Posted on 06/05/2007 4:24:51 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Simple, clever, fun. That's the philosophy behind the vehicle you see pictured above, the Loremo (pronounced lo-ray-mo which is short for Low Resistance Mobile). Of course, there's nothing simple about designing and building a car, but there has certainly been a large need for cleverness to meet our current standard of "fun".
Don't let the picture fool you. There's nothing really new here, aside from the impressive 50g/km CO2 figure. This car achieves its high level of fuel efficiency by taking current fuel-saving methods to a level almost beyond reason. A main part of this is weight saving. Every part of the car has been stripped down to its 'bare essentials', including the interior, chassis, wheels and tires, and engine (though oddly enough, it still possesses a navigation system). The designers have optimized its drag coefficient all the way to the width of the tires - wider tire = more friction. This is a good thing, since engine options are either a 2-cylinder 20hp turbodiesel, or a 3-cylinder 50hp turbodiesel. The former will get you to sixty miles per hour in a blistering 20 seconds, while the latter will get you there in 9. Fuel efficiency, however, is very impressive - 1.5L per 100 km (translated 188 mpg). Not too shabby.
The coupe is labeled as a 2+2 because the trunk boot is 'ergonomically shaped' so that two children can fit "comfortably" facing rearward - given, of course, that they don't get car sick. One enters the car by opening the front or rear 'gate' (see gallery). The front lifts the entire nose section from the A-pillar forward, taking the steering wheel with it. According to the website, it's as easy as getting in a bathtub. Uh-huh.
It'll be a while before we can test that out. Production versions of the Loremo won't be available until 2009. Weighing in at just over 990 lbs. to just under 1040 lbs., it might be fun to drive - but is it worth the pain to one's cornea? I mean, I like the headlights and taillights, and even the Tesla-esque nose, but really. The profile doesn't look as though it has evolved past the early sixties. Retro isn't that much back in.
Maybe if I saw one in person... nah.
What in the world is that?!
ping
THAT is a cute little coffin.
For the kid in all of us.
How would you like to be in that... on the Jersey Turnpike during the ride home from work?
Utterly stupid design. The engineers oughta be shot. OK, not really. But you get the point.
What kind of idiot designs a vehicle that cannot be entered in the rain without exposing the entire front cabin area to the rain?
Fools.
That's what I was thinking - I wouldn't want to be in that thing on the "I-20/59 Motor Speedway, 18 Wheeler Division" between B'ham and Tuscaloosa.
Yeah, it would make a cute hood ornament on a Mack. Or a speed bump.
A Mack truck driver wouldn’t even notice running over speed bumps like these....
Not sure... but it’s no joke. The pic was taken in La Gomera... one of the Canary islands.
My lawn tractor has more hp! Turbodiesel hybrids do make a lot of sense though.
LOL. He might see blurry, bloody mist in the rear-view though...
Neat, you can drive your destination, then put the “car” in your backpack, instead of looking for a parking space.
Hey, when I was hitchhiking in Europe in the sixties they had things made out of corrugated galvanized steel with no paint. Inside the passengers sat on plastic webbing like lawn chairs. Why not revive those, too. Do it in time for the Recreate 68 demonstrations in Denver. s/
Talk is cheap... post a pic of it
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