The Audi e-tron Spyder sports car study makes its world public debut at the Paris Motor Show this weekend as the press get a sneaky preview today.

The  two seat open sports car is a plug-in hybrid which capable of delivering 128mpg  fuel economy and emits a tiny 59g/km of CO2 from its 300PS twin-turbo V6 TDI engine and twin electric motors.

Despite its amazingly low emissions, the car has all the performance you would expect from an Audi sports car. With a 300PS, bi-turbo version of latest 3.0-litre TDI engine and two electric motors developing 64kW, the car has a total the combined torque of 1,002Nm which enables it to complete a 0-62mph sprint in 4.4 seconds, up to a top speed of 155mph. A range of more than 621 miles is possible with the 50-litre tank.

The Audi e-tron Spyder’s low total weight of only around 1,450 kilograms combines with a powerful 650Nm torque output to deliver amazing performance and super fuel efficiency. Thanks to its full hybrid technology, the open sports car can also drive strictly on electric power for zero tailpipe emissions over distances of up to 31.07 miles and at speeds of up to 37.28mph – an obvious benefit in urban areas.

Another impressive display at the Paris Motor Show this week comes from Kia as the show opens today for a press preview ahead of its public opening on Saturday (October 2).

The Korean carmaker has an amazing line-up of eco concepts and fuel efficient pre-production cars. Today, it debuts its new Optima pre-production car for the first time in Europe. The D-segment saloon, first seen at the New York International Auto Show back in April this year, is to go on sale in Europe in mid-to-late-2011. Designed to increase the car maker’s presence in the sector, it is hoped the car will help the brand blow away pre-conceptions of its vehicle range as the car becomes its most premium vehicle yet, likely to appeal to the business car sector.

The engine choices available with the new model will comprise of either a new highly-efficient ‘U2’ 1.7-litre VGT diesel engine which produces 136 ps and promises best-in-class emissions (113 g/km when fitted with Kia’s fuel-stretching ISG Start/Stop system) or an all-new technically-advanced ‘Nu’ 2.0-litre CVVL (continuously variable valve lift) gasoline engine producing 170 ps.

Meanwhile the car maker will also be showing its Pop concept electric car as previously announced (see story). The three metres long, three seat vehicle is an all-electric car with lightweight lithium polymer gel battery. The car produces 50 kW (equivalent to 68 ps) and has a top speed of 140km and range of 160km. It can be recharged in six hours or in just 30 minutes using a quick charge.

Finally in its extensive showcase is the brand’s new line-up of EcoDynamics vehicles. In total three new models from Kia will feature in the ‘Green Zone’ of the Paris show. The innovative trio, Eco cee’d, Eco Venga and Sportage (a mild hybrid), have significantly reduced CO₂ emissions – down to just 94, 114 and 117 g/km respectively.  Whilst the Eco Venga is destined for production later in 2010, the Eco cee’d and Sportage (Mild Hybrid) are just concepts at this stage. All the cars feature the car maker’s ISG system just like the Optima to eek out the miles to the gallon and use fuel efficient engines such as the ‘U2’ family 1.4-litre diesel engine.

As the Paris Motor Show opens to the world’s motoring press this morning, a bombardment of news emerges of innovative new green car concepts and production-ready models.

Searching through the mire of product information one car in particular catches the eye- Peugeot’s new HR1 concept (is it me, or does the name make you think of HRT?)

This exciting new vision from the French car maker combines the current crave for crossover vehicles with the car maker’s new HYbrid4 technology to create a functional vehicle with super-low emissions. Part city-runaround, part coupe and part SUV, the new HR1 is very much in the vein of Range Rover’s new Evoque model, Nissan’s Qashqai and Juke models and Hyundai’s ix35. Yet the environmental figures for this model are in a whole other class compared to the current competition-Peugeot project that using its hybrid system the car will achieve 81 mpg and emit just 80g/km of CO2.

That’s not the only remarkable thing about this new crossover, the car also features a clever hands-free control system which controls the audio, satellite navigation and air con systems. A “movement recognition” system allows the driver to scroll through functions and select available settings with a simple movement of the hand. The driver can also select, at his discretion, the preferred type of information to be displayed in the instrument panel: rev counter, water and oil temperature during “dynamic driving”, or tourist information when “cruising”. The front passenger, meanwhile, benefits from a mobile PC tablet which allows data to be shared and exchanged with the driver’s display.

Design-wise, the HR1 contains stylistic cues taken from the SR1 concept car and RCZ coupe to give the vehicle an ‘athletic, powerful and dynamic presence’.

Using Peugeot’s new HYbrid4 system, the car features an internal combustion engine at the front and an electric motor at the rear, allowing it to be driven in “zero emissions” mode in town at low speed, or with both “engines” together, providing four-wheel drive capability where challenging surfaces warrants it.

Under the bonnet, the internal combustion engine which drives the front wheels is a new three cylinder petrol unit. It has a capacity of 1.2 litres and, using Peugeot’s THP technology, produces 110 bhp. Linked to a 37 bhp electric motor the car has a maximum potential power output of 147 bhp. The electronically-controlled 6-speed manual gearbox (with control paddles on the steering wheel and a centrally mounted gear lever) coupled with this power train is designed to offer maximum control and minimised fuel consumption.

A shocking study by a team from the University of Cambridge and MIT is attributing an incredible 8,000 premature mortalities a year to aircraft cruise emissions.

The paper, published in Environmental Science and Technology, reports that the nitrogen and sulphur oxides emitted by aircraft react with gases already in the atmosphere to form harmful particulate matter.

Regulators have assumed that aircraft emissions above 3,000ft, where there is significantly smoother air, wouldn’t be affected by turbulent air that could mix them towards the ground. This means that even though 90 per cent of aircraft emissions take place while cruising; only those during take off and landing are regulated. 

However, this study suggests that cruise emissions are contributing a significant fraction of aircraft-accountable ground-level pollutant concentrations. According to simulations, aircraft cruise emissions are implicated in premature mortality with meridional and zonal circulation patterns at cruise altitudes displacing impacts from flight paths by several thousand kilometres. In addition, the researchers noted that the impact of landing and take-off emissions is more than likely under-resolved.

The altitude and region of the atmosphere at which aircraft emissions are deposited during cruising means the extent of trans-boundary air pollution is particularly strong. Authors suggest that strong zonal westerly winds and the interaction of aircraft-attributable aerosol precursors with background ammonia gives rise to an estimated 3,500 premature mortalities a year in China and India combined. It is also found that nitrogen oxide emissions increase the air quality impacts of aviation. Therefore they have suggested that cruise emissions be considered during the development of policies and technologies.

We may be inching closer towards electrification in the automobile industry but that doesn’t mean the writing is on the wall for liquid transportation fuels just yet.

Dr Steven E Koonin, the under secretary for science at the US Department of Energy, has noted that liquid fuels “are going to be with us for quite a while, a number of decades” and suggested “we need to learn how to use liquid fuels more efficiently than in the past”.

Believing it to be a matter of physics, he highlighted that a liquid fuel is about 50 times better than the best batteries we can make now and that for transportation that is a “primary consideration”. However, he is hoping that steps can be made towards using liquid fuels in a more efficient manner such as through the development of the next generation of internal combustion technologies.

He believes that computer modelling is one of the key factors to producing more fuel efficient internal combustion engines. He stated that around 15 years ago the US government embarked on a deliberate programme to accelerate high stockpile and to develop methodologies to combine computing with experimental and historic test data to determine what goes on inside nuclear weapons. Now this high performance computing could be made available to other uses such as energy systems.

After his comments, a paper was presented at DEER by Daniel Flowers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It highlighted the magnitude of the computation challenge while researching chemical kinetics of diesel fuels and developing mechanisms for long-chain species. Flowers outlined work in new computing architectures as a way to improve both simulation and modelling efficiency.

The residents of Austin, Texas, have taken to the concept of a car club in their droves with 10,000 drivers signing up for the car2go mobility programme.

Just four months after its launch on May 21, 2010, more than 80,000 rentals have been completed throughout the greater downtown Austin area with average use lasting between 30 and 60 minutes. Customers’ ages range from college students to retirees, but around 50 per cent of users have been between 18 and 35 years old.

The reasons for using the car2go scheme vary too and include trips to work, weekend excursions and shopping trips. There are also several business customers involved in the scheme such as the City of Austin, downtown real estate firm urbanspace, the State of Texas and LIVESTRONG.

Spyker-owned car maker Saab is set to benefit from BMW’s fuel saving know-how after the German manufacturer agreed to supply engines to the newly re-launched brand.

The previously GM-owned and loss-making firm is seeking to improve its range of vehicles and the deal with BMW should help it produce cars that are more fuel efficient and produce lower emissions- which should help broaden their appeal in these austere times.

Under the new purchase, supply and development agreement, BMW will supply Saab with 4-cylinder 1.6 litre turbocharged petrol engines from 2012. The 4-cylinder engine with latest fuel savings technologies such as start-stop functionality will help reduce fuel consumption and cut CO2 emissions.

Announcing the deal, Saab Automobile CEO Jan Åke Jonsson said: “It gives me great pleasure to confirm this exciting new relationship. BMW’s engines and their fuel savings innovations are widely regarded as a benchmark in the premium segment. We look forward to integrating this technology into our next-generation vehicles in a true Saab way.”

“We are delighted to support Saab with our engine expertise. Our engines have a clear lead over the competition when it comes to fuel consumption, emissions and performance,” Ian Robertson, the Executive Sales and Marketing Director of BMW added.

Both companies have agreed not to disclose any financial or contract volume details.

European car maker Opel (known as Vauxhall in the UK) has joined forces with electric mobility and intelligent energy project MeRegioMobil to help advance future mobility solutions. The car maker has provided three electric demo versions of its Meriva vehicles to help study how the project’s intelligent charging technologies can be used by electric cars.

The project, funded by the German Ministry of Economics and Technology, is designed to develop methods of integrating electric vehicles as mobile energy storage units into a intelligent power grid (or smart grid). Based in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the project’s consortium of firms, including energy supplier EnBW, Opel, Daimler, Bosch and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT);  are working together to establish a network of charging points in the region. 

The electric Meriva features electronic controls which permit high power electrical refuelling using both a 230-volt household current as well as 400 volt three-phase AC. The system is designed so that it can recharge whenever electricity from renewable sources such as wind or solar energy is available and economical.

Conversely, the demonstration will also explore the capability of the car to feed power back into the grid via the bi-directional charging system when the car is not in use and the driver permits it. This demonstration of two-way charging technology will test the practicality of distributed energy storage in car batteries for home usage.

The electric Meriva has a 60kW / 82hp electric motor with torque ouput of 215 Nm. Thanks to the battery’s total energy of 16 kilowatt hours, a range of 64 km and a top speed of 130 km/h are possible.

"These demonstration vehicles, along with others GM has announced in other markets, will be used to study the practicality, user friendliness, and acceptance of electric vehicles among consumers. With our demonstration, we are making an important contribution to the definition of European standards for energy infrastructure, electricity saving technology and data communications," explained Opel’s Vice President of Engineering, Rita Forst.

French car making conglomerate, PSA Peugeot Citroen has extended its agreement with Mitsubishi to develop electric vehicles.

Already the two car makers have collaborated to allow the Peugeot and Citroen brands to produce their own versions of the Japanese car maker’s electric i-MiEV car.

Now as the i-MiEV and its clones, the Peugoet iON and Citroen C-Zero face imminent launches into the European market; the two car manufacturers announce an agreement to work together to produce electric light commercial vehicles.

The firms have signed an agreement to start the technical development of an electric version of Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo LCVs built at the PSA Vigo plant in Spain.

Under this new cooperative agreement, both partners will specify all technical and industrial aspects to be able to commence production of these electric versions by the end of 2012.

Its Corsa model is already one of the most popular small vehicles in the world but now Opel/Vauxhall is ready to get even smaller with its latest offering.

According to sources it will build an all-new small car targeted at the segment below the Corsa at its Eisenach plant in the East German state of Thuringia. It will be geared towards customers who need a small-sized fuel efficient car in urban areas but who do not want to compromise on technology and convenience.

Production of the vehicle is expected to start in 2013 and there may even be a battery electric version introduced at a later stage.

It’s the latest in a long line of boosts for the Eisenach site too, with Opel/Vauxhall having already invested €1.5billion into the factory which has around 1,600 employees currently building the three-door Corsa. It is also a boost for the plant in Zaragoza, Spain, which will receive additional Corsa volume.