Modified Acura integra 1996 Pictures | 
The LA Auto Show is once again hosting mitsubishi MMR525 Rally Racer Cars annual Design Challenge in which automakers are asked to let their minds wander and think freely about what future vehicles might actually be like. Last year’s mitsubishi MMR525 Rally Racer Cars theme was green, but this year designers are being asked to imagine what motorsports will be like in 2025.
The Mitsubishi MMR525 concept is Mitsubishi’s entrant into the annual LA Auto Show Design Challenge. For 2008 the brief was to design a motorsport machine for the year 2025.
The Mitsubishi MMR525 Rally Racer concept is a wild and crazy off-road machine which looks like a cross between a futuristic dune buggy and a spacecraft. Of special note are the innovative multidirectional rollers mounted to the perimeter of the ‘wheel’ for increased traction and maneuverability.
Dave O’Connell, Chief designer at Mitsubishi Motors R&D of America said of the MMR525 concept and design brief. “This year’s Motorsport 2025 project is just the sort of assignment the designers at Mitsubishi Motors dream of. It’s rooted it the reality of automotive competition that our company is so successful at, but lets us look way out on the horizon as to where technology may take us. We all loved hearing the words, ‘design a race car,’ but really smiled when we learned it was a race car for the year 2025. That combined with linking the car to some of the fabulous racing heritage that’s taken place here in California makes it indeed one of the most exciting projects we’ve ever worked on. My dream would be to actually build and drive this car on the course it was designed for.”
While the appearance of the Mitsubishi MMR525 concept is shocking, the multi-terrain, omnidirectional wheels consist of eight independently-controlled motors, allowing for “8 x 4″ wheel drive so that the car can be driven forward while pointing in any direction. The MMR25 drives sideways into a corner and points the nose of the car outwards before even reaching the apex of the curve while driving sideways or backwards.
The Mitsubishi MMR25 also uses special Oblique Aerodynamics to give the vehicle aero advantages. The center wing acts as a spoiler, actuated by pneumatic and fabricated from Memory Metal Alloy while the front and rear spoilers double as suspension blades which are able to control stiffness and ride height.
Lascio giudicare a voi, cari autolettori, l’operato su una BMW dell’artista Su Zhongyang.
Le modifiche alle auto sono di moda | Auto Modification DesignNella città auto con una superficie di oltre una decina di ettari che si trova nella periferia occidentale di Pechino c'è un grande movimento di gente. In questa zona ci sono più di 700 negozi di montaggio e modifica e il mercato è ottimo.
Nel negozio di modifica Feikai parlo con il manager Guo Ping. Sulle mensole sono messi vari accessori automobilistici e sul soffitto sono appesi ogni tipo di volanti e schienali. Una decina di impiegati è divisa tra chi mostra ai clienti i prodotti e chi gli disegna sul computer le modifiche.
Guo Ping che sta disegnando al computer mi dice che da due anni le vendite del negozio sono molte alte e i clienti che vengono a modificare le loro auto sono numerosi.
"Ogni mese modifichiamo circa dalle sessanta alle settanta macchine. I clienti sono per lo piu' giovani e di solito chiedono di modificare l'aspetto esterno e il motore del veicolo. La modifica del motore è l'obiettivo di molte persone perché amano i brividi portatigli dalla velocità."
Le modifiche alle auto sono di moda | Auto Modification DesignPer le strade di Pechino si vedono frequentemente auto modificate. Sulla parte esterna di alcune auto sono stati attaccati vari adesivi come ad esempio la coda di un aereo raggiante e linee ben demarcate nella parte anteriore; sul tetto di alcune auto sono stati messi dei portabagagli e delle antenne; la parte esterna di alcune auto forse non è stata cambiata molto ma l'interno è stato sottoposto a molti interventi.
Xu Jiaming il proprietario di un'automobile sottoposta a modifiche mi illustra con gioia i diversi cambiamenti apportati. Piu' di un anno fa dopo aver speso più di 90 mila yuan per acquistare la Golf prodotta dalla Volkswagen di Shanghai, Xu Jiaming aveva apportato alla sua auto "diversi interventi"e speso circa 20 mila yuan per questi .
"Apportare modifiche è molto interessante e a conclusione, il feeling con la macchina è migliore come anche la sua forza motrice e la funzione."
Le modifiche alle auto sono di moda | Auto Modification Design
The big news for the XFR is its engine. While the top-spec 2009 XF made due with the older, 4.2-liter supercharged V-8 with 420 hp, the new 2010 XFR gets a new 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 with a BMW M5-conquering 510 hp.
Through the fitment of direct-injection and other fuel-saving technologies, the new AJ-V8 Gen III matches the old XF Supercharged model in fuel economy with an EPA rating of 15 city, 23 hwy. As long as we're in the comparing mood, it's interesting that the M5 is rated at a rather poor 11 city/17 highway and the E63 at 13 city/20 highway. Not that fuel economy is a real priority for buyers in this market.
What is important to buyers in this segment is overall performance. Luckily, Jaguar didn't just drop in a new engine and call it quits. The paddle-shift ZF six-speed automatic transmission is beefed up internally to handle the extra grunt. Larger brakes and a quicker steering rack are used as well. More interestingly, the chassis receives some electronic tweaks. First, an active dampening system called Adaptive Dynamics is fitted.
This is a more advanced setup compared to simple, two-step dampers in the outgoing XF Supercharged. The second bit of chassis trickery is even more interesting. It's called Active Differential Control (ADC) and is an electronically controlled limited-slip rear end. It utilizes an electric motor with a multi-plate clutch and can actively transmit torque to the wheel with the most grip.To read more about the 2010 Jaguar XFR, go to our 2009 Detroit auto show blogs coverage. All the latest blogs from the Editors of Automobile Magazine can be found HERE. We've got our whole staff wandering the floor at Cobo Hall bringing back live photos and more information about all the new debuts from Detroit.
