Porsche Shows its Cayenne Performance Hybrid

Yes, you read that right. A hybrid from Porsche is on the way in the form of the automaker’s Cayenne SUV. Prototypes of the hybrid Cayenne are already on the road, combining Porsche’s 3.6-liter V-6 engine with an electric motor.

The Cayenne Hybrid will likely slot just above the base Cayenne in terms of speed, sprinting to 60 mph from a standstill about a half second quicker. But how green will it be?

With tighter automotive restrictions on the horizon in the European Union, even traditional sports car makers like Porsche are concerned with fuel efficiency. The goal for the hybrid Cayenne is over 26 miles per gallon, a large improvement over the 18 mpg average of the current base Cayenne.

The hybrid system will be optimized for high speed driving and will run on electric-only power at speeds of up to about 75 mph – much faster than today’s hybrids. Would you expect anything else from Porsche?

The new hybrid system – which the company is developing with help from Volkswagen and Audi – will also find its way into Porsche’s upcoming Panamera coupe/sedan. While earlier reports suggested the Cayenne Hybrid could start production as early as 2009, we’ve heard more recently that Porsche may wait until at least 2010 when the next generation Cayenne comes out, with a hybrid Panamera following later. Stay tuned.

Nissan Shows a Refreshing Electric Concept Coupe

If the last generation of car enthusiasts grew-up with gasoline in their veins, Nissan thinks the next will likely have electrons pulsing through their circuits. This automaker’s innovative Mixim electric concept car was conceived to appeal to the computer generation with clean electric power and controls that mimic those of a game controller. Nissan clearly sees a disconnect with youthful buyers and the current X-Box crop of teenagers who text to communicate and have never known life without a personal computer.

Shiro Nakamura, Nissan Senior Vice President and Head of Design explains: “If the motor industry is going to survive beyond the next few years, we are going to have to work hard to attract future generations of drivers – people who currently find it difficult to love the car. Mixim is one way to do that. It combines a sociable three plus one interior with controls and visual projects that are familiar to the computer generation. And it uses environmentally friendly battery power.”

Mixim’s styling isn’t as far out as the Pivo2 bubble car shown in Tokyo, but it is a radical departure that blends elements of current Nissan production car styling with strong futuristic design cues. Think Nissan Versa gets a sci-fi makeover for TRON 2010. The hood line and nose, for example, hint Versa, but the pronounced, very rounded leading edge takes the eye in a different direction. Narrow HID headlights that extend rearward along the hood nearly to the A-pillar lend a fast and aggressive look. Three small diamond shaped driving lights in the transition from the front bumper area to the wheelwell add an interesting diversion.

Below the belt line, Mixim has rounded body lines, but from the top of the pronounced fenders up, those curves change to much sharper, more angular lines. The windshield has a fast profile that blends into a very unique roof. From the top of the windshield rearward the eye follows a strong downward diagonal roof line that yields triangular side windows. Triangular glass panels pointing the opposite direction are fitted in the roof to aide rear three quarter visability.

You can see a bit of the Versa Hatchback in the rear end styling as well, particularly the taillight treatment. The back end has that chopped-off theme that yields an aggressive, racy look. Mixim’s rear fenders are pronounced, delivering a broad-shouldered, somewhat muscular look, but unlike the front fender lines the rear fenders are angular with sharp edges. A pair of larger diamond shapes is chiseled into the door-to-rear-fender junction, carrying the front light treatment around to the side of the car. Even the rear wheelwell opening is distinctive. It is conventionally round in the front but ends in a straight downward diagonal line that follows the rear profile of the car. Flush alloy wheels are divided into three sections and are mounted with low profile, low rolling resistance tires.

Mixim’s signature design element is its door treatment. The side doors appear to open normally but actually hinge up and forward in a gull-wing fashion. With the doors open from the front, Mixim takes on a sort of sinister Darth Vader appearance, an interesting transition for a car that otherwise looks inviting from most angles. The door treatment allows easy access to an interior that is quite unique in its own right.

Inside, a single driver’s seat is mounted mid cabin, with passenger seats set back and to the rear in a layout Nissan calls “three plus one.” The dash and control layout is pure video game. Nissan designers devised a steering control – you can’t call it a wheel – that’s a cross between an aircraft front yoke and a gamer control. The steering system incorporates switches and other control functions for added versatility. Ahead of the steering control, a driver is greeted with a horizontal split screen virtual display to place all critical information well within line of sight.

Mixim is a pure, rechargeable electric car. A pair of Nissan’s electric motor/generator Super Motors is used – one for the front wheels and one for the rear – in an all-wheel-drive powertrain that’s engineered to deliver exciting performance. While no performance figures or projections are available, Nissan says the Mixim has “unusually rapid performance combined with a usefully extended range.” Compact lithium-ion batteries are used, but there are currently no details available on the source or specifications.

Nissan is quick to point out that there are currently no guarantees of the Mixim becoming a production vehicle, but it was developed as part of the Nissan Green Program so the door is open with sufficient interest.

Behind the Wheel of Chevy’s Hydrogen-Powered Equinox

I’m behind the wheel of one of the most advanced vehicles on the planet, Chevy’s Equinox Fuel Cell. Yet, I’m chatting away with my GM passenger almost oblivious to the drive, as if this was an everyday occurrence.

It may be that this crossover vehicle is fueled with hydrogen, creates its power through an electrochemical process in lieu of combustion, and uses the same kind of technology that creates electricity and water onboard the Space Shuttle. No matter. Driving it feels so normal I’m completely at ease with the drive with little thought of the processes at work behind the scenes. And that’s just what GM is after.

Soon, drivers in suburban Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C. will also have the ability to experience such vehicles through “Project Driveway,” which will place more than 100 Equinox Fuel Cell vehicles in the hands of private motorists. Ranging from regular families to celebrities, the drivers will have free use of an Equinox Fuel Cell and the hydrogen fuel needed to run it for an average period of about three months. In return, the drivers will provide GM feedback about the vehicles’ performance and their views about the experience.

After our test drive, we don’t expect the Equinox Fuel Cell to have any problems keeping up with these drivers’ daily driving demands. Plenty of space for four passengers and 32 cubic feet of cargo volume are afforded by careful packaging of GM’s fourth-generation fuel cell propulsion system, including a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack and three 10,000 psi hydrogen storage tanks. A 150-mile driving range meets the needs of most driving chores. Sub-freezing operating capability will also be of particular importance to East Coast drivers.

The Equinox Fuel Cell meets the same federal safety standards as all cars, but attains one benchmark that most only dream of: Zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) certification from the EPA, the ultimate goal for all motor vehicles of the future.