Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Volvo tests flywheel technology to cut fuel use

Volvo is testing flywheel technology--being used in Formula One racing to give cars an extra boost--as a technology that could help cut fuel use in future cars by as much as 20 percent. Flywheels recapture energy normally lost as heat during braking. That energy can then be used to help propel the car.

Ferrari 458 Italia – The Video

The Interior of the new Ferrari 458 Italia But yesterday afternoon, shortly after we posted the news of the Ferrari 458 Italia – which originally had just four exterior pictures – we got sent a video of the interior. To be truthful it is almost certainly a rendering with no real car at all, but it is from Ferrari and is close as we’re going to get to the interior –  or anything that moves – this side of the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. At least the video clip has a sound track, and whether or not it’s a real soundtrack from the track and the car – or something Ferrari has generated on their laptops – we don’t really care.

MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.