The Porsche Boxster Spyder borrows design elements from a bygone era.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
Sport car companies enjoy the luxury of pushing design to the extreme, putting issues such as passenger comfort and cargo area aside. At the Los Angeles Auto Show we found a selection of new car designs that are as beautiful as they are impractical. Porsche showed up with a convertible that makes it more difficult to lower the top than in its other models. Lotus' newest car may be more accessible than its previous models, but you will still need the moves of a break-dancer to get inside. And the second generation of the Spyker C8 Aileron takes car design into the world of art.
Check out all these cars, and a special eco convertible, in our slideshow.
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Click to view more photos of the Fisker Karma.
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)The world of plug-in hybrids is about to get a whole lot sexier when the production Fisker Karma debuts at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.
Fisker has released early photos of the production version of the Karma, which isn't that much different from the concept revealed earlier this year at the 2008 Detroit Show.
Its mustachioed face has survived the jump to production essentially intact, although the lower grill opening has been enlarged a bit, to make it more practical for cooling we'd assume. Amber reflectors have been added to the leading edge of the wheel well and small fender vents have been added just aft of the front wheels. The LED tail lamps, huge 22-inch wheel and tire package, and (hooray!) solar-panel roof all look like they will see showroom floors.
The Karma concept debuted at last year's Detroit Auto Show.
(Credit: Fisker Automotive)Under the Karma's swooping hood is a 22.6 kWh electric motor coupled with a GM-sourced turbocharged, direct-inject 2.0L four-cylinder Ecotec engine--the same fantastic mill that powers the Chevy Cobalt SS tested earlier. Together the two powerplants produce about 400 horsepower and a 5.8 second 0-60 time. Keep your foot planted and the Karma will eventually top out somewhere around 125 mph.
The driver will be able to select between two modes of driving. The first mode is Stealth Drive, which is the economy mode for quiet and efficient driving. By flipping the second paddle behind the steering wheel, the car will switch to Sport Drive, which will activate the full power of the vehicle.
Here's something else that's changed: the price. It appears that Fisker is bumping the asking price for the Karma up to about $87,000 (was $80,000). If that's not too rich for your blood, Fisker is taking pre-orders for late 2010 delivery.
The $150,000 Scorpion would produce hydrogen as it drives.
(Credit: Ronn Motor Company)
A Texas company is offering a glimpse of a high-end hydrogen-gasoline sportscar it hopes to sell by the fall.
Rather than using fuel cells to power an electric motor, the Scorpion from Ronn Motor Company would have an internal combustion engine burning both gasoline and hydrogen, achieving 40 highway miles per gallon.
Unlike with a hydrogen fuel cell car, the Scorpion's "hydrogen on demand" system wouldn't require a high-pressure hydrogen storage tank. Nor would a driver need to find and fill up at a hydrogen fueling station.
Instead, electricity from the Scorpion's alternator sends an electric charge through the water in a storage tank, fracturing molecules and releasing hydrogen, which is injected into the motor, explained Ronn Maxwell, CEO of Ronn Motor in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.
"This means that as we're driving down the road, we're producing hydrogen in real time, and blending it with gasoline at a ratio of 30 to 40 percent," he said.
The hydrogen-gasoline hybrid technology comes from Hydrorunner.
"We are still using gasoline, but we're gonna be using 40 percent less," Maxwell said. "The hydrogen cleans up the emissions. It actually consumes carbon. It's not the perfect car, not electric, but it is something that'll work right now."
Ronn Motor showed off a working prototype of the Scorpion, sans body, Tuesday in downtown Austin.
The hydrogen internal combustion engine can achieve between 30 to 50 percent greater efficiency over standard gasoline cars, Maxwell added. Under the hood is a 2009 Acura 3.5 Vtech motor with 280-horsepower stock, or 450-horsepower with a twin turbo option. The car has a 6-speed manual transmission.
Ronn Motor has taken several orders so far and has plans to build 200 Scorpions this year, eventually ramping up to 500, Maxwell said. He believes his will be the first company to market a passenger car with a hydrogen-on-demand system, which gearheads already tinker with in private garages and which are available for the trucking industry.
Maxwell is targeting the sort of automotive aficionados who might collect Lamborghinis, Ferraris, or an electric Tesla, but said he wants to create a sedan next. It remains to be seen whether Ronn Motor will succeed in delivering its roadster to customers by October as planned.
The company's stock was listed on the Pink Sheets May 29.
Meanwhile, building the necessary fueling infrastructure remains just one of the barriers to wider adoption of hydrogen fuel cell cars, which primarily reside in the garages of a wealthy and famous few.
The company showed off the Scorpion, without its shell, on Tuesday in Austin, Tex.
(Credit: Ronn Motor Company)Hybrid Technologies is preparing a '"green" sports car to submit in the Automotive X Prize contest, according to a report in Popular Mechanics.
The car will come in two versions: one for the Auto X Prize that will have a gasoline engine and battery and another all-electric version.
The as-yet-unnamed electric sports car being developed by Hybrid Technologies.
(Credit: Hybrid Technologies via Popular Mechanics.)The gas-battery hybrid will get the equivalent of 220 miles per gallon while the all-electric will get 150 mpg to 180 mpg. A drivable prototype is set to hit the streets in September.
The idea is to make the X Prize entrant something that will result in a mass-produced electric car, the company told Popular Mechanics.
"We're looking for this car basically to end up mainstream--not just built for a one-and-done," project development engineer Ron Cerven told the magazine. "The X Prize car is going to be the purchasable--obviously a higher-end car, but there might be something else from us in the X Prize."
Hybrid Technologies doesn't get nearly as much attention as Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive, which are both preparing hybrid-electric sports cars.
But Hybrid Technologies has ambitious plans to make a range of vehicles that run on lithium-based batteries, including scooters, bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and cars.
Electric-car maker Tesla Motors has filed suit against a competitor, claiming the company stole trade secrets and copied design ideas.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court in California. Tesla hired Henrik Fisker, CEO of car design firm Fisker Coachbuild, last year to design the body of its all-electric WhiteStar sedan. In the suit, Tesla alleges that Fisker and Fisker Coachbuild Chief Operating Officer Bernhard Koehler accepted the contract "to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle," according to a New York Times article.
Last year, Tesla said it plans to come out with WhiteStar, an all-electric passenger sedan, in late 2009 or 2010. At the time, it said the price would range from $50,000 to $70,000.
The company, based in San Carlos, Calif., said in February that it plans to produce two types of its WhiteStar sedan--one being completely battery-powered, the other being a so-called range-extended vehicle, or REV, wherein a small gas motor recharges the battery as the car is driven.
Fisker, who last fall started Fisker Automotive--a green-leaning sports car company--recently announced an REV named Karma.
Tesla said it decided to scrap Fisker's design for the WhiteStar and began working on a new design when it found out he was going to be a competitor, according to the Times article.
"I think it's ironic that Fisker chose to name his car the Karma, when what he's done is very bad karma," said Adam C. Belsky, a lawyer at Gross, Belsky & Alonso who represents Tesla, told the Times.
The Times attempted to reach Fisker Automotive, but was unsuccessful. Someone who picked up the phone at the San Francisco law firm that is representing Fisker Coachbuild said it is "the firm's policy not to comment on litigation," according to the newspaper.
Last month, Tesla began commercial production of its all-electric Tesla Roadster, which costs $98,000. The company has dealerships in Los Angeles and Northern California. Production of the roadster had been delayed because of problems with the car's transmission, among other components. The company also had a change in top management last year.
The guy who designed BMW's Z8 has a greener idea. Get a first look at the Fisker Karma from the 2008 Detroit auto show.
Click the image to access the gallery
Not content with bringing you a veritable avalanche of our own blogs, galleries, and video coverage from the Detroit auto show, CNET.com has teamed up with AutoSpies.com for even more slide-show action.
Fuel efficiency and reduced emissions are all the rage among automakers this year, and even the supercar manufacturers are getting in on the act. Check out our image gallery of some of the red-hot, green-minded sports cars from this year's North American International Auto Show.
There was no shortage of sexy, sporty cars at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Here are my favorites (in somewhat of a particular order):
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
The race-bred concept, which means "wind" in Japanese, is based on the Courage C65 chassis, which Mazda used in the American Le Mans Series two seasons previously. It has a three-rotor rotary engine that's capable of churning out 450 horsepower. And while it looks awesome, I'd say the chance that it goes into production is pretty slim.
(Credit:
General Motors)
The uber-performance version of Cadillac's sportiest model is slated to hit dealerships at the end of this year. Its 6.2 liter supercharged LSA engine delivers an estimated 550 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque. It also features Magnetic Ride Control, an "industry-first Performance Traction Management program" (although I'm not quite sure what that means), as well as a new automatic transmission with paddle-shift control (some of us recognized the extra space for the paddles on the steering column when we drove the 2008 CTS earlier this year).
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Audi's sleek supercar gets an update with a 12-cylinder diesel engine -- a first for a high-performance road car. The V12 TDI (which stands for turbo diesel injection), generates 500 horsepower and an impressive 738 pound-feet of torque. The V12 TDI is closely related to the engine in the Audi R10, the two-time Le Mans winner. I love how the car looks, but I'm still befuddled by that giant strip of carbon fiber down the side.
(Credit:
Fisker Automotive)
I'm hoping for good karma for Henrik Fisker, best known for his designs of the Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, and BMW Z8. The Great Dane is launching his first car built from the ground up, powered by plug-in hybrid technology. The drivetrain, developed by Quantum Technologies, consists of a small gasoline engine that turns a generator to charge a lithium-ion battery pack. The batteries power the electric motor and turn the rear wheels. With a zero-to-60 time of less than 6 seconds and a top speed of more than 125 miles per hour, the Karma is definitely poised to be a Tesla-killer.
(Credit:
General Motors)
My number one car (though a tough call) evokes images of Tim Allen doing his manly grunt on Home Improvement. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 is the most powerful and fastest production car ever made by parent company General Motors. It features a new, supercharged 6.2-liter LS9 V-8 engine that cranks out a jaw-dropping 620 horsepower and about 595 pound-feet of torque. GM says the ZR1 will be the first production Corvette to achieve a top speed of at least 200 miles per hour. But those speed junkies and midlife crisis victims still need to hang on a big longer -- the ZR1 won't arrive until this summer.
Fisker Automotive formally unveiled its upscale hybrid car today and said it has received an infusion of cash from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Ooooh. Ahhhh.
(Credit: CNET Networks )The investment is believed to be the first direct investment by Kleiner Perkins into an alternative car company. (Rumors swirled that the company invested in Phoenix Motorcars, but it was never confirmed, and Phoenix subsequently had delays). Fisker did not officially release the amount of the investment but Kleiner partner Ray Lane told the Wall Street Journal that the investment exceeds $10 million.
The company is founded by noted automotive designer Henrik Fisker. He came up with the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9, among other cars that most of us can't afford. Fisker's Karma (the name of the car) will cost around $80,000 and go from 0 to 60 in six seconds. It has a top speed of 125 miles an hour. The picture comes from the Detroit auto show taking place this week.
The Karma operates like the Chevy Volt. The car runs on lithium-ion batteries, which get recharged by a small gas motor on the car. The battery can also be recharged from a plug in the wall. Because the Karma can go fifty miles on a charge, most people won't even use gas on their daily commute: the average commute in the good ol' USA is 40 miles a day. An integrated solar panel in the roof helps charge it up while driving.
Fisker, which talked about the car last October at a conference in Silicon Valley, wants to start producing cars in the fourth quarter of 2009. If it hits its goal, it could become the first company to sell factory-built plug-in hybrids. Toyota and GM have said they will come out with plug-in hybrids by 2010. Fisker wants to ultimately sell 15,000 of the cars a year. That could be a stretch, but the high-end car market is growing all the time. The company will also do two-door versions and SUVs.
Expect to see the hybrid vs. electric debate heat up quite a bit this year. On the hybrid and plug-in hybrid side sit Toyota, GM, Fisker, and a few others. On the all-electric side sit Tesla, Miles, Phoenix, etc. Then there are companies like Nissan Venture Vehicles that will do both. Plug-in hybrids don't get the same gas mileage as full electric cars, but they can go a few hundred miles before conking out--electric cars tap out at 120 to 225 miles. Plug-ins also run on smaller batteries, which lowers the price. Experts such as James Woolsey, former CIA director and now energy guru at consulting firm McKinsey, lauds plug-ins, as do others. But ultimately, the customer will decide.
The hybrid drive system in the Karma comes from Quantum Technologies, which has worked in the automotive industry for years on various non-fossil fuel technologies. Quantum is also an investor.
