
Spanish racing driverFernando Alonso has added a one-off Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse to his growing collection of rare cars. Known as chassis 8.100, the car is distinguished by bespoke aluminium bodywork that required more than 20 tonnes of aluminium to produce, along with dedicated CAD programmes developed by Bugatti. Its history is equally distinctive, being produced after an original customer pushed Bugatti to create something it had initially considered too expensive. For Alonso, the automobile fits closely with an approach to luxury he outlined in 2024 about choosing manufacturers that treat individual customers differently rather than simply producing cars in larger numbers. To know the aluminium casting demand forecast in the transportation sector, explore our report "Global...
Ducati has unveiled the Desmo450 SM, a new production supermoto developed from its Desmo450 MX platform, featuring an aluminium twin-spar frame. This is designed to combine low weight, rigidity and strength. The motorcycle made its debut during World Ducati Week and is aimed at competition use. The Desmo450 SM uses the same aluminium frame architecture as the motocross model. Ducati says the frame has also been designed to allow a straighter intake route while maintaining the strength and rigidity needed for high-performance riding. The bike has a fuel capacity of 7.2 litres. The company has also focused on reducing weight in other areas. Its Bartubeless wheel system, for example, removes inner tubes and cuts rotating and unsprung mass by 1.2kg. The motorcycle also features a cast...
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Jaguar took the wraps off an extended version of the aluminium-bodied XF at the 2016 Beijing Motor Show, with 140mm added to the wheelbase giving rear passengers 157mm more legroom and 116mm more kneeroom. According to Jaguar, 90 per cent of executive saloon cars are bought in China in long wheelbase form, with the new XF L being the first aluminium-bodied car built in China. It’s being built as part of JLR’s joint venture with Chery at a new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Changshu. The new aluminium-bodied car also debuts a couple of new tech features: As many of these cars will be chauffeur driven, there’ll be wifi for rear passengers, along with the option of folding tables, massaging seats and electric window blinds. And for the driver, the latest InControl Touch Pro...

Motor Wheel Service Distribution (MWSD) has unveiled the latest Xlite and Xbrite+ forged aluminium wheels, designed predominantly for DAF vehicles and petrol and powder tractor units with a weight saving axle. The official UK distributor of Wheels India’s Xlite range has made two eight stud variations available in size 6.75”x17.5” with the 24mm weighing 13.2kg and the 30mm just 13.1kg. Both carry a load capacity of 2,725kg, making them suitable for Euro 6 vehicles. MWSD says the new wheels will be of major interest to vehicle operators who have had to use steel wheels on the weight saving axle as forged aluminium sizes were previously unavailable. John Ellis, managing director at MWSD, said: “Traditionally the wheel used on a weight saving axle has been steel, so to bring forged aluminium...

Audi TT RS enters the second generation. The newly launched offering from the luxury car brand which is all set to make its world premiere at the Beijing motor show in both Coupe and Roadster forms, sees the same 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine concept, but with a revamped engine block now made from aluminium rather than steel. Audi TT RS power is rated at 400hp – up 60hp from its predecessor – while the maximum torque of 480Nm is achieved between 1,700-5,850rpm. Transmission hardware include an uprated seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and Quattro all-wheel-drive system. The new-gen TT RS comes with pronounced-looking air vents up front, two large exhaust pipes and spoiler at the rear. Generous splashes of aluminium, carbonfibre and RS letterings on both the exterior and...

Noted New York based designer Karim Rashid has created a set of aluminium bottles for drinks brand Pepsi, one of a series of megabrands that presented in Milan this year. Working in collaboration with parent brand PepsiCo, Rashid has created three aluminium containers for the carbonated soft drinks. The Prestige designs, which will be used for special events hosted and sponsored by the brand, each feature a gently tapered form. Colours and patterns are used to differentiate the brand's Pepsi, Pepsi Light and Pepsi Max varieties. "The (aluminium) bottle that we did, which was a four-year project, is very complex," said Rashid, during a panel discussion organised by Pepsi and chaired by Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs. "The technology to produce it is all new, even just the feeling of...

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) researchers’ latest invention, of aluminium bonding wires used in semiconductor packaging, is poised to revolutionize the industry by providing a cheaper alternative to gold, silver and copper, materials science professors Hung Fei-yi and Lui Truan-sheng said. Due to their superior conductivity and ductility, gold, silver or copper bond wires are used to make the ball bonds that connect 90 per cent of the world’s LED and IC semiconductor devices to their casing or frames, the researchers said. However, the high prices those metals command make mass production expensive, with gold valued at about NT$2 million (US$61,862) per kilogram, silver at NT$40,000 per kilogram and copper at the much lower, but still pricey, NT$220 per kilogram, they said. In...

B&O Play has taken the wraps off its smallest Bluetooth speaker to date, adding the BeoPlay A1 to its line-up, which it states provides up to 24 hours portable playtime during everyday use. Fitting “comfortably in the palm of your hand”, the BeoPlay A1 measures in at 5.2” x 1.9” and weighs 600 g – built for life on the go. B&O Play states that a unique, dedicated DSP algorithm with advanced high-slope filtering sees the BeoPlay A1 “create a spacious 360-degree soundscape”, with the speaker sporting a fully active, two-way design using an aluminium cone mid-woofer, a silk dome three-fourth” tweeter and advanced DSP filtering. The aluminium cone mid-woofer employs a neodymium magnetic system and high-peak power amps, with the BeoPlay A1 delivering “a full-range deep bass to as low as 40 hz...

OpenAire, a Canadian designer of eco-friendly roof structures, said it has won a contract to manufacture a huge, aluminium elliptical-shaped dome for a 280,000-sq-ft shopping mall in Sharjah, UAE. Located less than 10 km from Dubai, the 31-storey complex will rise from the city's waterfront like an oasis of luxury retail and residential space. With an area of almost 300,000 sq ft and over 30 floors of space, the Sharjah Mall will be more than just a shopping centre. OpenAire has partnered with Aluminium Light Industries Company (Alico) to complete this flagship Sharjah Mall project. It will be, in short, a vibrant city within a city with inviting interiors. As its centrepiece, the mall will feature a remarkable aluminium elliptical dome skylight designed and manufactured by OpenAire....

The 4th Automotive Lightweight Supply-Chain Symposium will be kicked off on the 11th of July 2016 at the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai, China. The AluMag Symposium, which was held the first time in Düsseldorf (Germany) back in 2014, has experienced a steady growth of attendance from international OEMs. Different from most Chinese conferences, the AluMag Symposium focuses on more intensive discussions with more international attendees under a much closer but also a warm atmosphere. Attendees will get to network with important lightweight supply-chain executives who will be coming from all around the world. The 4th symposium agenda features a number of high ranked industry executives. Among the booked speakers are: • Mr. Stefan Zangerle – Head of Purchasing Cast Parts BIW / Body and...

There is a sense of 'economic' cheer in the air, so to speak, after the February IIP stood at 2 per cent versus (-) 1.5 per cent in January. After spending three months in the negative territory, factory output finally rose on the back of a strong performance by mining and electricity sectors, while retail inflation moderated further in March. Also just recently, the Reserve Bank of India in its monetary policy review cut policy rate by 25 basis points and announced several steps increase liquidity. The General Index for the month of February 2016 stands at 184.6. The cumulative growth for the period April-February 2015-16 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 2.6 per cent. The Indices of Industrial Production for the Mining, Manufacturing and Electricity sectors...

The car that got everyone in a lather at the Goodwood 2014 Festival Of Speed in 2014, the aluminium-bodied Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7, has made its Australian debut. Just 10 of the 250 cars produced by Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) skunkworks were earmarked for Australia and all have already been sold to customers who have stumped up $339,610 for the most exclusive limited-edition road-going Jaguar ever available here. Jaguar’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8 engine, as seen in the F-TYPE R Coupe, is installed in the F-TYPE Project 7 but SVO has fettled it to produce 423kW (19kW more than the F-TYPE R Coupe) and 700Nm of torque. The eight-speed Quickshift automatic transmission and second-generation Electronic Active Differential delivers the power to the rear wheels, with...

Toyota and Clemson University have joined forces in creating uBox, a concept car ideally aimed at the next-generation auto buyers. This new concept is a result of the partnership between the graduate students at the International Center for Automotive Research at the Clemson University and engineers at Toyota Motor North America. Deemed Deep Orange, the collaboration between Clemson University and Toyota aims to immerse students into the step-by-step process of developing vehicles. The vehicle is fitted with composite carbon fiber rails bonded with aluminum so as to support a curved glass roof, thanks to a distinctive technique employed by the Clemson University students, dubbed pultrusion. Other key features of the uBox include: • Dashboard display bezels, vents along with customized...

Salsa is a brand known for their out-of-the-box take on the world of bikes. But now they have shouldered their way into the full-bore gnarmobile arena with their latest launch, the power bike- Redpoint in carbon and aluminium versions. The Redpoint is Salsa’s 27.5 inches wheeled 150mm trail bike for ‘tackling the roughest and most remote all-mountain terrain’. It is boosted, so Salsa claims increased stiffness coupled with ‘massive amounts of mud clearance.' The power bike comes in carbon and aluminium flavours, with slight differences in geometry between the models. In the US the Carbon XO1 and GX1 are $5499.99 and $4499.99 respectively, while the aluminium is $3499.99. In the US versions, finishing kit between the GX1 and aluminium version is largely the same, although the aluminium...

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is all set to take on the transport market by launching a self-assembly aluminium bicycle. In grand Ikea tradition, the new product will receive a guttural Scandinavian moniker – the Sladda, Swedish for "to skid" or "to slip sideways". Made in partnership with Veryday, a design studio whose clients range from Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg to Scandi-stroller firm BabyBjörn, the new unisex bicycle will be available in one colour, two sizes, and have a host of customisable add-ons and extras. The aluminium bicycle is being billed as a lightweight, low-maintenance bike perfect for urban living. "Sladda is like a tablet with apps," says Oskar Juhlin, Director of Industrial Design at Veryday, "in the sense that you can customise it with several different...

AB Glass, one the UK’s leading architectural aluminium manufactures and installers, has launched a new range of bespoke, aluminium folding doors for homes, which are all made from sustainable materials. Smart Bi-folds by AB Glass will feature high specification aluminium lifestyle designer products including: aluminium bi-folding doors, sliding doors, entrance doors, roof lights and windows. This type of door has grown in popularity in recent years as more architects and homeowners opt for designs that offer a more seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. Alan Brayley, managing director of AB Glass, said: “Aluminium is the alpha material for modern day living and products are highly resistant to corrosion with a life span measured in decades rather than years. The natural...

Apple has always been held in high esteem globally for being a premiere mobile handset maker excelling in design and technology. But due to its high price-points, the brand has never been able to penetrate much deep into the markets like India, as the majority of the consumers here belongs to the middle income group. This year, Apple has positioned itself across the Indian market by unlocking aluminium-body iPhone SE at a price of affordable place and installment scheme. According to a report of TECH 2, the gadget giant aims to disrupt the Indian market by convincing the Indian corporate to use the newly launched product. iPhone SE is beautifully designed with the same bead-blasted aluminium which has already been used on 5s. The smart touch of aluminium gives it a divergent look that...

NASA has begun testing components of a new propulsion system that could see spacecraft ride the solar wind into interstellar space. The system, called the Heliopause Electrostatic Rapid Transit System, would consist of 10 to 20 electrically charged, bare aluminium wires radiating from the centre of a spacecraft to form a circular “E-Sail”. The wires would electrostatically repel the fast-moving protons of the solar wind, with the momentum produced creating the spacecraft’s thrust. “The Sun releases protons and electrons into the solar wind at very high speeds – 400 to 750 kilometres per second,” said Bruce Wiegmann, leading engineer on the project. “The E-Sail would use these protons to propel the spacecraft.” Each tether would be just one millimetre thick but about 20 kilometres long....

Audi has built an extended, custom-made version of the A8 L for an European customer. With a length of 6.36 meters and a wheelbase of 4.22 meters, the A8 L extended offers a total of six seats and six doors. Less than a year’s time has been invested in development and construction of the unusually long luxury sedan, while the safety and rigidity of the XXL-body, as well as the design of the silhouette mirrors that of the production model. Audi has already bagged more requests for such a custom-made limousine. The Audi A8 L extended features the lightweight body of the production model, which is almost completely made of aluminium. Audi engineers extended the side skirts and the transmission tunnel by extruded aluminium profiles. A double rear wall separates the passenger compartment from...

Ford Motor Co’s F-150 Super Cab pickup truck was the only 2016 model large pickup truck to receive a “top safety pick” after new tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the agency said today. Two pickups built by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — the Ram 1500 Quad Cab and the Ram 1500 Crew Cab — received marginal overall ratings for their performance in a test designed to simulate what happens when a vehicle strikes a tree or another vehicle with just the driver’s side fender. One model made by General Motors Co and one made by Toyota Motor Corp also received marginal ratings in the latest round of tests, the IIHS said. The IIHS is a research arm of the insurance industry, and its crash tests are increasingly influential in guiding vehicle safety design. Automakers strive...