Necessity breeds ingenuity and, in these trying times, the automotive industry, which is currently facing its toughest period in more than half a century, has answered the call by reinventing itself as a medical-equipment manufacturer. General Motors, Ford, Lamborghini, India’s Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra Group, and even the Formula One community are all working on medical solutions to help stop the spread of Covid-19.
Project Pitlane by F1
With no motor racing for at least three months, F1 teams - including Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Red Bull, McLaren, Renault, Racing Point, Haas and Williams - have placed rivalries on hold and are using their skills as a prototype industry to form a collective known as Project Pitlane.
With engineers working across the board and even relocating to different teams, depending on their skills with precision machines and 3D prototyping, F1 has developed a breathing aid to keep patients out of intensive care.
“If you have a problem in a race on Sunday, you need a solution by lunchtime Monday, so there’s time to convene a meeting later in the week as they need it in production by Wednesday,” former F1 driver and now TV commentator Martin Brundle says. “F1 has an absolute deadline of every second Sunday when the next race starts, so it has this can-do, must-do, will-do attitude to get things done quickly.”
While its star drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas stay at home, the Mercedes-AMG team have been working with University College London to develop a breathing aid that doesn’t need a ventilator. Its Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device (CPAP) has already been approved by the NHS and the hope is to make 1,000 units a day.
Despite only starting on March 18, the CPAP is being used in the two epicentres of China and Italy, and works by pushing a steady flow of oxygen-rich air into the patient at pressure so the lungs remain open, allowing for more oxygen supply.
Shields and masks by Lamborghini
Supercar manufacturer Lamborghini, meanwhile, has turned to making surgical masks and protective Plexiglas shields, using personnel from the saddlery that normally hand-stitches leather interiors, to produce 1,000 masks a day for the Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna. Located in the heart of the pandemic in northern Italy, Lamborghini is also using its 3D printers, which stamp out the carbon-fibre body panels of its cars, to make 200 protective medical shields a day. “We feel the need to make a concrete contribution,” Lamborghini chairman Stefano Domenicali said. "The S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital is an institution we have worked with for years and we will win this battle together.”
Ventilators by Mahindra and Maruti
Closer to home, the Mahindra Group is making cost-effective prototypes of ventilators, as India imports 85 per cent of its medical devices for intensive care. “We are proud of our team who confined themselves to the factories and without sleep to produce these in 48 hours.” chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted this week.
Neighbouring Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava met with the Indian government last week and agreed to work with ventilator manufacturer AgVa Healthcare to ramp up its target from a few hundred units to 10,000 per month.
Ventilators by GM and Ford
In the United States, Ford and General Motors are both working around the clock to find solutions for mass production, as that country takes the unenviable position of most cases of Covid-19. GM joined with Ventec Life Systems to convert its 24 million-square-metre electronics facility in Indiana to produce ventilators with the help of 1,000 volunteers from the United Auto Workers Union.
The company aims to deliver up to 10,000 critical care ventilators a month with the ability to scale up further, and also helped Ventec clear a 20,000-unit back-order at cost while producing a decade’s worth of ventilators in seven weeks.
The employee-led initiative was created, planned and approved in 48 hours, and includes converting its Warren, Michigan, plant to produce 50,000 surgical masks per day within two weeks and eventually 100,000 per day.
GM’s long-time rival, Ford announced a collaboration with GE Healthcare to produce up to 50,000 ventilators in Michigan within 100 days and up to 30,000 units a month thereafter. Ford says its ventilators differ by working on air pressure without the need for electricity, which could be vital for makeshift hospitals and remote areas.
The company will convert its Rawsonville Plant using 500 volunteers to produce 1,500 units by May, 12,000 by June and 50,000 by July 4.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
WITHIN%20SAND
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CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea
When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
The%20specs
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Juvenile arthritis
Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.
