Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[First US-built BAC Mono headed to Cars & Coffee]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/18/first-us-built-bac-mono-headed-to-cars-and-coffee/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/18/first-us-built-bac-mono-headed-to-cars-and-coffee/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/18/first-us-built-bac-mono-headed-to-cars-and-coffee/#commentsFiled under: , ,

BAC Mono

Sector111 has announced it will unveil the first US-built BAC Mono at the upcoming Cars and Coffee in Irvine, California. The car was built from a knock-down kit, and Sectior111 says the company's allocation of 2012 Mono units has completely sold out. It's currently taking orders for 2013 models. As you may recall, the single-seat, street-legal racer tips the scales at a mere 1,190 pounds, and gets around your favorite track thanks to thrust from a 280-horsepower 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine worked up by the minds at Cosworth. If that sounds like a party to you, best head to Irvine tomorrow for a look.

A little over a year ago, BAC announced it was partnering with Sector111 to bring its heathen machine to our shores, albeit in very low numbers. The company shipped just 12 knockdown kits to the states. Check out the brief press release below, and be sure to tell us if you get to see the machine in the flesh.

Continue reading First US-built BAC Mono headed to Cars & Coffee

First US-built BAC Mono headed to Cars & Coffee originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bacbac monocars and coffeecars and coffee irvineirvinemonosector111Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20431800/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2013/01/18/first-us-built-bac-mono-headed-to-cars-and-coffee/20431800/article-detail.xml 20431800 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/bac-mono-628_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/bac-mono-628.jpg <![CDATA[Ken Okuyama Design takes over at former Mercedes Advanced Design studio in Irvine]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/#commentsFiled under: ,


K07 - Click above for a high-res image gallery

Anybody can start sketching cars in their basement and call themselves a design studio. Of course it helps if you've got the clout and experience that comes with having steered an established coachbuilder like Pininfarina. But if you're going to make a dent in the increasingly troubled independent automotive design community, you're going to need a fancy facility to make it all happen. And that's just what Ken Okuyama has done.

The former Pininfarina chief stylist, since turned independent, has established an American arm to his expanding design enterprise, and they've set up shop at what used to be the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design studio (which in turn moved into Chrysler's former Pacifica Advanced Design Center in Carlsbad). The facility at 17742 Cowan Street in Irvine, California, (close to the line with Newport Beach) was purpose-built by Mercedes and boasts some 13,500 square feet of space right in the heart of Southern California's automotive design epicenter. While Okuyama himself will presumably continue to work from his headquarters in Italy, he's assembled a crackerjack team to lead the American studio, including Neil Brooker, Michael Castiglione and Stuart Macey - the team credited with such work as the Porsche Carrera GT and Dodge Challenger, designs which clearly speak for themselves. In addition to automotive design, the crew at Ken Okuyama Design USA will be working on furniture, eyewear and mass transit, among other things, as well as a custom coach-building operation to allow discerning (read: filthy rich) customers create their own one-of-a-kind rides. We'll expect to see more from the studio in the near future.


Gallery: K.O. 7 and K.O. 8


[Source: Car Design News]

Ken Okuyama Design takes over at former Mercedes Advanced Design studio in Irvine originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>californiadesigndesign studioDesignStudiofacilityirvineirvine californiaIrvineCaliforniaken okuyamaken okuyama designken okuyama design usaKenOkuyamaKenOkuyamaDesignKenOkuyamaDesignUsamercedes-benz advanced designMercedes-benzAdvancedDesignokuyamastudioThu, 04 Jun 2009 07:58:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19056118/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/06/04/ken-okuyama-design-takes-over-at-former-mercedes-advanced-design/19056118/article-detail.xml 19056118 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/01_k_o_7_8-580op_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/06/01_k_o_7_8-580op.jpg <![CDATA[Toyota delivers pair of plug-in Prius to California universities]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/toyota-delivers-pair-of-plug-in-prius-to-california-universities/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/toyota-delivers-pair-of-plug-in-prius-to-california-universities/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/13/toyota-delivers-pair-of-plug-in-prius-to-california-universities/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Leaving no stone unturned when looking at a more efficient future, Toyota has teamed up with the Univerisity of California to further study the viability of plug-in hybrid versions of the Prius. As part of the research, Toyota donated two prototype Prius models modified for plug-in operations to the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley and the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UC Irvine. The two university programs will study ways to measure and test fuel economy and emissions, including upstream emissions from power generation, as well as what sacrifices people are willing to make, how much they'd actively seek to plug their cars in, and what type of range and charge time they're willing to live with.

The current Prius provides a good base for the research, and didn't change drastically to pull PHEV duty. There's a larger battery pack occupying the space normally reserved for the spare tire, and the powertrain controller allows more frequent EV-mode operation, as well as running on battery to about 60 mph. The battery pack size will shrink as new technologies come online, and the limited (7 miles) range in EV mode will likely also increase. Quite an about-face from the days not too long ago when Toyota was vociferously denouncing PHEV conversions of their cockroach-shaped four-wheeled eco-statement.

Hit the jump for Toyota's press release.

Continue reading Toyota delivers pair of plug-in Prius to California universities

Toyota delivers pair of plug-in Prius to California universities originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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