In an
exclusive interview with HybridCars.com, an industry insider has confirmed
that
Honda
will release a hybrid version of the Honda Fit subcompact. The vehicle is
schedule for release in mid-2007. The source, who wished to remain anonymous,
said: "If you take the measurement from the wheel hub to the wheel hub of the
Fit and the Insight, they are the same to the millimeter. The Fit is going to
get the Insight engine. It's already a proven powertrain. It will probably get
fuel economy in the low to mid-50s."
The source speculated that Honda would continue to make the Insight-which
sells less than 100 units per month-in order to reserve bragging rights as the
most fuel-efficient vehicle manufactured for American roads. The manual drive
version of the two-door Honda Insight carries an estimated EPA highway rating of
65 mpg. In the interview, HybridCars.com learned that Honda would also release a
hybrid version of its CR-V mini-SUV in late 2006. Honda has not publicly
confirmed its plans for hybrid versions of the Fit or CR-V.
It's unlikely that a Fit hybrid would sell anywhere near $12,000. The new
conventional Fit subcompact is priced starting between $13,000 and $14,000.
Commonly, the hybrid version of vehicle sells for a couple of thousand dollars
more than its conventional sibling. Even with the Fit's hybrid premium, its
price will beat out the Civic Hybrid by approximately $5,000 and a Prius by
$7,000 or more. The gas-only Fit is powered by a 109-horsepower 1.5-liter,
four-cylinder VTEC engine. The hybrid version. according to the HybridCars.com
interview, will utilize a 1.0-liter engine.
In other news,
Ian
Wright has created a car which beat both a Ferrari 360 Spider and a Porsche
Carrera GT in quarter mile drag races! Among production cars, only the
Bugatti Veyron goes from 0-60 faster, and it is 1,000 horsepower and has 16
cylinders. So what? Well, the Wrightspeed X1 is an electric car. The X1 charges
in 4.5 hours and has a range of about 100 miles on a charge. Wright designed
little of the car from scratch, instead borrowing parts from other cars on the
market. The chassis, for example, is from the Ariel Atom.
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