environment

Leading global technology company LeEco and luxury sports car brand Aston Martin Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) towards the creation of a partnership that will develop a production version of the Aston Martin RapidE electric vehicle concept.  It is anticipated that the partnership will see the two companies working together in developing and manufacturing RapidE, with potential for adding a range of next-generation connected electric vehicles on behalf of Aston Martin, LeEco and Faraday Future. This new signing extends the existing collaboration between the two companies.  In January 2016, LeEco and Aston Martin revealed the first results of their partnership – an Aston Martin Rapide S incorporating the latest Letv Internet of the Vehicle (IOV) system. The second area of the partnership – the development of low-emission vehicle technologies – has been accelerated as they have developed their respective plans for launching a range of new electric […]

According to Road & Track, Morgan will show off the EV3, a new electric version of their 3-wheeler, at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The Morgan 3 Wheeler, one of our favorite anachronisms, is officially getting a modern reinvention. Morgan is set to debut a “near production-ready version” of the electric EV3 at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, according to Autocar. Morgan first showed off a prototype of the electric 3 Wheeler, shown above, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last summer. One of the biggest problems with any electric or hybrid car is the weight of the lithium-ion batteries, but Morgan claims to have shaved weight off of the V-Twin-powered 3 Wheeler. The prototype EV3 is said to weigh just 1036 lbs to the standard 3 Wheeler’s 1157 lbs, and Morgan claims the production EV3 will be even […]

Morgan Motor Company is pleased to announce that it will lead a £6m project to develop new powertrain technologies, in collaboration with UK companies Delta Motorsport and Potenza Technology. With funding from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, the consortium will develop hybrid and electric powertrain systems which will significantly reduce vehicle CO2 emissions and deliver best-in-class fuel economy. The technologies developed through this project will be introduced progressively on Morgan’s range of hand-built sports cars from 2019, with hybrid propulsion available on all of its models by the end of the decade. The advantages in terms of performance, fuel economy and refinement are expected to increase demand across its most important markets in UK and across Europe. This will result in a growth of the workforce at the Malvern factory and within the partnering companies. Morgan Managing Director, Steve Morris […]

MG’s trendy MG3 has just got even better with the introduction of new technology; designed to give better economy and lower emissions. The MG3 2016 MY (model year), which will be available to buy next week, offers customers better fuel consumption, lower tax and an updated personalisation range; which includes the launch of new combinations and roof colours. The supermini, which now benefits from a more economical 124g/km of CO2 and a stop-start EU6 engine, also comes with a new chrome grille to complement the MG family face.

Burlen Ltd has been awarded the status of ‘Credibly Green’ by an Environmental Consultancy going by the same name.  Burlen Ltd is responsible for the manufacture and distribution of all SU and Amal Carburetters Worldwide, under the names of The SU and Amal Carburetter Companies. “We wanted to see if we could make improvements to our ‘Green Credentials’ without sacrificing our business objectives” said Mark Burnett, Burlen’s Managing Director, “In the automotive sector it is very difficult to see how you can achieve this as it is not usually recognised as being a particularly green industry”. Mark continued, “We wanted to find someone to advise us who could take a simple approach to a complex subject without baffling us with science and that is where Credibly Green came in”. Credibly Green offer a tailored Environmental Reporting Service focusing on Energy, […]

Aston Martin is today showcasing a fully electric concept of its Rapide S four-door sports saloon outside Lancaster House in London – the venue for a meeting between Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and President of The People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping. The new RapidE concept has been developed in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering at its facility in Grove, Oxfordshire. It is on display today in support of a creative summit organised by the British government’s successful GREAT campaign to showcase the best of what the UK has to offer and encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in this country. Aston Martin CEO, Dr Andy Palmer, said: “We see luxury electric vehicles as an intrinsic part of our future product portfolio and welcome ChinaEquity into the next phase […]

James Bond is set to go electric as luxury British sports car maker Aston Martin took the wraps off a new hybrid beefed-up coupe. Codenamed DBX, the two-door 4×4 grand tourer aimed at wealthy families was a surprise unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show, where the world’s car bosses are meeting. Although the car unveiled is an all-electric 4×4 with four separate motors at each wheel, Aston Martin’s final production version is set to be a four-door hybrid petrol-electric hatchback crossover. This is aimed more at Mr and Mrs Bond and their children than the suave superspy alone. It is set to hit showrooms within three years priced at around £160,000 with the aim of widening the brand’s appeal to a much wider audience. It comes as a specially created DB10 car appears in the new 007 movie SPECTRE now […]

Jaguar–Land Rover is reportedly planning to jump on the EV bandwagon before the end of the decade. Company executives have not yet decided whether the upcoming EV will be introduced as a Jaguar or as a Land Rover. German magazine Auto, Motor Und Sport says that the former is likely for marketing reasons, fueling speculation that the EV will be based on Jaguar’s upcoming F-Pace. Company executives have not yet decided whether the upcoming EV will be introduced as a Jaguar or as a Land Rover. German magazine Auto, Motor Und Sport says that the former is likely for marketing reasons, fueling speculation that the EV will be based on Jaguar’s upcoming F-Pace.Regardless of which emblem it ends up wearing, the EV will take the form of a relatively large SUV or crossover because those body styles offer more space […]

British sports car brand Trident is set to launch two new variants of its Iceni sports car–billed as the world’s fastest and most fuel-efficient diesel sports cars. The convertible, the fixed-roof Iceni Magna and the Iceni Venturer wagon use a 6.6-liter turbodiesel V-8 engine to deliver huge performance. Despite this, Trident says the Iceni offers “outstanding fuel efficiency”. At £96,000–just over $161,000, at current exchange rates–it isn’t cheap. It is similarly priced to the new BMW i8 plug-in sports car however, with similar performance and potentially, better economy at a cruise. And both cars are considerably thriftier than similarly-priced rivals. Are we entering a new age of low-consumption, low-emission sports cars? For further on this story, check out the full article at Green Car Reports.  

The MG Dynamo, a new and all-electric city car concept, was unveiled today. The MG Dynamo is based on parent company SAIC’s Roewe E50 city car sold in China. The car was on display at an exhibit of current and future tech at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The display has been timed to coincide with the Beijing motor show where the marque is celebrating its 90th anniversary. The Dynamo concept is said to encompass “the latest in design and engineering technology”. The car has been developed to assess demand for a small, electric MG in Europe. The concept was created by SAIC’s (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) design and technical centre at Longbridge. MG Motor UK hasn’t revealed any details about the drivetrain, but conjecture is that it is likely to be similar to Rowe E50’s. Launched in China in January 2013, this […]

Plans to ban most conventional cars from the roads within the next 30 years could feature in the Liberal Democrats’ offering to voters at the next general election.  But the proposal from Nick Clegg’s party to only allow ultra-low carbon vehicles on British roads by 2040, other than for freight purposes, will first have to be approved at next month’s Lib Dem conference. If the conference votes in favour of the plan it will become party policy and may feature in the party’s manifesto for the 2015 General Election, a Lib Dem spokesman said. The proposal was unveiled as Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders figures showed that car sales, a key indicator of the health of the British economy, had risen 12.7% on last year. The spokesman said: “The way that our party policy is decided is that conference has […]

A ‘hypercar’ built by a British company has broken the electric land speed record that has stood for nearly four decades. Drayson Racing’s car reached a top speed of 204.2mph on the 1.86-mile runway at RAF Elvington, Yorkshire. Driven by entrepreneur and former UK science minister Lord Drayson, it beat the previous record by around 40mph. “This is the future,” he told Sky News after climbing out of the cockpit. The car, known as the Drayson B12 69/EV, is based on the Lola LMP1 which competes at Le Mans in the famous 24-hour race. Its V10 Judd engines have been removed and replaced with two huge A123 battery units connected to electric motors.

While other models were sleek and streamlined, the Morgan looked and sounded like sports cars were supposed to. But its throaty roar could be a thing of the past, at least on one model, with the 101-year-old company developing an electric low-carbon version of the iconic vehicle. The electric car will be made of aluminium and be powered buy a plug-in battery. Morgan is co-operating with two other British companies, Zytek and Radshape, to produce a concept car which could be seen for the first time at the Geneva motor show next year. In fact two cars are being produced. One will be held back for further engineering research, while the other will be on public view as Morgan decides whether to develop a version which could be put on sale. The project is being backed by a £100,000 grant from the […]

Close on the heels of Tata Motors-owned Land Rover announcing its plans to develop hybrid cars, the Indian automaker’s another British subsidiary has now decided to toe the line. Jaguar Cars, is now reportedly looking to introduce hybrid versions of its XJ and XF models in 2013-’14, using hardware developed with sister brand Land Rover, as reported by Britain’s Car magazine. The magazine has also stated that the first Jaguar hybrids could be launched soon after the planned 2013 introduction of the first Land Rover hybrid. It was reported very recently that by the end of 2010 Land Rover will be testing the first diesel hybrid prototype called the ‘range_e’ which is being developed using a Range Rover Sport platform. Tests of this vehicle will use the existing 3.0 litre TDV6 diesel engine featuring a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. The […]

The year was 1984. Roger Dougal, a newly minted Ph.D. in electrical engineering, was beginning his career in the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering. He was the new owner of a 1972 MGB – a red convertible, perfect for life in the Palmetto State, where he could zip along the highways and city streets with the car’s top down practically year-round. Lightweight with easy handling, the MGB was a snazzy roadster for a young professor on the go. But that was, shall we say, soooo last century. Fast forward about two dozen years. Now internationally recognized for his research on power sources and systems, Dougal still loves cars and has added a passion for sailboats. The MGB was collecting dust – and a few leaves – in his garage. But the professor’s ongoing curiosity about all things auto […]

Five of the top six reliable cars are Japanese… but the good news is that three of them are made in Britain. Honda, which has a plant in Swindon, Wilts, is first in the list of smooth-runners. Third is Derby-based Toyota and Nissan, with a factory in Sunderland, is sixth, says new research. Honda-buyers can drive smugly knowing there is only a 10% chance of a breakdown when the car is between three and six years old. Other Far Eastern companies Mazda, Subaru and Mitsubishi are also high in the Manufacturer Reliability Index top ten. At the wrong end of the table is Land Rover, with a 47% chance of a breakdown, with Renault and Saab queuing up just behind on the hard shoulder. The index, compiled by insurers Warranty Direct, gauges the most dependable used cars among 250 popular […]

According to PM Gordon Brown, electric cars are to be introduce en masse across Britain in plans for an environmentally friendly budget. The Prime Minister hopes to make Britain “a world leader” in producing and exporting electric cars and hybrid petrol-electric vehicles. Trials for electric cars in two or three cities could be up and running as soon as next year, he said. As part of the plan, the Government will also open talks with power companies to ensure vehicles can have their batteries recharged at power points at the roadside. Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is also planning to create 400,000 jobs in the green sector over the next five years. Other measures will include the Government relaxing planning rules to allow the building of more wind farms to ensure Britain hits its target to generate 15 per cent of […]

After 10 years of trying, a British engineer has broken the land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle. Pushed by 30-mph winds over two miles, Richard Jenkins reached 126.1 mph yesterday in his Ecotricity Greenbird car on the dry lakebed of Ivanpah Lake, south of Las Vegas. That’s 10 mph faster than the previous record, set in 1999 by American Bob Schumacher. As the Daily Mail put it, that makes Jenkins the fastest naturally powered human on the planet. “It’s great. It’s one of those things that you spend so long trying to do and when it actually happens, it’s almost too easy,” Jenkins told the BBC. The Greenbird is made of carbon fiber composite and powered only by the wind. The only metal is in the wing bearings and the wheel units. For photos, video and audio of the car, […]