Newswise — Every year IEEE Spectrum assembles a list of the cars that best embody new technology. As you might expect, this year's list is packed with a wide variety of alternative-drive power trains. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class F-Cell uses hydrogen to generate its motive electricity. The Chevy Volt depends mainly on a battery-powered motor but extends its range with a small, gasoline-powered engine. The Porsche RSR Concept gets extra oomph for acceleration from a fast-spinning flywheel. It's all very stimulating to an engineer's thinking, but perhaps the biggest effect of such alternative power systems is the one they're having on conventional systems, which are suddenly getting a great deal more fuel-efficient.
Of course, such efficiency is a relative concept. Take the oddball entry in our list, the Ferrari 458 Italia--an unashamedly internally combustive car that gets Ferrari-style performance without making any concessions to ecosensitivity. Yet even this half-tamed stallion makes a nod toward green virtue by going light, mainly by building on an all-aluminum space frame. The beating heart is the engine, visible through a polycarbonate window that Ferrari thoughtfully provided so that the owner could see where some of his money went.
RSS