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.

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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.

via AutoBlog.nl

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.