First Fisker Karma to be Delivered to Leo Di Caprio

Fisker is finally starting deliveries of its Karma luxury plug-in hybrid sedan later this month –and the lucky person to get the first car will be none other than Hollywood star Leonardo di Caprio (....the spicy female model featured in the firm's print advert is not included with the car).

The company says it has already received 3,000 pre-orders with the waiting list reaching until early 2012. Other famous customers for the $100,000 hybrid sports sedan are former US Vice President Al Gore and former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

The Karma is the work of former Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, who founded his own company.

It is built around a spaceframe chassis made of aluminium and it features a battery pack placed in the middle and two electric motors at the back, as well as a gasoline 260HP 2.0-liter turbo four up front which acts as a generator for the battery when it needs charging.

Production of the Karma has started at Valmet’s plant in Finland, at an initial rate of just five cars per week. This rate will rise to 300 cars per week in November, and Henrik Fisker estimates that his company’s customers “are split 50:50 between early-adopting car enthusiasts and total non-car enthusiasts who just like that we are bringing something totally new to the market”.

Fisker plans to add to Karma’s range a convertible and a shooting brake model. The latter may be unveiled as early as this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. If everything goes according to plan, Fisker will also launch a smaller, more affordable hybrid BMW 3-series rival, currently code-named “Project Nina”.

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Volvo to Extend Driving Range of its EVs

Electric Vehicles, or EVs, are the future. Or so the automakers say. And they would be correct, if it wasn’t for a significant disadvantage over petrol or diesel powered models: their abysmal range which makes them suitable only for limited city use.

Volvo is taking measures to solve this problem and make its EVs attractive to the public by adding an extra 1,000 km (621 miles) to their range. The solution, which has also been adopted by other models such as the Chevrolet Volt and the Audi A1 E-Tron concept, is the addition of a “range extender” internal combustion engine.

The project, which has the support of both the EU and the Swedish Energy Agency, has three possible combos and tests will begin in the first quarter of 2012. The first two are based on the C30 Electric, in which the battery pack has been reduced in order to make room for the fuel tank. All three concepts can run on either petrol or ethanol (E85) and emit just 50g of CO2/km, or even less.

In the first concept, Volvo added a 3-cylinder petrol engine with 60HP under the boot floor and a 40-liter (10.5 gallons) fuel tank. The engine is used primarily to power the 40 kW generator that drives the 111HP electric motor, while the driver has the option to let the generator charge the battery, increasing the range on electricity alone. The 110 km (68 miles) range of the C30 Electric on battery power alone is increased by an additional 1,000 km (621 miles).

In the second concept, the C30 Electric is fitted with a more powerful 3-cylinder turbocharged engine with 190HP (at least that’s what Volvo claims on the release) at the rear and differs from the first in that the two engines are working in parallel, with the electric driving the front wheels and the internal combustion one the rear via a 6-speed auto gearbox.

The car can also run on electricity alone. The electric motor is the same 111HP unit, and the combined output reaches 300HP, while the range is extended from 75 km (47 miles) on the battery pack to more than 1,000 km (621 miles).

The third concept is based on the V60 estate, and both engines are placed under the bonnet. It uses the same 111HP electric motor and 190HP turbocharged engine as the second C30 concept, with a larger (45 lt) fuel tank. The 3-cylinder either drives the front wheels or charges the battery pack when needed. On electricity alone its range is 50 km (31 miles), while with the range extender, like the other two, it exceeds 1,000 km (621 miles).

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New Peugeot 508 RXH with AWD Diesel-Electric Hybrid

Only a week after we brought you spy shots of Peugeot’s high-riding 508 SW, and the French carmaker released the first official photos of the production model that will carry the RXH moniker, ahead of its world premiere at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September of 2011.

The new nameplate isn’t the only thing that differentiates Peugeot’s new crossover from the rest of the brand’s Outdoor models as the 508 RXH comes with all-wheel drive, courtesy of the Hybrid4 diesel-electric hybrid drivetrain.

It is the same hybrid setup found on the 3008 Hybrid4 featuring a 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine with 163HP turbo that drives the front wheels and a 37HP electric motor driving the rear wheels for a combined maximum output of 200-horses and 450Nm (331.9 lb-ft).

Aside from offering a four-wheel drive mode, the hybrid setup also allows the 508 RXH to run on pure electric mode with zero emissions. Peugeot says the high-riding estate model returns a combined fuel economy of 4.2 lt/100km (55.9mpg US or 67.2 mpg UK) with emissions of 109 g/km of CO2. More details on fuel consumption and performance specs will be released closer to the Frankfurt Show.

Peugeot did not say when or if it will offer more powertrain choices for the RXH.

The 508 RXH is based on the estate version of Peugeot’s mid-size model, which was presented last year and is also available as a four-door sedan.

In a similar fashion to Audi’s A4 Allroad quattro model, the 508 RXH rides on a jacked-up suspension, and also comes with distinct styling features including a new front bumper with vertical LED lights on either side, chrome roof rails, bigger 18-inch wheels and wheelarch extensions and sill mouldings to give it something of an off-road look.

Other standard features include an Open & Go system, electric front seats, head up display, panoramic glass roof, dark-tinted side windows, latest generation audio and satellite navigation unit.

The 508 RXH will go on sale across Europe in spring of 2012.

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Renault Reimagines Kangoo with Frendzy Concept

After the sporty DeZir rear-wheel drive coupe, the funky Captur three-door crossover and more recently, the practical R-Space minivan, Renault is ready to share its latest concept model with the Frendzy, which was unveiled today ahead of its world premiere at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show later this fall.

The Frendzy is a fresh take on the small van segment where Renault is currently represented by the Kangoo series that is available in both leisure and commercial versions.

Laurens van den Acker, Renault’s head of design, said: “[The] Frendzy is the fourth vehicle to illustrate Renault’s new design strategy, a series which started with DeZir. It takes an original and innovative stance on the world of light commercial vehicles - a key part of Renault’s activities”.

Reflecting its dual role as a vehicle for both pleasure and commercial activities, the Frendzy sports an asymmetric body style.

The passenger’s side is for work as there’s no glazing or centre pillar, just one conventional door and one sliding side door that incorporates a 37-inch widescreen display, which is used to display messages or adverts. The driver’s side is for the family and comes complete with side windows, still no centre pillar, but with centre opening doors.

At the back, there’s a split tailgate with the interior offering as much as 2,250 liters of load space if the rear seats are unoccupied.

On the inside, Renault made extensive use of wood and metal with the cockpit designed around a futuristic theme with plenty of lights that change color depending on the use of the vehicle.

On the more practical side, the Frendzy features a fabric roof that adapts itself to the shape of bulky objects. According to Renault, there are magnetic fixings that allow the load to be secured to the floor while the front seat folds forward in order to free up space.

The concept model is 4,091mm long, 1,872mm wide and 1,743mm tall. Power comes from an electric motor delivering 40kW or 60HP and 226Nm of torque that offers the Frendzy a top speed of 130km/h (81mph).

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Ford Asks: What Should the Focus EV Looks Like?

So the all-electric Ford Focus EV is landing stateside in late 2011 to snub its nose at the likes of the Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi i MiEV with its utterly conventional name that’s not even an acronym.

Now Ford is asking its most important shareholders (the general public) what the Focus EV should sound like, as there are members of the world community that think silent cars are a danger to the blind and the deaf.

Of course, those same persons probably think video games lead to criminal activity, alcohol to spousal abuse and atheism to the downfall of western civilisation, but that’s neither here nor there.

There are four choices which Ford has unimaginatively labeled A, B, C and D. I will label them Laser Eye Surgery, Vacuuming, Meet George Jetson and Thunderbirds Are Go.

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Nissan Leaf Outsells Chevy Volt in Electric Car Battle

The battle for supremacy in the electric car category has begun –even though at present there are only two prime contestants. According to Bloomberg, the Nissan LEAF sold 3,875 cars the first half of the year, compared to 2,745 of GM’s Volt over the same period.

From January through May, the Volt was only 17 cars behind the Leaf, but in the following month, sales of the Volt plunged to just 561 cars, while those of the LEAF took off with a record 1,708 units, giving Nissan’s EV the lead. The LEAF costs $33,000 before a $7,500 federal tax credit, while the Volt costs $41,000 before government incentives.

Nissan’ CEO Carlos Ghosn predicted that Evs will account for 10% of global sales by 2020. He added that he expects his company to sell 12,000 LEAFs this year in the US, and predicted that this number may climb as high as 200,000 units –though he declined to specify a timetable.

Analysts, however, don’t share Ghosn’s optimism. George Peterson, president of consulting company AutoPacific in California, says that “we ‘re not going to see thousands of these on the roads soon. Rechargable vehicles may rise to about 3% of total US car sales in a few years”.

Nevertheless, GM plans to manufacture 16,000 Volts in 2011, with the production rising to 60,000 cars in 2012 after the Hamtrack plant upgraded is finished.

The two automakers had better hurry, because their competitors plan to enter the arena real soon. Next year Toyota will introduce a plug-in version of the very popular Prius and electric versions of the RAV4 SUV and the Scion iQ city car, and Honda plans to launch both a battery-only version of the Jazz/Fit supermini and another, yet unnamed, midsize plug-in vehicle.

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All-Electric French Coupe Test Driven by Nicolas Prost at Magny-Cours

French racing firm Exagon Motors is continuing the development of its Furtive e-GT, a new all-electric sports coupe that we first laid eyes on at last year’s Paris Motor Show.
The company recently showed off a validation prototype at the Magny Cours racing circuit in France with Nicolas Prost, who is the oldest son of four-time Formula One World Drivers' champion Alain Prost, sitting behind the steering wheel of the 2+2 model.
The Furtive e-GT is scheduled to go on sale in late 2012 with the company planning to build around 100 cars per year. The 2+2 seater coupe will be offered in two flavors, a standard model powered exclusively by two electric motors and a more sophisticated version equipped with an internal combustion engine range extender that works in a similar way to the powertrain system found on GM’s Chevrolet Volt.
The standard model features two Siemens-sourced electric motors each producing 125 kW, for a combined output of 340-horsepower at 5,000 to 10,000 rpm and a constant torque of 480Nm (354 lb-ft).
The electric juice is stored in a set of lithium-ion batteries delivering 50kWH, which are claimed to provide a life of approximately ten years with 3,000 recharge cycles. Exagon says they provide a pure electric driving range between 197 to 402 km (122 miles to 250 miles), depending on the conditions of use.
The optional range extender, which will make use of a yet-to-be detailed small displacement engine that recharges the batteries directly and does not drive the wheels, increases the range to 807 km or a little over 500 miles.
Exagin says the Furtive-eGT can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in just 3.5 seconds and reach a maximum speed of 287 km/h (178mph) on the race track, but will be limited to 250km/h (155mph) for the road.

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