Articles by Nelson Ireson

Hybrids, even plug-ins, are trying to be fun these days. But can they also be useful for more than ripping off righteous 'Ring laps and waddling back and forth from the grocery store? Say, perhaps, some mild off-roading while toting a team's worth of peewee-league soccer players and gear? Perhaps.At least, that appears to be the idea behind the BMW Concept X5 eDrive, due to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show next month. The Concept X5 eDrive sport activity vehicle (SAV) claims economy of 3.8 L/100 km, speeds up to 120km/h on electricity alone, and an all-electric range of up to 30.5km. At the same time, BMW says the Concept X5 eDrive will hit 100km/h in just 7.0 seconds.BMW Concept X5 eDrive plug-in hybridThat sounds very efficient while remaining useful, though the Ford C-Max Energi is, too, despite its C-Max Hybrid sibling's EPA gas mileage woes--but it's not exactly off-road worthy. There's also the Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-In Hybrid. In other words, there's still a lot of room in the market for a larger, luxury plug-in hybrid SUV. But BMW needs to act quickly, as Porsche has its own plug-in Cayenne planned.The BMW Concept X5 eDrive's 67kW electric motor is setup in synchronous drive with the four-cylinder turbocharged combustion engine (of unstated power output) so it's able to drive the all-wheel drive X5 by itself, or add its output as a power boost for sporty bursts of acceleration. In addition to all-electric and hybrid modes, the Concept X5 eDrive also offers a "Save Battery" mode, which maintains the current battery charge.As for the new plug-in hybrid SAV's style, it's shod in aerodynamically optimized 21-inch alloy wheels, special roof rails, and Silverflake metallic paint. The kidney grille slats, air intake bars, and rear bumper inlay get BMW i Blue paint for contrast.www.motorauthority.com 

Hybrids, for a long time, were synonymous with everything that isn't fun about driving--commutes, traffic, gas mileage, and penny pinching. Lately, they've taken on a new high-performance sheen, perhaps nowhere as much so as at Ferrari.The LaFerrari hypercar is, put simply, obscene in its perversion of hybrid technology. We love it. It's a 708kW, no-all-electric-mode, sub-three-second-to-100km/h, more than 350-km/h-top-speed, this-clearly-isn't-about-saving-the-planet hybrid. But don't call it an electric car, or Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo might get a bit cross with you.Why? According to Bloomberg, di Montezemolo doesn't believe in electric cars. Presumably, that means he finds them unsuitable to Ferrari's mission of exclusive performance rather than merely unsuitable for reality.With examples like the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive out setting sub-8-minute Nordschleife laps, it's clear EVs can be made quick, if not quite truly fast, but then you'd expect it of a 560kW/1000Nm supercar, whatever fuel delivers that power. Unfortunately, the maximum range of the (roughly) US$550,000 SLS AMG Electric Drive is just 250km even with much more temperate use, and it takes about 20 hours to charge without the optional quick charger. Perhaps that's what di Montezemolo is talking about.Ferrari, meanwhile, is already joined at the upper end of the exotic hybrid segment with the McLaren P1 knocking out similar acceleration and top speed figures, despite sporting just 673kW, and the Porsche 918 Spyder making do with 653kW yet still achieving similar performance.Whose machine will reign supreme? Allez hybrids!www.motorauthority.com 

Killing the planet has never looked this awesome, except for every time a raced-out big rig does its physics-defying thing. Here, the big rig is a Banks Super Turbo race truck, and it's being piloted up Pikes Peak by Mike Ryan.Chugging a cloud of exhaust that would make a steam train jealous, the supercharged and turbocharged drift truck, dug up via BangShift, attacks the climb to the clouds with verve and vigour, eliciting cheers from the crowd and flex from its sidewalls that makes our bones hurt, all the while emitting a piercing, whining scream that is surely the oxidised distillate of wailing and gnashing Prius owners everywhere.Screw the climate change, check out the direction changes of this mega-rally truck, then go light a pile of tires on fire. It's the least you can do to contribute.www.motorauthority.com Pikes Peak 2013 Banks Super Turbo Race Semi Gymkhana Drift Truck Size Matters from Serg Korchinskiy on Vimeo.

Rumours and reports about what to expect of the 2015 Ford Mustang -- the one we'll see here in Australia -- have flown around the web in a flurry for months, if not years, and whatever the hype may lack in accuracy, it makes up for in spirit. Today, we have our most revealing spy shots of the upcoming muscle car.They show the sixth-generation Mustang, or the S550 as it’s referred to internally, hitting a race track in prototype form devoid of the heavy camouflage seen on earlier prototypes -- and revealing the face of the 2015 Mustang for the first time.The prototype is far from complete, so many of the details may change before production. However, we can clearly see a family resemblance with other Ford overseas products. The shape of the headlights and grille, in particular, are very similar to those found on the latest Ford Taurus.The look is aggressive and shares traits with both the modern Evos concept of 2011 and the current Mustang. Though the rest of the prototype remains camouflaged, the shots confirm, at least, that the 2015 Mustang will feature familiar pony car proportions. The prototype has a sleeker and more planted stance, however, and both its roof and shoulder line appear to sit lower than they do on the current car.As has been reported in the past, the car's styling should maintain distinct Mustang cues but with some influences from the Evos. Losing the retro flavour is a key strategy in widening the car’s global appeal. Yes, Ford has confirmed the 2015 Mustang will be sold globally in accordance with its 'One Ford' policy, and for Australia backed that up with the recent announcement in Sydney that it would definitely arrive in Aussie showrooms.Under the sheet metal lies a brand new platform with an independent suspension setup in the rear instead of the live axle that’s been traditionally fitted to the Mustang. Combine this with an expected lighter curb weight, possibly to the tune of 181kg less, and the 2015 Mustang promises to improve on the current model’s performance and handling substantially.As for the 2015 Mustang’s model lineup, we expect the Mustang GT to remain, still with a 5.0-litre V-8 under the hood, while the base Mustang with a V-6 should also carry over. A new turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder model is also expected, possibly to fill the gap between the base Mustang and Mustang GT and provide an option for buyers in markets (read Europe) where fuel prices are significantly high.A range-topping SVT model to succeed the Shelby GT500 is a given, but it may no longer carry the Shelby name or even come with a supercharger. Reports claim Ford will dig into its long list of storied nameplates for the new top dog, with Cobra looking most likely at the moment.Dates for the 2015 Mustang, like the details, are still far from certain. We expect it to hit dealerships sometime between spring and summer, 2014, with a reveal most likely taking place in the lead up to the Mustang nameplate's 50th anniversary on April 17 of that year. The 2014 Detroit Auto Show in January looks like a prime setting.www.motorauthority.com  

Jaguar is once again considering launching a front-wheel-drive compact to help lower its fleet-wide average fuel economy and better compete with its German rivals, all of which already offer such models and have even more in the pipeline. Of course, Jaguar still has to catch up on its rivals by launching a successor to its X-Type, which -- thankfully -- is already in development, but at the same time it has to make preparations for its next generation of cars.The reason behind the need for such cars is strict new fuel economy and emissions regulations coming into play over the next decade. In Europe any automaker producing more than 300,000 cars annually will have to average CO2 emissions of 95 grams per kilometer by 2020 -- and politicians are looking to make the laws even stricter.The last time we heard about Jaguar considering a front-wheel-drive compact was two years ago. Back then we said any ‘baby’ Jag would need to be both fuel efficient and desirable enough to sell in quantities to offset Jaguars with less impressive fuel economy.However, the biggest hurdle for Jaguar would be sourcing a suitable platform for the car, reports Autocar. Developing the platform in-house is unlikely to be profitable for Jaguar given the expected sales volumes and low margins on compact cars. Alternatives include developing a new platform with parent company Tata or borrowing the platform of a rival automaker.So what would a front-wheel-drive compact from Jaguar look like? The automaker’s design boss Ian Callum has said it doesn’t necessarily have to be a hatchback, suggesting it could be a coupe or even a small sedan.www.thecarconnection.com 

The Acura NSX concept car has been tantalising us with its clean lines and promised performance for well over a year now, but what we’re most interested in is the final production version due out in 2015.We’re glad to report that the new NSX has passed from concept to prototype stage and has since made its dynamic debut, wowing audiences during the past weekend’s Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. The prototype lapped the 2.4-mile winding road course, driven by one of the car’s engineers.Its debut at the Ohio race track is a significant one, as the Midwestern state is where this second generation of the NSX sports car is being developed and where it is destined to be produced. Why not Japan? The team behind the NSX explains that the car is first and foremast an Acura, and since the U.S. is the primary market for Acura it is only natural the car is developed here.Compared to the previous concept versions, some of the details on this prototype have been simplified, or, as in the case of the side mirrors, brought into the realm of legal and practical reality. Some of the car’s lines are also likely to change as development progresses, all in order to optimise aerodynamic efficiency.That means this isn’t the last we'll see of the prototype before it transitions to production. You can bet it will be taken to Germany to be honed on the gruelling Nürburgring.While the exterior is yet to be finalised, Acura tells us the car’s advanced hybrid powertrain is virtually done. The NSX's drivetrain will pair a mid-mounted V-6 with three electric motors and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, resulting in a through-the-road all-wheel-drive hybrid setup.Called the Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, or Sport Hybrid SH-AWD for short, the setup will offer multiple driving modes, sophisticated torque vectoring and the ability to instantly deliver negative and positive torque to the front wheels during cornering to achieve a new level of driving performance unparalleled to current traction systems.Can the reality of Acura's new NSX live up to the legend of the original as well as the hype of the concept? With an extended prototype development phase beginning now before market launch, expected sometime in 2015, we’ll have plenty of opportunity to find out.www.motorauthority.com 

It was only a few months ago that Lamborghini founded its Squadra Corse department to handle its motorsport activities, including its one-make series, the Blancpain Super Trofeo. The Super Trofeo race series spawned its own special-edition racing Gallardo, and now the Squadra Corse department has given us another. Also based on the Gallardo Super Trofeo, the Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse is a road-going car that leverages technology and weight savings from race car, including extensive use of aluminium and carbon fibre, high-downforce aerodynamics, and quick-release engine cover. The engine is the same V10 used in the race car, accelerating the car to 100 km/h in just 3.4 seconds and to 200 mph in 10.4 seconds. Top speed is 320 km/h. The quick acceleration isn't just about power, however, as Lamborghini has managed to cut the Squadra Corse's weight by about 70 kg compared to the Gallardo LP 560-4. Like the Super Trofeo race cars, the LP 570-4 Squadra Corse is all-wheel drive, and comes standard with the robotised e-gear six-speed transmission operated by steering wheel paddles. The design of the car is intended to highlight the brand's Italian roots, with a decal strip along the flank of each car in the colours of the Italian flag: green, white, and red. Available exterior colours are yellow, white, grey, and red, with a matte black rear wing and high-gloss treatments for the hood, intakes, wheels, and rear diffuser. Inside each Squadra Corse is a minimalist interior finished principally in carbon fibre and Alcantara. The Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse will make its world debut at the Frankfurt motor show this September and is expected to be the last Gallardo variant before the car's successor arrives.  

Have you ever wished your transmission were smarter? We're not talking about a dual-clutch or a paddle-shift automatic, but a manual. No? Well, maybe you should have. Ford has developed a smart shift knob for manual transmissions (in this case, a 2013 Shelby Mustang GT500), that can help drivers learn how to shift properly. It's not available for purchase, as it's a Ford engineer's project using the company's OpenXC research platform--but the project is open-source, and the design files and firmware are available for download. So you can make one for yourself. So how does it work? It takes a haptic vibration motor from an Xbox 360 controller and a Bluetooth link to the car's data output and packages them all into a fairly compact shift knob. Then the system senses the car's rpm and speed, and vibrates to tell the driver it's time to shift. Engineer Zachary Nelson also says it could be modified to vibrate to indicate other information, including the optimal shift points for gas mileage. While the knob itself might not have all that much use for us--or for most people in the real world--the idea that a car maker is developing and prototyping products, then releasing those designs into the wild for further development by the automotive community, is downright amazing. www.motorauthority.com    

This is our latest look at the upcoming 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe -- or is it a new 2015 CL-Class? Whichever name it has, the newest images come to us not by way of a spy photographer, but via Steve Cannon, Mercedes-Benz USA's CEO, during testing in Death Valley.A name change for the latest generation of the big luxury coupe has been rumored for several years, but a label on a key ring shown in the interior of one of the prototypes has the inscription "CL 217" written on. The previous CL-Class was internally referenced as the C216 and the one before it was the C215.Whether the final version is called a CL or adopts the new S-Class Coupe moniker remains to be seen, but what is known is that the car will trail the recently unveiled 2014 S-Class sedan by less than a year, arriving in the middle of 2014, likely just ahead of the debut of a brand new S-Class Cabriolet also in the works. A stretched S-Class 'Pullman' limo should also arrive next year.From what we can gather from these prototype photos, the new S-Class Coupe is a bit more athletic and trim at the rear end, compared to the current CL-Class.At the nose, it's adopting more of the recent redesigns seen on other Mercedes models, though a bit more dramatic than is typical for the conservatively styled S-Class sedan, with a slightly more protruding grille area, swept-back headlights, and a domed, sculpted hood.Inside, the look matches that of the cabin found in the 2014 S-Class sedan, though there are some subtle differences. This prototype has a three-spoke steering wheel instead of the two-spoke unit fitted to the sedan. It's also missing the clock located in between the central air-conditioner units on the sedan.A new modular platform, codenamed "MRA", will underpin the entire S-Class range, enabling the construction of additional variants such as the coupe and cabrio while retaining the common styling and mechanical elements. The MRA platform is expected to offer revised suspension design for improved ride and handling, while also shedding weight through greater use of high-tensile steels, aluminum, and composites.Under the bonnet, we expect some of the same engines shared with other next-generation S-Class vehicles including a twin-turbocharged, 335kW V8 for the S550 Coupe and possibly a twin-turbo V12 rated in excess of 380 kW for an S600 model. Hybrid and AMG variants of the S-Class Coupe may be in the works, though neither is a certainty.As always, the next-generation S-Class remains a leader in the in-car technology category, from safety to infotainment, and the S-Class Coupe will share in that bounty. From the autonomous driving ability that will be an industry first in a production car, to collision-avoidance and park assist, to the latest iteration of COMAND, the S-Class forges new territory while covering all of the existing bases.We should know more about this coupe version as we approach the car’s reveal around the middle of 2014.www.motorauthority.com 

The Acura NSX Concept has been tantalizing us with its clean lines and promised performance for well over a year now, but the latest official photo from Acura shows it has moved from concept to prototype status.This first look at the new NSX prototype, from Acura's official Twitter account, shows a car that very closely resembles the concept. Some of the details have been simplified, or, as in the case of the side mirrors, brought into the realm of legal and practical reality.This isn't the last we'll see of the new NSX prototype before it transitions to production, of course. In fact, the car's first public track outing will be held August 4, at Mid-Ohio, during the Indy 200 weekend.The NSX's hybrid system will pair a mid-mounted V6 with three electric motors, resulting in a through-the-road all-wheel-drive hybrid setup. A dual-clutch transmission will handle shifts.Can the reality of Acura's new NSX live up to the legend of the original as well as the hype of the concept? With an extended prototype development phase beginning now before market launch, expected sometime in 2015, we should have plenty of opportunity to find out soon.www.motorauthority.com