Much to our admitted surprise, Frazer-Nash (yes, that Frazer-Nash) is still alive and kicking, the evidence of which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show this week. A joint venture between Frazer-Nash and Italdesign Giugiaro, the Namir concept is a mid-engined 2-seater supercar claiming to be the world’s fastest hybrid car. Powered by an 814cc rotary engine and a 400V lithium polymer battery pack, the combined output of Namir’s two power sources equal around 170 kW (362 hp). Despite the relatively mundane output, Giugiaro claims the Namir capable of sprinting from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in just 3.5 seconds and 0-200 km/h (124 mph) in only 10.4s. Maxing out at a top speed of 300 km/h (187 mph), the Namir supposedly achieved a 00:01:51 lap time at the Autodromo Nazionale in Monza while still managing to maintain a fuel-economy rating of 39 km/liter (91 mpg).
Toronto native Marcelo da Luz pulled in to Victoria today, after completing a 9,400 mile trip across Canada in his solar car. His 140 day journey beat the previous Guiness record holders (set in 2004) by 50 miles. Although his record hasn’t yet been recognized by Guiness, da Luz says he’s planning to continue traveling as long as he can afford to do so.
“I can only go for as long as I have support,” he says. “It’s a mix between Forrest Gump and Field of Dreams — if you build it they will come and life is like a box chocolates.”
Da Luz started in Toronto and passed through 44 cities and across Canada twice. His car, called the “Power of One” or Xof1, is a single-seat solar vehicle that cost $500,000 dollars to build. The vehicle cost about half a million dollars to build, can travel 124 miles on a single charge and has a top speed of about 75 mph.
Few cars live up to their name like the Venturi Eclectic. The electric 3 seater which began life as a concept two years ago, is a complete 180 degree departure from the ultra-rare (and expensive) sports cars produced by the Monaco automaker. Even though the Eclectic has futuristic looks that got it a role in Vin Diesel’s latest movie “Babylon A.D.,” the car pictured here is not some sort of non-production concept, but very similar to the actual vehicle Venturi intends to sell in Europe in 2009.
Supposedly, Patrick McGoohan picked the Lotus Seven because it had a more rebellious quality about it that fit the premise of The Prisoner. If McGoohan had chosen the original Lotus Elan he had planned, or some other car for the title sequence, there might not be over 160 companies offering replicas and Seven-type cars over the years. Who knows, we might not even have the Ariel Atom, which is clearly Lotus-inspired. He put the Seven on the map.
The Lotus Seven was an interesting car. It had fantastic low end acceleration for the time, since it was so light (a bit over 1100 pounds), but only had a top speed of around 90 mph. As time went on, the weight and engine size increased, culminating in the Super Seven which had a 1.7 liter engine.
Each September, Montreal holds a car-free day, called En Ville Sans Ma Voiture!, or In Town Without My Car! centered on Ste-Catherine street. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the street during this day, and a bunch of vendors present green-transport alternatives to cars and various activities. One of the most important events is the electric car demos.
This year, students from the University of Montreal’s School of Engineering presented their solar car, named Esteban IV.
Officially recognizing their brief foray into the compact car market as a major blunder, for 2009, Ford has reintroduced one of their most massive feats of engineering: the EarthRoamer XV-LT Ford 550. An all-terrain recreational vehicle that will make your pop-up camper wet its pants, the EarthRoamer XV-LT prides itself on being powerful enough to endure a rugged terrain while still providing [most] of the comforts of home. Contrary to what it suggests at first glance though, the EarthRoamer XV-LT is not another monstrous, testosterone-saturated gas guzzler.
The University of Michigan team was first across the finish line back on July 22 after a long, hot 10-day 2,400-mile (4,000 km) race from Plano, Texas to Calgary, Alberta. The North American Solar Challenge pits various schools against each other to see who can build the fastest, most efficeint solar car.
This year, 15 solar-powered cars built by students from universities in the U.S., Canada, and Germany completed.
Hydrogen could be the fuel of the future, if someone can help bring the price down.
Hydrogen’s obtained by splitting water into it’s two parts, oxygen and hydrogen. Right now, the only method for doing the splitting involves platinum as a catalyst. Platinum is expensive, and that’s the main reason for the high cost of hydrogen as a fuel. But some researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have more cost-effective solution.
Cars like the Tesla Roadster are 100% electric, but that doesn’t mean they’re Zero-Emissions. You have to get the electricity you need to re-charge them from somewhere, and the main source for grid electricity in the US? Coal. So to power your super clean Tesla Roadster, you have to burn a bunch of coal. Makes it less appealing, doesn’t it?
Well, in California, being a smug eco/electro-driver just got a little easier, and from a company you’d never expect: Sam’s Club, aka Wal-Mart.
Finally solar power is being applied to cars in some useful way. Sure, the car only measures 33 x 22 x 14 millimeters, but it’s a start, right?
The “World’s Smallest Solar Racing Car” as Ecotopia calls it, is an ultra-small, fully functional toy car with a tiny solar panel that generates enough electricity to run it’s little motor and make it zip all around your kitchen floor, even with just a strong interior light source. Awesome.
