Bridgestone reinvents the wheel

THE WHEEL is being reinvented with the development of an airless tyre for cars that could put an end to punctures and be kinder to the environment. Currently being developed by Bridgestone, the Air-Free Concept Tyre has an exterior tread that looks normal but inside there are plastic spokes that support the outer casing. This does away with the need to pump up the tyres, which means a puncture is no longer a problem as the tyre cannot deflate.

Porsche buyers put the brakes on stop-start technology

By Chris Chilton Motor Industry 23 June 2008 18:56 Direct injection and a clever new PDK dual-clutch gearbox have cemented the new 911’s reputation as the greenest performance car around, but Porsche engineers are being hampered from making the iconic sports car even cleaner by the public’s reluctance to accept further green technology Engineers at the launch of the facelifted 911 told CAR that fitting a BMW-style start-stop system could chop a further 10g/km from the Carrera’s 225g/km CO2 rating but that performance car buyers weren’t keen on having such overtly planet-conscious tech on their cars. Start-stop works by cutting the engine when the car’s stationary in traffic, and restarting automatically when you touch the pedals to move off again. Every manual transmission-equipped BMW 1-series comes with the technology, excepting the truly high performance versions.

Rinspeed eXasis

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 18 December 2006 12:19 Madcap Swiss manufacturer Rinspeed has announced a typically bonkers concept car: a transparent Radical rival. The two-seater eXasis will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March, as a potential rival to the likes of Radicals and Caterhams. Rinspeed's show car uses a small engine in a lightweight 750kg structure for astonishing performance.