We've been fortunate to drive a number of different Tesla Roadsters over the years including, most recently, a keeping one long enough for a week-long review. Owners of high performance sports cars sometimes like to take their cars to the track for some of the kind of fun you can't really have when you are constantly on the lookout for hidden constables. One of the favorite cars for such activities is the Porsche Boxster.

Motor Trend's Kim Reynolds and Art St. Antoine took the latest edition of the Boxster, the new Spyder, to Willow Springs recently, along with a Roadster Sport. It makes for very interesting comparison since the Boxster Spyder is the most minimalist version of the Porsche and the Tesla has a slightly more upscale interior than its Lotus Elise progenitor.

At nearly twice the price of the German, the Tesla offers tremendous performance but requires a bit more effort to learn its limits, in part because of the reduced feedback. St. Antoine in particular was surprised at how well the "science experiment" works. Even with the Roadster's abilities, the car makes no sense compared to the Porsche when considered purely in a bang-for-your-buck perspective. The main reason people have bought them is to help finance the future, a fun future. Check out the video after the jump.




[Source: Motor Trend]

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Geneva Motor Show attendees will have a chance to see the first of a coming family of Fiat Twin-Air engines on exhibit. An 80 horsepower turbo version of the two-cylinder will not only appear naked on the stand for close-up inspection but also with a Fiat 500 wrapped lovingly around it. The two are promised to be paired in September. The new 900 CC powerplant, which will also be available in non-aspirated 65 hp and turbo 105 hp flavors, is said to emit 32 percent less CO2 than engines with similar outputs. Compared to the 1.2-liter currently available in the retro-cutey, the 85 hp variant packs 25 percent more punch while burning 15 percent less petrol. Matched against the up-sized performance of the 1.4-liter option, the newcomer equals it in driving pleasure while using 30 percent less of the liquid stuff.

Besides being more powerful and efficient than traditional motors, the Twin-Air is also smaller and lighter. Given this fact, it is no surprise that Fiat is hinting at using it in both hybrid applications as well as a natural gas-combusting configuration. Beat the Geneva crowds and check it out for yourself in the gallery below get even more details from the press release awaiting you after the break.



[Source: Fiat via Green Car Congress]

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Lotus has just formally introduced a new 400-plus horsepower sportscar concept. That news in and of itself would be enough to pique our interest, but the rest of the car's spec sheet makes the Evora 414E Hybrid an astonishingly intriguing concept vehicle. As you surely surmised by now, this two-seat sportster is a hybrid, specifically an extended-range electric vehicle that features a pair of rear-mounted electric motors and a 1.2-liter three-cylinder gas-powered engine. Why not fully electric? According to Lotus:

With regard to the total lifetime CO2 emissions of the vehicle, including the energy required to manufacture and run it, the range extender solution has a lower overall CO2 footprint than a fully electric car of comparable performance and operating range running with a larger battery.

That 47-horsepower gasoline engine never actually sends power directly to the Evora 414E Hybrid's wheels. Instead – as with other cars such as the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the Fisker Karma – the mill is used to recharge the onboard 17 kilowatt-hour lithium polymer battery pack, which is centrally mounted down the middle of the car for optimal weight distribution. That battery pack can provide up to 35 miles of gasoline-free driving per full charge.

Because each rear wheel has a separate connection to its own electric motor, Lotus has programmed in torque vectoring for stability control of the vehicle. This means that a complex set of software algorithms can provide the same kind of benefits as rear-wheel steering and exaggerated toe-in without the expense or efficiency losses of a mechanical system. Each rear wheel puts down 204 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque.

Further, though the actual transmission has only one forward ratio, Lotus has programmed in seven artificial "gears" that the driver can row through via a set of column-mounted paddle shifters. Also included is the HALOsonic Internal and External Electronic Sound Synthesis technologies from Lotus and Harman International that pipes artificial sound to both the cabin and outside to pedestrians. Want more? There's plenty to be gleaned in the exhaustive press release that you'll find after the break. Sadly, just one lone copper-topped teaser image, which you can enlarge by clicking above.

[Source: Lotus]

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Since late 2006, Denise Gray has been the director of global battery systems engineering at General Motors and one of the key people working to bring the Chevrolet Volt to fruition. Gray has overseen all of the testing and development of batteries going into plug and non-plug versions of GM hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles. Gray has also worked with battery suppliers to evaluate new cell technologies that may be used in production vehicles in the future. We've also spoken with her on numerous occasions about the progress of electrical energy storage at GM.

After a career of nearly 30 years, Gray is leaving GM to join a California-based battery start-up. During a conference call earlier this afternoon, Gray could not yet identify her new employer, telling us that an announcement would be coming soon. Gray's last day at GM will be Friday, March 5, 2010. Read more after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

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Hyundai's home office in Korea has dropped the first frontal image of the new concept that will be shown next week in Geneva along with some technical details. The i-Flow is a D-segment sedan meant to go up against cars like the Ford Mondeo in Europe. Under the hood, the i-Flow has Hyundai's first diesel hybrid powertrain including a new 1.7-liter inline-four. The diesel has dual stage turbocharging and is paired up with Hyundai's Blue-drive system using a new six-speed dual clutch gearbox. Like the upcoming Sonata hybrid, the i-Flow uses a lithium polymer battery pack. With its drag coefficient of 0.25, the i-Flow is claimed to achieve 78.4 miles per gallon (U.S.) and CO2 emissions of just 85 grams/kilometer.

Joining the i-Flow onstage will be a refreshed version of the i30 (badged as the Elantra Touring in North America) and low emissions "blue" versions of the i10, i20, i30 and ix35 (Tucson). These models get automatic start-stop, low rolling resistance tires and aero tweaks. The four cars all get CO2 ratings under 100 g/km while the crossover ix35 gets 135 g/km. Finally, Hyundai will also show a fuel cell version of the new ix35/Tucson for the first time. Hyundai still plans to produce fuel cell vehicles in the thousands annually by 2012.

[Source: Hyundai]

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Renault's all-electric Twizy concept was by far the quirkiest vehicle at the Frankfort Motor Show last fall. For the Geneva Show that starts soon, Renault is sadly not bringing the closer-to-production version that was on display last November in Valladolid, Spain. Instead, we will apparently be treated again to the concept version.

We always knew the Twizy would undergo a pretty dramatic change from the concept, and Ward's Auto says that the production model scraps the wheel covers, the half-doors and the concept's front electronic display. The interior has also been tremendously simplified. To emphasize the EV's powertrain, the front headlights look like a "+" sign, while the taillights form a "–". How this will be implemented in the production version is unknown, but Renault said the Valladolid version is "close to a possible series vehicle," and Nissan is also supposed to get a re-badged version of the 1+1 seater.

Back in September, Renault said the Twizy concept could go up to 47 miles per hour using a 15kW motor (20hp) motor that helps it accelerate like a 125cc motorbike. The tiny car – it's only 2.3 meters long and 1.13 meters wide – has a range of around 62 miles from a small lithium-ion battery. Valladolid is the Twizy's future production home starting in 2011. Renault has said it hopes to make 20,000 electric vehicles (EVs) a year in Valladolid starting in 2013.



[Source: Ward's Auto]

When most people think of Getrag, visions of transmissions commonly pop into mind. However, with vehicle electrification increasingly becoming a reality, the transmission business will inevitably change and Getrag wants to be prepared. Thus, the German company is starting to promote a range extender system comprising a small engine, electric motor and a two-speed gearbox.

The full package is designed to run mostly as a series hybrid with primary electric drive and the engine starting only when the battery gets low. If needed, the engine can also drive the wheels directly in a parallel hybrid mode. The specs call for a motor of 30-45 kilowatts. No specifications are given for the engine but, from the illustrations, it is clearly a two cylinder of unknown origin. A 10-20 kW belt driven alternator on the engine is used to charge the battery. Overall, this system would be suitable for a small urban commuter car. No automaker has yet given an indication that it plans to use the Getrag system. The press release is after the jump.



[Source: Getrag]

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It's just under 400 miles from Los Angeles to San Francisco. This distance is also known as about twice as far as you can drive a Tesla Roadster without recharging. To make the trip possible for Roadster owners, long-time Plug In America supporter Earl Cox has donated a $2,000 Tesla Home Charger that allows for four-hour recharges to Harris Ranch, a restaurant and inn located about half way between LA and San Francisco (or LA and Sacramento, if that's your destination). Conveniently, the Ranch is located just 100 yards off of Highway 5. A grand opening of the charge point will take place March 5th.

Pictured above is Cox's Roadster charging at the Santa Maria branch of Rabobank, where SolarCity installed a 30-kilowatt solar array. For more Tesla charging locations, see the list at EV Charger News.

[Source: Plug In America]

Jaguar-Land Rover has joined up with a new low carbon vehicle partnership to research and test concepts to cut fuel consumption. The £29 million project is being funded by the automaker, six partner companies, Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund. One of the key elements to improving efficiency will be improving the electronic management of the powertrain and vehicle dynamics.

The goal will be to optimize these systems in order to minimize the losses that come when the vehicle starts slipping or the wheels are spinning. These same systems are also integrated into functions like adaptive cruise control. With appropriate programming, the adaptive cruise control can adjust the gap distances to miminize the deceleration and acceleration and, presto, help lower fuel consumption.

[Source: Jaguar-Land Rover]

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