Green Options

You can take pretty much any car, add gullwings, and it is instantly cool. Or not. But I’d have to catagorize this upcoming Subaru hybrid concept car as pretty cool, something I don’t often do with Subarus. I mean just look at those doors!

Whether or not Subaru ever makes this odd two-motor hybrid or it remains as another sidelined concept, who knows. But they’ve got some good ideas, and gullwing doors. Yeah, I’m really a fan of the doors.

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.

We’ve covered the numerous benefits of ethanol-based fuels over and over on this blog, but rarely through the eyes of the gearhead speed-junkies that make up the core of America’s automotive enthusiasts and enthusiast press.   If you’ve spoken to this bunch, you already that most talk of climate change and Peak Oil concerns fall on deaf ears.  What matters is power, everything else is irrelevant.

Of course, it’s easier to simply ignore this group, but the (sad?) truth of the matter is that many consumer still make their purchasing decisions based on what their “car friends” tell them.  In short:  this group, more than any other, is a group that must be reached for the “green car” movement to really take hold.

Enter:  Dyno-Comp.

Despite the latest advancements in automotive hybrid and flex-fuel technologies, motorcycles and scooters remain one of the most efficient ways for energy-conscious commuters to get around town.  Unfortunately, there haven’t been any real “alt fuel” options open to motorcyclists.  As such, despite the incredible efficiency of some 2-wheelers (my own Honda Ruckus gets over 100 mpg), motorcycles remain petroleum-dependent gas addicts.  They may be sippers - rather than guzzlers - but still.

Enter Europe’s EVA, manufacturers of the Track T800CDI diesel motorcycle - a bike so full of exotic features and new technology that I’m almost at a loss for words … almost.

Specs and pictures of this amazing machine available after the jump.

Bentley has released official pictures of the ethanol-powered GT we previewed a few weeks ago.  This new car is the first flex-fuel vehicle in the company’s history, and Bentley is calling the 621 bhp bruiser the “Continental Supersports”.  Bentley claims the GT’s owners will be able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds on their way to a top speed of 204 mph.

Bentley will be using the upcoming Geneva show as a launchpad for a biofuel powered GT that Bentley’s PR reps promise will be the fastest and most powerful production car in the company’s history.

Details of the new Continental variant are limited, and the company has only released a single teaser image (above) while promising the moon and the stars above for it’s coming eco-missile.  Without further details, we can only guess at the new Conti-green’s powertrain… sounds like fun!

Some educated guesses after the jump.

Editors Note: This is an industry perspective guest post by Jo A. Borras, who works for the Florida-based high performance tuning company RENNtech.

A summer full of record gas prices has changed the automotive landscape forever, with changing consumer demands and buying habits forcing automakers to quickly bring more fuel-efficient vehicles to market ahead of larger, less-efficient trucks and SUVs.

These changes have also brought issues of energy conservation and environmental responsibility from the “back-burner” to the very forefront of future car design — but one question that has been largely ignored by the mainstream media is how these changes will affect car enthusiasts who usually care more about horsepower and acceleration than economy and emissions.