Until now the German sports car builder Porsche had only announced plans for a hybrid powered Panamera to accompany the current Cayenne Hybrid in their green lineup. It appears that the automaker’s intention was to improve the gas mileage of their larger vehicles and improve their Corporate Average Fuel Economy, but there was never any mention about a high performance application, that is until now.
This latest spy shot shows a 911 test mule with a mysterious bulge on the hood wearing an interesting yellow triangle. Could this mean that Porsche is already testing a hybrid powered Carrera in an attempt to reduce emissions and possibly add a few extra ponies? We do not know for sure, but after all, anything is possible. Apparently witnesses reported that the car being tested was very quiet and almost impossible to notice because of the lack of noise, and the guys behind the wheel weren’t too happy to be spotted.
Honda is hard at work preparing the future CR-Z hybrid sports car, so today it was Toyota’s turn to step up to the plate, and they did! The future sombrero wearing Japanese compact will be a sports coupe hybrid model based on the Prius. The new sports car is supposed to be called MR-2 and will debut in the middle of 2012.
The Prius coupe will be shorter than the popular hybrid by about 10 cm and will be powered by the same 1.8L 2ZR-FXE engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive from the 2010 Toyota Prius five door hatchback. The only modification will be that the future MR-2 will be tuned to make a maximum output of 136 HP.
The new model will be a 2-door coupe model with a 2+2 layout accommodating a pair of back seat passengers. Even if the car looks a lot like the future Toyota “AE86” compact FR sports car being produced in conjunction with Subaru, the two models will appeal totally different buyers. Although it looks like the hybrid power plant will be located between the front fenders and send power to the front wheels, it would be nice to see a proper midship runabout return to Toyota’s lineup.
In light of the British car industry’s continued struggle in keeping with the times, it is getting help from an unlikely source. It was recently announced that Toyota, the Japanese auto giant, is set to produce its new Auris hybrid in two UK factories, providing a much-needed boost to an industry that has continued a rapid nosedive since the global economic crisis began.
The two Toyota factories which will be tasked to produce Toyota’s new line of hybrid cars includes the one in Deeside, Wales and the other in Desrbyshire, North England. The former will be tasked to produce the engines for the cars and bring it to the latter location where it will be assembled.
It’s a welcome boost for the guys over at the UK, which has seen its auto industry get crippled by the downtrodden times. Toyota’s announcement that it will be producing the Auris in the country not only helps with the employment line, but also provides proof that the British auto industry is indeed moving forward in shifting its priorities to specializing in green technologies and producing vehicles that fit that bill.
Continued after the jump.
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The Japanese luxury automaker Lexus recently unveiled the HS 250h in Detroit, showing the world the automaker’s fourth hybrid and the most fuel-efficient vehicle in their lineup. The company has just announced that when it does go on sale, it will be available in two different trim levels: standard and premium, with prices ranging from $34,200 to $36,970.
The Lexus HS 250h is powered by the automaker’s first four cylinder gas burning engine, a 2.4 Liter Atkinson-cycle unit that develops a maximum output of 187 HP. The engine is able to achieve extreme efficiency thanks to Toyota’s Variable Valve Timing with intelligence. The VVT-i system allows the combustion/power stroke to be longer than the compression stroke allowing the thermodynamic energy to be more effectively used to produce power.
The production version of the HS 250h will feature four different drive modes: Normal, Power, Eco and EV. Each different mode can help enhance the vehicle’s efficiency by changing the rate that the engine’s throttle opens no matter how hard the accelerator is pressed. Lexus expects that this type of engine control will be good for 35 MPG in the city and 34 MPG while cruising at highway speeds.
Press release after the jump.
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With the new Prius being a huge hit in the automotive market, the Japanese automaker Toyota has decided to expand its hybrid lineup with another compact hybrid hatchback. The company’s next step will be made in 2010 when Toyota will put a hybrid version of the Auris small city car up for sale.
In a statement made by the CEO and President of Toyota Europe, Tadashi Arashima: "With today’s announcement, Toyota has taken a significant step forward in ensuring that full hybrids become more accessible to a wider range of customers. Such efforts are crucial if we are to see more low-carbon vehicles on European roads."
The new model will be priced much lower than the Prius in an attempt to compete with other models like Honda’s more affordable hybrid the Insight as well as fans of the Auris city car looking to get a few more MPGs.
The unfortunate demise of Honda’s light weight rear wheel drive roadster has sparked a tremendous amount of interest from driving enthusiasts about an S2000 successor, well good news, the Japanese automaker is planning on bringing a new fun to drive vehicle to market and it could be as early as 2012. However, according to the latest rumors about the new Honda, the only thing that the future automobile will have in common with the S2000 will be the number of doors.
The original S2000 was praised as a marvel of engineering, the F20C 2.0 Liter naturally aspirated four cylinder engine made well over 100 HP/Liter with the help of V-TEC, this set a new standard for lightweight high output engines that was previously seen with Mazda’s 13B turbocharged rotary power plant. The future Honda sports car will feature a lineup of low emission engines that will be tuned more for economy than for fun. Unfortunately for those who adored the S2000 for bringing back the light weight rear wheel drive sports coupe, the future model will be driven by the front wheels.
Unlike the S2000’s rag top, the successor will feature a retractable hardtop, an added luxury over the previous model, but at the cost of a few extra pounds. In order to compensate for the extra weight, the successor to Honda’s memorable roadster will utilize a hybrid drive train, most likely the same unit that will go into the upcoming Honda CR-Z.
The term “electric” comes with an unnecessary stigma of being slow and boring to drive vehicles. However automakers like Fisker and Tesla are creating fun to drive sports cars with green power trains and zero emissions, but the ability to have your cake and eat it too comes at a price. These exotic electric vehicles come at a steep price, but the world’s most popular automaker may have something to say about that by the end of this year.
After seeing the CR-Z sports coupe at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the Japanese automaker Honda’s new CEO, Takanobu Ito, has announced that the hybrid version of the CR-Z sports car will begin to appear in showrooms starting at the end of 2009 and should be everywhere by February 2010.
The new hybrid CR-Z will join Honda’s current lineup of alternatively powered green machines made up by the Insight and Civic Hybrid, a hybrid powered Jazz is set to be unveiled as well in the near future. The Japanese automaker is also working hard on a new hybrid system that they hope to adapt to the larger vehicles in their lineup.
Press release after the jump.
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After BMW revealed the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, they are also preparing a production version X5 Hybrid for 2010. The first BMW model to benefit from the Active Hybrid system will be the 7-Series (set to be revealed in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show) followed by the X6.
The first prototypes have already been caught testing in the California. The difference between the concept revealed in the 2008 and the prototypes caught by the spy photographers is its engine. If the concept combined a diesel engine with an electric motor, the prototype was powered by a gasoline engine. But even so, BMW will also produce a diesel-hybrid powertrain, we’ll just wait to wait longer to finally see it.
The concept revealed in 2008 features the Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept with a twin-turbo, 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel that’s mated to a hybrid motor. The car is also equipped with BMW’s regenerative braking system and photovoltaic solar panels mounted to the roof. Thanks to the Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept, the concept returns fuel economy in the region of 43.5mpg and CO2 emissions of just 172g/km.
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Citroen has recently revealed the C-Cactus concept a couple of years ago at the 2007 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Due to this funky looking compact car’s warm reception from the public, the French automaker is seriously considering turning the concept car into full fledged production vehicle.
The C-Cactus is powered by a 70 HP HDi diesel engine combined with a particulate filter to clean the noxious gasses and an electric motor for additional propulsion, to the tune of 30 HP. The C-Cactus consumes slightly over 69 miles per gallon of diesel over a combined driving cycle; while emitting a very Euro important 78 g/km of CO2. If the U.S. can ever learn to accept the benefits of clean diesel technology we too could benefit from these efficient little machines.
The plug-in hybrid revolution has begun.
Toyota Motors Corp., one of the foremost authorities on hybrid technology is planning on producing about 20,000 to 30,000 plug-in hybrid in 2012.
We all know that if there’s a manufacturer that can make this claim and back it up, it’s Toyota. After all, their very own hybrid car, the Prius, was the first hybrid vehicle to appeal to the mainstream audience.
Plug-in cars are different from the standard hybrids because they can be charged at home through an electric socket, although by running on electricity, these cars come with batteries that can be heavy on the wallets, and that’s not even counting the electric consumption bills you’ll have to come face-to-face with every month.
Nevertheless, the future for these cars remains promising, especially considering that the world’s supply of oil won’t last forever.
Continued after the jump.
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