Peugeot Previews 908 HDi Diesel – Electric Hybrid at Le Mans

At the final round of the 2008 Le Mans Series at Silverstone on Saturday, September 13, Peugeot Sport presented an electric-hybrid version of its 908 HDi FAP diesel race car equipped with a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) similar to the one that’s being developed for Formula 1 cars. The 908HY was presented in a new silver-grey livery giving us a foretaste of what Peugeot’s next endurance racer could look like although its use will depend on the regulations that will govern LMP 1 cars from 2009.

The system comprises three key elements: a 60 kW gear-driven electric motor generator that replace the conventional starter motor, a set of 600 lithium-ion cells divided into 10 battery packs and an electronic power converter controlling the flow of energy between the batteries and the motor-generator. The 908 HDi HY can be powered in three different modes including electric-only when in pit-lane, only with the 5.5 liter V12 700 HP diesel engine or a combination of the two. -Continued

The technology enables a proportion of the kinetic energy produced under braking to be recovered or stored enabling the vehicle’s efficiency to be improved in one of two ways: by enhancing performance thanks to an additional boost of 80 HP for approximately 20 sec per lap with no increase in the amount of energy consumed or, by reducing fuel consumption between 3 and five 5 percent for the same level of performance, thanks to the availability of stored mechanical energy.

“This hybrid 908 HDi FAP is in perfect keeping with the overall mission of our endurance racing programme which covers not only the challenge of competing, of course, but also the fact that as a car manufacturer we can use motor sport as a research and development tool for the Peugeot brand as a whole,” commented Peugeot Sport’s Director, Michel Barge.

“After innovating through the use of our HDi FAP technology in competition, running a hybrid car in endurance racing would give Peugeot a chance to gain extremely valuable experience that would benefit the development of production cars. Whether we use this technology or not in 2009 will obviously depend on the details of the new regulations published by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest,” he added.

Volt vs Insight vs Prius: What are your initial thoughts on their design?

Sure we’ll have to wait until the Detroit Show to see the production version of the Honda Insight and yes, we don’t have enough pictures of the Chevrolet Volt to make a totally safe judgment on its design. But how about your first impressions on the styling of both the Insight and Volt based on what we’ve seen up until now and how do you think they compare with the current Prius, which by the way, will be replaced by a new generation model in 2009?

And since it’s only fair that you know what we think, here’s our take on the styling of all three models: conservative to the point of boredom. The only reason we’d give the Volt an extra point is because the other two dedicated hybrids look so similar. Other than that, the production Volt is no more adventurous than any other mainstream Chevy sedan while the Insight looks like a rejected concept proposal for a liftback version of the new Fit / Jazz based City Sedan. Tell us what you think by leaving us a comment.

Fiat Qubo MPV: Updated Image Gallery

The Qubo is the production version of Fiat’s Geneva Show Fiorino MPV and although sales have already started in several European markets including France, Spain, Italy and Poland, the Italian automaker just decided to release the full image gallery of its alternative minivan. The Qubo features two sliding rear side doors and a practicable interior that can fit up to five passengers and 330 liters worth of luggage (up to the parcel rack) and 650 liters if measured up to the roof. With the rear seats removed, the capacity increases to 2,500 liters. -Continued

Powertrain options include a 73 HP 1.4-liter gasoline engine and a 75 HP 1.3 Multijet diesel engine matted to a 5-speed manual gearbox or a semi-automatic six-speed transmission. The Qubo MPV is expected to go on sale in Germany, Holland and Ireland this October with Belgium and Greece following in November and Great Britain and Denmark in early 2009.

Rejected James Bond Movie Jaguar XKE up for Sale

A custom made 1972 Jaguar XKE that was built with the intent to star in a late 1970’s James Bond movie but never actually made it on the big screen, has been put up for sale on eBay. The vehicle is from the Bob Butts movie car collection in California and according to the seller, it is equipped with a 289ci V8 Ford Cobra engine. The starting price for the ’72 Jag that is not road legal has been set at $13,000. The question is what would someone actually do with a car like this? -Continued









Link: eBay

O.CT Tuning Audi R8 and Audi RS6 Avant

Austrian tuning firm ‘O.CT’ has set its eyes this time on Audi’s range-topping sports cars, the R8 and the RS6 Avant. Starting off with the R8, O.CT has developed a custom made sport-exhaust system that helps the 4.2-liter V8 engine gain an extra 26 HP and 20 Nm of torque thus raising total output to 446 HP and maximum torque to 450 Nm.

Although there are no other modifications, the O.CT prepped R8 manages to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 5.3 sec and to 250 km/h (155mph) in 31 sec outpacing the standard R8 by 0.3 and 3 sec respectively. Top speed is also up by 9 km/h to 310 km/h or 193mph. -Continued

Like so many other tuners, O.CT believes that the RS6’s 580 HP 5.0-liter V10 engine could use a few extra ponies. That’s why the Austrian tuning firm developed a new engine control unit (ECU) and a custom made sport exhaust system for the RS6 raises total output by 70 HP to 650 HP and maximum torque by 100 Nm to 750 Nm.

With this sport kit the O.CT RS6 Avant sprints from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in 4.9 sec and to 250 km/h (155mph) in 23.9 sec undercutting the standard RS6 Avant by 0.5 and 3.3 sec respectively. As for top speed, O.CT offers buyers the option to choose between two settings, one that allows the RS6 Avant to go up to 300 km/h or 187mph or all the way up to 325 km/h or 202mph.

2009 Honda Civic Coupe & Si Coupe Image Gallery

Along with the Civic Sedan and Civic Hybrid, Honda also updated the U.S market Civic Coupe for 2009. Offered with the same 140 HP 1.8-liter (Coupe) and 197 HP 2.0-liter (Si Coupe) as before, the ’09MY Civic Coupes benefit from the same aesthetic changes as the sedan models though you’ll probably have to be a dedicated Honda fan to trace the differences.

In a nutshell, the redesigned exterior styling features on 2009 Civic Coupes include a new front bumper cover, a honeycomb grille design, new headlight and taillight color combinations, with clear turn indicator lenses and amber bulbs and in the case of the Si Coupe, new alloy wheel and rear wing spoiler design. Follow the jump for our extensive image gallery that includes 45 images of both Coupes. -Continued

Honda Civic Coupe

Honda Civic Si Coupe