electric sports car

Right now Audi is heavily pushing diesel as the answer to reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions but down the road we'll be seeing both hybrid and electric options from the German brand as well. Last fall at Frankfurt Motor Show, Audi debuted a battery powered supercar based on the R8 and dubbed E-tron. For this weeks Detroit Auto Show, the E-tron name is back as is the lithium ion battery pack.

This time around the sports car is significantly smaller and only features two electric motors driving the rear wheels instead of four like the last concept. The new concept is almost the same size as last year's Volkswagen Bluesport roadster concept and may be based on the same platform. The concept again demonstrates that a car doesn't have to be dull to be green. The new E-tron gets to 62 mph in just 5.9 seconds from a standing start and is claimed to be able to about 155 miles on a full charge of its battery. While Audi plans to build some production examples of the original R8 based E-tron in 2012, there has been no announcement about this smaller model.

Gallery: Detroit 2010: Audi e-tron Detroit Concept

[Source: Audi]

It's been seven months since Tesla first announced its intentions to build the Roadster Sport, a higher performing version of its standard electric sportscar, and the Silicon Valley-based automaker has finally offered up some real high-res images of the EV along with a bevy of details on what makes the Sport extra special.

First and foremost, the Sport's hand-wound electric motor adds a bit more oomph to the already quick Roadster, taking off two-tenths of a second on the rush to 60 at 3.7 seconds. Also included are bare carbon fiber hood louvers and rear spoiler, a push-button transmission selector to replace the aluminum shift knob and a central touch screen that displays estimated range along with the total number of oil barrels saved over a fossil-fueled automobile. That last tidbit is worth the $20K price increase itself, as far as we're concerned.



[Source: Tesla via World Car Fans]

There's been a horsepower war being waged between German automakers for years, and Mercedes has been one of the biggest armies on the front line. An endless succession of big V8 and twin-turbo V12 engines have seen to Benz's dominance, housed in everything from station wagons to sportscars. Following the likes of the SLR McLaren and SL65 Black Series, the latest of the latter is almost here. But while the SLS "gullwing" will shout the battle cry of the horsepower wars with typical zeal, confirmed reports now indicate that it will also offer a more peaceful solution in the form of an all-electric version.

While the conventional SLS will be powered by a 6.3-liter V8 producing 563 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, the electric version will produce the equivalent of 526hp and 649 lb-ft, offering potential buyers no excuse for sticking to the fossil-fuel-burning version once the electric model makes its debut. The electric Mercedes supercar promises to accelerate to sixty in four seconds flat, that motivation being delivered courtesy of four individual electric motors and a 48 kWh lithium ion battery pack. Given Mercedes parent company Daimler's recent investment of $50 million in Tesla, it's safe to say that the California startup will be helping out in the development, but while a launch date for the electric SLS hasn't been revealed, sources expect to see it on the road by 2015.