Nissan's Land Glider: narrow car design w/ tilt handling.

[botsapper]

Here's another narrow car concept from Nissan. The Land Glider concept addresses the inherent handling concerns of narrow tracked vehicles by adding ala-Carver trike tilt handling to its capabilities. The tilting wheeler concepts had been seen mostly in trike designs but the Land Glider keeps all four wheels on the road for more equally divided tire contact for traction & control. The steering-by-wire & power-assisted leaning also keeps the all important center of gravity centered in between the tire patch contacts for optimum low & high speed maneuverability. The rear in-wheel electric motors are powered by lithium-polymer batteries mounted on the floor. It even has full body sensors car-robotics geared for active lane clearance space & crash avoidance. Like to see that in all models.

Nissan's Land Glider concept is a strange but effective mode of personal transportation | Up to Speed | Los Angeles Times

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFLKhvdzJec

[Old Tele man]

...he,he...at least in that, your drinks wouldn't spill as you rounded corners!

...Europe (Sweden?) has a similar 3-wheel vehicle I believe.

[Rokeby]

I wanted to see it come to a stop while in a tight turn.

Would it:
* Stay leaned into the turn as it came to a stop, or
* Slowly return to perpendicular as the speed reduced?

[tjts1]

This beats the hell out of that VW coffin looking thing.

[Old Tele man]

...motorcycle drivers (and riders) will FEEL "...right at home!" for sure.

[MetroMPG]

It doesn't beat the VW's aero efficiency.

Still, a cool vehicle! Looks like fun to drive. Even if the Cd isn't great, the reduced A will still make it a much more efficient package for a 1-person or 2-up tandem commuter than a conventional small car.

[botsapper]

Recent comparisions w/ other narrow-track or tandem designs, the Land Glider has advantages that make it a superior platform. The more upright & taller seating gives it better ergonomics for easier entry/egress, longer down-the-road visibility, & closely matches conventional vehicles sight elevations. It could match bumper reqs. hts./crash cage protection w/ most of other vehicles. If the power-assisted leaning tech is sophisticated enough to not only optimally control the center of gravity at all situations, it could also counter crosswinds & affects of large vehicle (tractor-trailer) wakes. Improved driving dynamics, safety & control gives a greater sense of confidence. The introduction of the new class of 'narrower' green vehicles could easily be marketed & accepted by the driving (even 'driver enthusiasts') public with these adopted advantages.

[metroschultz]

I want one!

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

The video shows this vehicle at a pretty sedate pace -- I wonder how quickly it can change direction? And I wonder about minimum turning radius. Is it fly by wire, or is it power assist? Is it affected by bump steering? They show it on smooth, pothole-free roads.

[elhigh]

I drew during breakfast in college one day, a quick-and-dirty sketch of a hydraulic circuit for a leaning car. It would be a simple four-way joystick like you see on a lot of tractor-mounted front loaders, with a weight on the knob. The joystick is mounted upside down so the knob is actually pointed straight down. In actual practice you'd want something more sensitive, but for imagining in my head, it got the job done.

With a closed center, the itty-tiny pump that's always running - I figured you could take a tap off the power steering pump if you wanted - would simply dump into a reservoir. Once there's some lean to cancel, the weight pulls the joystick to the appropriate setting to try to level the car back out. The reservoir's there to add capacity if you're out for a quick blast up the Tail of the Dragon and the switchbacks come faster than the pump can supply.

Never built it of course. I was in college, no money. No neat little car to mount it in, either.