![]() ![]() This will be Alfa Romeo’s version of the recently introduced Jeep Avenger battery-electric crossover for Europe, once believed to be called the Brennero. ![]() He said, “You will see it on several future models”, the first reportedly the compact crossover due on the market next year. This is the design Mesonaro-Romanos refers to, as well as the Sprint Zagato, or SZ, that preceded it. It’s been on everything from the Shelby Daytona Coupe and Ferrari 250 GTO to the Honda Insight, Toyota Prius, and Audi A2 and A7. The short tail was also famously on the 1963 Alfa Romeo Turbolare Zagato, shortened to the TZ. Effectively a Kammback or Kammtail, it’s when a vehicle roof descends toward the rear of the vehicle, ending in a vertical flank that looks like someone cut the car short with a large knife. You might not know that “coda tronca” means “short tail” in Italian, but you know what it looks like. ALFA ROMEO is clocking in on the retro side, design chief Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos telling: “Our next-generation cars will bring back the Coda Tronca into a current design language, as a means to boost aerodynamic efficiency and range, of course, but also to give the cars a distinctive, classically Alfa Romeo design character”. +++ My Electric Vehicle revolution Bingo card did not include spaces for the return of wagons (aero crossovers by a more suitable name) and the doubling down on retro design cues, but that’s what we’re getting and I like it. As of writing, it’s too early to tell if or when the Uptis tire will reach production, though the French company notes that it’s developing the technology primarily for “light commercial fleets intended for professional use”, meaning you may need to be patient before you can buy a set for your BMW 3 Series daily driver. I expect that more details about Michelin’s pilot project will emerge in the coming months. It’s see-through, and it’s certainly not a subtle modification. Regardless of which route they end up on, they’re sure to turn heads: the Uptis tire is airless, so it relies on a series of flexible fins to support the weight of the vehicle. ![]() Once the pilot program is in full swing, La Poste will send its Uptis-riding vans on routes around Lesquin, Valenciennes and Douai in the north of France, near the border with Belgium. This is one of the bigger vans in La Poste’s fleet, the service also owns thousands of smaller Renault Kangoo-type vans, and Michelin hopes the tire will help La Poste reduce service-related downtime. Michelin’s images show the Uptis tires fitted to a Citroën Jumpy, which is a medium-sized van that competes in the same segment as the now-gone Mercedes-Benz Metris and the Renault Trafic, among others. The data gathered during the first phase of the project will then be analyzed and used to make improvements if necessary, and up to 40 delivery vans will be fitted with Uptis tires by 2024. It sounds like the yellow vans will then deliver letters and parcels like any other van fitted with regular tires. The pilot project began in June, when La Poste installed a set of Uptis airless tires on 3 of its delivery vehicles. The brand has already started testing the prototype tire (which can’t deflate or go flat) in real-world conditions in Asia and in North America. +++ Michelin will continue testing its Uptis range of AIRLESS TIRES by fitting them to 40 vans owned by French postal service La Poste. ![]()
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