Archive for August, 2019
Renault and INFINITI Unveil Project Black.
INFINITI and the Renault F1 Team have completed the track-focused development of an unique high-performance, dual-hybrid powertrain. It’s been especially created for the INFINITI Project Black S prototype. The development work was signed off at Salzburgring in Austria by Renault F1 Team star Nico Hülkenberg, where two prototypes were put through their paces. A decision on the potential of the system for consumer use will be made by the end of this year.
The Project Black S prototype is part of an evolving collaboration between INFINITI and Renault F1 Team. It’s served as a test-bed for development of the new Formula 1 inspired powertrain technology. The latest version of the Project Black S was revealed in Paris in fall 2018. Since then, powertrain engineers from Renault F1 Team and INFINITI have developed the unique technology further, exploring whether it could be deployed in a high-performance road car. Furthermore, the program has provided an insight into how INFINITI can work hand-in-hand with partners on developing new projects and technologies.
Mike Colleran, Deputy Chairman, INFINITI Motor Company, comments: “The work that has gone into Project Black S represents a milestone in INFINITI’s road to electrification. This test-bed for new ideas, and rapid development, represents everything INFINITI hopes to achieve with its electrified cars in future, such as smart energy management from advanced high-performance powertrains, a thrilling drive, and a performance aesthetic.”
Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director of Renault F1 Team, said “A technical partner to the Renault F1 team, INFINITI’s experience of working with homologated hybrid powertrain technology was instrumental in the co-development of our dual-hybrid system. The Black S project now gives us a rare opportunity for the direct transfer of genuine F1-honed technology back into a road car. Making this leap, from circuit to road, is something we are incredibly excited to be involved in”.
A key aim of the Project Black S program was to explore the potential for new motorsport-inspired electrification technologies and development processes. Project Black S fuses expertise from road and race track, with its dual-hybrid powertrain, all-new, purpose built brakes, and optimized suspensions, all complemented by the use of advanced lightweight materials throughout the purposeful new bodywork and a motorsport-inspired interior.
INFINITI’s Mike Colleran comments: “Working with Renault F1 Team has opened our eyes to new ways of working. Outside of the traditional process in which we engineer cars and technologies, this collaboration has shown us what can be achieved with a small, dedicated team. We will learn from this to enhance the way we create other cars in future.”
The Project Black S dual-hybrid powertrain technology is derived from Formula One and engineered specifically for road use. A focused, agile team of designers and engineers from the two technology partners has enabled the rapid development of testing prototypes. A test-bed based on the INFINITI Q60 sports coupe and its 400 hp VR30 twin-turbo V6 engine, the dual-hybrid system combines supercar performance with smart energy management.
The VR30 engine has been transformed with the creation of two heat-energy harvesting systems with Formula 1 relationships. There is the MGU-H or motor generator unit – heat, which develops electricity under acceleration. Paired with a kinetic harvesting system or MGU-K: motor generator unit – kinetic, that generates electricity under braking and an all-new energy management system, Project Black S is a unique and exciting electrified performance hybrid prototype.
In a similar manner to Renault F1 Team’s R.S.19 racecar, the Project Black S’ smart powertrain stores this energy and discharges it as the driver requires, spooling up the turbochargers instantaneously as the driver opens the throttle, boosting power sent to the rear wheels via the MGU-K over continued periods of acceleration.
Currently, the dual-hybrid powertrain is capable of producing up to 418 kW (568 ps, 563 hp) – 40 percent more than the prototype’s donor car, the INFINITI Q60 Red Sport 400. Uniquely, it provides sustained and sustainable hybrid performance, delivering electrically assisted acceleration, lap after lap.
The prototype offers drivers complete control over how the powertrain uses this energy, with three Formula One-inspired drive modes – Road, Quali and Race – each altering the way in which the powertrain harvests and discharges power.
INFINITI’s Mike Colleran added: “There is still work to be done. Now we have two completed prototypes we will fully evaluate the production potential of Project Black S. It is still too early to predict the outcome as we need a solid business case, but the latest rounds of testing have proved its unique performance and underlines our pursuit of electrified performance. This is an exciting phase of the process. We will consider every element of the development prototypes to establish the feasibility of volume or limited production in future.”
A Few Snags With Voice Control Systems
Michael, I don’t think these modern cars are quite up to my standard yet.
Ever since at least the 1960s or possibly earlier, technologically minded geeky sorts have dreamed of having machines that will hear your voice and carry out your commands and popped this sort of tech into sci-fi stories. Kind of like having a very obedient slave who will do whatever is asked but without any of the nasty ethical implications. Possibly the dream of voice-activated machines is even older – if you look hard enough in old books, robot-type things have been turning up since the 1600s. Certainly, in the 1970s and early 80s when the way you got a computer to do something was by feeding in a punch card, the idea of just being able to tell it what to do would have seemed like the ultimate. The people with these fantasies were probably the ones who dreamed up Knight Rider and the intelligent car named KITT… and the ones who are designing cars and in-car tech grew up watching this show.
Fast forward to today and we’ve got quite a few computerized systems inside our vehicles, It’s likely that if you pick up, say, a brand new Mercedes-Benz, it will have far more electronics and computer bits and pieces than the Apollo that reached the moon. Even better: a lot of bits and pieces inside a new car are voice activated. We’ve got to the point that if you watch a rerun of Knight Rider with a teenager, their response to KITT’s cool functions is likely to be “So what?”
These bits and pieces tend to be related to things like navigation, music and the phone; in other words, the sorts of things that you do on your phone anyway. The idea behind it is a compromise between safety and connectedness. Instead of having to take your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel to poke around with your playlists or to call the boss and say you’ll be late because you’re stuck in traffic when you actually are stuck in traffic, you can do this just with your voice. Both Apple and Android allow you to do this, and a few marques have their own systems – Ford, BMW and Fiat, to name a few. In some vehicles, you can also control the temperature settings via voice control, though those who have used them report that you have to be specific and keep it simple. I guess the people developing the tech didn’t really want the climate control system to suddenly add a bit of chill when the sound system is playing “Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot”.
There are more ideas in the pipeline and have just been introduced. If you’ve got the right apps and the right devices (hello, Alexa!), you can check if the boot and the sunroof are closed properly and what the battery status in an EV is (BMW); lock and unlock the doors remotely (Ford Chrysler) and more. There’s talk that BMW is thinking of introducing a feature that will allow you to dictate and send an email entirely by voice. I mean, what could possibly go wrong with that? I keep getting mental pictures of someone trying to write something really important having a near miss on the road (caused by somebody or something else) so that in the middle of the formal apology or job application, the reader encounters the words “Stupid mutt – get out of the way!” (That’s the polite version – insert unprintable adjectives if desired.)
Which leads me nicely to the couple of existing snags with voice recognition software in vehicles – and outside of the vehicle that a number of people have picked up on.
The first relates to getting the voice recognition system to actually pick up on what you’re saying. The interior of your vehicle tends to be noisier than, say, your living room. Even if you’re in a nice quiet EV or hybrid running on the electric motor, there is noise from the ambient traffic around you, bumps in the road and fans. The noise increases if you’re in an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle or if your hybrid is running on the non-electric motor. This makes it hard for those voice recognition systems to make out what you’re saying. Heck, it can sometimes be hard for another human to make out what you’re saying in these conditions, as quite a few married couples probably already know.
The system also has trouble distinguishing the voice of the driver from the voices of the passengers, so if there are kids in the back trying to chatter away while you try to tell the navigation system to find you the nearest petrol station (or EV charging station) or call your mother, it won’t understand you.
Then there’s the problem with different voices. I remember the first time I came across some voice recognition telephone system and trying a number of times to get the stupid machine to recognize me, only succeeding when I faked a really, really cheesy American accent. Voice recognition systems are a whole lot better than they used to be but they still have problems. They like what they consider to be a “normal” voice. The trouble is that what a lot of these systems consider to be a “normal” voice is one with a standard accent. Introduce a very broad regional accent (Scottish and Irish drivers, for example, have real problems) or a non-native speaker accent and voice recognition systems throw a wobbly. A few researchers have also discovered that in-car voice recognitions systems have more problems with female voices than male voices. Which explains why my Brazilian sister-in-law doesn’t use these features.
Navigation systems are the main place that people notice these glitches. If you’ve programmed your system to go somewhere and it’s reading the directions out to you, it has to “guess” how to read the street names out, sometimes with hilarious results. Or you try saying the name of some restaurant you want to find the way to but it fails to pick it up; these systems are fine with mainstream outlets like Starbucks but they go to pieces on niche and boutique places – think English pub names like The Goat and Compasses or French restaurants like Mon Petit Escargot (I made that one up).
These problems often mean that the users get frustrated and end up picking up the phone to do the dialling or the searching manually, which defeats the purpose of having the hands-free voice activated in-car tech in the first place. Add in the fact that the users are probably getting frustrated by this stage and you’ll probably find that they’re driving less safely than they would if they just pressed a touchscreen in the first place.
However, the problems with voice recognition systems, in cars and out of them, have their funny side, so on that note I’ll leave you with this little clip…
Private Fleet Car Review: 2019 Kia Picanto GT
This Car Review Is About: The 2019 Kia Picanto GT. It’s the pert and perky little five door hatch, with minor and tastefully styled body add-ons, an energetic powerplant, and a fun factor that’s off the scale. It’s a screaming bargain at just $17,990 driveaway.
Under The Bonnet Is: A zippy and free spinning three cylinder petrol engine with a real warble when it’s spinning up. There are 74kW available at 4,500rpm, and a very useful 172Nm from 1,500rpm to 4,000rpm. Power heads to the front wheels via a five speed manual. Boost and bang for the milk-bottle sized engine comes from a turbocharger that adds plenty of sizzle. The dry weight of the Picanto GT is just 1,007kg, which means that the power and torque, plus the five speed, don’t need to work hard to provide the spark.
Tank size is just 35L for the standard unleaded fuel. Economy, says Kia, is 4.8L per 100km for the combined. In the urban cycle, its far more likely home, it’s 6.2L/100km. Get it onto the freeways and that drops to 4.0L/100km. We finished on 6.4L/100km on our mainly urban test cycle.
On The Outside It’s: The same little block of Picanto that’s been available for a few years but now with extra grin. There are colour highlights from inserts outside and in, new wheels, front bar additions with driving lights and extra air intakes, whilst the rear gets the cool “neon” light look at night plus a twin exhaust and a diffuser style add-on. Nexen supplies the 195/45 N Blue Plus rubber to wrap the 16 inch eight spoke alloys. The review car came clad in Aurora Black, with the GT also having Clear White, Signal Red, and Titanium Silver.
On The Inside It’s: Comfortable and familiar, yet carries a bit more cachet. There are red leather highlights on the front seats, alloy pedals with rubber strips for extra foot grip, and red backlighting for the switchgear. There’s some brightwork on the tiller and piano black for the console stack. Seats are manually adjusted but with the not-quite-as user friendly levers rather than the dials which are MUCH more user friendly. Luggage space is 255L with the rear seats up, 1,055L with seats down. It’s JUST enough, if packed correctly, to carry a decent weekly family shop but if it’s a really decent shop, then the space behind the front seats will need to be used.
Space itself is more than adequate for a couple, but go more than three then the Picanto’s 3,595mm length and 2,400mm wheelbase come into play. Thankfully the front seat room is enough for all but basketball players so pulled forward the rear leg room becomes tenable. Shoulder room is a bit cosy thanks to the 1,595mm and headroom is fine even with a 1,485mm height.
Storage comes in the form of two cup holders in the centre console, bottle holders for the front doors, a coat hook and net hooks in the cargo area. Sounds are from a non-DAB equipped audio system but Bluetooth streaming is standard. Sound quality isn’t as good as it could be either, with depth and punch not on the same level as other systems found in Kias. Apple and Android apps are standard as well. That’s a good thing for those that use them as satnav is not standard.
What About Safety?: Covered. Sort of…AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) with FCWS (Forward Collision Warning System) leads the party, backed up by a reverse camera and rear parking sensors. LED driving lights up front add visual safety and add to the visual presence and the headlights are Auto on. BUT, and it’s a big but, no Rear Cross Traffic Alert, no Blind Spot Alert, no Lane Keep Assist, no front sensors, hold back the Picanto GT in crucial areas.
On The Road It’s: An absolute bundle of fun. The engine is a cracker and the gearbox is well specced for cogs. The clutch is light and really could do with more feedback as to where the pedal is in travel and where the plates are in gripping. Once the driver has worked that out though, practice gets the pickup point and shifts to launch just right. However the spring loading for the gear selector is also light and a touch vague in where the lever goes. The gate is close so a slide from second to third feels like it’s in the same line, and there isn’t enough definition in the shifter’s movement to properly advise where the lever’s going.
ONCE everything is worked out, the little engine that could, does. It’s got a real warmth to the sound, yes, but the appeal is in how it pulls the Picanto GT , in how it allows tractability in gentle around town driving or getting serious on the freeway. It’s geared for easy going driving, but also some get up and go squirt as required. The turbo kicks in at just under 2,000 and on the freeway that gearing allows a push of the pedal to see the Picanto GT rocket forward. It’s accompanied by a thrum, a not unpleasant rumble from the three cylinder donk, which is muted when not being pressed.
Off the line it’s easy to feel pressed back into the seat easily when driving in anger. There is some real urge in this tiny engine and it’s something a driver can exploit and enjoy. Bang the gear selector from first to second to third and the GT simply rolls on inexorably, seamless in its acceleration. Throw out the picks and the lightweight car slows quickly and confidently.And thanks to the slightly bigger footprint, and the grippier tyres, hard-arsed cornering can be exploited and enjoyed too. Under power the Picanto GT can be punted into turns that would see the speedo read 20, 30 km/h slower (depending on the corner’s radius and driving conditions) whilst taking advantage of the engine on boost.
Ride quality is good but not great. The rear end is prone to a little skipping around on the roads that have the expansion joints and the whole car will crash bang on missing road sections. It’s a suspension that is flat and taut but not supple enough to dial these out.
What About Warranty?: There is Kia’s 7 years warranty as standard. That’s with unlimited kilometres. Roadside assist is for 12 months initially however if the Picanto GT is brought to Kia for servicing then that extends to 7 years coverage also. Servicing is capped price and for every 15,000 kilometres or annually, whichever occurs first.
At The End Of The Drive. The Kia Picanto GT is an embodiment of the words “pocket rocket”. That 172Nm of torque is so useable in a small car, and somehow manages to stay engaging even when loaded with two adults, a ten year old, and shopping. It’s the gear selector and clutch that blunts the engine’s sharpness as these really could do with tightening up. Ride quality is also not quite en’ pointe as there’s a lack of the absorption needed in the upper end of the travel.
The lack of DAB isn’t crucial but FM sounded dull. If a GT designation is to indicate a top of the tree model, then add a top of the tree audio setup. Make up your own mind by going here.
Monterey Car Week: Pebble Beach Concours de Elegance.
In a field of diamonds there will be one that will shine, that will sparkle, just that brighter than the glittering surroundings. In the week of events celebrating automobiles, motorsport, fine foods and drinks, and superbly handcrafted timepieces, a stunning beachside locale named Pebble Beach becomes host once a year to a select number of the world’s best classic automobiles.
The area is steeped in history. Motorsport plays a large part in the origin of what is now the world’s premier concours event, with returning soldiers needing a place to vent post-WW2 frustrations. Road race events sprang up around the country, and Pebble Beach, with its natural oceanside setting and intoxicating mix of varying roads, quickly became a favorite. 1950 was the year the first concours was held and in the style of what had been seen in Europe. It was 1952 that saw the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Gold Club become the home of the concours and where it remains as the host for this year and beyond.
Classic cars are the heartbeat of the Pebble Beach Concours. For 2019 Bentley and Zagato will celebrate their centennials here, Bugatti will showcase historic Grand Prix and Touring cars, and Hot Rods that have featured on magazine covers will be celebrated. the 2019 Class list reads like an automotive “who’s who” with Bentley, Duesenberg, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, and Packard to name but a few that will be showcasing their metal monuments to automotive beauty.
Bentley Motors At Pebble Beach
It’s been said that to be accepted into the strictly limited numbers of entrants is honor enough. To keep the gloss and lustre that goes with that acceptance fresh, the class list is varied each year. Entries are accepted until a predetermined date in January with the lucky few notified by April for the August meeting. In order to ensure that only the very best of the very best are selected, potential entrants must only show at Pebble Beach. Nor can an entrant re-enter the car for another ten years, unless the car is sold and undergoes a substantive restoration.
It’s these kinds of stringent guidelines that allow attendees to see different cars each year. Each year brings fresh light to the field and returning guests are sure to see outstanding examples of cars built up to but not past 1972. Whilst the cars are hand-cared for, with super fine cloths and love working together to ensure the best possible shine, guests can wander through the gardens and partake of gourmet foods, exquisitely fine champagne and wines, and order picnic baskets with up to 800 wines to complement the specially prepared fare.
There are more than metal, leather, and rubber to appeal. Pebble Beach also host charity fundraising and in 2018 raised over $2.1 million. Over 80 charities in the local area benefit from the hard work and sponsorships, with some directly aimed at encouraging a new generation of automotive enthusiasts. What these new members of one of the world’s most famous concours can see is how the automobiles are judged for authenticity, for history, function, and style. They’ll learn how the class structure works in respect to the marques, the rarities that are barn finds are rebuilt to better than brand new, and what makes a winner at Pebble Beach so utterly special.
2018 Best of Show 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta
Class judges are in a team that work with a Chief Judge. Automobiles that win their class to be named First in Class are the ones that become eligible for a tilt at the highly prized crown: Best of Show. Judging involves the Best of Show ballots which are provided to the Chairman, the Chief Judge, the Chief Honorary Judge, each Chief Class Judge, each Honorary Judge team leader, and select Class Judges. Judging is independent and free. Once the ballots are counted after judging, the most votes become part of Pebble Beach history, with the winner named Best of Show and becoming part of a very, very, select family.
The 2019 Pebble Beach Concours de Elegance will be on Sunday, August 19. For those looking to enter or attend for 2020 and August 16, www.pebblebeach.net is the site to go to.
Level 2, 9 Help Street