BMW i8

Looking at the future. Is the i8 the future of sportscars ?

The i8 is a sports car with hybrid drive: it has a small thermal unit three-cylinder turbocharged 1.5-liter engine coupled to an electric motor, the former delivers 231 horsepower and 320 Nm of torque, sending power to the rear wheels through a 6-speed automatic transmission, while the second provides 131 horsepower to the front wheels through an automatic transmission with two ratios.



The resulting power is 362 horsepower and 570 Nm of torque, numbers that allow the i8 to take from 0 to 100 km / h in just 4.4 seconds while maintaining very low consumption: the house declares in fact a fuel consumption of only 2.5 liters per 100 km.

The secret of this sport is in the weight, which stood at just 1,490 kg, not considering the weight of the batteries that power the electric motor, this figure is achieved thanks to the extensive use of sophisticated materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

Top Gear drives the Jaguar C-X75

Before Jaguar put its 220mph, hybrid C-X75 hypercar on ice, TG got a drive…

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Thinking about it afterwards, another 2mph would have been nice. Because 2mph would have taken me to 186, which keen students of unit conversion will recognise as a nice round 300kph. The car certainly isn't the limiting factor, its big digital speedo's digits scrolling hungrily and dizzily away towards the maximum of about 220. But right now, 184mph looks like a big enough number to me. My mind is on matters other than arithmetic: it's streaming with rain, a corner is approaching - fast - and I'm driving a car that's precious and irreplaceable... albeit, I'm thinking, not as precious as my passenger and me. Time to get on the brakes.

Words: Paul Horrell
Photography: Lee Brimble
More photos: [http://www.topgear.com]

This feature was originally published in the July 2013 issue of Top Gear magazine

Source: [topgear.com]

2013: Infiniti Emerg-E Concept

The Lotus Evora Based Hybrid Supercar Could Become Reality

On top of the array of supercars present at the Concorso d’Eleganza  in Italy, a selection of concept cars were present including the unique Infiniti Emerg-E concept supercar which Infiniti debuted back at the Geneva Motor Show 2012.



Powering the Infiniti Emerg-E are a pair of electric motors with each powering their own rear wheel. All combined, these two compact drivetrains produce an impressive 402hp and 738lb-ft of torque helping to rocket the Infiniti Emerg-E to 62mph in just 4 seconds. Furthermore, the Infiniti Emerg-E also features a tiny back up 1.3-liter three-cylinder engine producing an additional 47hp which helps to charge the bank of lithium-ion batteries.



While it’s currently unclear if the Infiniti Emerg-E will ever hit the production line, Infiniti has continually declared its interest in developing a brand new halo sports car with some suggesting that the car could be based off the Infiniti Emerg-E as well as the Infiniti Essence Concept.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vtrYc5BJnI]

Photo Gallery

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[Source: GTSpirit.com]

Video: Chris Harris on...Porsche 918 Spyder!

Chris Harris : It's not a finished car, and there was virtually no time, but when Porsche asks if you want a quick spin in a development 918 you get on the plane.

Enjoy the Video...!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu_GezgxQ4o]