Hybrid hysteria catches up to Ferrari

TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Tesla will take a break from producing the all-electric Roadster until chassis provider, Lotus, can meet its needs.

John LeBlanc

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

While this week kicks off the Formula One season with the first round of testing and unveiling of new race cars, Ferrari confirmed a gasoline-electric hybrid road car is in the works.

During the official unveiling of the 2010 Ferrari F10 Formula 1 racing car in Valencia, Spain, Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo announced that the Italian automaker will debut its first hybrid, an iteration of the 599 GTB Fioranao, at the Geneva auto show next month.

Di Montezemolo gave no technical details. But a system using two electric motors, lithium-ion battery pack, a kinetic-energy recovery systems (the KERS technology from last year's F1 car), stop-and-start and regenerative braking have been speculated.

The 599 hybrid could effectively reduce fuel consumption in the 30 to 35 per cent range, compared to the current gas-only, 620 hp V12 version that gets 19.8L/100 km city, 13.1 L/100 km hwy. (14/22 mpg).

Vw, Toyota want performance

Based on the preponderance of fuel-efficient concepts on this season's auto show circuit, you might think we'll all be driving emotion-free appliances in the future.

A couple of automakers, though, are flying in the face of the prediction that the performance car is dead. As previewed with the display of its Golf R concept at this year's Montreal auto show, Volkswagen is set to launch a new R performance division in Geneva.

According to a report in Inside Line, the new division will be called R GmbH.

Like BMW's M division, Mercedes-Benz'a AMG and Audi's Quattro, VW's R will be a separate division.

In addition to the Golf R (which has not been confirmed for Canada), R models of the Euro-only Scirocco coupe and the next Jetta (as suggested in the new Compact Coupe concept seen at this year's Detroit auto show), as well as the Passat CC can be expected.

Another large automaker, better known for its hybrids, is also looking at making more fun-to-drive cars available.

Earlier this month, Toyota unveiled a Prius, Camry and FT-86 sporting performance parts at the Tokyo Auto Salon under the "Toyota G Sports" moniker.

The plan is to start a new, in-house performance division dubbed "Gs" sometime in 2010.

Apparently, Gs will focus more on high-end components developed for the street (instead of the track) that will likely be sold as separate pieces or complete models.

Unlike the German performance brands mentioned above, the Gs business won't be totally an in-house exercise.

Toyota will partner with Japan's Modelista, which has been working with the Japanese automaker's Toyota Racing Development.

No word if Toyota G Sports parts or models will come to Canada.

BMW, Ford join small-car War

Many industry soothsayers and prognosticators have said small cars are the wave of the future. Recent reports about BMW and Ford product strategies seem to support these predictions.

BMW will add two new small cars to fit below the current compact 1-series by 2014, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

The first of the German automaker's new small cars will be the already announced Megacity, an all-electric urban commuter to be powered by the technology previewed last month in the 1-series-based ActiveE concept at the Detroit auto show.

The second small BMW is both more speculative and potentially controversial.

A subcompact to take on Audi's A1 (set to debut at next month's Geneva auto show) and Mercedes-Benz's A/B Classes may be the first front-wheel-drive BMW ever. And it could be powered by a series of new three-cylinder engines, including a gasoline-electric hybrid.

Over at Detroit's Ford, it's been more than a decade since the Lincoln-Mercury division has had a compact car to sell.

But with Ford's plans to build up to 10 different models off its global compact platform, we may see the first small Mercury since the 1999 Tracer as early as 2012.

"Certainly, one [variant of the global compact car architecture] will be a Mercury ... It'll give us something to put into showrooms, and help energize the Mercury brand," Lincoln-Mercury spokesman Mark Schirmer told U.S. Automobile Magazine.

The first of the new Ford compacts will be the 2012 Ford Focus that debuted at Detroit last month.

Whether the Mercury version is a simple rebadge of the Focus (as the Tracer was to the Ford Escort), or more distinctive, like the Lincoln Concept C from last year's Detroit show, or the mark of the brand's return to Canada since its departure in 1999, Schirmer didn't say.

Tesla Roadster on a hiatus

Although Tesla's all-electric $125,000 Roadster just went on sale here in Canada, the California automaker is indicating it will go on production hiatus next year.

Papers filed by Tesla for its upcoming Initial Public Offering – first sale of stock by a company to the public – reads, "We do not plan to sell our current generation Tesla Roadster after 2011 due to planned tooling changes at a supplier for the Tesla Roadster."

The Roadster chassis – which Tesla has sold almost 1,000 copies of in 18 different countries – is built by British sports car maker Lotus, using its Elise platform.

As Lotus focuses on the launch of an all-new Elise, Tesla will have to wait until 2013 until it can start up production of its electric Roadster, using the new Lotus nuts and bolts.

Tesla's IPO filing – the first U.S. automaker to hold a public offering since Ford in 1956 – also confirmed that the Tesla Model S electric sedan is coming in 2012. The company says it has 2,000 "reservations" confirmed.

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