Hydrogen-powered Z.CAR with speed-adjusted wheelbase
Sure, the forthcoming Smart car can give you great gas mileage and a small footprint, but it's so, well, uninspired. "Uninspired," however, is the last word you would use to describe Iraqi-born architect's Zaha Hadid's Z.Car. The car was commissioned more as a piece of functional art by a London art dealer and a model has spent some time on display at the Guggenheim museum in New York.
The three-wheeled, two-seater features an adjustable suspension that allows the driver to change the angle of the cabin to suit different driving situations. For city duty, the Z.Car will sit at a more upright angle allowing better visibility and enabling the coupe to fit into those notorious "compact" spaces. When traveling at a faster clip the cabin tilts back 10 degrees, decreasing drag and increasing high-speed stability.
The concept relies on hydrogen to provide the required forward momentum, but seeing that a hydrogen infrastructure is far in the future, the carbon-composite concept will likely be equipped with a more traditional means of motivation.
Supposedly, a functional prototype manufactured by a British company exists and the developers maintain that the Z.Car could be available for purchase within a year for somewhere around $65k.
[Source: Gizmag]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ethan 6:02PM (8/02/2006)
Wow, I was interested in this for about 2 seconds. Then I realized...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/240Z
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glacia00 6:31PM (8/02/2006)
No idea what the Wikipedia article has to do with this but it actually looks a lot like the Toyota PM. Neither of which will ever be made since car makers like to stay stay at least 30 years behind the technology curve.
http://www.gizmag.com/go/2314/gallery/
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ROBERT COUVE 6:35PM (8/02/2006)
$65k for a three wheeler? I can get a really nice non-gas-guzzler for $65k!
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Aaron Post 6:48PM (8/02/2006)
http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/pm.html
What a rip off.
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John V 8:13PM (8/02/2006)
Uhhh ... not-very-accurate info, guys. The link that should show with my name connects you to the full article in the prototype issue of ROVE magazine, for which the address is RoveSite (dot) com.
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Gary 9:17PM (8/02/2006)
That Zaha's tricycle can give any competition to the Smart ForTwo Coupe is laughable. The ZCar is nothing more than a render and a model, at this point, designed by an architect, of all people. It doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of ever being anything more than a concept car. Meanwhile, the Smart has been sold for several years already as a production car all over the world, including the U.S., where Daimler-Chrysler intends to put its full weight behind it in 2008.
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Ethan 8:44AM (8/03/2006)
#2- "Z Cars" typically refers to The Datsun-Nissan sports car: 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 280ZX, 300ZX, and 350Z. I was expecting to read about a hydrogen powered Z when I read the headline...
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BartMack 2:24PM (8/03/2006)
At least now we know what Zaha wants to drive. (That question has just been keeping me up at night lol... NOT)
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Antonio Ara 11:39AM (8/16/2006)
Dear Sirs,
We have seen your very interesting article on the 3 wheeled hydrogen car. As we are interested in buying this car as soon as it will be ready and would also have some further technical information on it, we would kindly ask you to let us know the name of the British Manufacturer who is currently developping the car or any other person/company we can contact in this respect.
Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation in this matter.
Best regards,
Antonio Ara
Dynaco.Co.Srl
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