Archive for the ‘Hybrids, Electrics and other “Green” Technology’ Category


In 1900, at the dawn of the 20th Century, long before there was the sports car company Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, a gifted young engineer named Ferdinand Porsche created the world’s first functional full-hybrid car.  It’s called the “Semper Vivus”  (always alive).

There are electric motors in those mammoth front hubs. It must have been quite an achievement to get the rear wheels driven by a gas engine synchronized with the front electric drive hubs.

Porsche wants the world to know that it has always been involved in  hybrid technology, even if it was almost 50 years before the Porsche sports car company was established after WWII.  The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart spent 4 years reviving the “always alive” car.  They must have spent a fortune, but when you’re talking about bragging rights, no price is too high.

Here is Porsche’s tease video in advance of the car’s unveiling at the Geneva Auto Show this week.


The ultra-cool, never-to-be-produced Smart Forspeed ElectricDrive concept car debuts in at the Geneva Auto Show next month. It’s supposed to preview styling cues for upcoming 3rd generation ForTwo coupe and cabriolet.

Smart ForSpeed Electric Drive Concept

The concept channels power to the rear wheels though a single-speed gearbox. Top speed is limited to 74 mph. Electrical energy is provided by a 16.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ionbattery pack that is charged via a socket in the third brake light at the rear. Smart claims an overall range for the Forspeed of 84 miles.

It looks like an iPhone is integrated into the dash.

There is no roof for this concept car - so you know it will never make production in this form.