Next to the Quattro concept, Audi has also unveiled at the Paris Auto Show the e-tron Spyder, a concept rumored to preview the future R4 sports car. But compared to the previous E-tron concept, this one is powered by a turbochargers 3,0 Liter TDI engine with an output of 300 HP, combined with two asynchronous electric motors with a total output of 88 HP. The result is a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4,4 seconds and a top speed limited to 155 mph. All this while delivering a fuel economy of 106.92 US mpg.
The E-tron Spyder measures 1.81 meters (5.94 ft) wide, just 4.06 meters (13.32 ft) long and only 1.11 meters (3.64 ft) in height. It features a wide central air inlet, single-frame grille, adaptive matrix beam headlight modules with three-dimensional clear glass covers carbon inserts in the front and side windows and of course 20-inch wheels.
The interior gets a large, display with integrated MMI functions and flanked by two round dials; racing-inspired lightweight bucket seats, contrasting colors and high-quality materials.
UPDATE 10/18/11: The Audi E-Tron Spyder was recently spotted at Mulholland Drive in California doing some test work. And today Audi has unveiled a new video showing the concept in action in Malibu. Also, we have added new photos of the car, which you can check out by heading to the gallery.
Press release after the jump.
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BMW’s plans to drop the X6 Active Hybrid from their lineup by no means belittles their intentions to move forward with a greener line. Following in the footsteps of the ActiveHybrid7 and ActiveHybrid5 will be a hybrid version for the next generation 3-Series
We first caught site of the ActiveHybrid3 as a prototype running some laps around the Nürburgring and although there was nothing on the body of the vehicle that could distinguish it from a standard petrol model, this particular tester had the obligatory hybrid stickers on the side and rear. Hybrid stickers are a must during testing because if the car happened to get into an accident, the police and medical crew need to be aware of the dangers of electric power.
The future ActiveHybrid3 is scheduled to launch one year after the standard 3-Series, which would be sometime in the autumn of 2012.
UPDATE 10/14/2011 : Next to the new generation 3-Series, BMW has unveiled the official details on the ActiveHybrid 3 that will be put on sale in the autumn of 2012. Hit the jump for more details.
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The last time Toyota competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans was back in 1999 when their racing car - the GT-One - successfully established a new race lap record, but also suffered a tire puncture in the final hour of the race. Thirteen years later, Toyota is announcing that they will be returning to the famous race in 2012, along with their new LMP1 race car. Their new racer’s chassis was designed, developed, and produced by Toyota Motorsport in Germany, and comes equipped with a hybrid petrol powertrain engineered by Toyota in Japan.
Tadashi Yamashina, Toyota Motor Corporation Senior Managing Officer and Toyota Motorsport Chairman, said: "Toyota has entered Le Mans before, but by using our hybrid technology this time will be a completely new challenge. We want to write a new chapter in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours, as in the FIA World Endurance Championship, through our use of hybrid technology."
If the design of Toyota’s new LeMans racer looks a bit familiar to you, it’s because it looks eerily similar to their all electric EV Racer that just established a new record for electric cars at Nurburgring. Electric vehicles are not a part of LeMans, but we can’t imagine that the EV Racer wasn’t a point of inspiration for the Toyota LMP1 Race Car.
The Toyota LMP1 Race Car will make its racing debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 16th and 17th, 2012.
UPDATE 01/19/12: The first photos of Toyota’s hybrid LMP1 race car has finally surfaced on the Web. It’s right in line with what the initial sketch looks like, except that it comes with all the aerodynamic bells and whistles of a true LMP1 racer.
Jaguar unveiled the C-X75 Concept car at the 2010 Paris Auto Show to show everyone that they had plenty of potential left to uncover as an automaker. And, although the concept was a huge success and served its purpose, Jaguar still needed to prove that this potential prevailed in more than just a design study. Now, under Tata’s influential arm, Jaguar is looking into building "a more accessible variation of the C-X75 concept" and will do so sometime between 2013 and 2015 with 250 units of the crazy cool production version of the C-X75. The production model will be sport-based and will be built in conjunction with the Williams F1 team.
“We were always determined that the Jaguar C-X75 would be as striking on the road as it was in concept form,” said Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar Cars. “This will be the finest looking and most innovative Jaguar ever produced. Even in the world of supercars, we can still produce the most beautiful.”
The production C-X75 will still carry the four electric motors attached one to each axle, but the oh-so-cool jets mounted on the concept will be taken out and replaced with a supercharged 1.6L gasoline engine. Yes, we know the jets would have been awesome to see in a production model, but the specs for the C-X75 won’t disappoint anyone. Plus, we may still get to see the jets in a later production version since Tata owns a big stake in Bladon Jets. For now, we’ll stick to the phenomenal elements of the future C-X75.
UPDATE 10/13/2011: In an interview with TeamSpeed, Jaguar spokesperson, Kevin Goult, has offered new details about the production CX-75. It seems that the supercar will be offered in both left and right-hand-drive versions, meaning that it will be available in markets all over the world. In addition to that, the CX-75 will be highly personalized, meaning that customers will have the possibility to choose any color and interior finish.
The CX-75 will be built in cooperation with the Williams Formula 1 team, and will feature a highly powerful four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with electric motors for an impressive 0 to 60 mph sprint time of 3 seconds and a top speed of 186 mph.
Hit the jump for the full details on the Jaguar C-X75.
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Porsche has announced that they will be entering an improved version of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid into the upcoming Nürburgring 24 hour race on June 25, 2011. The hybrid system will combine the same 480 HP 4.0 Liter flat six engine delivering the same 480 hp with two electric motors that each produce 100 HP, as opposed to the original 75 HP each. The weight has also been lowered from 1,350 to 1,300 kilograms, or 2976 lbs to 2866 lbs.
"We’ve collected a great deal of information from our races on the Nürburgring, at the ALMS race at Road Atlanta in the USA, as well as from the ILMC race on China’s Zhuhai circuit, which was an invaluable help for the further development of our racing laboratory," says Hartmut Kristen, head of Porsche motorsport. "The emphasis of our work was on improving efficiency. That means we want to keep the lap times consis-tent with 2010 but use less energy, hence less fuel. In this way, we support future developments of road-going, sporting hybrid vehicles."
UPDATE 10/06/2011: The new GT3 R Hybrid made its debut at this year’s Laguna Seca, racing its way to a victory! Check out Porsche’s new video showing off the GT3R in action during the race by clicking on the image above. Enjoy!
Hit the jump to read more about the 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid Version 2.0.
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