Usually, when an auto maker wants to rev their car’s engine as loud as possible when pushing it to its limit, they take it to the Nurburgring race track. This time, however, our spy photographers had a few problems hearing the prototype testing at the famous race track and almost skipped it entirely. That’s because the prototype is the Audi R8 e-tron test mule.
The R8 e-tron is not a secret anymore and every car addict knows that a production version will arrive sometime next year, but this prototype still shows that Audi is meaning business with their e-tron projects.
As you can see from the spy shots and may already know, the future R8 e-tron will look almost the same as the standard R8 sports car, except for the lack of exhaust pipes due to the fact that this a zero-emissions model. Then there’s the change in the rear window where fans can typically check out the V8 or V10 engines. That’s been covered up now that the engines are non-existent and there is also a big hole for the cooling of the batteries.
A production version of the Audi R8 e-tron will arrive in 2013, built in limited numbers.
We are no vacuum cleaner experts, but we can say from firsthand experience that Dyson vacuums suck, in a good way. As a company it’s obvious that they don’t suck, as the above video makes it look like the employees and management sure do know how to cut loose sometimes. Okay, we are done with the “suck” jokes.
The video shows what happens when a company has a few too many spare parts lying around, some extra time, and a team of engineers that simply love building random stuff. What you get is a fastest vacuum cleaner car competition.
The rules were simple; build an electric car using spare parts from a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Some of the cars looked a little boring, but others were amazingly innovative and downright fast. The engineers then launched their creations down a drag-racing track made from empty boxes and wooden pallets to see whose car was the fastest.
Though the video doesn’t show a winner, it was still entertaining. Far and away our favorite clip was the dude donning full racing garb going down the track on a go-cart-like contraption that he built. We’re pretty sure the racing equipment was more for effect than actual fear of injury. Another funny one is at the 0:32-second mark when the operator looks like he’s diffusing a bomb, when in reality he is pressing the launch button on an impressively quick creation.
It’s always nice to see a large company like Dyson pulling off a fun project like this. And it’s even more impressive to see the kinds of wheeled contraptions engineers can zip-tie together from a few spare vacuum parts. Enjoy watching what happens when engineers have too much free time on their hands.
Toyota’s road racing days pretty much grounded to a halt when corporate headquarters pulled the automaker from the F1 program after the 2009 racing season. Since 2009, Toyota Motor Company has shown improvements, as buyers began returning after the car-buying slump ended and the safety issues that plagued the automaker were rectified. This allowed Toyota to start to experiment with road racing again and develop the TS030 Hybrid.
The TS030 Hybrid had its debut race set for the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on May 5th, 2012. Things were looking good for the 3.4-liter V-8-powered TS030 Hybrid until its most recent test run. An undisclosed driver was testing out the TS030 at Paul Ricard and must have had a fairly horrific crash, as Toyota Racing Team President announced that the team could not build a new monocoque – chassis for those that don’t speak race-a-nese – in time for the May 5th debut.
Most people would think “Why not just use a second body; they all have spares, right?" Well, when you are easing your toes back into the racing pool, like Toyota is, you can’t really afford to go blowing millions of dollars building and testing multiple cars. In the future, yes, they will have multiple monocoques, but for now there was only one.
According to the press release, a new monocoque will be ready in time for the June running at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
A few things come to mind here. First off, was Toyota planning on arriving at the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with only one monocoque? Secondly, how much of a bum does the driver that thrashed their only vehicle feel right about now? Maybe that’s why they kept wraps on which driver it was that wrecked it.
Well, here’s to a speedy rebuild, Toyota, and we hope to see you in June, sans the black cloud floating over your head.
Hit the jump for the official presser from Toyota Racing and a cool video of the TS030 testing.
As much as we try to resist talking about every single celebrity’s car, there are some cases where a celebrity car also happens to be 100% ridiculous. In those cases, well, we just can’t help ourselves. Enter in, Justin Bieber’s 2012 Fisker Karma.
We aren’t reporting on the fact that this teen pop idol is being environmentally friendly, nor that he was handed the keys to this beautiful black Fisker Karma free of charge. Nope, that’s not the story. The story is that this 18-year-old pop sensation turned this beautifully sculpted ECO-supercar into a rolling mirror, literally.
We are cool with a little chrome, but there is a point when it becomes excessive. Mr. Bieber, you hit that point of excess, then broke through the barrier and tossed a live grenade at the remainder of that barrier to make sure it can never be crossed again.
This young man chromed out the entire car, not just a few accents here and there, the e-n-t-i-r-e car. Top to bottom coated in shiny, sunlight-reflecting chrome. Now, if he lived somewhere that the sun wasn’t excruciatingly intense, that might be cool, but this dude lives in California. As you can see from the above video, the sunlight creates a nearly blinding reflection on the car’s surface, which we would assume is illegal.
Um, nope, according to California law, a fully chromed out car is perfectly legal, but those pretty little mood lights under the front bumper are not legal. I remember getting pulled over repeatedly in Pennsylvania for my Camaro’s exhaust being too loud, that monstrosity of a Karma is louder than my Camaro’s exhaust could have ever been.
Hit the jump to see this beautiful machine before Bieber ruined, err, customized it.
One of the biggest allures people have of supercars is the ear-splitting noise these cars produce. After all, nothing speaks to a car’s power than all those ponies working in harmony to produce a roar like no other.
But what happens with a car like the Audi R8 E-Tron, a supercar that’s powered by silent electric motors?
In the case of Audi, it involves a few compromises. In this video, Audi talks about the challenges of producing that emotional sound supercar owners love on a car that’s run by electricity. The solution, as far as Audi engineers are concerned, was to develop a synthetic sound signature that can be played with a loudspeaker attached to the car’s undercarriage.
Take note of the word "synthetic" because that in itself means that the sound is fabricated and not directly derived from the engine. Nevertheless, the objective with the "E-Sound" was to generate enough noise to allow drivers to enjoy the thrills of a supercar with an electric powertrain.
Check out the videos - one of which you can find after the jump - to find out how Audi accomplished giving the Audi R8 E-Tron the supercar-like sounds similar to its gasoline-powered siblings.
Infiniti unveiled the new LE Concept at the 2012 New York Auto Show. The concept was built as a luxury version of the already very successful Nissan Leaf and previews a production version that is expected to reach Infiniti showrooms in near-similar form within the next two years as Infiniti’s first zero emission luxury sedan.
The concept was designed as a luxury car rather than an electric vehicle. It features the usual Infiniti design cues, such as its double-arch grille and crescent-cut rear-pillar, and is about the same size as the Infiniti G Sedan. This was done to illustrate that just because it’s an electric car, doesn’t mean that it has to be small.
"In a future that holds an increasing consumption of natural resources, we will advance our sustainable mobility leadership and expand our EV market penetration with new electric vehicles such as the Infiniti LE Concept," said Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn. "Infiniti is well positioned to deliver the objectives for a sustainable future, relying on our capable, hard-working and motivated team members around the world. We are a challenger."
Hit the jump to read more about the Infiniti LE Concept.
One of the auto industry’s highly anticipated secrets is finally ready to break cover at the 2012 New York Auto Show.
For the fine folks of Fisker, the debut of the Fisker Atlantic - ’twas once codenamed "Project Nina" - marks as a celebration in its own right, a culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
And now that it’s ready for its world premier, Fisker has come out with the first official details of the car, as well as photos that finally gives us a good look at what they’ve been working on all this time.
Judging by its looks, the Atlantic looks like a bigger version of the Karma, albeit with a more pronounced stance that’s typical of its sedan form. The unmistakable Karma grille is also present, which we’ve never been fans of from the beginning.
All in all, though, the Atlantic looks pretty neat and when matched with a hybrid powertrain should make for a model that would draw the interest of a lot of people.
Find out more about the Fisker Atlantic after the jump.
In the past year or so, electric vehicles (EV) have proven that they can be really competitive. You don’t have to take our word for it, though, just take a look at the Electric RaceAbout which got plenty of attention for its bouts on both ice and the Nurburgring. Now that gas prices are on the rise yet again, some companies are fully embracing the fact that electric cars are the future, even in motorsports competition.
This is exactly why Quimera Responsible Racing is preparing to launch a high-performance All Electric Drift Car (AEDC) for the racing season, but they are going to need some help. The car’s official launch is set for October 2012, and before that happens, the team has to decided on the livery that will be used for the racer. This is where all of you come in. All you have to do is enter your designs at Quimerarr.com and get as many Likes as possible. The winner will be awarded with a trip to California’s Irwindale Speedway – aka The House of Drift – for the car’s official unveiling on October 12th and $5000 spending cash.
The All Electric Drift Car’s electric engine will deliver somewhere between 200 - 270 HP and will be powered by super charged lithium iron phosphate batteries with an average range of 150 miles. It can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, making it one of the fastest electric vehicles.
Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima is, without question, the king of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Not only is he the record-holder for the fastest ascent to the top of the mountain, but he’s the only man to do it in less than 10 minutes.
For this year, Monster Tajima will be keeping his record-setting Suzuki SX4 Hill Climb Special in the garage in favor of an electric car that his team, Team APEV Monster Sports, is in the process of putting together. And here’s the best part: Tajima isn’t looking to break the EV record for the climb; he actually has his eyes set on the overall record. Yep. The same record he set last year.
From what we’ve seen out of this man, if there’s anybody that can do it, it’s Monster Tajima.
As far as details behind the car is concerned, Team APEV Monster Sports is still keeping information tight-lipped, although we do expect them to reveal the car pretty soon.
There has been much speculation about the potential release of a production version of the i8 that was teased back in February. This time we are being nice and not just teasing you, BMW is releasing this hybrid semi-supercar in 2014.
This release is coming on the heels of Ferrari announcing that it will officially debut its V-12 hybrid Enzo next year, which will bear a similar, though significantly larger, gasoline engine-electric motor setup as the i8 will. It seems with all of these sporty and relatively fast super-Eco cars coming out of the wood work even the big boys are taking a turn toward the green market.
With this sudden push to the green, it may be just a matter of time until the entire supercar realm is dominated by super-electrics, and these hybrids are certainly a push in the right direction. Plus, as automakers start seeing these hybrid and electric supercars, they might decide that their own high performance vehicles, like the Camaro, Mustang and Corvette, can bear electric or hybrid drivetrains and still deliver the performance their customers require.
