To see the fastest hybrid car in the world, you would need to go the Geneva motor show for a look at this vehicle from the Giugaro family. Father Giorgietto and son Fabrizio, have designed this concept car that will be presented at the show under the name of Frazer Nash.

The new Giugiaro concept is similar to the Quaranta concept car seen at the Geneva show a year ago. Concepts of power and emotion have not previously been considered in the sector of hybrid cars, but this particular example will have a 3.3 V6 engine, with two electric engines.

An overall power of 272hp can be reached, with torque at 288Nm. It is all wheel drive and capable of reaching 100 km/hr in just 4.05 seconds. Maximum speed is 300 km/hr.

Source | Motorauthority

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The Touareg hybrid should be available come next year, according to announcements from Volkswagen. The company will further expand its BlueMotion ecological range with this sports utility, which will add to the ever-widening range of hybrid vehicles available on the market.

The Volkswagen sports utility will be the first hybrid engine vehicle from the company, equipped with a V6 TSI and a 52hp electric motor, for a combined performance of 333hp. A new eight-speed automatic transmission will also feature, resulting in consumption of about nine litres per 100km.

Use of only the electric engine allows for speeds below 50 km/hr, while on full power (or boost mode) performance results in 374 hp and 550 Nm. More additions to the Volkswagen hybrid offering will take place in 2010, with the expansion of the Passat range, including an EcoFuel option of petrol-natural gas combination capable of 150hp and running 100 km with only 4.5 litres of petrol.

A BlueTDI engine will also emerge with 140 hp and consuming only 5.2 litres per 100km. The last engine option in development is the BlueMotion with start&stop technology, saving energy when stopping. All this should see a comprehensive ecological offering from Volkswagen within a year.

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There is a joke running around the internet about what computers would be like if they were made by GM and what cars would be if Microsoft built them. Joke or not, the fact is both machines are getting closer every day. Now it is possible to access the internet in the dashboard of an automobile. Cars still keep an advantage: computers do not transport anyone around. But what would happen if cars were built in the “open source” way, as computer programs? Well, this is what EDAG aims to find out with Light Car - Open Source.

This amazing concept car is built with new materials. Its structure is made of ASA.TEC fibre, a basalt fibre that costs and weighs less than aluminum and carbon fibre, while is also fully recyclable and holds almost the same strength properties. The body is mostly made of glass and Makrolon, a sort of plastic that is at the same time resistant and transparent.

This transparent body allows EDAG to showcase another technology: (O)LED, or organic light-emitting diodes. They are well over this transparent body and help the car have headlights and taillights that are fully configurable. In other words, if you choose to have your headlights in the middle of the hood, that’s fine. Traditional settings are also acceptable.

Continue reading: EDAG will present "open source" car in Geneva, the Light Car

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