There’s a new Spanish car company introducing a vehicle with some new technology that will completely alter the way you drive and the way your vehicle behaves.  Nearly every option from rev-limits, power-output, steering and more can be controlled and accessed via touch-screen controls located on the steering wheel and dashboard.  It’ll also go 0-60 Mph in 2.8 seconds.

Spanish car-tech company IFR Automotive showed up to the British-Motor-Show to showcase its Aspid sports-car, which featured some never-seen-before auto-tech, according to the Register,  Best thing is, the company is actually going to produce it.

All hardware controls and buttons in the Aspid are controlled by a pair of interactive touch-screens that subsequently control a new centralized car processing and wiring system the company has dubbed “Unidrive.” 

Most modern vehicles use standalone microprocessor-controlled systems, in which many don’t talk to each other or the driver.  This means wasted computing power, needless duplication of wiring and components, unnecessary weight and reduced functionality.  The Unidrive system aims to revamp these now-antiquated systems. 

IFR says its Unidrive computing gear can be put into any car at the design stage, and effortlessly perform all the necessary functions needed. The company also stated this would normally yield a two-thirds savings in weight and the elimination of four in five processors found in a typical modern vehicle.  Unidrive also lets you get control of all the stuff car designers normally lock you out of. In the Aspid, where they’ve taken pains to plug in and hook up absolutely everything, the two touch-screens offer menus that let you play around with almost every aspect of the vehicle.

The driver can change parameters such as the rev limit, valve timing, power output, steering assistance, ABS, noise valve, brake balance, ride height, traction and stability controls, as well as influencing the pitch, roll and yaw of the car by adjusting its damping characteristics.  Basically, you can alter the vehicle to drive exactly the way you prefer today, and then change it up for the next day if you choose.  Make it drive like a sports car during the weekend, and tame it to a more luxury feel during the work-week.  Now that’s automotive technology. 

The system offers a built-in and extendable data logging capability, which can be readily configured for all onboard diagnostics.  On the road, this is complemented by GPS satellite navigation, GPRS/GSM mobile communications, motion-sensing accelerometers, Wi-Fi wireless technology, Ethernet interface connections, as well as touch screens for both driver and co-driver.  There really isn’t any technology readily available that this vehicle doesn’t offer. 

I couldn’t find many details surrounding where the vehicle will be available, but it was stated the Aspid is street-legal and will begin production next summer. 

The real value is the Unidrive system that can be altered and fitted into any vehicle during production.  IFR hopes to sell the system to mass-market producers, and I hope they embrace the concept.  The future of the automotive-industry would be bright if they finally start including some of this technology that consumers have been asking for, for a long time now.  Internet access in the car?  Count me in.

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 3:50 pm under Auto, Navigation, Technology.

Read more entries by Justin Montgomery.
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