Electric Cars

  • BMW i

    Ever since BMW announced its new i division a few weeks ago, there has been a lot of speculation about exactly what the cars would look like, After all, aside from highly conceptualized drawings, only the featureless models above are what BMW has officially shown us of its new cars. Then there's the question of whether an all-electric urban city car like the i3 can hold up BMW's tradition of building fun cars. We're starting to get a glimpse of both answers thanks to some intrepid spy photographers. The compact, i3 was recently "caught" on spy video going through cold weather testing in...

  • 2011 Volkswagen Bulli Concept live photos
    2011 Volkswagen Bulli Concept Live Photos: 2011 Geneva Motor Show

    The bus is back! Well, sort of, anyway. The Volkswagen Bulli Concept shows that VW hasn't forgotten its long-cube roots. It may even be planning a revisitation of them. This all-electric concept certainly points toward an intriguing vision of what that might look like. Despite its microbus...

  • Volkswagen Bulli Concept
    Volkswagen Bulli Concept: 2011 Geneva Motor Show

    The Volkswagen Microbus has been a cult classic since its debut 60 years ago, despite aging sheetmetal and what is, by today's standards, marginal safety and performance. VW hopes to change that with the new Bulli, a concept electric van being shown this week in Geneva. The Bulli is, according to...

  • 2012 Nissan ESFLOW Concept Electric Car
    Nissan ESFLOW Concept Sport EV: 2011 Geneva Motor Show

    It may look like someone spilled their mug of Juke all over a drawing of Infiniti's Essence, but the Nissan ESFLOW is something we're glad to see from a major carmaker that already has one EV on the market: a sports car EV concept. Rear-wheel drive, two-seats, 0-62 mph in under 5 seconds, it hits...

  • 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport. Photo by Joe Nuxoll.
    2011 Tesla Roadster Sport Mega Gallery

    Recently our semi-captive hot shoe and photographer Joe Nuxoll got access to Tesla's facilities for some alone time with the 2011 Roadster Sport. His lens presents your wildest EV dreams. The Roadster Sport features the same power output of the standard Roadster at 288 horsepower, but over a wider...

  • BMW Megacity Vehicle official teaser
    BMW Invests $565 Million In Leipzig Plant For Megacity Vehicle

    The BMW Megacity Vehicle is set to revolutionize the way mainstream cars are engineered and built, with most of its internal structure and body being composed of lightweight composite materials such as carbon-fiber reinforced plastic. The Megacity Vehicle has now taken a major step closer to...

  • BMW prototype based on Vision EfficientDynamics concept

    There's an arms race afoot among the major luxury automakers, and it's all about power--electric power. Audi is prepping the e-tron, Mercedes-Benz is working on an all-electric version of the SLS AMG and BMW has today announced plans to put a car based on its 2009 Vision EfficientDynamics concept into production. The announcement was made at the Leipzig trade fair center in Germany where BMW also showed off a working prototype of the upcoming green sports car. What BMW hasn’t revealed is what powertrain/chassis combo will actually make it to production. For now, all we can go on is what...

  • Tesla IPO presentation via Retail Roadshow
    Elon Musk Details Tesla Model X Electric SUV Plans

    We got our first hints that Tesla was already planning several new models after its Model S electric sedan following the release of some official slides in the company’s IPO presentation back in June and now Tesla CEO Elon Musk has spilled a few more beans. Speaking at the formal opening...

  • Saab 9-3 ePower EV
    2010 Paris Auto Show: Saab's first EV, 9-3 ePower wagon

    In what may be a case of too little, too late, Saab has unveiled its first electric vehicle ahead of its official debut at the 2010 Paris auto show. The 9-3 wagon-based EV is called the 9-3 ePower, and will see a prototype fleet of 70 vehicles built for testing in Sweden early in 2011. Powered by a...

  • Buckeye Bullet 2.5 (2010)
    Battery-powered EV goes 307 mph, sets new record

    Who said electric vehicles have to be slow? A team from Ohio State University's Center for Auto Research and the guys at French EV startup Venturi has set a new speed record for a battery-powered vehicle: 307.7 mph. Earlier this week at Bonneville Salt Flats, piloted by Roger Schroer, the car...

  • Alyssa Milano with the Nissan Leaf
    Alyssa Milano Is Charmed By The Nissan Leaf

    There's been a lot of talk about electric rides lately, most of it having to do with the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf. (They're not the only EVs on the market, obviously, just the two getting most of the publicity right now.) What's weird is this: much of the chatter about the Volt seems...

  • Toyota RAV4e electric vehicle, San Francisco, March 2010
    Official: Tesla And Toyota To Jointly Develop All-Electric RAV4

    Electric vehicles are popularly perceived as the front-runner of the alternate fuel competition, but successfully developing EVs has proven to be a difficult and expensive task. To help share the burden and the expertise necessary to get an electric car to market, Japanese auto giant Toyota and...

  • BMW Megacity Vehicle two-door rendering

    BMW has already released an official teaser sketch of its upcoming Megacity Vehicle (MCV), and even a gallery of the carbon fiber unibody. But so far, it hasn't been easy to get a feel for what the little car might look like in the CFRP flesh. Problem solved--these renderings give a good look at what to expect. The MCV will be a zero tailpipe-emissions car intended for urban use. Lightweight, electric-powered, and seating four, it could be emininently practical as well as super clean--and just a wee bit sporty, thanks to its 134-horsepower electric motor. It definitely looks the part--though...

  • 2010 Renault DeZir Concept
    2010 Paris Auto Show Preview: Renault DeZir Concept

    Last year, former Mazda design chief Laurens van den Acker, an influential player behind the Japanese automaker’s Nagare and nature-themed designs of late, jumped ship and headed over to the top design post at French automaker Renault. He has since been assigned the task of injecting new ideas...

  • BMW Megacity Vehicle official teaser
    BMW Releases Full Carbon Fiber Gallery For New Megacity Vehicle (MCV)

    In March of 2008 BMW first announced plans to establish a new research division called ‘Project i,’ whose task would be to develop a number of solutions for a vehicle designed for congested city motoring. The goal of Project i was never to exclusively develop one type of vehicle, but to come up...

  • Audi R8 e-tron at Le Mans
    Audi R8 e-tron Shows Up At 24 Hours Of Le Mans

    While most automakers are promoting their electric cars as a low cost and environmentally friendly option for urban commuting, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are taking a different route and are targeting the top end of town by promoting the performance aspects of electric propulsion--instantaneous torque...

  • 2010 Volkswagen Berlin Taxi Concept
    Volkswagen Debuts Zero-Emissions Berlin Taxi Concept

    Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, and now it’s showing off yet another...

  • Tesla Model S Sedan
    Toyota To Invest In Tesla, Jointly Develop Electric Vehicles

    Electric vehicles are popularly perceived as the front-runner of the alternate fuel competition, but successfully developing EVs has proven to be a difficult and expensive task. To help share the burden and the expertise necessary to get an electric car to market, Japanese auto giant Toyota and...

  • BMW Megacity Vehicle announcement

    In March of 2008 BMW first announced plans to establish a new research division called ‘Project i,’ whose task would be to develop a number of solutions for a vehicle designed for congested city motoring. The goal of Project i was never to exclusively develop one type of vehicle, but to come up with a range of technologies BMW could introduce across its fleet or even under a rumored fourth brand. Now, more than two years down the track, Project i is in full swing and is already spawning its first products. The first development of Project i was the MINI-E, which BMW is using to gather...

  • 2010 Volkswagen Milano Taxi Concept
    Volkswagen Previews Zero-Emissions Milano Taxi Concept

    Volkswagen is intent on becoming the world’s leading automaker by 2018 and that means being the top dog in every segment, including hybrid and electric vehicles. Recently the automaker announced plans to start building its own electric powertrains, and now it’s showing off yet another...

  • MINI E Race
    MINI E Takes On The Nurburgring

    We’ve seen numerous supercars take on the Nurburgring, things like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Nissan GT-R, and Pagani Zonda F, but now BMW has taken its MINI E all-electric hatchback to the notorious circuit. Taking on the Nurburgring circuit at race speed with an electrically powered car is an...

  • 2009 infiniti essence concept 019
    Infiniti Electric Car Will Maintain Performance And Luxury Image

    No word on any release date but parent company Nissan will have its first electric vehicle, the Leaf, on sale late next year so it’s conceivable that Infiniti’s car will come in 2011.

  • Bruce Richter drives the 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport
    Tesla Extends Deal With Lotus To Supply Roadsters Until December 2011

    In late January electric car company Tesla filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in the filing revealed that production of its first model, the all-electric Roadster, would end in March 2011. This particular model is manufactured in Hethel, UK at the...

  • 2010 TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster
    Tesla Kicks Off First Zero-Emission Round-The-World Tour

    Swiss luxury watch manufacturer TAG Heuer is celebrating its 150th anniversary and as part of the occasion has teamed up with Tesla to create a special one-off example of the famous all-electric Roadster. Decked out in special livery and fitted with a unique interior by Tesla design chief Franz von...

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