Category: Green Machines

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Green Machines Porsche

VIDEO: Porsche hybrid drive promo

Porsche Hybrid promo

Following today’s earlier news about the 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid comes this 12 minute promo on Porsche’s hybrid technologies. Shown below, in two parts, the videos give a great introduction to the way Porsche is utilising a number of different theories to add hybrid systems to their cars via their Porsche Intelligent Performance initiative.

Also shown in the clip is the 911 GT3 R Hybrid and the Cayenne S Hybrid. Not sure about anyone else, but I am already counting down the days until the GT3 R Hybrid makes its race debut at the Nürburgring 24 hour race. Oh, there’s 74 sleeps to go, by the way.

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Citroen Green Machines Motor Shows

Geneva: Citroën Survolt Concept

Citroen Survolt Concept

Citroën have gone all Batmobile-like with this crazy Survolt Concept. It’s a pretty wild looking machine and that’s about all I can tell you about it. There is a press release below, but the only real information it gives away is that the Survolt “is the continuation of Citroën’s exploration of distinctive and original electric vehicles”.

Oh, one more thing, the car’s measurements, of course, 3.85m long, 1.87m wide and 1.20m high. So, it’s small, electric and sporty looking. What more could you possibly need to know? More pics and pretty words after the break.

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Green Machines MINI

MINI E – looking for a plug down under

MINI E - The electric, zero emissions MINI

According to a report in The Age BMW Australia is making preparations to bring the MINI E down under. The all electric-powered MINI has been operating on trial lease agreements in the United States since late 2008. The MINI E is also currently being evaluated in both Germany and England. Now, it looks like we could be the next country to flick the switch.

BMW Australia’s PR and Corporate Communications Manager, Toni Andreevski, confirmed plans are underway, “The first step is to try to get a sample car in the country, a MINI E, in Australia as soon as possible.

“It hasn’t been finalised yet, we are still negotiating with Munich but it looks very promising and we are quite confident of having a car in Australia around the middle of next year.”

With a range of around 240km and a heavy duty 150kW of power on offer BMW Australia are keen to test the car in demanding Australian conditions.

“We’d like to get the engineers some experience in Australia with the car so that if there is anything that they need to learn from an Australian perspective then they take that into account when they are developing future concepts,” Andreevski told The Age.

Andreevski hopes the MINI will attract some political clout, “The idea to bring the car to Australia is also to get some politicians behind the wheels so they can experience really one of the cars that is in larger scale use at the moment.”

More on this story as it develops.

[Source: The Age via theSwitchback]

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Green Machines

Trabant makes a MINI

Trabant nt

This is the Trabant nT, a new concept car from those former East German funsters. Shaking off the old technology tag in a big, big way this 21st century Trabbie is an all electric powered beast. It even has a solar panel on its roof, which provides enough power to run the car’s accessories and so on.

The car should have a range of around 160km after being fully charged and, if you so desire, you could reach a v-max of 130km/h. Dizzy heights indeed!

I reckon it actually looks pretty cool. A theoretical production date of 2012 is possible, with an expected asking price of around AU$32,000.

There’s plenty more pics on CarAdvice, so why don’t you go and check them out.

[Source: CarAdvice]

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Green Machines MINI

theSwitchback drives the MINI E

MINI E test driven by the Switchback

The MINI E has recently showed its face in England and Paul from the MINI specialist website theSwitchback was there to see what all the fuss is about. Safe to say that driving the MINI E, or any fully electric vehicle for that matter, is probably a new experience for most of us, and Paul was no different, “The power delivery is really what stood out for me as a first time MINI E driver. I’m not a fan of automatic cars in general, and the automatic MINIs are not as appealing to me as the manual counterparts, but the single speed MINI E was a revelation. No gears, no lunges, no hesitation, just silky smooth power whenever you desire. Lovely.”

While Paul’s overall experience was positive, there were a few drawbacks, “Driving the MINI E reminded me of driving a MINI with a very heavy load, like a full DJ set or full size washing machine (yes, both can be accomplished). Perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration, but it certainly didn’t feel as balanced as a regular MINI would on the same twisty country lanes. There was also a fair amount of torque steer apparent under hard acceleration.”

You can read theSwitchback‘s full review HERE.

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Green Machines Motor Shows Volkswagen

Frankfurt: Volkswagen E-Up!

Volkswagen E-Up! Concept

Cute little city car, here we come! That’s the first thought when you see Volkswagen’s new zero emissions E-Up! concept. The company has high hopes for the car and has described it the “Beetle of the 21st Century”.

Tipping the scales at a releatively light 1085 kilograms the E-Up! has one basic fundamental right, low weight. When you consider the car’s Lithium-ion battery is a hefty 240kg that’s actually some achievement.

With an electrical charging point hidden behind the bonnet mounted VW emblem the 60kW/210Nm powered E-Up! can be recharged in around 5 hours. To ease the load on the engine, the car’s eletrical system is powered, in part, by the car’s solar roof panels. Even the interior sun visors are fitted with solar cells that can supplement power generation by flipping them out towards the sun. Those Germans think of everything!

It seems marketers can too, given they came up with the label Human Machine Interface (HMI) for the car’s interior controls. In addition to the expected monitoring of available charge remaining and usual heating and lighting controls, the HMI has some pretty nifty features, including remote capability that allows the use of an iPhone to commence recharging. Ideal for taking advantage of off-peak electricity charges.

At just 3.19 metres in length, the E-Up! uses flexible seating arrangements to maximise its practicality. Volkswagen describes the E-Up! as being a 3+1 seater. Mainly because the passenger’s seat sits a couple of inches further forward, offering more rear seat legroom behind the front passenger. The seating position behind the driver is best suited to a small child, or it could be used as extra cargo space.

Volkswagen expects the E-Up! to be ready for launch in 2013. Heaps more after the jump.

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Green Machines Peugeot

Peugeot’s clean, green AWD coupé

Peugeot RCZ HYbrid4 concept

You may remember the pics and details from Peugeot’s Audi TT clone that were about released a month ago. Now, Peugeot has announced that they want a piece of the green market too, with this RCZ HYbrid4 concept.

Headline figures are around 3.7l/100km, CO2 emissions of 95g/km and all while still having a smidge under 150kW to play with.

That’s not tricky part, though. The real headline feature of this car is that the power supplied is split between two engines, one driving the front wheels, the other powering the rears. A 2-litre diesel offering 120kW provides the go up front, while an electric engine sends an additional 28kW to the rears. Torque to the front is a healthy 300Nm, while that tiny leccy engine sends 200Nm of torque to the rear axle.

A pretty neat interpretation of all-wheel drive then!

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Green Machines Volkswagen

Volkswagen 1 litre teaser

Volkswagen 1 litre concept

Things have been a bit quiet in car land for the last day or two. The calm before the Frankfurt storm, clearly. One little tidbit that has popped up, though, is this nifty little gadget from Volkswagen. It is a new, more realistic, 1 litre two seater concept city car.

The “1 litre” name is inspired by the car’s fuel consumption goal of being able to travel 100 kilomtetres on a single litre of petrol. An earlier concept, in black, was previously revealed by former VW CEO Ferdinand Piech. He used the car for a publicity stunt, using it to drive to Volkswagen’s AGM, back in 2002.

The new, more production ready model is understood to be powered by sub-30kW two cylinder diesel engine, mated to a 7 speed DSG transmission. There’s talk there could be an electric engine, of sorts, hidden away in the 500kg bodywork as well.

Volkswagen have previously stated they would like a car of this ilk to go in to production. Possibly as early as next year. So, it seems, along with all of life’s other secrets, all will be revealed at the Frankfurt IAA later this week.

[Source: Bild am Sonntag via autoblog]

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Audi Green Machines

Audi R8 electric shock?

Audi - electricity untamed

Now that we have whet your appetite for Audi R8 production, fancy an electric powered supercar? Well, the rumour doing the rounds is that Audi will be releasing a “e-version” of the R8 at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.

This rumour was given new legs with the recent launch of Audi’s electricity untamed microsite. At the moment, the site includes a bunch of trivia and a few oddball videos. However, it also makes this bold claim (screen grab below): “…on September 15, 2009, electricity, and all its force and power, will run wild and free and completely untamed.”

That doesn’t sound like the precursor to a wussy city run about does it?!

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Green Machines

A greener shade of pale

How green are electric cars?

Electric powered cars—the green and sustainable future of motoring right? Well, that all depends on where the power is sourced to recharge the battery.

GoAuto have an interesting article that scrapes the surface of this sometimes heated and controversial subject. In the Australian market can an electric car genuinely claim to be a zero emissions vehicle?

Dr Peter Pudney from the University of South Australia, an independent expert on electric vehicles (EVs) and their infrastructure, spoke to GoAuto and said it is difficult to establish how clean an EV really is on account of Australia’s varied methods of sourcing power. He did say this, though:

“If you are using brown coal (to generate electricity for your EV) you would be slightly worse off than a comparable vehicle using traditional fuel.”

There is more to it than that, of course, so follow the link below and read the article in full. You’ll quickly realise there is a hell of a lot more to this issue than the car manufacturer’s PR departments would have you believe.

[Source: GoAuto]

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Green Machines

Fill ‘er up thanks mate

Could urine be a suitable source of alternative fuel?

The search for alternative fuels to power our cars has seen manufacturers spend millions on research and development. Current thinking is leading us towards electricity as an energy source. Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells, such as the Honda FCX Clarity are also a strong possibility, but the costs involved with using water as a source for hydrogen are an issue. So, what if there is a source for cheaper hydrogen production that is much closer to home than we first thought.

Here is one story about extracting the urine that is not, erm, taking the piss. Studies undertaken at Ohio University show that human urine could be used as a source for hydrogen. The benefits here are clear, firstly a constant supply of urine the world over is guaranteed. But, secondly, extracting hydrogen from urine requires much less energy than using water as a source.

While it’s not quite as simple as breaking up long highway drives with “pitstops” to fill up your car, the pee power theory sounds both plausible and dare I say, quite exciting.

Using animal urine is also possible with John Stickney, a chemist and professor at the University of Georgia, stating, “The waste products from say a chicken farm could be used to produce the energy needed to run the farm. It is not a solution for all our cars, but it is the kind of process which will find many applications and will make for a greener world.”

Or should that be, a yellower world!

[Source: Channel4 & Discovery News]

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Green Machines MINI

E is for England

MINI E set for UK trial

The electric powered MINI E has just been approved for a UK-based trial, with cars expected to be on England’s roads before the end of the year.

BMW Group has been granted funding to implement the trial from the UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board which was seeking proposals for innovative research projects featuring ultra-low carbon vehicles.

The year long trial will monitor the real-world use of the electric MINI with the findings set to influence the future decisions for BMW’s low emissions technologies.

To do this a collaborative approach, led by BMW, will see a research consortium formed with the trials taking place around the South-East of England, including MINI’s home at Oxford.

Ensuring the MINI E truly is a zero emissions vehicle Scottish and Southern Energy will be coordinating recharging points across the trial area, drawing power from renewable sources.

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