Tag Archives: Geneva Motor Show
The BAC Mono is arguably the world’s sexiest street-legal supercar
Words do little justice when it comes to capturing the BAC Mono’s beauty which lies in its raw, powerful design. The new generation of Briggs Automotive Company’s supercar was debuted online following the cancelation of the Geneva Motor Show. The Mono, now in its second generation, is lighter and more powerful than its predecessor, seats one person, has a top speed of 170mph, goes from 0-60 in 2.7 seconds, and for some reason, is street legal in continental Europe and around the world.
Emphasizing on lightness and power, the BAC Mono makes the clever use of individual surfaces rather than forms. The two surfaces (silver and black) come together to give the car its clean shape while emphasizing lightness by splitting the visual mass and relying on crisp, sharp edges on the front and back, giving the feeling like the car was draped with a 2D material. It still retains a sense of organic design, with a prominent shark-nose to emphasize aggression, while efficiently guiding airflow not just to minimize drag but to also help cool the Mono’s 2.3-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine.
The single-seater still manages to meet road legality standards with an engine that passes stringent EU6D emissions regulations. It does so while weighing just 570kg despite numerous additions under the skin in line with European regulations. This is, in part achieved by BAC’s graphene R&D programs which it relied on to make the Mono R from last year, as well as new generative-design wheels created in partnership with Autodesk to maintain the highest performance standards while cutting down severely on weight.
The supercar comes with a price tag of £165,950, which roughly translates to 212,500 of your American dollars – a little on the costlier side for a road-legal car considering it seats only one… but come on, will you look at that beaut!
Designer: Briggs Automotive Company
Renault’s concept SUV can expand to become bigger and more spacious, like a travel suitcase!
It’s always interesting to see concept cars because they’re probably the biggest playground for a transportation designer. Given the nature of the car industry, consumer automobiles are usually governed by a bulletproof design and marketing brief with little room for absolute creative freedom. You don’t see that sort of rigidity with concept cars – their purpose isn’t to deliver sales or market share, but rather to showcase the company’s direction as far as creativity, design, and innovation go.
I imagine the Renault Morphoz EV would be this year’s most talked-about car if the Geneva Motor Show hadn’t been called off. Unlike most concept cars that showcase electric drivetrains, or self-driving features, or rotating car-seats and talking dashboards, Renault’s Morphoz concept pushes the boundaries of concept car design by literally pushing boundaries! It comes with a longitudinally expanding design that allows the car to grow longer on command, giving you more space on the inside. Words do little justice to this absolute beauty so I’ll take a minute while you watch the video above, or some of the GIFs below. Referred to as an adaptive cabin design, the car’s body comes in multiple parts that fit into each other, expanding and contracting on command. Renault definitely deserves credit where it’s due because the split-lines on the car are just beautifully positioned, with the car’s expanding rails manifesting themselves as design details in the headlights, taillights, and even the Renault logo up front. The car doesn’t just expand like a telescope, it does so with a great deal of sensitivity towards aesthetics. The side-profile silhouette of the car changes ever so slightly as it expands, allowing the car to look absolutely breath-taking in both profiles.
Taking the name Morphoz seriously, the insides of the car were designed to morph and change depending on need. The car comes without a B pillar, and uses a reverse-hinged rear door to give you complete access to the inner cabin. The doors are programmed to open without you needing to touch them. The car senses your presence when you’re nearby, and opens the doors when you perform a wave-gesture. The passenger seat beside the driver is designed to rotate and face backward, transforming the interiors from a regular car format to a more social one. On the driver’s side, the car comes with a futuristic dashboard featuring a steering wheel with an inset screen. The 100% electric vehicle comes with level 3 autonomy, which allows the car to take control under fixed scenarios like traffic jams or open motorways, while constantly under the supervision of its driver.
According to Renault, The Morphoz comes in two variants, one for City and another for Travel. With higher specs, the Travel variant features a front-wheel-drive, powered by a 160kW engine and a 90kWh battery that Renault says can also be used to power appliances in your house or the immediate locality via smart charging devices and V2G (Vehicle to Grid) bi-directional technology. With a great deal of design, innovation, and engineering poured into what is easily one of the most eye-catchingly sophisticated vehicles of the year, I can pretty much guarantee we’ll definitely see more of the Morphoz in greater detail… perhaps at the next motor show!
Designer: Renault
Pininfarina debuts ultra-rare $2.9 million version of its electric hypercar
Is Pininfarina's Battista electric hypercar just not exclusive enough for you? You're in luck. The Italian automaker has unveiled a special Battista Anniversario variant that pushes the EV even further. It still revolves around that 1,900HP quad-m...
Harley’s LiveWire electric motorcycle will go farther than we thought
Harley-Davidson has been teasing environmentally conscious bikers with its electric LiveWire motorcycle since 2014. Now, with the bike set to ship this fall, the company has revised its original specs. At the Geneva Motor Show this week, Harley annou...
Pirelli app gives track day drivers a digital pit crew
Gone are the days when racing sports simply involved cars hurtling around a track as fast as possible. Now, there are eye-watering volumes of data being processed every second, providing deep metrics and guidance on everything from tire pressure to t...
Jeep preps plug-in hybrid versions of its Compass and Renegade SUVs
Jeep isn't exactly synonymous with eco-friendly cars, but it's bent on changing that reputation. The 4x4 maker has unveiled plug-in hybrid versions of the 2020 Compass (below) and Renegade (above) crossover SUVs. Both meld a 1.3-liter conventional...
Aston Martin’s futuristic hypercar uses your smartphone as its touchscreen
Aston Martin dropped a hat-trick of announcements today, confirming work on three new vehicles: the Vanquish Vision Concept (codenamed AM9), the AM-RB 003 hypercar and the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept. The Vanquish Vision Concept -- which revives the...
Honda will open pre-orders for its tiny ‘e Prototype’ this year
Honda's adorable e Prototype first appeared two years ago at the Frankfurt motor show. In Geneva, the automaker unveiled a closer-to-production prototype that still has the spirit of the original concept car and announced that in addition to starting...
Mercedes’ Concept EQV can transport 8 passengers with its 249 mile range
A single passenger EV is a good way to reduce your carbon footprint. But if you really want to make a difference, you go with a vehicle that transports a lot of humans around. That's what Mercedes is doing with its Concept EQV. a high-end van for mov...