Hybrid Imperia GT to Enter the Market This Year

Imperia Automobiles, a new and ambitious carmaker from Belgium, is working on a retro-looking hybrid GT designed to show that “a socially- and environmentally-responsible approach does not rule out the finer pleasures in life.”

The Imperia GT will be powered by a so-called PowerHybrid propulsion system consisting of a 1.6 liter four cylinder engine, which provides 211 horsepower and a maximum torque of 260Nm. An electric motor provides an additional 100kW (136hp) and 300Nm of power. In all-electric mode, the Imperia GT should have a range of 70km. In hybrid mode, the car has an average fuel consumption of 1.9 liter per 100km and an emission level of less that 50 grams per kilometer. 

According to the carmaker, the Imperia GT will also be the only hybrid car that can be recharged from the mains, via a power socket. The price of refuelling is also quite interesting. Imperia’s website states that “full charge is obtained in 4h30, for an unbeatable cost per kilometre ratio (€ 0.034/km on day tariff, € 0.016/100 km on night tariff).”

As for its performance, the GT accelerates from standstill to 100km/h in 6.0 seconds in purely electric mode, and in 4.0 seconds in hybrid mode. At this stage there is not information regarding its top speed.

The development mule of the Imperia GP has been tested already. The car is scheduled to enter the market later this year for an estimated price tag of €90,000. 

Via Autoblog.nl

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Le Mans starting grid set, Audi hybrid takes pole but Toyotas break up the pack

There were times during the past two days of qualifying when it looked like Audi might own the first two rows of the starting grid for this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans. The R18 e-tron quattro hybrid cars were running the quickest lap times, with the two diesel R18 Ultras following close behind. The two Toyota TS 030 hybrid cars were also quick, but it seemed they were always nipping at the heels of an Audi's lap time, much like the Audis used to trail the faster Peugeots during qualifying for Le Mans races of the recent past. And we all know how that usually ended for Peugeot.

So when the third and final qualifying session ended last evening, we were surprised to learn the starting grid had ended up as anything but expected. An Audi will have pole position, and a hybrid car at that, which marks the first time such a powertrain has earned the honor. The No. 1 R18 e-tron quattro beat all comers with a fastest lap of 3:23.787, nearly two seconds quicker than last year's pole.

Next to the first R18 e-tron quattro will be another R18, but not a hybrid. The No. 3 R18 Ultra will be starting second, followed by the No. 8 Toyota TS030 hybrid starting third, the other R18 e-tron quattro starting fourth, the No. 7 Toyota TS030 hybrid starting fifth and the final R18 Ultra starting sixth. So not a single car of the quickest six will start next to its twin, which suggests that none of the three powertrain technologies has a lock on leading the race.

In LMP2, the No. 25 Oreca Nissan led the field with a fastest lap of 3:38.181, followed closely by the No. 24 Oak Racing Morgan Judd and then four more Oreca Nissans. The Nissan DeltaWing, racing in an experimental class of its own, wound up near the back of the LMP2 field with a fastest lap of 3:42.612 set on the first day of qualifying.

The GTE Pro class promises to be as exciting as ever this year, with the pole being led by the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia, which recorded a particularly quick lap of 3:56.484 during the final qualifying session. The Ferrari will be followed by Aston Martin Racing's No. 97 Vantage V8 and the first of two Corvette Racing C6 ZR1s.

Lastly, the GTE Am class will be lead by the No. 79 Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 RSR with a leading lap time of 3:57.594, followed by another 911 from Prospeed Competition and the No. 99 Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage.

via: LeMans.org

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BMW i8 Hybrid to Cost Over €100,000

BMW’s ‘i’ sub-brand, while despite going on tour around the world, has also been surrounded by uncertainty and doubt. However, according to autonews.com, it seem that everything is going according to plan and BMW are now sorting out the pricing of the first two models, the i3 and i8.

According to BMW, the i3 is due in 2013 and will be priced “very competitively for the substance you get and following the opening of their first showroom, in London, Ian Robertson, Global Sales Chief at BMW said (about the new showroom) “it’s a further demonstration of our commitment to electro-mobility”. The i8 sports car will make its public debut in production form probably some time in 2014, with a price tag over €100,000 ($125,000).

The third car to follow the i3 and i8 will be an i8 roadster, previewed by the i8 Spyder concept, which was released onto the internet in April.

Via autonews.com

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Infiniti Emerg-e to Be Shown in Action at Goodwood

The Infiniti Emerg-e is a stunning looking thing, and there’s no doubt about that. It is their best design exercise so far, and some officials have stated that it’s ‘feasible’ to build a production version of the car, so it’s great news that the car will be driven for everybody to see at this year’s edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
 

The car is based on a modified Lotus Evora platform - an excellent chassis which has been praised for its excellent handling and comfort characteristics (two traits rarely found together, let alone on a Lotus sports car). It is a range-extended hybrid, with a power output of 402 hp, as stated by Infiniti engineers.

It can crack 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in around 4 seconds, with an all-electric range of 48 km (30 miles) and an extended range of around 480 km - this makes it thoroughly usable as a daily driver, and a more-than-brisk one at that.

If we stop to think for a second, Lotus is open to the whole idea of supplying rolling chassis to other manufactuers, as proven by their collaboration with Tesla - the Roadster sharing the Elise’s epoxy-bonded aluminium construction. This just makes us add the Emerg-e to the category of possible future production cars.

If it does make it into production, the car is expected to cost somewhere in the region of €115,000 (£95,000), and with its ‘green’ credentials, awesome styling and posh badge, it will sell by the thousands, despite the relatively high price - they should also change its name.

Via autocar.co.uk

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Lexus May Create Ultra-Efficient GS250h Diesel Rival in Europe

Lexus have never really worried the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi in Europe, because it’s a well-known fact that the four-pot turbodiesel is king of the executive car market here. Cars like the BMW 520d, Mercedes E220 CDI or the Audi A6 in its 2.0-liter guise make up the bulk of exec sales in Europe. Any of these cars have more than enough poke to satisfy most drivers while achieving around 5 l/100km (56 UK mpg) easily, if driven with care (a light right foot).

Lexus’s repugnance towards four-cylinder engines and diesels in particular have made them stick with their overly-complicated hybrid systems, claiming they can achieve similar results in terms of economy, while retaining the smooth nature of V6 petrol engines. The diesel-powered IS220d, the first oil burner ever installed in a Lexus, was a very good car, but its 2.2-liter diesel was nowhere near as good as the benchmark German small diesel - the 520d.

It’s admirable how Lexus will not give up and adopt diesel tech, no matter what. They keep trying to tell us that hybrids are just as good as diesels, and they are planning on bringing an even more economical model than any other in their range, a GS equipped with a 2.5-liter V6 and an electric motor. This solution of reducing the displacement of the engine while boosting it with electric power is so very Lexus, according to autocar.co.uk.

They claim that with this system, they can match the BMW 520d - at least when it comes to tailpipe emissions, with the Lexus reportedly being able to achieve 119g/km of CO2. In the same manner in which Porsche refused to move the engine of their 911 further forward, so too have Lexus stuck by their principles and not followed the crowd - they don’t look to keen on changing that any time soon, and for that, we tip our hats. 

via: autoevolution

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Honda "losing money" on Japan-built cars like Fit, CR-Z and Insight

 

Automotive News reports Honda is currently limiting shipments of models like the Fit, CR-Z and Insight due to Japan's strong yen. The automaker admits it is currently losing money on every Japanese-built model it sells in the U.S. with the exchange rate currently at 80 yen per dollar. Honda is currently working to move more production to North America and source more components from this side of the Pacific, though such a shift will take time. In the interim, the manufacturer is carefully allocating Japanese-manufactured models. Honda says it has no intention to cut off Fit, CR-Z or Insight shipments altogether.

Honda builds around 85 percent of the vehicles it sells in North America on the continent, which is significantly more than companies like Nissan or Toyota. Even so, this marks the first time Honda has gone on the record as saying importing cars from Japan costs more money than it makes.

So, why sell these models at all? Automotive News reports Honda needs the vehicles to keep segments covered and to keep its customers coming back to showrooms. 

via: Automotive News - sub. req. 

 

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PGO Shows e-Hemera Hybrid

Not may people know of PGO, but they are a small and independent French car manufacturer - a rare thing these days. They are best known for their Hemera sports car - an automobile which looks very much like a Porsche 356 - in a very neo-retro kind of way.

Apart from the 1960s inspired styling, people who have driven it say it’s actually a very fun little car to drive, with its very low weight of under 1 ton, and 140 hp 2.0-liter engine. Now though, they’re moving into the future with a hybrid version of their Hemera. It features a 15kWh battery pack which is good for around 90 km (50 miles) of all electric range, which is replenished by a two-cylinder range extender which is powered by E85 ethanol, instead of gasoline.

With the car still using the standard Hemera’s 5-cog manual gearbox in combination with the electric motor, the results should be interesting to see.

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