Honda CR-Z

[Matador]

Originally Posted by Dixie Normous

I do know what electric motors are capable of, ie tesla roadster. its just not my cup of tea.

And that's fair enough. To each his own. I'm guessing you just can't imagine the cool things that could be done though.

Originally Posted by vh_supra26

Toyota needs to release this car

Yes, yes they do.

[Gost]

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1

I'm quite familiar with the quote and where it came from. While the old way of doing things continue to stir my soul and pull at my heart strings (and probably always will), the safety bits are there to save us from ourselves (driving skills do not necessarily always increase proportionately with the ability to purchase a super car... or any sports car for that matter) and the environmental regulations... while iffy IMHO help make for more efficient cars, and as an engineer, racer and aficionado of the Collin Chapman school of thinking, more efficient is always better.

I respect your view, but if I'm not mistaken, they tested a prius going full speed against a BMW just keeping up with it and found the prius ends up having lower MPG at that specific speed rather than the BMW. The BMW also had fairly low emissions, as also seen with current modern supercars. However, I do feel that there is potential in hybrid technology. I think I would be more interested in the hybrid technology if the original purpose for the technology was for desire for performance rather than to keep the earth green.

[MtnDrvr86]

That was a race track just to prove Clarksons dislike of the hybrid systems. That test did not utilize very much if any of the actuall electric power or the regenerative brakes to be useful like it would be in daily driving. There is potential in hybrid systems, its just going to take a long time until we come close to it. The tesla and this MR2 are about as close as it gets for now...and now with BMW working on their version we'll see where it could possibly go

[Matador]

Originally Posted by Gost

I respect your view, but if I'm not mistaken, they tested a prius going full speed against a BMW just keeping up with it and found the prius ends up having lower MPG at that specific speed rather than the BMW. The BMW also had fairly low emissions, as also seen with current modern supercars. However, I do feel that there is potential in hybrid technology. I think I would be more interested in the hybrid technology if the original purpose for the technology was for desire for performance rather than to keep the earth green.

Where talking about sports cars here, be real. If you want to draw a reference, how about you try have an M3 keep up with

[Lexicon101]

Originally Posted by Gost

I respect your view, but if I'm not mistaken, they tested a prius going full speed against a BMW just keeping up with it and found the prius ends up having lower MPG at that specific speed rather than the BMW. The BMW also had fairly low emissions, as also seen with current modern supercars. However, I do feel that there is potential in hybrid technology. I think I would be more interested in the hybrid technology if the original purpose for the technology was for desire for performance rather than to keep the earth green.

First of all... the Prius wasn't designed with constantly going top speed in mind. At that speed, it's running on only the mechanical motor. The BMW WAS designed with running only on the mechanical motor in mind.
Secondly, as MtnDrvr pointed out, that doesn't take advantage of regenerative braking.
Finally, what we're talking about RIGHT NOW is a hybrid designed for performance. You're bashing on it.

No need to hate just cause you like to look cool wearing your leather and smoking cigarettes behind the gym. The rest of us have moved on.


Edit: I feel I was ambiguous with that last comment. I was talking about your inability to move past the old school. Mechanical motors are fun and great, but to rule out electric motors completely is to insist on carbureted over fuel-injected. You're refusing to accept new potential.

[Midship Runabout]

So i got this great idea. im gonna get a hybrid and put a smaller pulley on the alternator so i will be cranking all kinds of power into those electric motors. oh ya


(this was a joke. no need to tell me how dumb i am and this is not possible blah blah blah. thank you)

[S2KtoFT86]

Originally Posted by Axel

now THIS is a hybrid sports car (like the FT-HS) I could love... although probably not the price...
Geneva Preview: Lotus formally introduces Evora 414E Hybrid

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) on Feb 24th, 2010 at 2:25PM
Autoblog

Attachment 522

Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid teaser

Lotus has just formally introduced a new 400-plus horsepower sportscar concept. That news in and of itself would be enough to pique our interest, but the rest of the car's spec sheet makes the Evora 414E Hybrid an astonishingly intriguing concept vehicle. As you surely surmised by now, this two-seat sportster is a hybrid, specifically an extended-range electric vehicle that features a pair of rear-mounted electric motors and a 1.2-liter three-cylinder gas-powered engine. Why not fully electric? According to Lotus:

With regard to the total lifetime CO2 emissions of the vehicle, including the energy required to manufacture and run it, the range extender solution has a lower overall CO2 footprint than a fully electric car of comparable performance and operating range running with a larger battery.

That 47-horsepower gasoline engine never actually sends power directly to the Evora 414E Hybrid's wheels. Instead – as with other cars such as the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the Fisker Karma – the mill is used to recharge the onboard 17 kilowatt-hour lithium polymer battery pack, which is centrally mounted down the middle of the car for optimal weight distribution. That battery pack can provide up to 35 miles of gasoline-free driving per full charge.

Because each rear wheel has a separate connection to its own electric motor, Lotus has programmed in torque vectoring for stability control of the vehicle. This means that a complex set of software algorithms can provide the same kind of benefits as rear-wheel steering and exaggerated toe-in without the expense or efficiency losses of a mechanical system. Each rear wheel puts down 204 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

Further, though the actual transmission has only one forward ratio, Lotus has programmed in seven artificial "gears" that the driver can row through via a set of column-mounted paddle shifters. Also included is the HALOsonic Internal and External Electronic Sound Synthesis technologies from Lotus and Harman International that pipes artificial sound to both the cabin and outside to pedestrians. Want more? There's plenty to be gleaned in the exhaustive press release that you'll find after the break. Sadly, just one lone copper-topped teaser image, which you can enlarge by clicking above.

[Lexicon101]

Originally Posted by Axel

now THIS is a hybrid sports car (like the FT-HS) I could love... although probably not the price...
Geneva Preview: Lotus formally introduces Evora 414E Hybrid

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) on Feb 24th, 2010 at 2:25PM
Autoblog

Attachment 522

Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid teaser

Lotus has just formally introduced a new 400-plus horsepower sportscar concept. That news in and of itself would be enough to pique our interest, but the rest of the car's spec sheet makes the Evora 414E Hybrid an astonishingly intriguing concept vehicle. As you surely surmised by now, this two-seat sportster is a hybrid, specifically an extended-range electric vehicle that features a pair of rear-mounted electric motors and a 1.2-liter three-cylinder gas-powered engine. Why not fully electric? According to Lotus:

With regard to the total lifetime CO2 emissions of the vehicle, including the energy required to manufacture and run it, the range extender solution has a lower overall CO2 footprint than a fully electric car of comparable performance and operating range running with a larger battery.

That 47-horsepower gasoline engine never actually sends power directly to the Evora 414E Hybrid's wheels. Instead – as with other cars such as the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the Fisker Karma – the mill is used to recharge the onboard 17 kilowatt-hour lithium polymer battery pack, which is centrally mounted down the middle of the car for optimal weight distribution. That battery pack can provide up to 35 miles of gasoline-free driving per full charge.

Because each rear wheel has a separate connection to its own electric motor, Lotus has programmed in torque vectoring for stability control of the vehicle. This means that a complex set of software algorithms can provide the same kind of benefits as rear-wheel steering and exaggerated toe-in without the expense or efficiency losses of a mechanical system. Each rear wheel puts down 204 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

Further, though the actual transmission has only one forward ratio, Lotus has programmed in seven artificial "gears" that the driver can row through via a set of column-mounted paddle shifters. Also included is the HALOsonic Internal and External Electronic Sound Synthesis technologies from Lotus and Harman International that pipes artificial sound to both the cabin and outside to pedestrians. Want more? There's plenty to be gleaned in the exhaustive press release that you'll find after the break. Sadly, just one lone copper-topped teaser image, which you can enlarge by clicking above.

Sorry, but... what are the point of the "gears" and "artificial sound"?
That just seems stupid and pointless to me..

[S2KtoFT86]

Originally Posted by Lexicon101

Sorry, but... what are the point of the "gears" and "artificial sound"?
That just seems stupid and pointless to me..

To make it seem like you're driving a sports car?

[Lexicon101]

Originally Posted by S2KtoFT86

To make it seem like you're driving a sports car?

Lame. Just makes it seem like a pretender to me.
If it can't be what it is well, and has to pretend to be what every other sports car is, I don't see the point.

[Matador]

Originally Posted by Lexicon101

Lame. Just makes it seem like a pretender to me.
If it can't be what it is well, and has to pretend to be what every other sports car is, I don't see the point.

I get the sentiment about the sound, I totally do but........ srsly?







I'm sure it will drive as well as any lotus, be as visceral feel wise etc.... but that sort of stuff is for ppl like YOU precisely who can't let go of the old way of doing things.
Personally, I couldn't enjoy dri.... beating the snot out of a car that makes no noise either, I guess that is why they put the system there.

[Lexicon101]

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1

I get the sentiment about the sound, I totally do but........ srsly?







I'm sure it will drive as well as any lotus, be as visceral feel wise etc.... but that sort of stuff is for ppl like YOU precisely who can't let go of the old way of doing things.
Personally, I couldn't enjoy dri.... beating the snot out of a car that makes no noise either, I guess that is why they put the system there.

Can't let go of the old way of doing things?!
pple like ME?!

Dude, I'm just saying this car should act like what it is, not what other sports cars have been in the past. Read before you post.
I think, if the tranny has one speed, it shouldn't pretend to have 6 just to keep old-timers comfortable with what they know. If the engine doesn't make noise because it's not running... don't put speakers in the car to pump engine noise to the driver or the people outside.
Make this car what it is, not what everything else has been before it.

[Lexicon101]

Originally Posted by Axel

brave new future...

K... I can KIIINDA see it with that explanation... but I still don't like it.

[Gost]

Originally Posted by Lexicon101

First of all... the Prius wasn't designed with constantly going top speed in mind. At that speed, it's running on only the mechanical motor. The BMW WAS designed with running only on the mechanical motor in mind.
Secondly, as MtnDrvr pointed out, that doesn't take advantage of regenerative braking.
Finally, what we're talking about RIGHT NOW is a hybrid designed for performance. You're bashing on it.

No need to hate just cause you like to look cool wearing your leather and smoking cigarettes behind the gym. The rest of us have moved on.

how did you know i wear leather and smoke? are you stalking me??

trust me i can see potential in any technology, I work in a field where the technology is constantly changing. In a 10 year time span, the equipment I use has gone through 4 different generations, going from 15 minutes for a scan to 15 seconds for a scan.

I still stand my ground on hybrids. As of right now, I am unimpressed with any production hybrid, if anything I see more potential in full electric vehicles.

The post that I made was used to support how I don't like the fact that the idea of hybrids was originally created as a way to better the environment instead of a way to make cars perform better with having efficiency as just a plus. So you saying the Prius wasn't designed to go to it's top speed (which isn't very fast at all) just supports what I was trying to express. It's sad when people can out run a prius police car (which we have here in NYC).