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My dream car
my dream car
It was a great idea. I would design my own car. Carrying everything I ever wanted in a car; its ability to do what I wanted from a vehicle, the ultimate in luxury, reliability, its go-anywhere ability. Safety, the foremost concern, coupled with considering the best of road holding, cornering, braking, steering.
So, here goes the making of a dream machine:
The go-anywhere ability, I had thought of many years ago. I had seen a film of Gen. Rommel—The Desert Fox blasting over sand dunes in the Sahara in a half-track during the 2nd World War. And how he kicked up the sand! That's for me I thought! I felt good at having got such a flying start to my assignment.The second part of the vehicle design simply sprang to mind thinking about the half-track. They would be mated to a Patton Tank shell. Of course, the shell would be modified. Huge picture windows, one-inch thick plate glass, waterproof up to 30 metres, tinted with white lace curtains. The half-track configuration, the Patton Tank shell, modified no doubt, would not present a pretty picture.
But according to me the front end should look like, of course, The Lamborghini Miura. The most beautifully designed front-end any car has ever had. It is the Mona Lisa of cars. The design simply had to grace my car. I had decided to call it K-Zing may be Kay Zing. The difference really doesn't matter much.
Bertone, one of the world's leading car designers was responsible for the creation of Miura. I was mentally writing a letter to him“Dear Mr. Bertone, Enclosed please find rough sketches of a Patton Tank shell (modified) being driven by a half-track. I do not care for the front end, so, please, redesign it. I want the front end to look like a Lamborghini Miuralow and simply beautiful. I want the 'popup' headlights — feel free to remove the machine guns, if that helps with the design. You should remove the turret and barrel and replace them with a bubble. The rear end I leave to your imagination. And yes! The vehicle should be waterproof at least up to 30 metres! Thanks Mr. Bertone!”
…I know he would have jumped to this occasion and accepted the challenge.
The upholstery would be Khadi. India empowered! No fancy leather by skinning cows and other animals. That was a nice touch, I thought, Maneka Gandhi would have appreciated the most and made Mahatma Gandhi proud in the heavens! All the woodwork would be pinewood. I love the smell of pine. It reminds me of the mountains.
The driver's chair or captain's chair or K-chair or my chair would also be done up in Khadi. The chair would have umpteen positions, all electronically or hydraulically controlled. It would be mounted on a computerised gyroscope for stability.
The main driving position would be housed in a plate glass bubble with a 360-degree view. Remember the shell would be waterproof up to 30 metres. The engine, a V.18 Daimler Benz 9-litre diesel, Turbo charged and completely waterproof churning out 1,100 bhp. The half-track would need that power to pull itself out of the Sutlej river bed!
The engine would sit atop the tracks to feed power directly and help in weight distribution. A shaft would take power to the front wheels. This would enable the K-Zing to run on roads. It would also conserve fuel.
No suspension would be required for the front wheels, no brakes either, only, electronic power steering. Actually, it would not be necessary. The track would do the turning. But without a steering wheel it would not be a car. So what if the steering wheel was “furzi”! No air bags. Only an ejection seat in case of dire emergency, like being confronted by two, may be three Delhi buses. I would eject to safety, and float down in a Lay-Z-Boy attached to a parachute and rocket in case I had to change directions.No dashboard. No dials or gauges. No radio, no cell phone or music system. On the contrary there would be microphones on the exterior to relay sounds in the cockpit. The sounds of an Indian bazaar can be more confounding than a tropical jungle at night. With the sights from the bubble and the panoramic windows, I wanted sound to go with it. What an A.V. Show it would be!
Two, may be three, TV screens to see the road ahead, to the sides and of course the rear. All cameras to have infrared ability to navigate through fog and underwater. The periscope would also have infrared vision. And very powerful lights, possibly the landing lights of a Boeing 747. It can get murky underwater.
The outside would be ringed with air bags. At the slightest impact a pair of arms would shoot out and encircle the pedestrian, cyclist or cow that came into contact with 'Me'. All of them would open at the same time to save me from a Delhi bus. Another point. I won't have to buy expensive insurance I will take out third party damage only. The attributes of this vehicle were amazing.The safety of a tank, 'go anywhere' ability to make a Hummer blush, the road holding of a Porche. The Miura look up front. Wow!
If I had the money, I would build a proto-type and patent the design. I can see Toyota, G.M., Ford, Chrysler-Daimler, et al. beating a path to my front door. They would fight for the right to build my car. May be I'll hold a public auction. Ah yes! The ultimate luxury that would appeal to the select niche group who would be seeking solace, while driving it would be a single-seated. I beg your pardon, if I had spoiled your dream of taking your girlfriend for a drive in K-Zing! [/b]
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