“We are past the idea of an environmentally friendly vehicle needing to look different. People don’t want to sacrifice anything, including style, to own an efficient car.” – Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen

Bold words backed by bold action. The Tesla Model S, produced by Tesla Motors, is an engineering feat, which proves you don’t have to sacrifice style to go green. It’s a full-sized battery electric sedan that is still in the development stages. Back when the Model S was in it’s preliminary developing stages, its code name was WhiteStar. Since then, this prototype model has continued to wow its audience. Since the unveiling at the 2011 North American International Auto Show, there has been a lot of buzz about when it will be on the market. It is now slated for market release for early 2012. It is expected to retail in the ballpark of $57,000, although baseline price quotes have been released around $47,000.

Though this is a costly figure for middle income consumers, it’s going to prove a highly prized vehicle on the road, and stands out as a leader for the future of eco-friendly vehicles. The Model S will be available in three different battery classes and range in cost: 160, 230, and 300 miles per charged battery. Due to the anticipation for its release, you won’t be able to waltz into your local dealer to buy a model or buy one over the Internet, like you’re browsing through insurance quotes online. You have to go to the Tesla website for pricing, purchasing details, and where these models will be available.

This vehicle marries Tesla characteristic quality of design with aerodynamics, stability of handling, crash safety, range, and overall performance. It’s an electric car from the ground up that has been meticulously engineered to be an innovation in the way we view and use electric transportation. It has also been optimized for crash safety, and it’s engineered to achieve the 2012 five-star NHTSA safety rating upon release.

Powered by a slim-line battery pack that’s positioned below the floor, this compact design truly integrates sustainability with style. With its compact frame, the Model S is created to exploit the advantages of an electric vehicle, while maximizing interior space and energy efficiency. This model is expected to have a range of 160 miles when fully charged with a zero to 60 acceleration rate of 5.6 seconds. Larger battery packs are expected to be available that will give this sporty piece of engineering an estimated 300 miles. The charging time is expected to take around three to five hours, which depends on the battery being used. There is also an option for a 45-minute quick charge for reduced distances, and the battery swap time is less than five minutes.

Go online to see videos and specs of this outstanding piece of machinery and see how the Model S is changing the way we think of electric cars. This vehicle will stun you with its elegance in integration and commitment to excellence. Surely, it will be a top competitor in sport electric cars and will innovate the way we drive.

Renault will soon be launching an electric car that is rumoured to take less time to charge than a mobile phone. The DeZir design is set to be introduced at the Paris Motor Show in October, and from the teaser images Renault has released, it’ll be a beauty.

The DeZir will charge in just 20 minutes with a 400V outlet, or eight hours with a standard household outlet. DeZir goes from zero to 62mph in five seconds and will also reach a top speed of 112mph.

Mercedes released details on a prototype it’s calling the SLS AMG E-Cell. The gullwing variant gets four, 12,000-rpm electric motors producing an equivalent 525 horsepower and 649 lb-ft of torque. It’s reported to go from 0-60 in just under four seconds.

The motors are placed near the wheels, but not in the hub, so they don’t count as unsprung mass. A 400-volt lithium-ion battery provides the juice.

Another big difference between the E-Cell and the standard SLS is the front suspension, which gets an independent multilink setup with pushrod damper struts. The vertically-arranged dampers in the series SLS took a hike to make room for additional drive shafts. No word on timing, but the E-Cell could see a small series production run.

Here is a quick run down of the top 7 new cars im looking forward to seeing in 2010. All these cars were showcased in the 80th International Geneva Motor Show.

Ferrari 599 HY KERS – This Ferrari comes with a green paint job and features the latest Ferrari regenerative braking technology integrated into seven dual clutch transmission and installed right below the centre of gravity of the car. This Ferrari 599 comes with a V12 engine and 100 horsepower engine with KERS system.

Koenigsegg Agera -  The Koenigsegg Agera has a full carbon fiber and aluminium body, featuring a 4.7 litre V8 engine and can hit 0-100 in under 3.1 seconds. Other sexy features include a set of wheels made to generate a vortex as they suck hot air away from the brakes. With a raw power of 910 hp at over 7000 rpm there is no telling what this beast is capable of.

Mercedes F800 Style – This has to be the most sexy five seat sedan I have ever seen. This hybrid provides over 400 bhp of raw power and can reach speeds of over 375 kmph. A 300hp direct injection V6 gas engine and a 109hp hybrid module allows the Mercedes to function perfectly

Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid – Very sexy two door hybrid sports car with a fluid cooled lithium ion battery that gives it the perfect charge. This Spyder can go from 0-100 kmph in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 320 kmph. This has to be one of the top sports cars for the richie rich who still want to save the environment.

Lotus Evora – Every motor show has to have a top Lotus, and this time it was the Evora. The Lotus Evora has a 3.5 liter V6 engine, which can go from 0-100 kmph in 5.1 seconds. Apart from offering a top speed of 231kmph this lightweight sports car consumes only 8.7 liter of fuel for every 100 km travelled with a carbon emission of less than 205 g per km of CO2.

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.

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.

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.

Honda has begun moving in the 21st century without even letting anyone know. Home has started to operate its next generation solar hydrogen station prototype in the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D America.

The idea of course is to add these single integrated units into any garage very cheaply.

This Honda Solar Hydrogen Station is smaller than its predecessor and can produce enough hydrogen through an 8-hour overnight fill for the average daily commute (which is about 10,000 miles annually) for each fuel cell electric vehicle. Pretty handy being able to refill your vehicle overnight and you can sleep well while its filling, knowing that you are lowering CO2 emissions, since you take advantage of off-peak power rates. Daytime charging is solar power.