The car is the Porsche 918 Spyder and this sexy beast is a plug-in hybrid. The car uses a traditional four-liter V8 engine producing 500 hp along with a pair of electric motors. The V8 engine propels the back wheels, while each of the front wheels gets its own electric motor making for an all wheel drive vehicle. The car is capable of using the electric power alone to propel itself up to 94 mph. The 918 pushes out an incredible 770 horsepowere when the V8 and electric engines are combined, and consumes 3 liters of fuel for every 100 km driven. Top speed is 199 mph and it can hit 60 mph in 3.1 seconds.

It’s not clear how long the car can drive on electric power alone, but it apparently gets 78 mpg on the EU test cycle. The car you see in the picture here is a prototype wearing black and white camouflage, reminiscent of Porsche 917 racecars from the past. Of course, all of this comes at a price – the 918 Spyder hybrid is expected to sell for $845,000 (USD) when it’s released by the end of 2013.

[via Autoblog Green]

That’s all great, but I really just love the look of this hybrid. It looks as if it just stepped off of the set of an old Sci-Fi flick. If enough people like it, Tokyoflash might really make it. If you want to vote for the Hybrid watch, head over to the Tokyoflash Design Blog and show your support.

[via Ubergizmo]

The giant vehicles that the military uses are far from fuel-efficient and the more fuel they consume, the more fuel the military has to transport to wherever they are operating from. The more transportation runs to fuel up, the more soldiers are in harm’s way. Never mind the massive fuel expenses passed onto taxpayers. Clearly, saving fuel has many benefits in the military. This is why the Hummer is gong hybrid.

The full details on the vehicle known as the Fuel Efficiency Group Vehicle Demonstrator or FED Bravo are still classified. However, it is said to be a plug-in hybrid, using technology similar to the Chevy Volt. More details are known about the FED Alpha, a lightweight model which uses a solar panel to power its electrical system, and runs on a turbo 4-cylinder diesel engine, along with special tires which have a low rolling resistance. The vehicles are said to get the same performance as current Hummers and save 70% on fuel.

[via Inhabitat via Jalopnik]

Scheduled to debut at this September’s Frankfurt Auto Show, the Ford EVOS is one hot ride, what with it’s GT-inspired lines and high-end touches like gullwing doors. But for us tech geeks, what’s under the hood (and inside it’s wire harnesses) matters just as much. Running on hybrid power, the EVOS is designed to not only be a performance ride, but to provide tons of features which take advantage of today’s connected world, going way beyond hands-free dialing and GPS navigation.

For instance, the EVOS could use environmental data to route you on the “healthiest” path, finding the cleanest air en route. Or, if you want to go for a zippy ride through the open road, the it could automatically adjust the cars suspension, braking and engine into performance mode, based on environment, weather, location, and your historical driving skills. Oh yeah, the music would switch from adult contemporary to aggressive rock to go with your hooning.

In addition to its driving-oriented technology, EVOS could even communicate with your home’s automation system, kicking it into energy-saving mode when you leave the house, then turning things back on when you pull into the driveway. The car can even provide seamless streaming audio from your car into your house when you enter.

Check out Ford’s overview of the EVOS technology concept:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Could she say “The CLOUD” one more time? It’s all pretty futuristic stuff, and Ford says this specific car will never be produced as shown – but every feature is firmly grounded in technologies available today, which is exactly what you want to see in a concept car, right?

[via Inside Line]

Siemens has teamed up with a couple other companies including EADS and Diamond Aircraft to build the cool hybrid electric plane you see in this photo. The aircraft is called the DA36 E-Star and it’s design is based on the powered glider made by Diamond Aircraft called the HK Super Dimona. The battery packs the hybrid plane uses are from EADS and Siemens provided the other tech for the plane.

The aircraft has a 70kW electric motor from Siemens that drives the propeller. Similar to the Chevy Volt, battery packs that hook to the motor can be charged by a Wankel combustion engine to keep the plane in the air. The electric system can be scaled for use in larger commercial planes too and promises to save 25% in fuel consumption. That means less pollution and lower flight costs.

[via CNET]

The car has a 480hp naturally aspirated 4L flat-six that Porsche is famous for that drives the rear wheels. The racecar also has an electro-mechanical flywheel system that might one day make it to some of the Porsche road cars. The tech is really cool and allows for a hybrid system that needs no batteries. That flywheel makes energy that is sent to a pair of 60-kilowatt electric motors that are mounted in the front axle assembly of the racecar and propel the front wheels.

That means that when the electric power is activated the car has all wheel drive. The electric power can be unleashed selectively to give the car extra acceleration out of corners and when overtaking. Basically, the car has a button like Fast & Furious that unleashes electric boost rather than nitrous.

[via AutoWeek]

Knorreck reportedly spent 10,000 hours and €15,000 (approx. $22,300 (USD)) to build this one of a kind vehicle. The Snafell is a combination of a Laverda motorcycle which Knorreck bought in 1976 and had already modified to be a sport bike, and the custom-built carbon fiber and polyester sidecar. The sidecar’s parts were culled from various automobiles, including a Volkswagen Golf GTI,  a Citroen Xantia and an Audi 80.

The Snaefell – which incidentally is also the name of three volcanoes in Iceland – is powered by the Laverda’s 1000cc engine. I barely know anything about vehicles, so I don’t know if the triple exhaust is necessary, but damn if it doesn’t add to the quirkiness of this ride.

The sidecar has a gull-wing door and has a car seat, complete with seat belts. Say what you will about the Snaefell, but it’s sidecar might just be the most comfortable and safest one on the planet.

There should be more pics at Knorreck’s website, I just don’t know for sure because Internet fame has brought down the site. I really want to see it in action! Man this thing is weird.

[via designboom & kneeslider]

Gyromancer is the brainchild of Square Enix and PopCap, the makers of Bejeweled, the game that kick-started our universal matching addiction. The two companies have combined to produce a beautiful puzzle-RPG that will very likely give me the arthritis in my Xbox hand(s). The best part? I’ll be suffering for a mere 1200 Microsoft points ($15 for you PC people).

Here’s a video, but be warned: if you watch this, all those holiday plans may just poof right into thin air as you find yourself racing to get your hands on this bad boy. Sometimes, downloadable games can just be a little too convenient.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

They will be available in 22″, 24″ and 27″ variants. All 3 models are capable of displaying at 1080p, and they also have built-in TV tuners that can receive both digital and analog signals. Nice. The T1 TV monitors also have built-in a pair of 7-watt speakers. The inputs available are IEC (TV), D-sub (PC), HDMI 1.3 x2, Component (Y/Pb/Pr), Composite, S-Video, SCART1 (RGB & CVBS), and SCART2 (Y/C & S-Video), while there are audio outputs for the now obsolete RCA, as well as Optical S/PDIF and the ever-present 3.5 mm jack. A remote control is also included.

Although as SlashGear’s Chris Davies said, a picture-in-picture feature would have been nice, so you could watch TV and use your computer at the same time. No word on pricing and availability yet. Product press releases shouldn’t be released without those two details, dammit.

The LG BH100 Super Multi Blue Player will handle both high definition disc formats, in full 1080p resolution, as well as offering DTS-HD audio support. Early word is that switching between formats is a little slow, but hopefully they’ll work out that kink before it’s released later this year.

Now the bad news: the retail price for the player will be $1199. For about the same price, you could pick up a new Xbox 360 Premium with an HD DVD player AND a Playstation 3 with Blu-ray. However, if you’re looking for a single package that can play both formats, the LG is the only game in town for now.