General Motors has just announced the X06 Carbon Chevrolet. It features a lightweight body with 7.0 liter engine.
The Z06 Carbon was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the Corvette at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when John Fitch and Briggs Cunningham won their class and finished eighth overall. The Carbon edition is essentially a Z06 with a ZR1 chassis and some of the carbon skin. When production starts this fall, only 500 examples will be made and they will only come in two colors, Inferno Orange and Supersonic Blue. All examples get black-painted wheels and a black interior upholstered in leather and suede.
Hybrid cars are going to become more prevalent in the coming years, and thats why this Porsche 918 Spyder Concept is just amazing.
Specs:
- 500 horsepower
- mid-mounted hybrid V8
- Carrera GT fused with a 914 and Jaguar XJ 220
Performance does not suffer at all from that ridiculous gas mileage: 0-60 in 3.2 secs. with a top speed of 198 mph and maybe the most important of all, a Ring lap time of under 7:30. Of course you have to take all this with a grain of salt considering this is all just estimated.
General Motors announced yesterday it will recall 1.3 million vehicles in an effort to address power-steering issues linked to 14 crashes. The Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt are the only U.S. models affected. [AutomotiveNews]
Another team is headed for the grid at the TT Zero electric motorcycle race, this one a Nordic outfit led by an experienced road racer modifying a Honda race bike.
The Swedish Electric Racing Team follows MotoCzyzs in committing to the TT Zero, which recently split from the TTXGP to take over the race first held last year on the Isle of Man. The team was founded by Lars “Lasse” Nilsson, a former motocrosser and road racer who also worked as a mechanic spinning wrenches for race teams.
The team has picked up some impressive hardware on which to base its bike, buying a Honda CBR 600RR ridden by Anthony West for the now-defunct Stiggy Racing World Superbike team.
“We bought the Honda CBR 600RR because the frame design is well-suited to convert to an electric system and since the new parts are about the same weight and placement, we expect the handling to be very similar to the original bike,” Nilsson said. “We are really thrilled to be participating in the world’s greatest motorcycle race, although we have a lot of work to do between now and then to get the bike ready.”
SERT has lined up Chris Palmer to ride the bike in the June 9 race, which will be held on the famed Mountain Course during the storied Isle of Man TT motorcycle races. Palmer is no stranger to the TT, having racked up three wins and four podiums since his debut in 1990.
Tesla has decided that most people cant afford the $111,005 for their brand new Tesla Roadster so now you can lease an electric sports car. Because putting together $1,658* a month is so much easier.
In reality anyone considering a Roadster probably has the direct funds for a straight out purchase. The company is offering a lease to provide “added flexibility and piece of mind” to customers because “as technology evolves, you will remain on the cutting edge of electric mobility advancements.” It believes a leasing option will help push the car a little further into the mainstream by making it easier for people to get behind the wheel.
“This will help us with the customers who have some trepidation about changing the paradigm from gasoline to electric,” company boss Elon Musk told the Wall Street Journal. “They can dip their toe in the water without making a big commitment of a purchase.”
The Ferrari 599 hybrid is real!
Posted at CarSpyShots.com the pictures were snapped on the stand just days before it was to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. Im not too sure if many people will want to have a Ferrari hybrid, but I guess as the world comes to terms with completely green cars, then the Ferrari hybrid and maybe even a complete green version will become very popular.
The Ferrari 599 hybrid will have a V12 engine up front and an electric motor and related electronics mounted on the rear transaxle. The system is based on the kinetic energy recovery system Ferrari’s Formula 1 team developed.
The Lotus Racing team has signed a partnership deal with leading news network CNN, it was announced on Tuesday.
The team, which is bringing the Lotus name back to Formula 1 for the first time since 1993, said CNN’s logos will on the T127 cars during the 2010 season.
“We are very proud to welcome CNN into the Lotus Racing family,” said team principal Tony Fernandes.
“It is a sign of the positive impact we have already made in the global business market that such a prestigious brand, familiar to millions around the world as the definitive source of news and current affairs, has made the decision to partner with us.
“The whole team and I are looking forward to working with CNN in the months and years to come on some very exciting campaigns.”
The deal will be managed by CNN’s commercial ‘Partner Solutions Group’, led by Rani Raad, senior vice president CNN International Advertising Sales.
Fiat’s new venture in Russia with OAO Sollers plans to produce as many as 150,000 Jeep SUVs a year, the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti reported Wednesday, citing analysts who participated in a company conference call.
Chrysler, under Fiat control, is looking largely at Jeep to help it more than double its international sales to 500,000 vehicles a year by 2014.
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne just signed the deal with Sollers last week, cancelling his keynote speech before the Economic Club of Chicago in conjunction with the Chicago auto show to do so.
General Motors Co. has been reported to be dropping plans for a Cadillac-badged version of the Chevrolet Volt.
Apparently a Cadillac version of the Volt would be too weighed down by the expected luxury and comfort features to replicate the Volt’s 40-mile electric-only driving range without extensive extra cost, a Bloomberg report said. Sources suggested achieving even a 20-mile driving range solely on battery power might require $30,000 of added cost, the report added.
The loss of the proposed Cadillac variant of the Volt casts more doubt on the near-term applicability of the Volt’s battery-intensive, series-hybrid design.
Some GM executives had argued a Cadillac version of the Volt would help reduce costs – mostly centered around the expensive lithium-ion batteries – and speed wider adoption of the Volt’s technology.
Like GM’s Puma and a slew of other personal mobility concepts before it, Honda’s three-wheeled 3R-C is all about getting one person around in style. As a “pod car,” it’s nice and small and would run entirely off lithium batteries. It also has space for storage in the front, and its clear canopy mysteriously shifts into a windshield to offer the driver more forward visibility.
The 3R-C is just a concept for the time being, though it’s set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Maybe we’ll be seeing more of this pint-sized beaut soon?
Autoblog Green, via Engadget
