Hasta La Gadget!

Didier Esteyne and EADS turned heads at the 2011 Paris Air Show when they debuted the the world’s first all-electric airplane, the single-seat Cri-Cri. Fast forward two years, and the miniscule Cri-Cri has grown into a sleek tandem-seat training craft that’s as green as it is acrobatic.

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There are plenty of electric bikes these days, but from time to time, one comes along that sets itself apart, like this one from Germany’s Smart. Smart is best known for their ultra compact city cars, but I’m impressed with this e-bike too.

The Smart Ebike provides 250 watts of power from its front-mounted motor, and can reach speeds up to 15.5 mph. It’s supposed to be able to go even faster when you use the 3-speed gear hub. Its chain has been replaced by a carbon tooth belt, which is supposed to be more efficient and last longer than a normal chain.

It’s been designed to work for urban travel. Its rechargeable battery can cover up to 62 miles on a charge. It takes about five hours to charge it up, and there’s also a regenerative system that will top off the battery when coasting, braking or riding downhill.

[via designboom]

With a wire transfer of $451.8 million, Elon Musk has finally made good on his promise to repay the hefty loan Tesla received from the Department of Energy well ahead of its 2022 due date, beating even Musk’s own five-year estimate. This comes on the heels of a very profitable first quarter, and is yet another sign the electric car maker is doing quite well on the greener side of things, despite a touch of bad press earlier this year. For more on what Tesla has to say about this milestone, check the press release after the break.

Filed under: Transportation

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We’ve been hearing about Terrafugia’s Transition “flying car” for, well, far too long, considering that it has yet to even venture beyond the prototype phase. The prop plane / roadworthy vehicle combo has its fair share of fans — some of them with deep enough pockets to place an order — but it won’t be making its way from your garage to the runway anytime soon. With that in mind, the company’s TF-X vertical-takeoff model is even less likely to see the light of day, but it’s being considered nonetheless.

The plug-in hybrid-electric aircraft would take off and land vertically, like a helicopter — if the DOT and FAA allowed it, you could literally fly over the highway whenever you run into traffic, though we can’t imagine that pilots will ever get the green light to take off from public roads, even if the TF-X becomes a reality. For now, it exists only in the minds of Terrafugia’s ambitious team, a few image renders and a minute-long animated demo, which we’ve embedded for your viewing pleasure after the break.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: CNET

Source: Terrafugia (PR), TF-X Product Page

The automotive industry is a tough one for a new automaker to break into. It’s even tougher for a new automaker to break in the automotive industry with a completely electric vehicle. Most consumers are still staying far away from electric-only cars in large part due to range anxiety, so major manufacturers are focused on plug-in hybrids for now. Upstart automaker Detroit Electric has officially unveiled its new all-electric car, and it’s a sports car.

The car is called the SP:01 and it reminds me a lot of a combination of the Lotus Elise and the Tesla Roadster. The Detroit Electric vehicle is a two-seat limited edition electric sports car with a 200 hp electric motor mounted in the middle of the vehicle. Detroit Electric says that the car is the world’s fastest production electric vehicle with a top speed of 155 mph.

The vehicle can hit 62 mph in 3.7 seconds. The body is made from carbon fiber and the total weight is 2359 pounds. The lithium polymer battery pack has 37 kWh power, promising 180 miles driving range per charge. The car can also interface with smartphones giving drivers control over the climate control system and more.

All of this performance, technology and style comes at a price though, as the SP:01 will sell for a base price of $135,000 (USD).

[via C|NET]