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Toyota’s Hybrid Supercar: Alessandro Volta

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How far could hybrid technology take us? 435 miles on 13.7 gallons. 0-60 in 4 seconds. The concept Toyota Alessandro Volta puts out 408 hp using Toyota’s 3.3L V6 and two electric motors. Designed by Italdesign:

Not the most beautiful supercar in the world, but it’s about time that something this fast and this good-looking came out using hybrid technology.

Reviews and more photos:

Auto123: Geneva Show-Goers Get Charge out of Toyota’s Volta

Automobile: Geneva 2004 – Toyota Volta by Italdesign-Guigiaro

AutoWeek: Toyota Volta concept

Ultimatecarpage: Toyota Volta (includes some interior and detail shots–watch out for the popups and interstitial ads, though)

Cars

This is the one I want

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Top Gear tells us about the new Lotus Exige. I want it.

It looks like a bad ass alien, features Lotus handling, and has a Toyota engine tweaked by Lotus:

Not that the engine is all that heavy itself, of course, being an all-alloy unit, but in conjunction with Toyota’s six-speed manual gearbox it’s the perfect companion for this latest Lotus – the company’s engineers devised a new management system for the engine, making it better suited to trackday use with top torque of 133lbf.ft coming in at a massive 6800rpm and max power arriving even further up the rev range at 7800rpm.

One major difference is that Lotus has aimed to get rid of the thump-in-the-back difference between cam profiles that’s so noticeable (and intoxicating) in the Celica. The company was keen to avoid upsetting the balance of the car; the high-speed cam comes in at around 6200rpm but stays working until you drop below 5800rpm, meaning you won’t be bumped back down to standard output during gearchanges – though with a red shift light on the dash, you should always be able to change up at exactly the right moment.

Plus it weighs just 1929 pounds, has a hard top, and gets 32.1 mpg. Cool.

More photos here.