The Lumeneo Smera.
Almost invisible among all the flashy hybrid supercar concepts at this year's Geneva auto show was the Smera, a super-skinny electric car from French start-up Lumeneo that underscored a growing presence of such tandem two-seaters at major auto shows this year.
The Smera looks like a Smart given a giant squeeze from both sides - the passenger sits behind the driver, leaving a vehicle that's just a touch wider than a typical front seat.
The idea behind it is also an extension of the Smart's vision - that most cars typically carry only one person at a time, and therefore are much larger than they need to be for commuting.
This is also the essence of the Tango; demo rides were offered in the basement of Cobo Hall during the Detroit auto show in January - something that wouldn't be possible with regular exhaust-emitting cars, but is not a safety issue for emissions-free electrics.
Built by a family-run start-up, Commuter Cars Corp., based in Spokane, the firm's first sale five years ago was to George Clooney, who paid $108,000 (U.S.) for the car.
The company has so far focused on a handful of high-end clients willing to pay six figures (base price: $120,000) for the T600, which helps justify its cost with super-car performance.
The T600 offers a 600-kilowatt battery producing the equivalent of 805 hp and more than 1,000 lb-ft of torque "at the controller," according to company founder Rick Woodbury. This juice produces a 0-100 km/h time of about four seconds, but it's the ability to save the commuting and parking time that most excites Woodbury.
"Using a full-size car to drive a single person is like using a sledgehammer on finishing nails," said Woodbury.
My quick spin behind the wheel at the Detroit show's short course showed the car's explosive acceleration, although I didn't push it enough to test Woodbury's assertion that it has the same-five star rollover rating as a Porsche 911, thanks to the Tango's patented system of adding weight to the very bottom of the vehicle.
"This is a revolution in transportation," said Woodbury, who is also competing in the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition for alternate fuel vehicles. But he says shape of the car is as least as important as its emissions-free power source, because he doesn't foresee breakthroughs in battery cost or capability any time soon.
"The fact that the Tango is electric is almost secondary - unlike computers, battery chemistry doesn't change quickly every few years."
Hybrid RAV4 reported in the works for 2012
The Toyota RAV4 will be available in hybrid form after it is redesigned for its next generation coming in 2012, Britain's Autocar magazine reported recently. Toyota will also launch wagon and crossover versions of the Prius in early 2011, reported Autocar, followed by a coupe version to compete with Honda's CR-Z, fulfilling Toyota's promise to expand the Prius name into a family of vehicles.
VW embraces hybrids and EVs
For years, Volkswagen argued that a diesel engine is the better alternate fuel strategy for the majority of consumers, especially in North America, where long highway commutes are a way of life for many.
But the unveiling of the VW Touareg Hybrid in Geneva as well as an apparent aboutface VW board chairman Martin Winterkorn shows that VW plans to embrace electricity as a source of vehicle propulsion.
Winterkorn outlined many of the firm's production plans for BEVs and hybrids. A hybrid Jetta is planned for North America in August, 2012, followed by the electric e-Up! mini-car the following year. The hybrid Passat is to arrive in August, 2013, followed two months later by the gas-electric Golf.
"We will take the hybrid out of its niche status with our high-volume models," Winterkorn said in a press release. "In the future, the heart of the brand will also beat with electricity."
Corvette plans limited Carbon edition
A new limited-production Carbon edition of the 2011 Corvette Z06 will introduce some of the suspension tweaks of the most powerful ZR1, but will maintain the Z06's lightweight and track-ready speed-trumps-comfort ethos.
So while Chevrolet still offers the supercharged 638-hp ZR1 as the most expensive Corvette in its lineup, it insists that the naturally aspirated Z06 is the most track-appropriate of the bunch.
The Z06 Carbon adds the ZR1's magnetic ride control suspension for the first time, and includes carbon -ibre Brembo brakes also first used on the ZR1.
Style-wise, the Carbon edition offers carbon-fibre rearview mirror housings, front splitter and black wheels, as well as a special carbon-fibre engine cover.
Five hundred copies of the Z06 Carbon Limited Edition will be built, starting in late summer.