Green Options

Bugatti’s latest concept car points the way forward for the brand most associated with excess: excessive wealth, excessive power, excessive luxury, and excessive performance… but the new Galibier signifies something more, as well, and it is nothing less than a turning of the tide in the way the world’s automakers see their flagship luxury cars.

More on Bugatti’s million-dollar flex-fuel Galibier — including video! — after the jump.

Yesterday we brought you news of the impending debut of Audi’s e-tron concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Today Audi released more details on the the eco-luxe electric car, and it’s a monster. The car has four electric motors which, together, produce an impressive 313 HP coupled with a jaw-dropping 3,319.03 lb-ft of torque (!!).

To give you an idea of how much torque that is: the not-yet-released, 6.7-liter, turbocharged, 400 HP, Ford Power Stroke Diesel truck engine only produces a wimpy (by comparison) 725 lb-ft. And the “world’s strongest truck” (according to Volvo) — the 700 HP Volvo FH16 semi — produces merely 2,323 lb-ft of torque. The Audi e-tron produces a full thousand more lb-ft of torque than the “world’s strongest” semi truck.

Exciting new pictures of a hotly anticipated Audi electric car concept have been leaked, a week before the ‘official’ unveiling at the Frankfurt Motorshow.

The car will apparently be called the ‘e-Tron,’ and as you can see from the pictures, will take a lot of its design cues from the R8, but with a different front grille, LED headlights, wheels and rear end. Inside, the cabin is also quite different, featuring a driver-biased center console with two screens; one for the rear view camera and one showing a navigation map (see picture gallery after the jump).

Take a look at the future of urban motoring. At least, that’s what UK car manufacturer Lotus would have us believe after revealing an exciting new all-electric car concept that it says most city cars might look like five years from now [video].

After a challenge by car magazine Automotive Engineer, the British design and engineering firm developed a concept some 3.74 inches shorter than a Smart ForTwo and nearly 16 inches shorter than the new Toyota iQ. Amazingly, Lotus reckon there’ll still be enough space for four adults (more photo’s after the jump).

Renault has announced plans to showcase a trio of electric cars at this September’s Frankfurt motor show, including all-electric versions of the Megane saloon and the Kangoo (on sale 2011), as well as an all-new concept EV.

At this stage, Renault is keeping tight-lipped about the details of its concept car, revealing only that it will be a four-metre, five-door hatchback that will go on sale in 2012.

According to Renault C-Segment Development Chief Christian Steyer, all of the company’s new EV offerings will feature noticeable styling, but nothing too radical. He told reporters, “We want a real signature for our electric range, so when people see one in the street they will know it is a Renault electric car. The key is to do this without frightening customers away. Customers must be tempted, and not rushed too fast.”

It wasn’t that long ago when it seemed like I spent more time fixing my friend’s Hyundai Elantra than she spent driving it.

It was the basest of base model cars, and it would throw mechanical temper tantrums almost weekly, and I thanked the car gods when she finally splurged on a used Lancer. But the Hyundai of today is an altogether different beast, coming out with cars like the Genesis Coupe, a punky, cheap, rear-wheel drive racer that runs as good as it looks. Now Hyundai is looking to break into the American hybrid market with a California-designed concept called the Nuvis, which debuted a few weeks ago at the New York Auto Show.

The world is a bit out of funk for GM right now, and the reality is no pundit or politican or executive really knows where the world’s former manufacturing heavyweight will be even a year from now. The General has some interesting projects in the works, not least among them the plug-in electric Volt which could be a pariah or prophet (pun!) for the ailing automaker.

Earlier this year GM unvieled the Cadillac Converj concept which would be a luxury version of the Volt, and that apparently got some people thinking; what else could be built on the Volt platform? Why not a Saab for instance?

Austrian car company Magna has showcased a concept vehicle that gives the strongest clue yet about the design for BMW’s secretive Project i electric car.

Magna, collaborating with the German car giant on future electric car technology, unveiled the the MILA EV at last week’s Geneva Motor Show. The concept is a lightweight three-door hatchback featuring a detachable power module that includes batteries and electric drive motors. The MILA also boasts integrated solar cells in the glass roof to provide supplemental energy generation (see another picture of the MILA EV after the jump).

Rock legend Neil Young has never made a secret of his radical eco-credentials. Now it seems he’s putting his (non-fossil fuel based) creative juices to good use by releasing an entire concept album about … electric cars.

The album, called Fork in the Road, focuses on the singer’s most recent obsession - a retooled 1959 Lincoln Continental that runs entirely on alternative energy. Its main themes are inspired by Young’s involvement with the Lincvolt Project,  a collaboration between the singer and biodiesel innovator Johnathan Goodwin to develop a commercially viable electric power system for automobiles.

Following the earlier release of a single, also called Fork in the Road (video), Young’s label Warner Reprise have announced that the album will be available on April 7, and revealed the full tracklist (after the jump).

During press interviews on Wednesday, Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Conrad repeated that the Model S was NOT vaporware, and hinted that a teaser shot might be on the way.

So, keeping good to her word, the official teaser pic is here - and while it doesn’t give away much, I have more than enough for some wild speculation. Thoughts and comments after the jump.

This has been a Lotus/Chrysler-heavy blog in the past few days, but let’s face it: if you’re talking advanced automotive technology and lightweight engineering, you’re talking about Lotus Cars - and if you’re talking highly-anticipated new electric vehicles at Detroit’s 2009 NAIAS auto show, you’re talking about Chrysler’s ENVI electric-vehicle program.

The car shown above is the Dodge Circuit, which Chrysler promised would be a real step forward from the concept Dodge EV they showed last summer (a UK-only Lotus Europa powered by a 200 kW electric motor that Dodge painted yellow and decorated with cheap vinyl stickers).  I won’t keep you in suspense:  it ain’t.

More - including Chrysler’s official press release and some official photography - after the jump.