Super-efficient cars (and Google)

Imagine a world where super-efficient cars are desirable, affordable and everywhere…

where gasoline no longer makes history, but is history…

This call to imagination is featured on the home page of the Progressive Automotive X-Prize website. While gasoline is clearly not yet a thing of the past, fuel prices, fierce competition in the automotive sector and growing awareness and concern about global warming have contributed to innovations and developments in hybrid vehicle design and manufacturing that may mark a beginning of the end.

One leading example is Aptera Motors, a top prize contender in the ‘alternative’ category for the Automotive X-Prize. Aptera, has received around 4000 refundable deposits for its vehicles as of August 2008. The California based company expects to delivering first units to customers in December 2008. (The timing is perfect for an Asian showing at the Future of Transportation Forum held at UltraFuture Expo in Hong Kong, December 10-13.)

Aptera’s first vehicles to market will be based on the design and prototype model ‘Typ-1′. The Typ-1 is a two seater, three-wheeled vehicle - two front wheels steer, and the rear wheel is driven by the electric motor. The super-streamlined vehicle achieves takes advantage of its low drag co-efficent to achieve gas mileage of 230-300 miles per gallon at 55mph (89 km/h). In December 2007, Aptera founder Steve Fambro mentioned “Project X,” a four-wheeled five-passenger model. In March of this year, Fambro again suggested the company has “other projects that are certainly more mainstream” in the pipeline.

Interestingly, in July 2008 Google.org (the philanthropic arm of the search-engine giant and sponsor of the Lunar X-Prize) invested US$2.75 million in Aptera.

High speed trains

Fast, reliable, safe and comfortable high speed trains are beginning to rival air travel as an efficient means of transportation for long distances. As a result, political decisions are being taken and infrastructure investments being made to boost train travel over longer distances.

Well established high speed rail systems in use today are widely recognized to be more environmentally friendly than air or road travel. This is due to:

• displaced usage from more environmentally damaging modes of transport.
• lower energy consumption per passenger kilometer
• reduced land usage for a given capacity compared to motorways

Bombardier has been a key player in the delivery of almost all very high-speed trains operating today in Europe, including the ICE family of trains in Germany, the ETR500 in Italy, the AVE S-102 in Spain and four different series of TGV in France. This experience has been harnessed in the development of Bombardier’s ZEFIRO high-speed technology, which incorporates service-proven systems and best-in-class components from some of the most successful high-speed trains in Europe and China. ZEFIRO technology was recently incorporated within a contract in China for the delivery of 20 EMU sleeper trainsets, awarded in October 2007. Bombardier is being invited to showcase their High Speed Train technologies at UltraFuture Expo this December.

The fastest currently operating high-speed rail system runs from Pudong Airport to downtown Shanghai at a top speed of 431 km/h.

Volkswagen up!

The innovative Volkswagen up! concept car has been hailed as the 21st Century Beetle. It is a stylish, fuel-efficient, low emissions urban vehicle with with intuitive driver ‘interface’, and has been honoured as the Concept Car of the Year in the prestigious Autocar Awards.

The most advanced iteration of this family of concept cars was released in March, and is called ’space up! blue’. Taking visual inspiration and its drive-train layout from the 1950s Samba Bus, the ’space up! blue’ is powered by a pioneering high-temperature fuel cell linked to a series of 12 lithium-ion batteries. The fuel cell provides a range of around 155miles. The batteries offer an additional 65 miles - bringing total range up to around 220miles (350Km).

In presenting the Concept Car of the Year award, Charles Hallett, Editor of Autocar, commented:

‘It’s a brilliant concept car - but, importantly, a concept car that will become a reality. We like to think of it as a 21st Century Beetle - a stylish car that will provide affordable motoring for all, both here and in the developing world.’

Weber “Faster One” - The world’s fastest street-legal sports car?

Via Trendhunter.com, here is the next vehicle that claims to be the world’s fastest street-legal sports car - the Weber Sportcars Faster One. Reportedly, the car can go from 0 - 62 mph in 2.7 seconds, 0 - 124 mph in just 6.6 seconds, and has a top speed said to be over 248 mph! That’s fast.

For around $1.5 million, you get a 900-horsepower / 774 lb-ft twin-supercharged V8 engine and a set of 12-piston, 15-inch ceramic brakes.

The Weber press release notes, “Favorable aerodynamic properties are absolutely elementary in order to attain a top speed of more than 400 km/h. The car body of the WEBER SPORTCARS faster one is 204 centimeters wide and 115 centimeters high. It is made entirely from ultra-light yet super-strong carbon fiber. State-of-the-art aerodynamics computer software and wind-tunnel testing were employed to trim the carbon-fiber shell for maximum directional stability at the highest speeds. The aerodynamic downforce it creates is surpassed only by purebred racecars that do not have to comply with any legal requirements, e.g. ground clearance, et al.”

Virgin Charter

Richard Branson has raised the bar once again. On the heals of Virgin Galactics’ “White Knight II” unveiling, Sir Richard is launching yet another innovative offering for discerning air travelers. Virgin Charter is a new online service that lets you charter private planes from anywhere in the world.

‘Submit your trip request to our network of pre-screened, private charter air operators and we’ll start gathering quotes,’ Virgin says.