The E-Type for the 21st Century: 205mph electric hybrid supercar from Jaguar that costs £200,000

 

A new 205mph Jaguar supercar that blends sporting looks and performance with the latest ‘green’ technology is set to rock the prestigious Paris Motor Show when it is officially unveiled today.

The new two-seater Jaguar C-X75 is a £200,000 electric hybrid vehicle uses hi-tech jet-turbine know-how from the aviation industry to sprint from rest to 62 mph in just 3.5 seconds and up to 100mph in just 5.5 seconds.

It was already being dubbed last night ‘The E-Type for the 21st Century’ and is set to be pored over by a Government minister on a trade mission to the Paris show today.

The new two-seater is a £200,000 electric hybrid vehicle uses hi-tech jet-turbine know-how from the aviation industry to sprint from rest to 62 mph in just 3.5 seconds

The new Jaguar dispenses with a conventional internal combustion engine.

Instead, powered by a lithium ion battery charged from the domestic mains, the new Jaguar can run with zero-emissions for up to 68 miles on four electric motors - one of which drives each of four wheels.

Then it can harness two rear-mounted super-efficient gas-turbines to generate the extra electric power it needs to give it an extended range of 560miles - enough to get it from London to Berlin on a single 60 litre tank-full.

And that is with minimal emissions of just 28g/km of carbon dioxide - the greenhouse gas blamed for global warning and against which all UK cars are now taxed.

The car featured at the Paris show has the electric hybrid and gas turbine generator as its power source. But Jaguar say it could also run on a conventional petrol engine.
The new Jaguar supercar that blends sporting looks and performance with the latest 'green' technology

The new Jaguar supercar that blends sporting looks and performance with the latest 'green' technology

The new two-seater Jaguar C-X75 is a £200,000 electric hybrid vehicle

Jaguar said: It demonstrates that it is possible to retain Jaguars core values of performance, design, and luxury using technology that will make environmentally responsible'

A Jaguar spokesman said:’A six-hour plug-in charge of the lithium-ion batteries allows an electric-only range of 68 miles.

‘But the innovative twin-turbines can either charge the car’s batteries, allowing the supercar to travel 560 miles between fill-ups. Or it can automatically provide supplementary power directly to the electric motors to allow the car to top 205mph.’

He added:’It celebrates three-quarters of a century of beautiful, fast, Jaguars by being the fastest and perhaps most beautiful of them all.’

Jaguar said:’It demonstrates that it is possible to retain Jaguar’s core values of performance, design, and luxury using technology that will make environmentally responsible performance and electrical vehicles a practical proposition.’

Inside the driver is cosseted in a cockpit with Storm Grey ‘Bridge of Weir’ leather seats and an aircraft-inspired dashboard of cream suede-like leather and polished aluminium.

Steering wheel covered in soft neoprene and a top-end ‘surround sound’ hi-fi is included along with a custom-made clock which is kept wound by the acceleration and braking of the car.

It has phosphor blue luminescent interior ‘theatre’ lighting which alters to suit driver’s mood - including dimming when it switches to ‘aircraft in combat mode’ at speed or in ‘track’ mode to focus the driver’s attention even more on the driving.

The C-X75 celebrates 75 years of the Jaguar marque. Its creators also reckon it is arguably ‘the sexiest Jaguar ever’ - in an iconic line-up that includes the E-Type of the 1960s, the C and D-Types of the 1950s and the XJ13 Le Mans prototype of 1966.

Jaguar said turbines gave advantages over conventional piston engine:’With fewer moving parts, turbines do not need oil lubrication or water cooling systems, which offers considerable weight saving.

They can also be run on a range of fuels including diesel, biofuels, compressed natural gas and liquid petroleum gas.’

But with the turbine blades spinning at 80,000 revs per minute, it also needs to suck in ‘considerable’ volumes of air through the vents and scoops.

The company said the use of hi-tech turbines was fitting, as British jet engine pioneer Sir Frank Whittle credited with developing the gas-turbine jet engine, was born in Coventry just a short distance form Jaguar’s former Brown’s Lane factory.

Specialist firm Bladon Jets have refined that technology to produce much smaller, super-efficient ‘micro’ gas turbines for Jaguar under a programme supported by UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board.

The car sucks in air at an incredible rate from front and side vents to create more downforce - and more speed

Jaguar has invested £800million into new ‘green’ technology on top of its £1billion a year in new models - with a new small saloon car and a roadster also in the pipeline.

Business Secretary Mark Prisk is today visiting the Jaguar stand in Paris to see the supercar for himself as part of a wider mission in the French capital to drum up trade among international car-makers and suppliers.

Jaguar’s vehicle line director Ian Hoban said:’The supercar shows that Jaguar will continue to build beautiful, fast cars that will generate their performance in a sustainable manner.’

Jaguar Cars managing director Mike O’Driscoll added:’It ensures our reputation for engineering excellence will continue for another 75 years.’

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is now owned by India’s TATA and employs 16,000 people in the UK.

Land Rover is showing off in Paris its new Range Rover Evoque mini luxury 4X4 which is being built at Halewood on Merseyside.

The car has all the stylings expected from a £200,000 supercar - but runs on green technology

 

The Jaguar has been dubbed 'The E-Type for the 21st Century'

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Mini unveils the all-electric scooter that only costs 1p a mile

Mini is going all mod with the launch today of a 'green' electric scooter that promises 1p a mile motoring.

Model Agyness Deyn unveiled the hi-tech but retro-looking zero-emissions two-wheeler in London yesterday, before it goes on display at next week's Paris Motor Show.

Adorned with big side mirrors and lashings of chrome, it rekindled memories of the heyday of the scooter during the 1960s when hundreds of Parka-wearing Mods would ride their scooters to Brighton.

It also comes 51 years after the iconic British car-maker revolutionised motoring with the original 10ft square box car designed by Sir Alec Issigonis.

The new prototype MINI Scooter-E is powered by a lithium-ion battery linked to an electric motor which drives the 11-inch rear wheel.

Aimed primarily at younger drivers for urban use, the MINI electric scooter expected to produce 1p a mile motoring, with a range of about 30 miles and a top speed restricted to about 50 mph.

It can be charged directly from the household mains thanks to a plug and five yards of spring-loaded retractable cable cunningly stored beneath the driver and passenger seat. Each full re-charge is expected to take around four hours.

However a spokesman pointed out:'Brief stops can be used to top up the battery. Stop-offs for shopping or visiting a cafe can be used for hassle-free battery recharging.'

A battery charge indicator tells the rider how much charge is left - and how far it will take them.

The company will judge reaction to the prototype at the Paris Motor Show from next week with a view to it going on sale within two years - just in time for the London Olympics which parent company BMW is sponsoring as the main provider of transport to athletes, officials and other VIPs.

Although some basic electric scooters currently on the market can cost from around £1,500, the hi-tech, hi-spec MINI Scooter is expected to be between £4,000 and £5,000.

A MINI spokesman said:''The MINI Scooter E is powered is powered by an electric motor integrated in the rear wheel.

'The motor's lithium ion battery can be recharged at any conventional power socket using the on-board charging cable.'

The MINI Scooter also has another hi-tech touch. A snap-in adaptor means the driver can insert his or her smart-phone into the front console as a secure 'key' to start it.

The screen of the phone then doubles as sat-nav, music player or blue-tooth telephone.

A special crash helmet with an integrated microphone and headphones will allow the rider - via a wireless Bluetooth connection - to use the phone or access their music while riding.

The MINI scooter follows the firm's launch last year of its electric MINI-e car which is currently being leased to customers around the UK.

German car giant BMW began production of the new generation MINI in 2001 and since then has sold more than 1.7million of the Oxford-built cars.

There has been a growing tend for mainstream motor manufacturers to have in their range a low or zero-emitting vehicle. This is partly to help them conform to tough new EU limits on emissions.

Mercedes-Benz's Smart is also showcasing an electric Smart scooter at the Paris show. Aston Martin has created the tiny 'Cygnet', which customers of its larger cars will be able to buy as an add-on.

Craig Carey-Clinch of the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) said there had been a boom in demand for scooters in recent years - with sales up around a quarter in the last decade.

About 20,000 a year are now sold. There has been a boom in scooter sales with people using them in town instead of cars. Electric scooters are starting to make a mark, with prices ranging from about £1,500 for something basic up to around £5,000 for a top end electric bike.'

 

Chevrolet Volt batteries could enable renewable energy solutions

General Motors and ABB Group will work together to develop pilot projects for re-using the batteries from the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle, examining whether the batteries may be a source for renewable energy that could improve the effectiveness of wind and solar power generation.

The opportunity is the basis of a memorandum of understanding signed between General Motors and ABB Group.

The two companies are collaborating to determine how the Volt's 16-kWh lithium-ion batteries can be used to provide stationary electric grid storage systems once the batteries have fulfilled their usefulness in customers' vehicles.

The ultimate goal is to provide cost-effective, innovative solutions that will improve the efficiency of the country's electrical grid.

"The Volt's battery will have significant capacity to store electrical energy, even after its automotive life," said Micky Bly, GM Executive Director of Electrical Systems, Hybrids, Electric Vehicles and Batteries. "That's why we're joining forces with ABB to find ways to enable the Volt batteries to provide environmental benefits that stretch far beyond the highway."

Bly announced the partnership Tuesday at the EV Battery Tech conference here. "Our relationship with ABB will help develop solutions that optimize the full lifecycle of the Volt battery," Bly said. The Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range will provide customers with a standard, eight-year/100,000-mile warranty on its advanced, lithium-ion battery. It is the automotive industry's longest, most comprehensive battery warranty for an electric vehicle, and is transferable at no cost to other vehicle owners.

The Volt's comprehensive battery warranty covers all 161 battery components, 95 percent of which are designed and engineered by GM, in addition to the thermal management system, charging system and electric drive components.

ABB is the world's largest supplier of power grid systems and a leader in power and automation technologies. Their technologies enable utilities and industry to improve performance, while reducing their environmental impact.

"Future smart grids will incorporate a larger proportion of renewable energy sources and will need to supply a vast e-mobility infrastructure – both of which require a wide range of energy storage solutions," said Bazmi Husain, head of ABB's smart grids initiative. "We are excited to explore the possibility of employing electric car batteries in a second use that could help build needed storage capacity and provide far-reaching economic and environmental benefits."

Engineers and researchers from both companies are working together to study:

Renewable Energy Storage: Power generated by wind and the sun can be stored in Volt battery systems and used when demand warrants.

Grid Load Management: Utilities will be able to use the Volt batteries to store electricity generated during off-peak periods to supplement demand during high-peak operation. This will help utilities to better manage the grid, improving reliability and efficiency.

Back-up Power Supplies for Communities: Volt battery systems can store electricity that can be used by communities during power outages caused by storms or other natural disasters.

Time of Use Management: Industrial customers can store off-peak, lower-priced electrical power in Volt batteries for use during peak demand time of day for cost savings.

"Chevrolet and GM are committed to assuring that our vehicles minimize their impact on the environment," Bly said. "Our focus on finding additional applications for the Volt's batteries after their vehicle use extends our commitment to unprecedented levels."