Motorola Automotive, a division of Motorola Inc., Farmington Hills, Mich. (www.motorola.com) and Volvo have teamed up to provide what they claim is one of the world's most-advanced chassis controllers for the Volvo S60 R and V70 R models.
Called the Four-C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept) system, the car's electronic controller communicates with sensors in its chassis, letting drivers define ride, handling, and comfort. The brain of the Four-C system is a 40-MHz microcontroller that continuously samples road-speed information, position information for each wheel, and horizontal and lateral acceleration of the vehicle relative to the road. As a result, each damper is updated every 2 msec without any noticeable delay for the driver. Three buttons on the dash let the driver change chassis settings to comfort, sport, or advanced sport.
Four-C was developed jointly by Ohlins Racings, a developer of high-tech shock absorber systems, and shock-absorber manufacturer Monroe. Sensors are from AB Elektronic and VTI.