Reinventing the wheel

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GERMRNY'S LRTEST SILVER RRRDW IS R HYBRID STUNNER

HIGH ROLLER

Hailed by many as the most beautiful hybrid ever, Porsche's latest concept car claims near 200 mph speeds and 78 mpg. Inside, as in an F1 car, all major controls are grouped close to the steering wheel. The center console is slick and intuitive.

DOES TODAY'S HEIGHTENED environmental awareness mean the end of high-horsepower supercars? Porsche's latest world-view projects a hybrid future. The sleek 918 Spyder offers more than a hint of what the German company has in store. Check out these stats: more than 500 bhp at 9,200 rpm, zero to 62 in 3.2 seconds, 78 miles per gallon(l). Porsche claims the car is capa­ble of a sub-7.5-minute lap at the Nurburgring. This is the next Porsche supercar, have no doubt. Power emanates from a 3.4-liter V8 linked to three electric motor-generators. Energy is stored via a lightweight lithium-ion battery pack located behind the seats. On full electric you sail along, helped by ultralight construction (the Spyder weighs only 3,285 pounds) and advanced aerodynamics. Shift to Sport Hybrid or, even better, Race Hybrid, and the adjust­able wing extends to improve downforce, ram air scoops boost thermodynamic efficiency, and the 918 knocks on the 200 mph door. Porsche will test its radical hybrid system in its 911 GT3 R Hybrid at the 24-hour Nurburgring endurance race. The company would like to run it at Le Mans in a few years.

CARROZZERIA BERTONE HAS PRODUCED outrageous bodies for Alfa Romeo since the 1930s and Ferraris starting in the 1950s. One repeating theme from this Turin coachbuilder has been show cars with an entire side that opens for ease of access and no small amount of drama. The Pandion, which celebrates Bertone's 75 years of collabo­ration with Alfa, catapults this sidewinder concept into a new iteration. Named for a fierce sea hawk, the Pandion has spectacular 12-foot-long doors, which are inspired by the flying predator's wings. Mike Robinson, leading Bertone's design team, reinterpreted the 'inherent

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NEW MOVEMENT IN ITRLIRN DESIGN

duality" in the Alfa Romeo badge's man-eating snake and cross with a theme he calls "skin and frame." The skin refers to the twisted snake, which represents Italy's tradition of seductive automotive beauty; the cross (or frame) represents the country's historic excellence in tech­nical advancements. Resolving the tension between these opposites underlines the Pandion's essential message: sensual and techno­logical, emotional and rational, organic and structural, industrial and artisanal. The front-mounted Alfa 4.7-liter V8 (shared with several Maserati models) puts out 440 bhp. Top speed: 199 mph.

THE RORD RHERD M-B's radical F800 offers sliding rear doors for improved access. The control panel is touch and voice activated, so you never have to take your eyes off the road.

MERCEDES F800 STYLE

STEP INTO THE NEXT-GEN SEDRN

MERCEDES-BENZ CELEBRATES ITS 125th birthday next year, so leave it to the Benz boys (and girls) to present the premium sedan of the future. The F800 Style research vehicle is what you'd expect from the industry's high-tech and safety leader. The car's Distronic Plus Traffic Jam Assistant, for example, lets the F800 auto­matically follow the vehicle in front of it, even into bends, without steering input. (Yes, the car can drive itself.) As for power, buyers may have two options: electric drive with fuel cells or a plug-in hybrid configuration. The electric's 136 bhp motor develops 184 foot/pounds of torque. The front-mounted fuel cell, a quartet of hydro­gen tanks and a lithium-ion battery are tucked neatly out of harm's way in the event of a crash. Alternatively, the speedy hybrid links a 3.5-liter 300 bhp V6 with a 109 bhp electric motor. The city driving range in all-electric mode is about 18 miles, emissions free. Even better, zero to 62 mph with all systems go is 4.9 seconds. Mer­cedes says this plug-in hybrid will be an option for its next S-Class.

FERRRRI 599 HYKERS

MRRRNELLO ROLLS OUT ITS FIRST HYBRID

FERRARI'S TECHNOLOGICAL innovations have always centered on the art of performance while never failing to stay true to the marque's history and tradi­tion. So a hybrid from the Italian supercar maker is a bit of a shocker. Ferrari outfitted its 599 GTB Fiorano with its Hybrid Kinetic Energy Recovery System (HY-KERS). Engineers kept the 599's lusty V12. but its alternator is replaced with a motor-generator to drive accesso­ries when the engine isn't running. Three battery packs are tucked below the floor pan. You get all the hybrid tricks: regenerative braking, low-speed electric drive, even an electric boost when you hammer the accelera­tor. The reenergized V12 simultaneously propels the car and charges the battery pack. Given the strict European emissions regs that are pending, Ferrari plans to deliver the car to customers in the not too distant future.

REVERED BY BRITISH ROYALTY, driven by 007, a winner at Le Mans, Aston Mar­tin epitomizes good taste and old money. Some say Aston's audacious chief executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez, has gone a London Bridge too far with his Cygnet concept. The logic is simple: European cities are old and subject to pollution, with little room to drive, let alone park. But people of discernment don't take the Underground. The answer? A luxury mini-commuter. Aston took a Toyota iQ city car and hand finished it with magnificent leathers, special paint, lots of high tech and a killer six-speaker stereo. Under the skin: a 1.3-liter four-cylinder that gets 58.9 mpg and emits very little CO2. Aston plans to put the concept into production early next year, with a tag upward of $45,000.

LUXURY FUEL SIPPER The motoring press has hammered Aston Martin for its Cygnet, basi­cally a Toyota iQ dressed up with the appointments you'd expect from the superluxe British carmaker, such as a bespoke interior and an iPod dock. Will Aston buyers bite? We'll see.

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BRITISH STYLE MEETS RPRNESE UTILITRRIRNISM

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R VISION OF THE CDMPRCT OF TOMORROW

TESLA, CALIFORNIA'S INNOVATIVE electric car maker, sells a speedy Roadster, but at $109,000, only rich kids need apply. Tesla's Model S sedan is refined and upscale. The manufacturer needs a youth­ful, affordable plug-in car to appeal to new buyers. Tesia design chief Franz von Holzhausen retained Instituto Europeo di Design of Turin to develop a concept. The assignment: Design a full-size model of an afford­able compact 2+2. With help from Pininfarina's Luca Borgogno and Rat designer Andrea Militello, 11 graduate students teamed up on this green dream car. Called the IED Tesia EYE, the sensationally swoopy and aero­dynamic concept is 167 inches long, about eight inches shorter than a Prius and with a slightly lower height. The roofline opens, offering the possibility of transforming the EYE into a roadster or even a sporty pickup truck. The show car had no engine. Will the company build it? Proba­bly not, but we can expect to see some of its elements in future Teslas.

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THE GOLDEN flGE OF THE RMERICRN CONCEPT CAR

In the 1950s and 1960s, big auto companies realized the value of the dream car as a market­ing tool—how a striking piece of science fiction on wheels could nudge potential customers into a showroom. Here are a few favorites, clockwise from above: Ford's 1962 Seattle-ite XXI had four steerable front wheels; Alfa Romeo's 1953 Bat 5: GM's 1956

Firebird II, inspired by the new breed of military jets; Plymouth's 1960 XNR; Ford's 1954 FX-Atmos; Buick's 1951 LeSabre, designed by the great Harley Earl.