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The MAG Lev Concept Car With Sexy Design And 3 Wheels

inhabitat.com — The MAG car would require that all automotive infrastructure be magnetized in order for it to work, a task well-neigh impossible for any large-scale implementation. However such a system would tremendously reduce the energy required to propel the car, as it ’s electromagnetic motor would be calibrated to reduce the car’s weight.

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  • Salinesolucion, on 08/05/2008, -2/+22This thing looks like a scorpion!
    • dafragsta, on 08/05/2008, -0/+8This thing looks like implausible.
      • feliks2, on 08/05/2008, -4/+2Thing looks improbable, the technology is impossible. At least the part where reducing the cars weight magnetically supposedly makes it easier to propel. I'm sure not even a single high school physics class is required to understand this.
      • TaylorTAP, on 08/05/2008, -2/+2I agree. I don't think magnets are very good for technology either...
      • Markpdotcom, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1It looks like its smiling at you when you look straight on... like a crocodile waiting to attack, but kind of cute! :D
    • inThePoopShoot, on 08/05/2008, -2/+1For the Brotherhood of NOD!
    • theOster, on 08/05/2008, -3/+1that thing looks like its always doing a cool 85...
    • majordannyboy, on 08/05/2008, -0/+4I thought it kinda looked like a woman's high heel shoe!

      But I guess I just have a fetish.
    • EricAnderton, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3Shoe.

      It looks like a shoe.
    • swordedge, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1It's a shoe.... especially after I run it for a couple months, then it will smell like one too
    • mcfl36, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1I agree I think it looks like a scorpion
    • MrSlumberjack, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1I was thinking bedpan
  • allanhough, on 08/05/2008, -7/+15badass!
  • success4uteam, on 08/05/2008, -14/+3Clever design, but not made for performance. And I wonder how the front-end handling is.

    http://seogranted.com
  • MikeChino, on 08/05/2008, -2/+38I'm going to park it in my flying house.
  • cheap2, on 08/05/2008, -3/+7Cool!
  • skipthefrog, on 08/05/2008, -5/+8Did someone say magnetic and car and awesome design?
    I'm so there.
  • BigManOnCampus, on 08/05/2008, -4/+19Kind of strange to mention the number of wheels on a magnetic levitation car, which should require no wheels during operation since it levitates using magnets. Thus the name, Mag Lev....
    • darny, on 08/05/2008, -2/+2...get it in and out of your driveway, and through non-magnetized portions of the article-mentioned "transportation system".
    • chedabob, on 08/05/2008, -3/+4By the sounds of it, the MagLev part is to reduce the weight, so that the motor can power the wheels with less energy.
    • CobaltBlue, on 08/05/2008, -2/+3Wouldn't the wheels be to get it from your house to the maglev track?
    • Stormwern, on 08/05/2008, -2/+5"However such a system would tremendously reduce the energy required to propel the car, as it ’s electromagnetic motor would be calibrated to reduce the car’s weight."

      Not levitation, it reduces the wheight.
      • Scynet, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2By levitation...

        Bah, small physics details, no matter.
      • Markpdotcom, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2"wheight"??? Seriously? Its correct in the quote you copied and pasted... Just look up for two seconds after typing! Jeeze!
      • Origin415, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1It wouldn't make it any easier to move, just reduces the friction. Sorta silly if you ask me.
    • feliks2, on 08/05/2008, -2/+5All you people talking about reducing the cars weight, that makes no sense at all. Sure, the force the car exerts onto the road may decrease, but the cars mass stays the same and wold require the same amount of energy to propel. This article is completely idiotic. Seriously, just think about the phyisics of this statement:

      "However such a system would tremendously reduce the energy required to propel the car, as it ’s electromagnetic motor would be calibrated to reduce the car’s weight."

      Makes zero sense.
      • feliks2, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3If you mean something like a hovercraft as opposed to a boat, then yes, that does make sense becasue the boat has to go through the water. Cars on the other hand travel on the surface of the asphalt, so the resistance there is neglible compared to what is encountered by bosed. As for the bolder, you are again talking about sliding. Cars don't slide, they roll, with bearing that are rather efficient. If anything, the should pull the car to the road for increased traction.
      • iofthestorm, on 08/05/2008, -1/+3I think they meant reduce the normal force, of course the weight can't change but the net normal force to the ground can change.
      • Stormwern, on 08/05/2008, -1/+1Newtons first law, the only thing slowing the car down is friction, mass does not have an impact if you maintain velocity
        Something it will impact negatively is steering and breaking preformance, since those depend on high friction.
      • feliks2, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1@ iofthestrom Yeah, thanks, I couldn't remeber the term for that. Of course a decrease in normal force wouldn't really reduce the amount of energy required to propel the car.

        @Stormwren Most of this friction your talking about is internal friction (engine and transmission parts rubbing and whatnot) and air resistance, so these magnets really won't help. Also, if this impacts braking performance, it also impacts acceleration.
      • beesaretasty, on 08/05/2008, -0/+4weight != mass
      • EdgeOfEpsilon, on 08/06/2008, -0/+3Unfortunately, at highway speed 70% of your energy is lost to *aerodynamics*, not rolling resistance. And the aerodynamics of that thing look terrible.

        So, you could spend trillions of dollars and make a car that gets 25% better gas mileage (so about 45 mpg), or you could optimize the shape and get something like the Aptera, which will sell for $27,000 and gets 130 mpg (more if you plug it in).

        Idiots. The seat's pretty cool tho.
  • akimie, on 08/05/2008, -3/+1wonderful car but how far and fast it can go..
    • BuzzedMonkey, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2It can't. It doesn't really work yet.
    • EdgeOfEpsilon, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1It won't. It will never work.
  • bullioncube, on 08/05/2008, -2/+3Nice looking car, but these ultra-futuristic looking designs never get off the drawing board.
    • psyckboy, on 08/05/2008, -0/+4http://www.aptera.com/
      It's out there. On actual roads. I've seen it. Of course, I work a few blocks from their main office ...
    • theOster, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1it might if they added some kickass tail fins (coz something *never* go out of style)
      • intangible, on 08/05/2008, -1/+1A maglev would be better with fins anyway... You need something to help keep the car pointed in the right direction.
  • inky232000, on 08/05/2008, -8/+4you people will jump for anything that has a "green" label on it... do you honestly think they will go to the bother to create a magnetized roadway infrastructure...
    • Whorebane, on 08/05/2008, -1/+6"a task well-neigh impossible for any large-scale implementation"

      I think the article is fully aware of that. I mean come on, it's in the description. You don't even have to read it to find that out.
    • nekaidesigns, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3Yeah, i hate fun too.
  • chaos7, on 08/05/2008, -11/+5cars aren't sexy. chicks are sexy.
  • wazzledoozle2, on 08/05/2008, -1/+1Source:

    http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/award-winning-m ...
  • Meccabilly, on 08/05/2008, -4/+1Sinclair C5 anyone?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_C5
  • dregin, on 08/05/2008, -2/+4OLD. Trotters Independant Traders were flogging these 25 years ago...
  • TheThirdLevel, on 08/05/2008, -1/+2Magnetic power struck the server down.
  • sayoshinn, on 08/05/2008, -2/+2Looks like a shark. Can you get frickin' laser beams for it?
  • Whorebane, on 08/05/2008, -1/+2For some reason it reminds me of that monowheel that Mr. Garrison created on South Park (the one ripping on the Segway).
  • UberNick, on 08/05/2008, -2/+3Who rolled up that woman's shoe inside a paper plate?
  • bethebryant, on 08/05/2008, -5/+4Waste of time and will never happen. I think a car powered by unicorn horns has a better chance at development than this does. Must we digg everything with the word "Green" in it. Lame idea, waste of human brain power, and fugly.
  • ChayD, on 08/05/2008, -2/+1Hovercar?
  • zaxnyd, on 08/05/2008, -2/+6Looks like a shoe.
    • AgentBers, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1Yeah, it seems cool at first...then you realize it looks like some chick's shoe.
  • AlienMushroom, on 08/05/2008, -8/+1Ugly.
  • cl2yp71c, on 08/05/2008, -2/+1Sign me up for one.


    I'd love that to be my hearse.
  • AlienMushroom, on 08/05/2008, -2/+1You need some big feet to fit in those giant shoes.
  • yyymilitia, on 08/05/2008, -3/+1Clearly it's phallic
  • Stormwern, on 08/05/2008, -2/+1Sounds like a very bad idea, reducing the wheight on just the vertical axis would make the tires loose grip much easier when you turn or break.
    • nekaidesigns, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1I was thinking that too - but assuming the track was able to notice anomalous activity, i.e. a car sliding out of control or car-to-car contact, it would theoretically be able to immediately lock the cars to the track to keep damage to a minimum. This could actually make driving incredibly safe.
      • Stormwern, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1As I understand it, the track is uniformly magnetized, and the car would have to be the one to shift polarity in that case.
      • nekaidesigns, on 09/05/2008, -0/+1ah, there you go then. back to the drawing board.
  • RomeyRome, on 08/05/2008, -2/+2Yeh. Somebody forgot about ground clearance.
  • BufordT, on 08/05/2008, -3/+12That huge back tire will come in handy when you want to get pelted by rocks, dead animal debris, or other road trash that will undoubtedly get caught and smack you in the back of the head. Not to mention that it is a convertible with out the option to convert (no roof). And in the rain, that back tire is going to soak you and ruin the interior of your car. They might as well have just put a picture of a go-cart on the site. They are actually efficient and more practical. And calling it sexy....I won't even get started on that one.
    • TankerJoe, on 08/05/2008, -1/+1Nevermind.
    • outfed, on 08/05/2008, -2/+0lol it's called concept they're not gonna roll this out tmmrw. It'll have a roof. Chill
      • o0dhacker0o, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1They're never gonna roll this out..period.
  • drgreenberg, on 08/05/2008, -0/+6Eh? The negative impact of a car's weight comes from its inertial mass, a higher value for which means a larger force to accelerate/brake or to change direction (turn). Reducing the downward force with maglev does nothing for this. In fact, a car counts on downward force for better traction, which is why race cars have spoilers and take car with airflow under the vehicle to reduce any lifting force. Seems that this car uses magnetic forces to actually make things worse.
    • feliks2, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3Finally someone mentions this. If anything, they should match opposite poles of the magnets to make the car stick to the road better.
  • inyearstocome, on 08/05/2008, -0/+8I'm holding out for Flubber.
  • krnldmp, on 08/05/2008, -1/+4I'm all for advances in transportation technology. However, there's no shortage of fancy ideas that can't work worth a *****. Its good to keep people's imaginations churning, so long as they aren't pelted with a barrage of garbage that keeps them from focusing on the stuff with promise.

    Keep in mind your state can't afford to keep bridges and roads made of dumb ass concrete, asphalt, and steel up to snuff. What makes you think they can afford to change them all so your magnetic floatie car works on them?
  • fudged71, on 08/05/2008, -0/+6That is definitely one of the nicer concept cars that I have seen in a while. Innovative as well.

    I would like to make a point, though, as I am an engineering student. FTA: "[the] vehicle is driven by an electric engine that generates a magnetic field capable of propelling the vehicle [...]" those details are sketchy at best. I am guessing that this industrial design student didn't put much thought into the technical bits. The term "mag lev" is short for "magnetic levitation", which this vehicle does not seem to do, as it requires tires. Also, this "magnetic field" apparently is only capable of propelling it forward, not upwards, effectively making the name ***** according to that. It sounds to me like they gave an artsy definition of what and electric motor is, then penned their invention after some cool name they heard somewhere, but did not understand the interpretation. The photos (design) are great, but the title and description are wrong. That is, ignoring the rest of what is said in that article. The facts may have been scewed by Inhabitat, and the car may actually have been conceptualized with some sort of levitation in mind, but I am just interpreting what was in the article.
    • krnldmp, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1I made an ingnorant assumtion in my post just previous to yours. I didn't read the article so I didn't know the proposal includes wheels. But that's not really my fault is it, because the headline said maglev.

      A system that provides power through the road would have an advantage in that energy storage is still the hard part for electric vehicles. So the idea may have more merit than the inhabitat effort affords it. Unfortunately turning the roads into a sort of EM trolley line would still be extraordinarily expensive and ruins the full autonomy of the vehicle, which I think makes it worthless anyway. If you want to ride on a track then stick to public transportation.
    • fudged71, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1sorry... forgot to read on major part (making my last comment entirely invalid). FTA: "electromagnetic motor would be calibrated to reduce the car’s weight by 50%"

      look three posts above me at this comment: http://digg.com/environment/The_MAG_Lev_Concept_Ca ... which explains everything quite beautifully. The designer of this sexy beast (the car, not the commenter) completely forgot about inertia. Yes, they are just a designer... an artsie. However, if you want to put technical things into a design, such as magnetic levitation, at least do all your research.
  • disrupter, on 08/05/2008, -2/+5Looks like a piece of *****
  • trollick, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3Sexy? Am I only one who doesn't feel urge to have sex with this car?
    • MorphicMusic, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1lol hey you gotta get your article popular with good adjectives amigo
  • positron, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2Monorail!
  • kraftj, on 08/05/2008, -1/+2Where's the *****' radio?
    • etx313, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1It's 2008, get a boom box boyeeeeeeee!!!
  • ivanmarsh, on 08/05/2008, -1/+0Isn't the reason we don't use mag-lev trains in the U.S. that they have serious health risks? Mutating chromosomes or something like that?
  • l800LEMMINGS, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2looks like a concept shoe but i still like it
  • ATLien74, on 08/05/2008, -1/+1It looks like the thing that Mr. Garrison invented to screw the airlines over. Do you have to put one lever up your ass and the other lever in your mouth to steer?
  • sponeil, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2Why not just make all the roads be giant moving walkways, like in Heinlein's story? Giant conveyor belts inside climate-controlled tunnels , with transition strips to move from a belt running at one speed to a belt running at another speed. Need to carry groceries? Just wheel a grocery cart around. Need to move something bigger? Just use a driving cart (like the golf carts you see pulling things through airports).

    Sound practical? Of course not. Neither does this idea.
  • dinostabOMG, on 08/05/2008, -0/+3Wouldn't the cost and energy expenditure of magnetizing the road make the whole thing worse than driving, even if the concept were sound, which it isn't?
  • kinstray, on 08/05/2008, -1/+1I think Gordon Brown is working on something like this. When he came in to office, he sold a lot of the UK's gold reserves - gold is invloved in the magnitisation process. This is to do with a new type of transportation, me thinks. However, I don't think it is ready yet. Might be enough to keep him in at the next election, if he gets it ready. Not only cars but trains, planes, any form of transport!
  • saar, on 08/05/2008, -1/+0www.flytheroad.com -- anyone interested in this car has to check this site out. I think this may have been dugg before but you should check it out anyways. Watch the video from TopGear, I want one with guns on it!
  • krnldmp, on 08/05/2008, -2/+1If you get a chance go see some REAL cars of the future. Coming soon to a town near you.

    http://digg.com/autos/Hydrogen_car_show_aims_to_fu ...
    • EdgeOfEpsilon, on 08/06/2008, -0/+1Hydrogen cars – only *slightly* more practical than this thing.

      Give me battery electric vehicles that I can fast-charge in highway rest areas.
  • jasmus, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1wow people, way to read.

    "The winner of the Unseen Technology Award at the Interior Motives Design Award 2007"

    Concept car, future technologies etc, design award (rather than engineering award).
  • ebookfree, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1There are no good roads in my country to drive this car! But it AWESOME )
  • BCRazgriz, on 08/05/2008, -0/+1Two words: Speed bump.
  • farfromsubtl, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2On man's ugly is another man's "sexy."
  • eliot2000, on 08/05/2008, -0/+2I like the horizontal pane of glass at neck height right in front of the passenger area and the fact that the big wheel would fling road grime right into the back of the driver's head. Great design.
  • WheezyMustafa, on 08/06/2008, -1/+1Where's the damn CD player :-p
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