Daily Archives: August 11, 2016
Mercedes-Benz Plans To Build All-Electric Sprinter Van For 2018
There will be a next generation Sprinter van from Mercedes-Benz, and the good thing is there will be an option for an all-electric drivetrain. The German automaker believes a fully-electric van will allow the Sprinter to be more competitive and will enable it to operate in congested cities while having zero emissions.
Ulf Zilig, the head of Sprinter’s replacement project, said in an interview that the new generation van will be available in 2018. It will reportedly share the same dimensions as the current Sprinter van, but will be packed with a slew of other upgrades to make the van easier to manage. There is a possibility of an autonomous driving system.
For a better-designed product, Mercedes will be working with upfitter companies to build the van’s bodies, interior shelving and full box truck systems.
If you want the fully electric Sprinter, however, you’d have to wait for more information. Zilig said that the electric drivetrain would only be available “if the market supports it.” So, before Mercedes invests more money into its research and development for the all-electric van, it has to make sure there is market there.
But to be sure, Mercedes will build the Sprinter with an all-electric drive in mind.
This full-size van is hugely popular both in Europe and the United States. Ford and Ram went so far as to adopt Mercedes’ strategy in using Euro-spec Transit and ProMaster vans for American use.
Mercedes is just right to arm itself with a new electric drivetrain option, considering the potential challenges being posed by other automakers. The German automaker even established its own van production plant in Charleston, South Carolina. This new facility is scheduled to start operating and be online before the decade ends, just in time for the release of the new Sprinter in US shores.
There is no information yet about the specifications of the van, as well as the pricing, so stay tuned for more details as Mercedes releases it.
Aston Martin V8 Supercar To Arrive In 2022
Aston Martin has a new business plan, and it will culminate in the building of the V8 supercar by 2022. Company executives revealed that Aston’s “second century plan” includes releasing a new model every year until 2022, when the range will be completed and model replacements will begin.
What will generate the most interest among Aston Martin enthusiasts is the mid-engined supercar that is set to arrive in 2022, according to Autocar. This will be the final car in the company’s plan. But instead of being too out-of-this-world, Aston’s design boss Marek Reichman said that the mid-engined supercar will be “more mainstream” compared to the limited edition AM-RB 001 hypercar currently being developed by Aston Martin and Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer.
When it goes on sale, the Aston Martin V8 supercar will sit just above or at par with Ferrari 488 GTB. According to Reichman, all car designers “dream” of designing a mid-engined supercar, which should include a smaller fronter area, lower nose, shorter overhangs and smaller wheels.
Aston Martin last showed interest in building midengined cars in 2014 when it introduced the DP-100 Vision Gran Turismo at Goodwood. This 800bhp mid-engined GT racer was specifically created for the Gran Turismo 6 computer game and the theoretical twin-turbo V12 was also made available for download.
But the DP-100 project is far from being just available in the online world since Reichman revealed that the design cues used on the DP-100 could very well be applied on sports cars Aston Martin will launch in the real world.
Coupled with the developments in the AM-RB 001 project, the DP-100 concept could very well be used to engineer and design Aston’s mid-engined supercar. No doubt, the V8 supercar we are expecting in 2022 will have the same design aesthetics to the AM-RB 001 and the DP-100 concept.