Peugeot is on the verge of replacing its 407 and 607 with an all new 508 next year and, an almost production ready version of the commuter, the 5 BY Concept will break cover at the Geneva event next month. 5 BY features Peugeot’s Hybrid4 technology, which uses the combination of a diesel engine and an electric motor to power the vehicle.
In the 5 BY prototype’s case, the overall power count is 200bhp courtesy of a 2.0 liter Hdi diesel engine and a rear affixed an electric motor that churns 37bhp. All the power generated is deciphered to the four wheels and the concept manages economy numbers reading 3.8 liters for every 100 kilometers. The commuter gets its design inspiration from the Citroen (sister brand) C6 as similarities include sleek lines with rounded ends. The 5 BY almost looks production ready which is an indication that the 508 will hit the tar pretty soon.
The Ray Concept was unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show and it is a plug-in-hybrid concept designed for the eco-conscious. The concept features a direct injection 153hp 1.4L engine and a 78kW electric motor where the engine is mated to a CVT set-up. The Ray concept has an overall driving range of 1,200 Km and it can travel 80kms on the electric power alone while it has a fuel economy rating of more than 202mpg. The Ray Concept adjudges the driving conditions and then decides the escalation of power from the two sources i.e. the engine and the electric unit.
It’s official – Porsche will offer the Panamera with a hybrid drivetrain. The company confirmed the at the LA Autoshow.
The vehicle will most likely go on on sale in 2011 and will probably not be offered in 4wd guise. Lots of rumours are floating around regarding which system will be used, but the general consensus is that it will not be using the system we’ve seen on the Cayenne.
If all today’s hybrid announcements are anything to go by Porsche will have a host of electric spares to choose from when it raids the VW group’s electric/ hybrid parts bin.
This is up Lite concept from VW. It is Lite on fuel. Using only the faintest whisker of fumes of fuel to go on to a consumption figure of just over 2 liters per 100km.
How? Well the name kinda gives it away. Weighing in at only 695kg it really is Lite. It weighs as much as a stack of feathers because of the extensive use of Aluminium, Carbon fibre and lightweight batteries.
Thomas Edison, Alessandro Volta, Nikola Tesla and Benjamin Franklin. All pioneers in the field of electricity and all of them would’ve been very proud of today’s happenings on the Automotive front.
As you may or may not know the LA Auto show is on at the moment and the main theme is electricity and hybrids. It seems as if every car maker used the show to announce their very own zero emissions aspirations.
First up is the Audi e-tron. While we have all seen the red version a couple of months ago, Audi brought along a butt-ugly orange version for the LA show. What we didn’t know till now was that Audi is planning to sell the e-tron from 2012.
Some of the stats are truly unbelievable like the torque number of 4500 nm of torque! Acceleration is awesome too with 100km/h coming up in4.8s and 60km/h-120km/h takes only 4.1s!
“It’s the sports car of the future, the way BMW imagines it.” – Adrian van Hooydonk
BMW have unveiled what they think the future is. More in this post, and some pics below.
Of course BMW’s vision is a super economical car that does 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and runs at 63 miles to the gallon. The best part though is all this fuel saving technology still produces 356 horsepower. Bring on the future of motoring.
The Buick Invicta Concept a midsize premium sedan, debuted a few days ago at the Beijing Auto Show. Inspired from Buick Riviera the four-door is going to be produced for the US and the Chinese markets, but rumors say that it may “visit” other continents if sales figures decides it.
The high belt line and the big 20-inch polished aluminum wheels makes the Buick Invicta seem like a beautiful tank with cat-eye headlamps.
Now comes the interesting part. The engine. It’s powered by a first direct injection turbocharged engine that develops 250 hp from those four-cylinders and 220 lb-ft (298 Nm) of torque. All these are possible thanks to a 6-speed automatic gearbox that promises fuel efficiency.
Pinifarina just announced that in March 2008 during Geneva Motor Show they will bring a new concept to the public that should anticipate future trends when it comes to car designs. It’s been three years now since the last concept we’ve seen from the Italian company, the Maserati Birdcage in 2005.
Maserati Birdcage Concept 2005
Pininfarina Sintesi is the name and was designed by Director Design, Lowie Vermeersch that has more than 10 years experience. I am sure it will not only focus on “beauty driven by functionality, of sportiness and elegance” but will be almost flyable if we consider the looks.
2008 is going to be one of the best years in the auto industry.
The Lamborghini Reventon is an astonishing piece of work. Only 20 examples are being built, each one selling for a ridiculous $1,000,000 sum. Powered by the Mucielago LP640 v12 engine, the Reventon is capable of thrusting itself from 0-60 in just 3.4 seconds, and will only stop accelerating once the speedometer shows as going 211 miles per hour.
Popular Science car reporter William R. Snyder as he took Reventon for its first test drive by the press.
Honda’s Tokyo Show offerings include a compact-coupe concept which paves the way for a successor to the highly successful CR-X coupe which went out of production in 1997. The Compact Renaissance Zero, or simply CR-Z, should be considered as Honda’s second attempt to revive the CR-X concept, following the poorly received Remix prototype that premiered at last year’s L.A. Show. While the CR-Z is definitely much better looking than the Remix concept, we can’t say that we’re exactly thrilled with its appearance and especially with the rear end which looks, well, just hideous. In the teaser press release, Honda says that the CR-Z is equipped with a gas-electric hybrid system which achieves both clean performance and a high level of torque.
Mazda has released images of its Taiki Concept ahead of the car’s Tokyo Motor Show debut later this month. Fourth in the Nagare design series — which includes the Mazda Nagare, Mazda Ryuga and Mazda Hakaze — the Taiki furthers the flowing design theme of the previous show cars.
The front-engine rear-drive Taiki is powered by Mazda’s next-generation RENESIS rotary engine, although Mazda failed to release any further information about the drivetrain. Mazda says the design of the two-seat Taiki “was inspired by the image of a pair of Hagoromo – the flowing robes that enable a celestial maiden to fly in Japanese legend – floating down from the sky.”
According to Mazda, the theme of the Tokyo Motor Show will be “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom- Mazda’s showroom today and in the future.” The Taiki will share the Tokyo stage with the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid and the all-new Mazda Atenza — the Mazda6 here in the U.S.
