It’s a combination that you probably never saw coming. But thanks to a combination of retro demand and the continuous pursuit of technology, we might just be able to live in a world where a classic-looking vehicle is running on electric energy.
British automaker, Morgan, has unveiled their newest concept, the Electric Plus E, at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Based on the Morgan Plus 8, the Electric Plus E bears all the styling cues and design language of the Plus 8, except that instead of running on petrol, the Electric Plus E Concept was fitted with a Zytek electric motor and a lithium-ion battery, two power sources that allow the vehicle to travel up to 120 miles on just a single charge.
Taken together, the Morgan Plus E Concept produces an output of 160 horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque while mated to a five-speed manual transmission. These figures allow it to travel from 0-62 mph in 6.0 seconds with a top speed of 115 mph.
It may not have the power of the Plus 8, but the Electric Plus E Concept is really the best of both worlds for those retro nuts looking for a classic car that doesn’t come with a gas-guzzling unit.
Any of you remember the Sbarro Espera Evoluzione Concept from a year ago? Yeah, the same one that perplexed and confused just about anyone that looked at it.
Well, the Espera Sbarro design school in France is coming back to the Geneva Motor Show with a new concept vehicle, one that we think will a futuristic take of an urban sports vehicle. The concept is being called "Intencity" and while we only have these teaser sketches to go with, the concept doesn’t appear to be as strange as the Evoluzione, which until now, we find trouble figuring out what it really is.
From what we’ve been told about the Intencity, it looks like the students of Sbarro are doing away with combustion engines and opting for a 100kW electric motor that produces a tidy 136 horsepower. Aesthetically, you can expect the Intencity to carry a pair of Recaro bucket seats using a 1+1 seating configuration. It’ll also have a futuristic wheel and dash concept, as well as LifePO4 batteries that are located on the side of the car and good enough to carry a 180-km range.
The choice of an electric city car seems a little curious but as it turns out, the project was done in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Environment UTBM in an effort to show what a future electric urban runner could look like.
Mercedes-owned Smart and German tuning company Brabus make so many tuning projects its becoming hard to keep track of how many they’ve released together.
At the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, the two are at it again with another iteration of the ForTwo Electric Drive. This time, the glossy black city car will come with a partner in the form of the Smart Brabus bike.
As for the ForTwo ED, Brabus dressed up the little urban dweller with the aforementioned glossy black finish that they matched with a green tridion safety cell and door mirror caps, exuding a sexy cool vibe that ForTwos aren’t usually known for. Adding to the appeal of this program are other additions, including a new front spoiler, a new rear apron insert with double reflectors, dark headlamp housings, and a new set of Brabus’ very own 16" and 17" Monoblock VII alloy wheels. Inside, there are plenty of other assortments, including trim upgrades on the instrument panel matched to a leather interior door trim. Speaking of leather, the program also consists of leather seats, further adding an edge to the ForTwo’s otherwise conservative look. Brabus also added stainless steel sports pedals with rubber nubs and fitted their own hand-brake handle and dashboard instruments.
Under its hood, the Smart Brabus Electric Drive comes with a subtle increase in output, not too shabby for a car that doesn’t really speak the language of speed. With a 30 kW magneto-electric motor, Brabus was able to bump up the output from the standard 75 horsepower to 82 horsepower while also improving the torque levels to 100 lb/ft. It isn’t much, but at least it’s something.
The 2012 Geneva Motor Show is still about one week away, but most of the auto makers have decided to offer the first details on their line-up ahead of time. Hyundai is taking its turn with the unveiling of the first image and details on the i-oniq Concept - an electric sports hatchback with a range-extending petrol engine. Hyundai said that this concept is showcases "new technology and design which present an impression of the company’s future thinking."
The i-oniq Concept is about 4.4 meters long and offers interior space for four occupants. On the exterior, the concept is defined by gentle feature lines and a muscular surface treatment, as well as a "penthouse roof" and LED headlights.
Under the hood, Hyundai has placed a 1.0 liter 3-cylinder petrol engine that is combined to a lithium ion electric motor which produces 109 HP. In electric-only mode, the i-oniq has a range of 75 miles. With assistance from the petrol engine, it can travel up to 434 miles producing just 45 g/km of CO2 in the process.
Photos of the electric 2012 Infiniti EMERG-E Concept have finally been released, or should we say leaked? Most of us weren’t very impressed with the patent renderings of the car that were released earlier this month, but these new photos show just how sexy this car really is!
Not a whole lot is known about this mid-engine sports car, but we do know that it will be electric powered with a 1.2L internal combustion range extender. Infiniti says that their main goal is to create an "uncompromising" electric sports car that will offer "vivid performance" with zero emissions capability.
Infiniti Vice President, Andy Palmer, says that the car will be the first to highlight Infiniti’s new styling direction. They’re definitely headed in the right direction, because this car looks better than some super cars we’ve seen. Whether the EMERG-E will be rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive is, for now, only known by the engineers and executives at Infiniti.
The electric Infiniti EMERG-E concept will make it’s official debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in early March. Until then, leave your comments below and let us know what you think of it.
BMW has unveiled a new video of their recently announced i line-up. The stars of the video are of course the BMW i3 and BMW i8 concepts. Of course this is just another prove on how cool the two concept look like.
Both concept will be followed by a production version pretty soon: the i3 is expected to arrive in 2013, shortly after the i8 supercar. They will be the first BMW models to feature extensive use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber.
"BMW i stands for visionary vehicles and mobility services, inspiring design and a new understanding of premium that is strongly defined by sustainability. With BMW i the BMW Group is adopting an all-embracing approach, redefining the understanding of personal mobility with purpose-built vehicle concepts, a focus on sustainability throughout the value chain and a range of complementary mobility services."
Usually, when we bring you a spy shot of a future car, we also have a pretty good idea on what that next model should be. However, today things are a little bit different. Spy photographers have caught a very strange small sports car testing Northern Europe. All we can tell you for sure is that this is an electric model and that because of those big yellow stickers saying "elektrofahrzeug" - German for "electric vehicle."
Everything else is a mystery. Some parts of the car suggest this might be a Morgan or a Weismann, while other parts seem to suggest Smart. However, while there is nothing sure on this one, we like to believe this might be in fact a Smart, and that’s because it has been rumored for quite some time now that the tiny Roadster could make a comeback.
This prototype has been caught testing on the winter test track of a large supplier company. It did exactly one lap of the test track and then went back into hiding. It hasn’t been spotted since.
So, let us know what do you think this mule is. We will come back with more details as soon as we will have them.
A few days ago, our spy photographers were able to catch the future BMW i3 during its winter testing in Northern Sweden and now the small electric car has been shelved to give the i8 a chance to do the same. It’s still wearing the same amount of camouflage the i3 was sporting, but a few features peeked through for our viewing pleasure.
The production BMW i8 will generally stay faithful to the concept’s design, but there are a few changes. The biggest change seems to be the doors and the design of the rear lights. The new design is still unknown, but something is definitely up because the rear lights are completely covered in camouflage. The front end has also been slightly modified, designed in the spirit of BMW’s latest design language started by the new 3-Series.
For the i8’s production version, BMW will combine a 1.5 liter inline 3 engine with two electric motors. Each of the electric motors will push out 95 HP and, when combined with the engine, will leave the final output somewhere in the 400 HP area. It has been rumored that the vehicle’s autonomy will be in the 400km/249 miles area, while fuel economy has been announced at 58 MPG.
The long-awaited Tesla Model S is finally itching and itching closer to production as the California-based electric car maker has released the latest batch of photos for their electric sedan.
Looking more or less the same as the concept version, the newly-designed Model S features a restyled front bumper and new rear lights that resemble that of the Jaguar XF. Despite the minimal changes, the "new-look" Model S figures to be as close to what the production version of this model is going to look like.
If and when this model does see the light of the production block, Tesla has announced that the first 1,000 models of the Model S will be given a unique special edition badging - the North American Model S Signature Series - which will come with some added aesthetic treatments, a bevy of optional upgrades, and a powertrain that features the model’s top-of-the-line lithium-ion battery pack with a 300-mile range.
UPDATE 02/01/12: To say that Tesla has high hopes for the Model S is really an understatement. More than just being the company’s new flagship model, the Model S is also Tesla’s first venture into the world of what could be described as luxury electric cars that boast of features that you won’t find in any other sedan in the market. The company even released a new video, suggesting not so subtly that 2012 will be the Year of the Model S. To that, who are we to disagree? Check out the video by clicking on the image above.
Since half of Europe is facing some extreme winter conditions, it’s the perfect opportunity for automakers to get some extreme testing out of the way for a lot of their models. BMW was on deck today with its i3 electric hatchback and some snowy conditions somewhere in Northern Sweden.
The i3 prototype was still heavily camouflaged, but with all of the details already released by BMW, it wasn’t too much of a bother. We already know that the i3 will be powered by a 170 HP electric engine that will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in under 8 seconds and up to a top speed of 93 mph. Previous details suggest that the car will be built on a new LifeDrive architecture that will help reduce the car’s weight by 250 to 300 kilos. The coolest part about this little hatchback is that it will sporting suicide doors. That in it and of itself is enough to warrant at least a test drive when the new BMW i3 goes on sale in 2013. Projected price will be about $50,000 (European price). The company plans to build about 30,000 units.
