Future cars are here! - motoring|underground

Drew · #1 02-17-2014, 10:41 PM

BMW is doing it:

i3 has a 180 mile range off a 3 hour charge. Seats four comfortably, with power equal to the average car and BMW driving dynamics.

i8 offers 94mpg while going 0-60 in 4.4 seconds.

Porsche is doing it:

940lb/ft of torque. 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. Estimated 85-94mpg.

Ferrari, McLaren, Toyota...

So here we are; all of a sudden we've found ourselves in the future. For decades we've talked about hyper cars going well over 200mph and doing 0-60 in under 3 seconds, and that has come and gone. Now we've moved to producing technological masterpieces capable of getting nearly 100mpg while producing the highest levels of performance.

What does this mean for the cars of tomorrow? Are you excited about it? Do you hate the complications and expense that hybrid and electric cars bring to the table? Will you buy something in this category in the near future?

Personally, I love it. The styling is mostly a bit crazy for my taste, save for the Porsche, but it's all about maximizing the aerodynamics for both speed and efficiency (not to mention getting noticed). The fact that the super expensive versions will help bring the technology to reality is one of the best parts. Sure, the cost of these cars is way out of most people's budget. But it paves the way, irons out issues, and helps spread out the cost until making it on a less-expensive and larger scale is possible.

I can't help but look back in time to cars that produced high MPG figures before all of this technology and advancement and wonder what other options we have. Should we offer the public a super-light car that doesn't have the safety that the average car today can provide you with? If it's $10,000 thanks to simple design and materials, but can also get 50mpg, is it an option worth considering? What if we took the new concepts with materials like carbon fiber reinforced plastic and applied it to simple, low HP cars? Could you produce a sub-2,000lb car for a reasonable price without all the tech-gadgets?

Thankfully, we're at the point where this is even a discussion. Just 15 years ago we were spending under $1/gallon for gas, with most of us driving cars and trucks getting 10-20mpg and not worrying about it. I'm happy with where we are, but especially where we're going. So, what are your thoughts?

glnr13 · #2 02-18-2014, 12:57 AM

i can't wait for DIY electric engine swaps.

EveryTimeIDie027 · #3 02-18-2014, 04:09 AM

I'm really in love with the P1, 918, and the I8. The future is looking really good

Flamez · #4 02-18-2014, 01:31 PM

I like the mix of efficiency and performance. I'm excited about this:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2014/02/...hybrid-system/

Quote:

Enter The MINI Clubman All-Wheel Drive Plugin Hybrid

At the heart of the new Hybrid Clubman will be the 1.5L three cylinder lifted from the F56 Cooper and powering the front wheels. Integrated into that will be a plug-in hybrid system (likely derived from the BMW i8) powering the rear wheels only. The beauty of that arrangement is the torque (which is abundant in electric motors) won’t overwhelm the front tires and instead will provide additional power in the most effective way – to the rear. Not only will power and torque be better distributed, but it will also allow for better weight distribution across the entire car.

The synchronous electric motor will likely have an electric-only range of around 15-20 miles. Obviously this would be ideal for urban environments.

The system that BMW has previously shown in concept form had an output of “over” 140 kW/190 bhp. Doing the math backwards (and assuming MINI won’t detune the 134 hp Cooper 1.5L engine) we can expect the electric engine will have around 60 hp by itself.

Given these numbers (and adding the extra weight of the system) we’d expect 0-60 times in the low 7s. More importantly BMW has said it expects the system to achieve a fuel consumption of less than 2.5 litres per 100 kilometers (94 mpg, 113 mpg imp), with a CO2 emissions level of less than 60 g/km. Granted those figures will be altered for the US based on the EPA’s own measurement but they will still be similarly astounding in production form.

Quote:

Hybrid Performance

According to BMW’s published report on the concept power plant, the electric engine has been developed in-house at BMW. With a fully charged battery, the electric only range should be over 30 kilometers giving the Clubman Plug-In Hybrid the ability to be in 100% electric mode for the majority of day-to-day trips that don’t involve high speeds. What’s more interesting, BMW has created a boost function that could be thought of as DRS or a “Push to Pass” system. It gives the petrol engine a sudden boost of power for what BMW calls “highly dynamic acceleration maneuvers” – BMW’s words, not ours. With this system the power is made available “spontaneously and without delay”. The best part? The maximum torque of 200 N-m is available from standing.

The hybrid system’s lithium-ion battery can be charged at any 220 volt household power socket. Time for a full charge hasn’t been published yet nor has time to charge from higher voltage sockets.

Regenerative power can be drawn from both axles of the BMW Concept Active Tourer and fed back into the lithium-ion battery so as to enhance the efficiency of the plug-in hybrid. While the electric motor automatically recuperates maximum energy at the rear axle during deceleration, a high-volt generator connected to the combustion engine additionally charges the battery whenever needed. Naturally we expect that same tech to make it to production.