2009 Beat / Insight of the Future - The Loremo

[Bruce]

Wow. This is one hell of a car. The Loremo GT, due for 2009.

105 miles per gallon.
0-60 in 9 seconds
138mph
470kg
Drag coefficient of 0.2
Lower than a Beat
50 bhp turbo-diesel
4 seats
Mid-engined
5-speed manual
€15,000

The Beat would definitely lose in a game of top trumps...

http://www.loremo.com/index_en.php

Such sheer genius design... The rear passengers face backwards, to bring their heads further forward in the car, so that the designers can start lowering the car's roofline as far forward as possible, giving it an aerodynamic teardrop shape and a tiny rear profile, which is the bit that always creates most of the turbulence to airflow around cars.

The floor has been smoothed and contoured, complete with a diffuser at the rear, to aid downforce. So for once car designers have spent money on the underside that no-one sees, yet is so critical to airflow.

The chassis is very structurally efficient, both safe and lightweight, as it has no doors on the side - just front and rear hatches instead.

The German firm has also created the LS version, giving an astounding 185 mpg, which basically gives half the speed away for double the fuel economy. 185mpg is *triple* the Toyota Prius's fuel economy !

It seems that at long last, the engineers have finally taken over the design meetings from the stylists and market demographic consultants, in one company at least. I just pray every day they succeed in manufacturing it - the world so sorely needs something like this car.

The car is the company's raison d'etre, so they are definitely aiming towards making it. Where do I buy shares? Heck, how do I just make a donation? :¬)

Loremo. That's short for 'Low Resistance Mobile'. I found it a nightmare to remember the name without that explanation.

There is a preview here:
http://car-reviews.automobile.com/ne...-mpg-car/1758/

Bruce

[wallace]

great work from engineers and quite a achievement but you can't really compare it ar to BEAT which rolled from the factory long time ago in 1991

there will be few things that will be never taken away from BEAT including

The Beat became the last car to be rubber stamped by Soichiro Honda before he passed away in 1991.
Possible the first mid engined mass production car ever
it will be always special car and main thing is:


it's Honda

[MajorTom]

Honestly I don't like the shape of this car.

Wallace: I don't think the Beat was the first mass production MR as for example the MR-2 came out in 87 (mark I) I think so.

Tom

[wallace]

Originally posted by MajorTom
Wallace: I don't think the Beat was the first mass production MR as for example the MR-2 came out in 87 (mark I) I think so.

Tom

i was going to say possibly first mid engined soft top

[jcs]

... mid-engined convertible with a monocoque body, I think.

[tinytim]

I'm not adverse to an adrenalin rush from time to time but those rear seats,,, they are strictly for those carrying a death wish. The safety structure is all in the floor so anything hitting the rear is likely to ride up and take the rear seat passengers off at the neck. I notice they say it's satisfies all static crash requirements.
Not that that's a huge problem, I like 2 seaters

[jcs]

You're right. They should just make the rear luggage space - it'd be like lying under a sunbed in the summer!

[Bruce]

I think any car that low and lightweight will struggle with a dynamic impact with most typical cars of today, due to the law of momentum. A light car will generally cope fine if it instead hits a stationary object because it has so little energy of its own to have to dissipate.

People need to look beyond judging a car's safety on how well it protects its occupants. They're not the only people involved. So the heavily safety-system-laden modern cars could be regarded as disproportionately dangerous in a way due to their weight.


The Loremo's design is not too reliant on a strong floor. With a large bulkhead between the front and rear occupants, and without side doors, the car is optimised for side impacts, which can generally be the toughest to survive, due to the lack of deep crumple zones.

The Beat itself has a low nose, like the Loremo's tail. I'm sure it can be rode up just as easily, albeit with double the closing speed.

[jcs]

I think this was posted a while ago, but at the time it looked like it might be Honda's take on a new Beat. Be nice if they did decide to make it.

John