Hasta La Gadget!

Seat doesn’t have much of a presence here in the US. In fact, we’re sure 10 out of 10 ‘Mericans would mispronounce the Spanish company’s name given the chance. (It’s “SAY-at,” for the record.) And that’s totally fine, because at this point Seat largely produces generally boring VW-based hatchbacks, sedans, and vans. The Ibe concept, however, is good reason to get a little more familiar with the brand. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, this curvaceous coupe offers 2+2 seating and a deliciously lithe 2,425lb curb weight, doubly notable due to the batteries required to spin its entirely electric underpinnings. The heart is a 102hp motor with 148lb/ft of torque, offering a top speed of 100mph, 81 miles of range, and a 0-60 time of about 10 seconds. Okay, so that’s performance more in-line with Honda’s CR-Z than Tesla’s Roadster, but the weight and torque should make it a blast to drive — assuming it ever sees production. If it does it certainly won’t be filled with the lovely white interior pictured after the break. Imagine trying to keep that clean…

Continue reading Seat’s Ibe concept is the electric sport coupe of our dreams we’ll probably never wake up to

Seat’s Ibe concept is the electric sport coupe of our dreams we’ll probably never wake up to originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 09:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ouch! It really stings to see the curvaceous spectacles that car designers can come up with, only to then find out the resulting electric speedsters are either far too expensive or nowhere near becoming a reality. Latest in this group of four-wheeled objects of desire is Jaguar’s C-X75, which roars from 0 to 60mph in 3.4 seconds, cranks out 780bhp courtesy of a quartet of electric motors and a pair of micro gas turbines, and reaches a screaming 205mph at its absolute zenith. You can go for 68 miles just on electric juice or 560 if you let the gasworks recharge the Li-ion battery pack on the go. So it’s gorgeous inside and out, it comes with swan doors, high-res LCD screens and an aluminum body, and it has less chance of being on sale than a dodo sandwich. Yep, it’s an electric supercar alright. See the C-X75 on video after the break.

Continue reading Jaguar C-X75 is the 780bhp electric supercar we’ve all been waiting for, likely to keep us waiting (video)

Jaguar C-X75 is the 780bhp electric supercar we’ve all been waiting for, likely to keep us waiting (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re big fans of private entities giving away big chunks of cash to fund cool research, and the X Prize foundation seems to be making the most waves lately. Most recent is the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, a $10 million total purse going to cars able to score at least an equivalent MPG of 100. There were two main classes and three total prizes, all of which recently found winners. Besting them all was the Team Edison2 Very Light Car, taking home $5 million thanks to its four-passenger configuration clocking in at 102.5MPGe running on E85 ethanol. There were also two “alternative” winners, each scoring $2.5 million: Team Li-On’s two-seater Wave-II EV (187MPGe) and Team X-Tracer Switzerland’s E-Tracer, an awesome and electric two-wheeled enclosed motorcycle with auto-deploying outrigger wheels. That sucker, pictured above, managed 205.3MPGe and will do 0 – 60 in under seven seconds, something that certainly can’t be said of the rest. But, none of them are exactly what you’d call four star safety rated nor can any be found on dealer lots. In other words: it remains to be seen when mere mortal commuters will get to be the winners of this contest.

Three lightweight fuel economy meisters split $10 million in X Prize dollars originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The debate rages on about the sound, or rather the lack of sound, coming from electric vehicles. Their relative quietude could make roadside-housing rather more tenable in the future, but, if you ask some people, will turn those cars into silent killers. We’ve seen some crude noisemakers attempt to make those cars a bit less lethal, but that just brings us back to the noise pollution issue again. ECTunes has what sounds like a solution that will better appeal to both camps: directional sound. The prototype Citroen pictured above emits tones only audible to those right in its path, straight ahead when traveling forward and behind it when in reverse, silencing altogether at 30mph when wind and tire noise is enough of a deterrent to those who can’t see oncoming traffic — or who simply choose not to. A solid, reasonable solution to the problem? Absolutely. Will it make those on both sides of those topic agree? Unlikely.

Continue reading ECTunes adds sound to silent EVs, but only where and when you need it (video)

ECTunes adds sound to silent EVs, but only where and when you need it (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Did you know that Ford‘s first electric car, the Comuta, was released way back in 1967? It was a perfectly goofy looking thing, with a top speed of 37mph and a range of 40 miles — if you didn’t go near that top speed. More of a concept than anything, only a handful were made available for sale, and at this point it certainly looks like the company’s immediate plans for EVs are similarly conservative. DailyTech pulled together an analysis of Ford’s future offerings in the electric and plug-in hybrid space and it’s obvious the Blue Oval is taking its time making sure the EV water is warm before jumping in. First up is the Transit Connect, a 100 mile range electric van intended for fleet use and, with a price well north of $30,000, not expected to sell in droves. Next will be the Focus Electric, due next year and, while this one will be substantially cheaper and more consumer-friendly, Ford execs expect it too will have low demand.

The primary reason for this is that Ford still believes that pure EVs are not ready for mainstream adoption, with battery technology unable to provide reliable power at the range of temperatures people actually want to go somewhere. The Focus Electric mitigates this with both liquid heating and cooling, but for now the company thinks the best mix is a traditional, power-split hybrid, where the gas engine can drive the wheels if the batteries can’t cope. That’s unlike the Chevy Volt, which is only driven by batteries. To this end Ford has a new, mystery plug-in hybrid vehicle coming in 2012. What kind of car? All we know is it’s “not a Focus.” That can mean only one thing: F-350 Super Duty PHEV edition.

[Photo credit: Ford Motor Company]

Looking back at Ford’s EV past, forward to the 2012 Focus Electric and a 2013 plug-in hybrid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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