Always looking to support innovations in technology, AS|D Labs sponsored Jackbot, the self-driving robot car built by Assembla. The Jackbot was built for the Mini Grand Challenge competition run by Penn State Abington, where it WON! Congrats guys!
There are an innumerable amount of less than desirable automobiles plaguing the streets these days that Ugur Sahin Design could re-imagine with ease. However, Ugur Sahin chooses to challenge himself by reworking cars that already induce uncontrollable drooling. From the Corvette Z03 to one of my dream cars, the Ferrari Dino 206 GT, Ugur Sahin manages to astound us with just how much more beautiful these cars can be. The latest design from Ugur Sahin is the Aston Martin Gauntlet, that makes even the stunning line of cars from Aston Martin seem dated. It will be curious to see how Aston Martin handles being outdone. I’ll be keeping an eye out for great things in the near future from the brand.
The BMW Museum in Munich stands as a testament to the brands rich heritage, but also automotive design. Munich sits on my list of dream vacations to take as much for the chance to visit the BMW Museum as the opportunity to attend Oktoberfest (picture James Bond mixed with Beerfest). A multiple award winning feature of the BMW Museum is its Kinetic Sculpture an abstract symbolic representation of the design process.
The installation consists of 714 metal spheres hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually controlled stepper motors. Covering a six-square-metre area, the spheres enact a seven-minute long mechatronic narrative, creating a representation of the form-finding process in different variations. Moving chaotically at first, the sculpture evolves into several competing forms and eventually resolves as a final shape, which hints at the outlines of well-known BMW automobiles such as the 327, the 1500, the Z4 coupé and the Mille Miglia 2006. The cycle is synchronised with a graphic light strip running around the walls and texts and audio quotes from senior BMW figures on the company’s values and design aims.
Referred to as “war paint” (think Mel Gibson in Braveheart) racing cars of the 1970’s were decorated in an array of colors and complex graphic patterns. Author Sven Völker dives into the graphic design behind these machines in the book “Go Faster: The Graphic Design of Racing Cars“, a first of it’s kind to focus on the creative element of race cars. In addition to the book, Sven Völker also brings us into this world of driving Skittles in a short film available on gestalten.com.
Unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show, the Porsche 918 Spyder is not only a high-performance, sexy sports car, but a planet loving hybrid too - so suck it hippies! Click here for the official Porsche press release and be sure to check out this video for the behind the story behind the making of this dream machine.
Who says you can’t have a cool hybrid electric car? Mixing in vintage racer styling and a belief that caring for the environment can indeed be cool, James Piatt’s MOFO is one bad-ass M%&#$!@ F&^!@*# plug-in electric vehicle. The MOFO, or Motorized Flexible Operation, is imagined with a 2.5l V6 that can carry you from 0-60 in 3.5 seconds at a tree-hugging 75 mpg. Piatt’s vision goes beyond a simple PEV, but to include the option to run on hybrid gas/electric power, or just on gas at the press of a button. Good luck selling this one James! It’ll be fun to at least imagine, for now.
(image source | Assembla)
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