If you could sum up the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in one word it would be “hybrid”. No longer the realm of cardigan-wearing Toyotas, the cool kids all got electricity sets for Christmas and have been waiting for the first opportunity to show what they can do. Porsche, Ferrari and Audi are just some of the kids to have flicked the switch at Geneva. Volkswagen, too, not wanting to be left out, revealed their goal to be the world’s premier supplier of hybrid vehicles in just eight years from now.
So what do we make of all this greenwashing by from the flash end of town? I mean, the Porsche 918 Spyder is a car which is said to have the outright raw pace to lap one of the world’s greatest racetracks in a time that would have been deemed unimaginable a few years ago. Especially from a “hybrid”. The 918 has a combined power from its petrol guzzler and ‘leccy motor of some 730hp. Are they having a laugh saying their hybrid sportscar is green? Or is there more to it than that? Remember, in full electric mode, y’know, zero emissions and all that, the 918 can travel a measly 25km.
For an interesting critique on the emerging hybrid sportscar obsession, have a squiz at this opinion piece from Jalopnik. Here’s a quick teaser for you, “These cars won’t save the planet, but they might just get a few rich dudes laid.”