TechWinter - Technology News & Reviews

McLaren GT has today confirmed that it will premiere its latest model at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, with the wraps set to come off the track-only 650S Sprint. The stripped-out racer will make its global debut alongside a number of other models from McLaren Automotive, and completes the brand’s display with four global debuts planned for the Californian event, including the McLaren P1 GTR.

Based on the recently launched McLaren 650S Coupe, the track-focused 650S Sprint is fitted with developments to the Brake Steer system, even more refined active aerodynamics and a race set-up for the ProActive Chassis Control (PCC). These upgrades deliver a more engaging GT racing experience, without losing any of the refinement and balance found in the road car.

As with the 650S, the aerodynamically optimised design of the 650S Sprint offers increased levels of downforce, and the revised air intakes carried across from the road car allow for optimised cooling of the 3.8-litre twin-turbo M838T engine. In the 650S Sprint, the proven powerplant is retained from the 650S roadcar, with a unique engine and transmission calibration to further enhance on-track drivability and driver engagement.

The cabin is fully track-focused and stripped out to minimise weight, but with no compromise to driver safety or comfort. Built around the lightweight and inherently strong carbon fibre MonoCell chassis, the interior also features an FIA-approved rollcage to further cocoon the driver. A lightweight carbon fibre HANS-approved racing seat, with full six-point harness, offers an optimised driving position, while an air-conditioning system is retained adding comfort. An integrated fire extinguisher system is also installed.

McLaren GT recently announced the 650S GT3 race car, which will be seen on the grid from next season, and the 650S Sprint shares a number of design features with its bigger brother.  A larger motorsport fuel ‘bag’ tank with quick-fill connectors is added, as is optimised cooling through the larger GT3-developed front radiator with a GT3-inspired bonnet integrating radiator exit ducts, and the addition details  on Autoreleased from  the front wings louvres to further optimise airflow over, and around, the bodywork.

The first example of the McLaren 650S Sprint is shown with a new striking livery, in an inverted colour scheme of the 650S GT3 car shown at Goodwood Festival of Speed. Finished primarily in white, the design also features the new Tarocco Orange finish seen on the GT3, with subtle black and white detailing throughout.

The 650S Sprint  has a lower ride height with recalibrated adaptive damping for revised spring rates, and sits on 19-inch centre-locking racing wheels, fitted with Pirelli slick or wet tyres, while an onboard air jacking system enables quick tyre changes. Stopping power is also enhanced and provided by a race-prepared braking system developed for the 650S Sprint. This system combines with the road car’s highly effective Brake Steer system and enhanced active aerodynamics to offer superior braking performance. This allows for later braking into corners, but also improved brake feel and greater cornering speeds.

A range of further options and upgrades are available including a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) developed aerodynamic package including carbon fibre rear wing and front splitter, a passenger seat with six-point harness, and further lightweight components including a polycarbonate windscreen.

The 650S Sprint will be priced at £198,000*, and available from all official McLaren retailers worldwide or direct from McLaren GT.  Visit retailers.mclaren.com to locate your nearest retailer.

With the launch of Sensus Connect, Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) reveals an updated on-board infotainment and navigation solutions. Now, Volvo Cars truly offers customers a fully connected experience. The cloud-based services allow drivers to find and pay for parking from their car, discover new restaurants at their destination, stream their favourite music seamlessly and much more.

“Technology should make your life easier. That’s why we listened carefully to our customers when creating Sensus Connect. It’s not about offering a thousand apps; it’s about giving you precisely what you need, before you even knew you needed it,” says David Holecek, Connectivity Brand Manager at Volvo Cars.

The brand new in-car experience includes a novel take on all aspects of travelling. Tens of thousands of radio stations can now be enjoyed in a car that is pre-heated or pre-cooled every time the customer wants to go for a drive, made possible by the remote start function on their mobile phone.

A navigation system where the driver can not only set destinations through their mobile device and get exciting information about their surroundings through Wikipedia, but which also lets them find and pay for parking at their destination.

Park&Pay is the world-first integrated solution for finding and paying for parking from within your car. The application is based on car2infrastructure communication and points the way of new possibilities when the car starts to “communicate” with its surroundings.

Improved Premium Sound system

Our Sensus family also includes an improved top-of-the-line Premium Sound system with a 5x130W amplifier with the next generation sound enhancement software Dirac Live and up to 12 loudspeakers from Harman Kardon, including a new long-throw woofer for enhanced bass, new soft dome tweeters for soft highs and new, larger mid-range centre and door speakers.

“We strongly believe that a great music experience is a combination of a fantastic sound system, a wide array of music sources, topped off with an easy-to-use user interface. With our new Premium Sound system, you can enjoy an immersive soundstage with improved bass performance, while being able to turn up the volume with full audio clarity,” talking with AutoRiff, says David Holecek.

Investing in cloud-based solutions

Volvo Cars is one of few car manufacturers that strategically invests and partners in cloud-based solutions. The Volvo solution offers a branded look and feel and the possibility to remotely update content over air and time.

“It’s all about giving everyone an enjoyable, easy to use and intuitive experience. There is no point in filling a car with technology if it comes off as overwhelming, so our main focus is always to give our customers the best experience available and make it easy to digest. Our cloud-based apps update seamlessly. Sensus offers the optimal combination of input/output methods and allows the driver to turn the entire car into a Wi-Fi hotspot for all of their connected devices,” David Holecek says.

By choosing partners who are the very best in their individual fields such as Ericsson, HERE, Yelp, Storytel, Glympse and parking service providers, Volvo were able to focus on what they do best, providing a safe, comfortable and highly enjoyable ride.

“The driver can now seamlessly switch between their favourite music on high-end speakers and having their text messages read out loud without taking their hands off the wheel. And as from now, your car will not only tell you when it’s time to visit the garage but also will suggest an appointment for you at your Volvo dealership. Our brand new app Connected Service Booking is only the first step in making the dealer workshop fully integrated into the digital eco-system, enabling even more services in the future. Say goodbye to expensive or outdated maps, our Sensus Navigation includes lifetime map upgrades. There’s really no reason it should be more difficult than that,” David Holecek adds.

Sensus Connect uses the HERE Location Platform to provide connected navigation with 3D maps. HERE’s Automotive Cloud services also enables Volvo’s Internet Map application providing an entry level routing solution featuring Map Display, Local Search and Traffic information.

The updated Sensus Connect includes a great selection of cloud-based applications designed to simplify the entire car experience.

“Two of my favorite parts of the new Sensus Connect are Glympse, an app where you can share your position with others to see on their phones, perfect when carpooling or visiting a friend’s house for the first time and the fact that the entire car works as a Wi-Fi hotspot for all your connected devices, using an integrated roof-top antenna to ensure the best possible signal reception,” David Holecek concludes.

All in all, Sensus Connect is there to deliver what the driver needs, when they need it – to make Volvo Cars customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable without compromising safety or comfort.

Notes to the Editor:

The updated Sensus Connect will be available in all new Volvo models starting in May 2014. Drivers who already have Sensus Connect in their cars today will be offered an update for their system.

The 2014 Volvo Sensus solutions will include the following features among others:

ENTERTAINMENT

• Pandora – internet radio (US/Canade/Autralia/New Zealand only)
• 100 000 global radio stations through TuneIn
• Rdio – streaming music service
• Stitcher – on-demand radio shows and podcasts
• Regional audiobook solutions

NAVIGATION

• Upgraded navigation system with 3D graphics and lifetime map upgrades
• Park&Pay by Parkopedia – find available parking and pay for it from your car
• Yelp – find local services, e.g. restaurants, with reviews
• Glympse – dynamic, temporary location sharing
• HERE by Nokia – cloud connected services to provide seamless and connected navigation to drivers
• Send to Car – find your destination on your phone and send it to your car’s navigation system
• Wikipedia – enriched local points-of-interest information
• Baidu – local search for the Chinese market
• Find Gas
• Internet Maps
• Weather App

INTERFACE

• Refreshed HMI with graphically themed centre and driver displays
• Voice control and text-to-speech

CONNECTIVITY

• Integrated roof-top antenna and embedded 3G modem
• WiFi hotspot in the car
• Smartphone tethering (WiFi and Bluetooth)
• Bluetooth audio streaming and hands-free calling

SERVICES

• Smartphone app – connecting your phone to your car
• Engine remote start – app-controlled heating and cooling of the car
• Connected service booking – car knows when service is due and will pre-book itself for a convenient service appointment at Volvo dealership

The two most powerful and fastest mid-engine sports models from Porsche are ready and raring to go: with uprated engines and excellent PASM chassis the Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS set new benchmarks for sportiness in their segment.

The independent front and a modified rear end, blackened bi-xenon headlights – with the Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS) as standard – and exterior lettering in silky black gloss are subtle yet unmistakable features of the new top models. The name says it all: at Porsche “GTS” stands for Gran Turismo Sport and has promised outstanding Porsche performance ever since the legendary 904 Carrera GTS dating back to 1963. According to Berlin Observer, With the new two-seaters Porsche is renewing its commitment to authentic sports cars for both the racetrack and everyday use.

The six-cylinder boxer engines fitted in the new top models are based on the 3.4-litre engines from the Boxster S and Cayman S respectively. Thanks to optimised fine tuning they now deliver an additional 15 hp (11 kW). This means that the Boxster GTS now has an output of 330 hp (243 kW), whilst the Cayman GTS delivers 340 hp (250 kW). The torque has also increased by ten newton metres in each model. What’s more, the Sport Chrono package is a standard feature in both mid-engine sports cars. This means that in conjunction with the optional Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) and the active Sport Plus button, the Boxster GTS sprints from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds, whilst the Cayman GTS is even a tenth of a second faster. Both vehicles therefore set new reference values.

As regards the maximum speed – measured with the standard manual six-speed transmission – the Boxster is the first of the new premium roadsters to top the 280 km/h mark, achieving a speed of 281 km/h. At 285 km/h the sports coupé is even faster. The new top models are the first mid-engine two-seaters from Porsche to be certified according to the Euro 6 standard, and with this measuring method they achieve an overall fuel consumption with PDK of 8.2 l/100 km (9.0 l/100 km with manual transmission).

The Boxster GTS and Cayman GTS combine top driving dynamics with the typical Porsche spread with undiminished ride comfort and exclusive features. For example, the combination of PASM and the Sport Chrono package as standard enables the driver to switch between progressive sportiness on the one hand and long-distance comfort on the other hand at the press of a button. The tyres measuring 235/35 at the front and 265/35 at the rear on 20-inch Carrera S-wheels provide the perfect setup for both. Both two-seaters come with sports seats and leather interiors as standard. Like other GTS models from Porsche they are refined with Alcantara elements.

With the new models Porsche is now extending the GTS principle to the Boxster and Cayman. Like the Cayenne GTS and Panamera GTS, these are extremely sporty top models that stand for superior driving dynamics in their segment. The combination of letters originates from the 904 Carrera GTS, a race car dating back to 1963 that could also be registered for use on public roads. In the 1980s and 1990s the 924 GTS and 928 GTS cultivated this principle. It was reborn in 2007 in the form of the Cayenne GTS, and was subsequently also implemented in the 911 series and the Panamera.

The new models will be launched from May 2014. With country-specific equipment and VAT the Boxster GTS costs €69,949 and the Cayman GTS costs €73,757 in Germany.

Boxster GTS: Fuel consumption urban 12.7 – 11.4 l/100 km; extra-urban 7.1 – 6.3 l/100 km; combined 9.0 – 8.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions 211 – 190 g/km; efficiency classes: G, F**

Cayman GTS: Fuel consumption urban 12.7 – 11.4 l/100 km; extra-urban 7.1 – 6.3 l/100 km; combined 9.0 – 8.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions 211 – 190 g/km; efficiency classes: G, F**

The Departments of Transportation for the U.S. states of Illinois, California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington have awarded Siemens a contract for the delivery of 32 diesel-electric passenger locomotives. The contract is valued at approximately €165 million ($225 million). It includes a purchase option for another 225 locomotives which will be used for regional and mainline trains traveling at speeds of up to 200 km/h (125 mph). The 32 locomotives ordered are scheduled to be delivered between fall of 2016 and mid-2017. “For Siemens this order marks our entry into the U.S. diesel-electric locomotive market and strongly underscores our long-term vision for the U.S. passenger rail market”, Jochen Eickholt, CEO of the Siemens Rail Systems Division, emphasized. The diesel-electric locomotives will be manufactured at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, California.

On December, 2013, the Illinois Department of Transportation, which is coordinating the order on behalf of California, Michigan, Missouri and Washington, announced its intention to move forward on the order with Siemens. The official Notice to Proceed has now been formally granted.

The Charger locomotives will be used exclusively in passenger service. The primary traction drive, a 4,400 hp-rated diesel engine with 16 cylinders and a cubic capacity of 95 liters, will be manufactured in the U.S. by Cummins Inc., headquartered in Columbus, Indiana. These modern locomotives are powerful and efficient and will deliver a cleaner ride, with better air quality and reduced emission rates ensuring compliance with the Federal Railroad’s EPA Tier IV regulation required to be in place in 2015. Reported by Dailyreleased

As one of the fastest, most efficient and safest modes of transportation, passenger rail is a key priority for U.S. infrastructure development. After all, Siemens wants to play a major role in this lucrative market and can already look back on first successes, for example the recent fanfare surrounding the new, advanced technology electric locomotives built in Sacramento for America’s premier passenger rail operator, Amtrak. Just a few weeks ago U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx welcomed the first of 70 Amtrak Cities Sprinter (ACS-64) electric locomotives into passenger revenue service.

The Siemens diesel-electric passenger rail locomotives ordered will greatly help improve transportation on non-electrified railroads throughout the Midwest and the west coast. The contract includes 32 vehicles plus spare parts supply. In addition, there are options for an additional 75 locomotives for use in regional transportation and another 150 locomotives for mainline transportation.

The Charger locomotive reaches a tractive effort on starting of 290 kN with a weight of around 120 tons. The Cummins QSK95 diesel engine is 4,400 hp-rated. These U.S. locomotives are based technically on the Siemens Eurosprinter, Eurorunner and Vectron locomotive platforms which have been proven through several billion kilometers in both freight and passenger service. The components are procured and manufactured exclusively in the United States.