Italdesign brought a unique modular design to the CES in Las Vegas. Their Climb-E is an autonomous transport platform in form of an electric shuttle. The basic cabin has space for four passengers, but Italdesign has taken this much further.
The DeLorean Motor Company has given a first full look at its battery-electric Alpha5 model and published the first key technical data of the sports coupé with gullwing doors. There is also initial information on other models.
The Austrian startup Deus Automobiles, founded in Vienna in 2020, presented the concept of an all-electric hypercar at the New York International Auto Show. The Deus Vayanne was developed in cooperation with Italdesign and Williams Advanced Engineering and is to be delivered from 2025 as a small series limited to 99 units.
Williams Advanced Engineering and Italdesign have joined forces to develop a modular platform for building a wide variety of premium electric cars. This platform can be used as a basis for the creation of customised vehicles. It will be offered to both new entrants and established OEMs.
According to a media report, Audi has discontinued work on the autonomous electric car drone Pop Up Next, which was presented last year together with Airbus and Italdesign, and intends to reevaluate their cooperation with Airbus.
Airbus, Audi and their subsidiary Italdesign launched a model of their flying electric car Pop.Up Next. The concept is a hybrid of a drone and a cab that popped up in 2017 for the first time. In Amsterdam the team shows a working 1:4 model.
Ever since Apple decided to put their ambitious plans for their own self-driving cars on pause back in 2016, and focus on the software aspects initially, things got quiet around project Titan. Until now.
Audi, Italdesign and Airbus have introduced Pop.Up Next, an all-electric, fully automatic concept for horizontal and vertical mobility. Basically, the concept features a two-seater cabin that can be attached to either a car or a flight module.
Airbus and Italdesign popped up quite literally in Geneva, where the two show a concept that is both car and drone for up to two passengers. The Pop.Up is self-driving, or self-flying, once the little capsule is propped upon or underneath respective power modules for electric air and ground transport. Control is left to artificial intelligence and Airbus believes that commercial applications for what it calls “urban air mobility” could emerge in as little as ten years – if a few regulatory hurdles can be jumped. autonews.com, airbusgroup.com, youtube.com
The next EV too has design roots in Italy and while it looks as if it could take off at any minute, the Scilla is made for the road. It is in fact closer to the ground than a Ferrari 488 and was conceived by students at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin, Pininfarina and the editors of Quattroruote magazine. Its got four in-wheel electric motors and shall sit two but earliest in 2030 as for now it is just a concept. carscoops.com, quattroruote.it (in Italian, with video)
Scalable battery solution: Kokam launched the XPAND battery pack, suitable for all sorts of commercial and industrial electric vehicle applications, be it a bus, tram or ship. The XPAND will come with either 7.1 kWh or 11.4 kWh and both versions are scalable. greencarcongress.com
Smart tire: Goodyear unveiled the IntelliGrip Urban, a concept tire designed with autonomous electric ride-sharing vehicles in urban areas in mind. The tire senses road and weather conditions, which it sends to the vehicle so the car may adjust speed, braking, handling and stability. goodyear.eu