Every year the
IEEE magazine, Spectrum, features some technically advanced cars.
This year 3 things caught my eye.
Fach Auto Tech, a prime team in Porsche Supercup racing, is experimenting with microwave ignition, instead of spark plugs. Developed by MWI AG for possible racing for the Porsche 911 GT3s. But the discussion has too much "unicorn corral" content for my taste.
The new Lexus ES 350 sedan will beat the Audi E-tron’s “virtual mirrors” to market by mere months.
Quote:
Lexus says the cameras and interior monitors deliver better visibility in foul weather, with the lenses heated and tucked into housings to ward off raindrops, ice, or snow. Drivers can adjust screen perspectives, or the camera can automatically adjust— zooming in when drivers hit their turn signals, or highlighting and alerting to cars that loom in blind spots.
Now, if only American motorists could get a peek. Though regulators in Japan and Europe have already approved the digital cameras, U.S. regulations prohibit them.
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The pictures show the camera stalk is almost as big as a mirror, why bother?
The latest Lamborghini Aventador SVJ has crazy aero. The system is called "Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva" or ALA 2.0
Quote:
When ALA is off, front and rear flaps stay shut, and air flows over the hood to boost front-axle downforce. That max-downforce setting pins the car to pavement whenever I squeeze the brakes or carve through Estoril’s tricky corners. Magnetorheological dampers do their part, stiffening or relaxing at any of four corners to keep the body flat even as its momentum shifts enormously.
When ALA switches on, flaps open, air blasts into the wing’s hollow, vertical stanchion, and then it’s forced through narrow slits on the wing’s underside. That pressurized airflow stalls the wing and sharply reduces drag, for enhanced acceleration toward an epic 350-km/h (217-mph) top speed. Front flaps redirect air through vortex generators below the car, further smoothing the aero profile.
Aero vectoring is the final trick: Turn right, for example, at speeds above 71 km/h (44 mph)—any slower and there’s no meaningful air pressure—and the right-hand deck-lid flap closes while the left flap pivots open. Now you’ve got downforce on the inside rear wheel but lower pressure on the outside, which helps the Lambo pivot through the corner.
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Lamborghini will build 900 copies, $517,770.
Today
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