Wednesday, June 17, 2009
We don't know why Giugiaro named this after a long-defunct builder of idiosyncratic British sports cars, but the Frazer Nash concept is looking to become the world's fastest hybrid with a 186 MPH top speed.
Aside from a car which looks more Lamborghini than Targa Florio, the Frazer Nash Concept has a central boast of "World's Fastest Hybrid" with a claimed top speed of 186 MPH. Sort of an odd and probably specific claim around a traditional gasoline-electric passenger category since KERS equipped F1 cars will probably be kinda fast and there have been some pretty quick land speed record hybrids. Semantics aside, the Frazer Nash Concept will debut next month at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, where it will compete against the Rinspeed iCharge for most lauded one-off engineering exercises
Driving excitement and hybrid power are concepts rarely uttered in the same breath, but Giugiaro is promising the fastest hybrid in the world with a concept set to make its debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. A new drawing of the concept leaked today reveals what it will look like.
So far information is scarce, with just a few hints on Giugiaro's site, along with a preview image. A full-on shot of the car leaked today, however, ruining the teasing aspect of Giugiaro's presentation. The photo reveals a car that looks much like the Quaranta concept from last year's Geneva Motor Show, which was itself promised to be powered by a hybrid powertrain.
Rumors of a Wankel rotary engine powering a generator have emerged, though the Quaranta was based around a 3.3L V6 petrol engine and two electric motors rated at 268hp (200kW) and 212lb-ft (288Nm) of torque together. The use of a Wankel seems an odd choice - though they are volumetrically efficient, they tend to use a lot of fuel for a given power output. There's also talk of a pure electric-drive system, says Automotive News Europe, with an electric motor on each wheel providing full-time AWD and a plug-in hybrid system similar to that of the Chevy Volt.Whatever is powering it, the hybrid drivetrain would push the car to a claimed 4.05 second 0-62mph (0-100km/h) time. The powertrain layout also makes the car four-wheel drive, since the engine powers one axle, and each motor powers one of the remaining wheels.Emissions are targeted at 50g/km CO2, or about half the output of the latest generation of hybrid econo-cars like the 2010 Toyota Prius or the 2009 Honda Insight.It's likely that the car to be revealed at Geneva is a further-developed version of the Quaranta, possibly even with a fully operational drivetrain. If that is the case, Fisker's Karma will have some serious competition on its hands in terms of outright looks as well as performance.
Aside from a car which looks more Lamborghini than Targa Florio, the Frazer Nash Concept has a central boast of "World's Fastest Hybrid" with a claimed top speed of 186 MPH. Sort of an odd and probably specific claim around a traditional gasoline-electric passenger category since KERS equipped F1 cars will probably be kinda fast and there have been some pretty quick land speed record hybrids. Semantics aside, the Frazer Nash Concept will debut next month at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, where it will compete against the Rinspeed iCharge for most lauded one-off engineering exercises
Driving excitement and hybrid power are concepts rarely uttered in the same breath, but Giugiaro is promising the fastest hybrid in the world with a concept set to make its debut at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. A new drawing of the concept leaked today reveals what it will look like.
So far information is scarce, with just a few hints on Giugiaro's site, along with a preview image. A full-on shot of the car leaked today, however, ruining the teasing aspect of Giugiaro's presentation. The photo reveals a car that looks much like the Quaranta concept from last year's Geneva Motor Show, which was itself promised to be powered by a hybrid powertrain.
Rumors of a Wankel rotary engine powering a generator have emerged, though the Quaranta was based around a 3.3L V6 petrol engine and two electric motors rated at 268hp (200kW) and 212lb-ft (288Nm) of torque together. The use of a Wankel seems an odd choice - though they are volumetrically efficient, they tend to use a lot of fuel for a given power output. There's also talk of a pure electric-drive system, says Automotive News Europe, with an electric motor on each wheel providing full-time AWD and a plug-in hybrid system similar to that of the Chevy Volt.Whatever is powering it, the hybrid drivetrain would push the car to a claimed 4.05 second 0-62mph (0-100km/h) time. The powertrain layout also makes the car four-wheel drive, since the engine powers one axle, and each motor powers one of the remaining wheels.Emissions are targeted at 50g/km CO2, or about half the output of the latest generation of hybrid econo-cars like the 2010 Toyota Prius or the 2009 Honda Insight.It's likely that the car to be revealed at Geneva is a further-developed version of the Quaranta, possibly even with a fully operational drivetrain. If that is the case, Fisker's Karma will have some serious competition on its hands in terms of outright looks as well as performance.