Michelin

Despite not becoming the personal transport revolution that it was designed to be, the Segway has provided a wealth of design fodder for numerous self-balancing concepts, prototypes and production single occupancy vehicles. Mohamad Sadegh Samakoush Darounkolayi's entry into this year's Michelin Design Challenge, however, probably owes more to the Disney/Pixar film WALL-E – hopefully the users of his Supple concept won't end up being the grossly overweight, lethargic, mentally-challenged descendants of humanity like those aboard the Axiom cruise ship. Read More

Bicycle inner tubes that contain a small-puncture-sealing slimy liquid may not be a new development in and of themselves, but Michelin has released a product that takes the concept a step further. The company's Protek Max tube not only contains a sealant, but is designed to compress when punctured to assist the self-sealing process. Read More

Like many other regions of the world, Brazil has a transport congestion problem. Once seen as a city issue, traffic jams have spread to smaller and smaller towns. The designers of the OU concept propose a possible solution where existing roadways have rails installed and drivers of specially kitted-out vehicles can join road trains to flow through otherwise congested areas at a constant pace. The electric OU vehicle's wheels would operate in either an open configuration – for normal driving – or closed, for rail travel. Read More

Although I live by a river, I don't own a boat so am not faced with having to drag a trailer down to the water's edge and unload my dinghy every time I want to cross the great expanse. I might just be persuaded to spend more time on the water, though, if there was something like the Manta waiting outside my front door. The sporty-looking three-wheeler concept is designed to be run on twin electric motors, with the rear wheels taking care of propulsion on water as well as on the road. The design is amongst the entries chosen by this year's Michelin Challenge Design judges for display at the recent North American International Auto Show. Read More

The Michelin Challenge Bibendum has just finished its tenth staging in Brazil, and thanks to championing what was an unfashionable cause when it started, has become the major annual sustainable mobility event as environmental concerns have grown. One of the highlights of the event this year was Michelin's release of a 145 page book entitled “Driving in the future – towards sustainable road mobility” and it's a great resource for understanding the challenges we face collectively, and the ways in which are likely to overcome them. Even better news is that you can download the entire book for free in PDF format and that it's available in English, French and Portuguese. Read More

THINK electric vehicles are heading south. Following on from plans to introduce its electric vehicle range in the U.S., the Scandinavian electric vehicle maker has now announced a deal with energy provider CPFL Energia to conduct a feasibility study on its THINK City EVs in the Brazilian market. Read More

When we brought you our article on the Ferrari 599 GTB back in 2006, it was the fastest V12 production car on the market. Now, the company has released the 599 GTO, the fastest ever road-going Ferrari. Based on the 599XX - the advanced experimental track car – this extreme V12 berlinetta delivers a neck-snapping 0-100kmh acceleration time of just 3.35” as well as a top speed of more than 335kmh (208mph). Read More

At the North American International Auto Show, Gizmag’s Noel McKeegan got the lowdown on the Venturi Volage concept electric sportscar from Venturi’s Clement Dorance. Venturi is the company responsible for the world’s first production electric sportscar, the Fetish, and its latest electric sportscar is the result of collaboration between Venturi and Michelin. It is one of the first applications of the Michelin Active Wheel System that replaces a vehicle’s traditional engine with eight electric motors located within the wheels. Each wheel contains two motors - one responsible for the propulsion and the other taking care of the suspension. As Clement explains this innovative design not only gives the Volage four-wheel-drive and active suspension, but also provides a low center of gravity to further enhance the maneuverability and overall performance of the vehicle. Read More

Did you marvel at the impressive cornering and maneuverability of the Dyson Ball when it first raced around the floor in TV ads? If such a ball design can take a vacuum cleaner to places no others would dare to go, what could such a thing could do for a car? Graphic designer Santosh Chawla has incorporated a similar principle into his hydrogen powered Circulus concept car design. Read More