Pforzheim University graduate Bastian Bickelein’s BA thesis project was the Mercedes-AMG Magnetic Ghost concept, a four-passenger electric super sports car that clings to specially developed roadways through magnetic fields.
Bickelein attests that there has been no major change to the roadway systems since their inception. They are still made of asphalt and concrete. There has however been a lot of progress made in terms of vehicle safety, comfort and dynamics, but the main problems with the roads are the same as they were decades ago. Flexible mobility, he says, will only be possible with major changes and expansion of the roadway system.
By connecting vehicles with a new magnetic street system, there could be an opportunity to create a new kind of mobility. Connected cars already exist, but the communication only exists between cars. If the concept of a magnetic street gets combined with the vehicles that operate on it, a kind of linear actuator could be created to enable a new relationship between the street and the cars.
A street that builds a connection with cars can — along with the added benefit of keeping them charged with energy — also enable a higher level of dynamic vehicle performance. A magnetic attraction between the car and the roadway would also maximize safety by helping to control braking or avoid obstacles. A maximum of downforce, whether driving at slow speeds or even at a standstill, would be provided by the magnetic connection to the street.
The result is a vehicle that can accelerate without slip and navigate curves without understeer or oversteer. It could easily avoid dangerous situations as it would never be subject to side forces. The top speed in such a vehicle would also far surpass that of conventional cars, while expansion into the realm of three-dimensional operation — instead of just driving on the ground — would also be possible. The performance characteristics of the car would only be limited by the human body’s ability to withstand dynamic forces.
Bickelein’s Mercedes-AMG Magnetic Ghost concept and the technology embedded within would provide a whole other dimension to mobility. The Magnetic Ghost starts where conventional cars hit their limit.
