Hot hatchback to the Future

[Eki]

Did anyone see this coming?

What kind of hot hatchbacks do you think there will be in the future?

[Rollo]

Things with Jets in!

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/30/paris-2010-jaguar-c-x75-concept/
That happens courtesy of two 96-horsepower micro gas turbines that pump juice into a plug-in li-ion battery pack. That in turn powers four 195-horsepower electric motors – one at each wheel – for a total of 780 horsepower and 1,187 pound-feet of torque. Top speed is pegged at 205 mph, and the concept can theoretically run on just its batteries for 68 miles before the twin turbines kick in and extend the range to 560 miles. Think of it like the Volt, but with turbines instead of a gas engine and a helluva lot quicker and faster.

They want desperately to call it a hybrid, but it's really a "Jet-Electric" for want of a better word. Diesel-electric transmission locomotives on trains have been used since 1931 by ALCO, so really it's back to the past to the future.

Certainly I see the whole idea of using jets to charge batteries as a brilliant concept, because unlike the STP cars at Indianapolis and the Lotus 56 where the jets directly drive the wheels, a jet which only charges the batteries can be run at constant speed and therefore increase efficiency.

Just imagine, a jet powered Fiat Panda.

[Mark]

I like it! Although I fear for getting to sleep at night beside the A64 with a load of jet engines blasting down it!