Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Jaguar Working on Turbine-Powered Hybrid Car

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 08:57 AM PST

Turbine cars have long been a pipe dream since the dawn of the jet age that first spurred imaginations all over the world some sixty years ago. But practically speaking, turbine cars have never really taken off. They were either incredibly dangerous or prohibitively expensive (or both, like the Chrysler Patriot). They have also been beset by noise issues in the past.

But British luxury car maker Jaguar is giving it another go—and the British government is bankrolling the project. Rather than using a turbine to turn a driveshaft (which required a huge flywheel), Jag plans to use the turbine engine to power electric motors. Brilliant!

Jaguar has teamed up with Bladon Jets to produce a small, super-efficient turbine engine that will fit into a car body while maintaining the car’s profile. The British government has awarded the project $24 million after the Technology Strategy Board was convinced by a presentation that the project was feasible. SR Drives will also be working on the project to produce what it calls an Ultra Lightweight Range Extender.

There is a long history of British turbine cars, starting with Rover back in the 1950’s. In 1951 the Rover Jet-1 roadster went 152 mph during one test, and they even entered a turbine car into the 1963 24 Hours of LeMans. Alas, jet cars never made it to production (though one fellow installed a jet engine into his Beetle). Will a gas-turbine-electric-hybrid work? We’ll have to wait and see, though the concept shows some promise.

Still waiting for my flying car though.

Source: Wired | Image: Rover Jet-1

Tesla Plans Two “Spin Offs” From Model S Sedan

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 08:52 AM PST

Tesla has been making a lot of news lately. First, the spunky electric car maker announced the completion of its 1,000th Roadster. Then they filed papers taking the first steps in an Initial Public Offering to make anyone with the money a part-owner in Tesla. Buried in that paperwork though, it was revealed that Tesla would be ceasing production of its Roadster next year.

That means a lot of hopes are pinned to the Model S, a $50,000 sedan which won’t debut until 2012. But word on the street is that Tesla plans to spin off at least two other models from the S sedan, including a coupe and a crossover. But will it be enough?

Tesla is hoping that the more moderately priced Model S will appeal to a wider consumer base. At $110,000 the Tesla Roadster isn’t cheap, and fits just two people. CEO Elon Musk is putting BMW square in his sights, hoping to steal away some 3-series customers with an all-electric sedan and coupe. Tesla eventually hopes to reach an annual volume of 200,000 cars, which would allow it to rival some of the bigger auto makers on the block. Tesla also plans to build the Model S sedan on its own, rather than relying on an outside supplier to make their bodies (in the case of the Roadster they relied upon Lotus).

Moving down market will be a huge boon for Tesla as well, and a $30,000 all-electric coupe or sedan could allow it to compete for customers with the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. Still, Tesla will not have any cars to sell in 2011, so that IPO better go a long way during 12 months of no sales. A lot is hinging on the success of the Model S. But Tesla has already overcome plenty of troubles, so what is another bump in the road?

Source: AutoCar | Image: Tesla

BMW to Build Vision EfficientDynamics Concept

Posted: 03 Feb 2010 08:38 AM PST

When BMW unveiled its awkwardly-named Vision EfficientDynamics concept car, audiences were enthralled. The plug-in hybrid combined sleek, futuristic styling with a lithium-ion battery stack and two electric motors to produce 356 horsepower and 590 ft-lbs of torque. That is a lot of power for a hybrid. But as cool as the concept was, few of us expected it would ever come to production.

But apparently enough positive press and remarkable response from the public has convinced BMW to actually build the Vision EfficientDynamics. It just needs a shorter, better name (BMW VED?).

Rarely do concept cars make it to production unscathed, and the VED is a little to wild to ever actually make it to roads the way it looks right now. Nevertheless, Inside Line is reporting that the basic sub-3,000 lb body and electric powertrain are all planned for limited production. By limited, BMW probably means less than 10,000 units annually. While the German automaker has a rich racing history, it has only ever produced one other “supercar”—the M1. The M1 was built for just three years, and just over 450 of these cars were ever made. Certainly its 270 horsepower engine hardly made it the fastest car around.

Still, the VED with its high power hybrid drivetrain could set a new benchmark for supercars. With a drag coefficient of just .22 the car slips through the air quite well, and achieves 0-62 mph in just under five seconds. But how far can it go on hybrid power? How much will it cost? Does it really matter? I for one am looking forward to a production VED, though we probably have a while to wait.

Source: Inside Line | Image: BMW
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