RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
Written by Rowan Horncastle
Don"t you just hate getting T-boned? We sure do. But in the future, the act of getting sideswiped may be a teeny-weeny bit less painful. It"s all thanks to ZF (well-known manufacturer of deliciously smooth eight-speed automatic gearboxes) who believes pre-crash external side airbags are the future of crashing. Airbags are hidden everywhere in cars nowadays (curtain rails/seatbelts/knees) but ZF wants to add them outside cars, specifically door sills. Think of them as a giant lilo-sized skirting board that explodes out the side of the car to protect the car"s occupants like a giant talk-to-the-hand-coz-the-face-ain"t-listening". Depending on the car they"re attached to, the squishy airbags have a capacity of 280-400 litres (that"s five to eight times your normal steering-wheel airbag), and expand upwards from the side sill to form an additional crumple zone in the door area between the A and C pillars.
Date written: 7 Jun 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 15947
Don"t you just hate getting T-boned? We sure do. But in the future, the act of getting sideswiped may be a teeny-weeny bit less painful. It"s all thanks to ZF (well-known manufacturer of deliciously smooth eight-speed automatic gearboxes) who believes pre-crash external side airbags are the future of crashing. Airbags are hidden everywhere in cars nowadays (curtain rails/seatbelts/knees) but ZF wants to add them outside cars, specifically door sills. Think of them as a giant lilo-sized skirting board that explodes out the side of the car to protect the car"s occupants like a giant talk-to-the-hand-coz-the-face-ain"t-listening". Depending on the car they"re attached to, the squishy airbags have a capacity of 280-400 litres (that"s five to eight times your normal steering-wheel airbag), and expand upwards from the side sill to form an additional crumple zone in the door area between the A and C pillars.
Date written: 7 Jun 2019
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 15947
