for it. But do service centres take undue advantage of this? Yes, they do. Servicing may involve changing certain parts and oils after a set interval, but service centres will almost always try to plug in a few extras using technical jargon that a layman may not really understand. Certain processes are completely unnecessary, and customers end up paying extra as they are not aware of what's important and what's not. Also, most of the times, the service associate will throw you a hard sales pitch, and it's not always done with your best interests in mind. So what exactly are the things you don’t really need and should avoid?  Engine flushing Flushing an engine simply means cleaning the impure oil and gunk that ...