Guilt-Free Swank: Our Halo Is Green
Reporters of Reuters, roaming the floors of the doom-dominated Paris Auto Show, finally found a feel-good trend: Green supercars, or make that guilt-free kickass swank, targeted at cash-positive crisis-sated, climate-conscious consumers .
416,500 euro: The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive. At 552 kW and a top speed of 250 km/h, probably the fastest and most powerful production electric car on the road. Range: 155 miles, probably not at Autobahn speed. In very limited production sometime in 2013.
Well above 100,000 euro: BMW’s i8 plug-in hybrid, first shown as a styling concept at the 2009 Frankfurt show and ever since. 96kW electric motor one the front axle and a 164kW turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine at the rear, “enough to propel the car from 0-100km/h in less than five seconds, while returning a frugal 2.7 litres per 100 kilometres.”At dealers or other motor shows in 2014 or thereabouts.
Above 100,000 euro: A wagon-like plug-in hybrid called the Panamera Sport Turismo. Uses a more advanced version of the electric motor and gasoline engine that power the current Panamera Hybrid, and can be driven in pure electric mode at speeds up to 130 km/h. Fuel consumption is less than 3.5 litres per 100 km, while CO2 emissions are less than 82 g/km. Tentatively slated for production around 2015.
More than 660,000 euros, but AWOL: The “New Enzo,” a green Ferrari. The much anticipated hybrid is said to have a massive 600kW 12-cylinder engine mated with a 90kW electric motor, and might blow the Veyron away. But it didn’t make the Paris show.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I'm taking bets on how ugly the new Enzo is.
Just another reason why I want to buy a 20 year old 500 SL as my next car.