And you thought Eli Manning being handed the keys to a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid for making MVP in the Superbowl was nothing more than weak marketing. The way things are headed, in five years or so you will probably see more hybrid cars than single mode gas/diesels. Even Porsche is planning a hybrid power train (and worse, a four door coupe).
Motown loves old-school muscle cars with big V8 engines, fat tires and rear-wheel drive. We're not sure why - maybe its all those Baby Boomers with disposable income trying to relive their youth - but Detroit keeps trying to build the perfect car for 1968.
[From Camaro Enters the 21st Century - With a Hybrid? | Autopia from Wired.com]
Ferrari, on the other hand, is trying something different. Instead of cutting fuel consumption, they are going to finally acknowledge that Lotus was right over 40 years ago.: weight matters.
Lotus figured out long ago that if you make a very strong and light body, you can afford to do with a much smaller and weaker engine. Ferrari kept pushing their 8 and 12-cylinder engines and eventually moved to lighter chassis, but now their goal is to hit a much lower weight class, which will make their monster cars 200 or so pounds lighter than a Mazda Miata MX-5.
My first and third MX-5s had less than 120 HP, my second one had less than 140 HP. This new Ferrari is expected to have 660 HP and hit 225 MPH, while producing 40% less emissions than the Ferrari Enzo.
Oh yes.
It would still be 200 or so pounds heavier than the Lotus Elise, but the Elise's base model is still only 190 HP.
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