For its occupants, the open bodywork of the car represents highly practical solution for urban mobility through a turning required circle of only three meters and a footprint hardly larger than that of a scooter. The wheel provides easy and agile handling that ensures rarely getting stuck in the traffic, while the low center of gravity of this four-wheeler provide excellent stability.

A completely unique feature of this car is its octagonal wheel fairings that entirely cover the tires. This innovative design creates a pleasing and harmonious feeling along with its pearl-white and blue hub caps, where no one can see the wheel rotating any longer. Instead, the movements of the hub caps are only being seen, giving a silent and graceful gliding appearance along the road.

The Twizy Z.E. concept car is powered by a 20hp (15kW) electric motor that can develop 70Nm of torque, combining comfort with reactive performance at any engine speeds. It can accelerate like a 125cc bike and pulls away quickly from standstill. The car features a 75kph of top speed which may not seem a big number, but since it is designed to be used in busy traffic, it still is a fast car while cutting the traffic easily.

Designer : Renault

Designer : Chen Chun Tung

Designer : James Chu

Designer : Ionut Predescu

The executive director of the spaceport Steve Landeene said “Its real and you are definitely not talking about drawn things on paper anymore.” The spaceport is envisioned to work as an airport with different routes where aerospace companies will lease building and hanger space. Spaceport America is not just about space tourism, additionally, it will also include other business ventures like communication projects and medical research. According to the state officials, the site will facilitate around 500 construction jobs and will spark the economic development, tourism and education for generations. The runway of the project is estimated to finish next summer and the hanger and terminal should be prepared for tenants during the end of 2010.

Designer : URS/Foster + Partners

From the website:
Bushbunker represents a concept that has been designed from scratch specifically as a bushfire bunker, and comprehensively engineered to withstand the severe environmental conditions that a major bushfire produces. It has been designed for maximum survivor ability no matter the intensity or type of fire.

A series of two fire doors is used to separate the entrance/storage area from the bunkers main interior to provide a fail safe, and to create an air lock which protects against the infiltration of radiant heat through the first steel fire door. This is an extremely important design feature, as some of the most severe burns to Black Saturday fire survivors were caused by radiant heat.

To outfit the interior, the design makes use of standard off the shelf components such as steel fire doors, steel frames and sealing, bench seating, compressed air cylinders, battery powered electric lighting, storage shelving, water drums, UHF radio and EPIRB, and fire blankets and first aid. This in turn allows for flexibility in the design, and reduces costs.

The Bushbunker has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 6 adults for an extended period when equipped with compressed air cylinders. These air cylinders also have the additional feature of providing a positive internal air pressure inside the bunker making it impossible for noxious and poisonous outside gasses and smoke to enter.

Hanging above each seating area is a series of refillable standard 20 Litre water containers which provide a gravity fed source of clean water for drinking, cooling and first aid purposes.

Due to its standardized size and modular construction, and depending on the site conditions of a home, the Bushbunker can be specially incorporated into the structure of a house or home, free standing, set into an embankment or partially or totally buried underground.

From : Bushbunker

Designer : Michael Rall

The non-gravitational environment offers the liberation of forces which is a great way to relax your body to the full. This concept has been designed to create a room with perfect conditions to achieve dynamic balance between psychological and physical aspects of an organism. Various features like color and light, adjustable temperature and pressure, and lack or gravity of course have helped to attain the most possible perfect relaxing condition. Other important feature of this concept is flexibility that has made it easily movable and reusable.

Designer : Oliver Pecharromán

Designer : Serdar Sisman

[Press Release]
Honda FC Sport Design Study Suggests Hydrogen Sports Car Future

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19, 2008 – Honda today revealed the Honda FC Sport design study model, a hydrogen-powered, three-seat sports car concept, at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.

The FC Sport emphasizes the design flexibility and potential of Honda’s V Flow fuel cell technology – already deployed in the Honda FCX Clarity sedan – and reconfigures it into a lightweight sports car design with an ultra-low center of gravity, powerful electric motor performance and zero-emissions. The design study concept is inspired by supercar levels of performance through low weight and a high-performance, electrically driven fuel cell powertrain.

“The Honda FC Sport explores how to satisfy automotive performance enthusiasts in a world beyond petroleum,” said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “People who love sports cars will still have a reason to love in a hydrogen-powered future.”

The high-output Honda fuel cell powertrain and a sleek, aerodynamic body contribute to the vehicle’s performance potential. A modular approach to fuel cell component packaging and the electric drivetrain contribute to the FC Sport’s low center of gravity with the majority of vehicle mass distributed between the axles, creating the balanced weight distribution sought after in sports cars.

The ideal placement of the Honda V-Flow fuel cell stack and related components demonstrates the benefits of a platform-specific, hydrogen-powered fuel cell powertrain. The FC Sport is configured to accommodate a custom-formed high-power fuel cell stack, located between the rear seats, and a battery pack placed low in the middle of the vehicle. The electric motor resides just forward of the rear axle. Two fuel storage tanks, visible from above, are located above the rear axle.

The optimal placement of fuel cell components for performance also allows for a relatively large passenger cabin by conventional supercar standards with enough space for three seating positions. The interior layout focuses primarily on the driver with a racecar-like center driving position. The enclosed canopy opens upward from the rear to allow for entry and exit. Two rear passenger seats flank the driver’s left and right side.

The sleek, low-profile body is designed to convey a high-technology appearance with sculpting that combines angular shapes in the front of the vehicle that taper into geometric, hex forms in the rear. The rear hex forms house cooling radiators for the fuel cell. Formula 1-style barge boards behind the front wheels enhance high speed aerodynamics and convey the vehicle’s racing pedigree. The hydrogen storage tanks, visible from the rear deck, showcase the FC Sports fuel cell technology in much the same way that a “naked bike” motorcycle showcases its engineering technology.

The glacier white body color conveys the FC Sport’s clean environmental aspirations while the dark wheels and deeply tinted glass provide a symbolic contrast befitting of the vehicle’s unique combination of clean power and high performance. Green construction techniques further contribute to a reduced carbon footprint. An organic, bio-structure theme is carried through to the body construction where exterior panels are intended to use plant-derived bio-plastics.

The Advanced Design Studio of Honda R&D Americas, in Pasadena, California, developed the FC Sport design study with the primary objective of using existing fuel cell technology as the basis for an ultimate Honda sports car. Designer Jason Wilbur led the design efforts.

Honda R&D Americas, Inc. began its operations in California in 1975 with local market research activities and has steadily grown its capabilities over the past 33 years to include all aspects of new vehicle design and development. Recent development efforts include trend-setting products such as the Honda Pilot, Ridgeline, Element, Civic Coupe and Civic Si.

In 2008, the company opened two new design centers in Southern California: the Acura Design Studio (Torrance), for the research and design of new Acura products; and the Advanced Design Studio (Pasadena), for the exploration and development of advanced design themes for both Honda and Acura.

The company operates 11 major R&D facilities in North America, including a full vehicle development center in Raymond, Ohio, and three design studios in Southern California. Honda R&D designers, engineers and support personnel are engaged in the development of Honda and Acura automobiles, powersports products, and power equipment for North America and global markets. The company’s main centers of operation include the Los Angeles Center (Torrance, California), responsible for market research, concept development and styling design; the Ohio Center (Raymond, Ohio), responsible for complete product development, testing, and support of North American supplier and manufacturing operations; and a dynamic test facility in Cantil, California.