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.
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.
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.
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.
Its been reported that Porsche plans on sending a Porsche 911 racing car to both Geneva and the Nurburgring 24 hour race.
The key here is that in the press release from Porsche they stated that “the focus is not on… winning the race.”. Then what is the real point here?
The Porsche 911 GT3 R is a racing car which is supposed to aim at winning every race they enter. However, its like this is just a publicity stunt from Porsche that seems to be a little misguided.
Like all 911s, the hybrid GT3 R sports a horizontally opposed six-cylinder mounted behind, and driving, the rear wheels. Unlike all 911s, however, it has electrically powered front wheels. Two electric motors live underneath the hybrid GT3’s nose; they are paired with a 40,000-rpm “electric flywheel power generator” mounted inside the cockpit. Surprisingly, there is no large battery pack. The hybrid system can be used, at the driver’s discretion, to provide extra power or fuel efficiency on demand.
The new 2011 VW Touareg Hybrid features a V6 TDI engine and is rumoured to be able to travel up to 31 MPH in an all-electric mode.
All the engines now come with 8-speed autos designed, like all other 8-speed autos, to ensure that you’re always in the wrong gear and the transmission will need to kick down at least 3 gears to deliver meaningful acceleration.
A lot of that weight’s been shed by dropping the locking diff, but don’t worry mythical VW off-road enthusiast, there’s a “Terrain Tech Packet” with locking center and rear diffs, and a button to select low range gears.
Love it or hate it, the 911 GTR 3 Hybrid with two electric engines complementing a high-powered flat-six will be wooing visitors to the Geneva Auto Show in March. Below, a new promo video for the hybrid supercar.
Jaguar has seen fit to contract its small engine work out to Lotus, which makes sense given the two British company’s differing product specialties. Lotus has reportedly delivered a 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine that generates 35kW of power, which is carried – with a little help from a UK government grant or two – inside a new 2011 XJ sedan with a lithium ion battery pack.
Motive force comes courtesy of what Autocar believes is a 145kW (194 horsepower) electric motor with 295 pound-feet of torque. Performance specifications sound pretty good – though not quite as impressive as we might have imagined – assuming all of this is accurate, with a range of 600 miles, combined fuel economy of 47 miles per gallon (57 mpg UK) and carbon emissions of under 120 g/km. Top speed would reportedly come in at 112 miles per hour.
An unnamed source at Jaguar tells Autocar that the electric XJ handles quite well “because of the bulk that’s removed from car when you strip out the conventional drivetrain.” Future Range Rover models are also rumored to get a similar drivetrain.
Reports are coming out that Ferrari will launch a new hybrid officially in Geneva in March. I find it little funny that Ferrari is all about being bold and standing out from the crowd, but this Red colour will soon be turning Green.
The Ferrari 599 hybrid will be powered by a pertrol / electric combination, with energy sourced from lithium-ion batteries. With their consistent effort to transfer F1 technology into road-going models, Ferrari F1 will likely use KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) which will also be used for regenerative braking to bring inertia to a smooth stop.
Fuel consumption will be reduced by about 35%, which will mean that even the poorer Ferrari owner (if that exists!) will be able to run their Ferrari’s a lot more often.
