A fatal attraction

Is the latest generation of supercars locked in an endgame with climate change and legislators, or do developing technologies mean that new models will steer us towards a brighter future? Rob Scorah finds out whether a supercar can ever be kind on the environment

For many of us, it’s a relationship that started in childhood. An uncle or family friend had one, or we would play Top Trumps where pictures and statistics about their supernatural powers and exploits were swapped and savoured. Later, their glowing posters lifted the gloom of our student rooms, and as we walked to our first jobs, we would sneak a sideways glance into the showrooms at their shining, powerful forms. Yes, the world’s great sports cars have always had us in their thrall.

Over the decades, their collective persona has become ever more deeply embedded in our motoring psyche. Somewhere in the mid-1960s, something happened: a coming together of feminine curves with a wide hunkered-down muscularity, big engines and fatter tyres. In 1965 came the last, seven-litre evolution of the archetypal sports car, the AC Cobra. A year later, the sensuous Lamborghini Miura appeared at the Geneva Motor Show, the first to earn the sobriquet “supercar”. And with every successive season, the great marques—Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and the rest—have upped the ante in their game of ultimate performance.

But it is ironic that our infatuation grows stronger as the alarm bells of climate change ring louder. Is there a way forward for sports-car drivers with a green conscience, or are they, along with the manufacturers, on a suicidal collision course with legislators and environmentalists?

There is certainly some achingly seductive machinery on the market for 2008, with Ferrari, Bentley and others launching new incarnations of their current models. But, though all are up on power—yet again—there are subtle and increasing concessions to a delicately balanced climate. Along with the other big brands, Jaguar has made much of its eco-credentials, investing in high-performance diesel engines and lightweight aluminium bodies, as with the XK (pictured right). Indeed, Jaguar’s XJ was named “Greenest Luxury Car” in the Environmental Transport Association 2007 Car Buyers’ Guide.

Jaguar’s UK managing director, Geoff Cousins, says: “We recognise our responsibility to the environment and are committed to playing our role in developing solutions to address climate change.” So, the manufacturers it seems are doing their best to future-proof the idea of the supercar against climate-change legislation.

Not least among these is Bentley, which has produced luxury performance cars since motoring’s earliest days. Many would consider the Bentley GT more of a grand routier than an out-and-out sportster, but the new GT Speed’s ability to top 200mph (in supreme comfort) puts it in the company of Lamborghinis and Ferraris, as does its £137,500 price tag. This gentleman pugilist of a car punches out 600bhp from its 6-litre V12 engine and will bolt through the 60mph marker in 4.3 seconds. But its 48bhp and 74ft lb of torque increase in performance over the previous model come at a reduction of 3.5 per cent in CO2 emission. Fuel consumption is down, too. It won’t halt glacial melting on its own, but 10 years ago no manufacturer would have thought it necessary to make such claims, and the achievement is part of a wider philosophy by the company. “Bentley is committed to reducing CO2 emissions and its overall impact,” says a spokesman. “We are in the early planning phase of our longer-term product strategy to examine options including hybrids, diesel engines and alternative fuels.” 

Behind the scenes—and aware of its image as a symbol of high consumption—Bentley has also reduced its factory’s gas, water and electricity usage by 23 per cent, is recycling more waste and has cut emissions, all in a period where its car production has increased significantly.

The theme of adding more by subtraction is continued at Ferrari, which has just launched the £172,500 F430 Scuderia, the latest development of its highly regarded V8-engined coupé. This car costs £50k more than the normal F430, but the power increase of 20bhp to 503bhp and the torque rise of just 4lb ft to 346lb don’t reflect the leap forward in handling and energy and power management it represents. The Scuderia’s F1-derived transmission can shift gear in just 60 milliseconds, which is as fast as Ferrari’s 2004 grand prix car, while the “E-diff” and traction control allow a driver to power the car though corners as it works out the best way to exit the turn, aided by better airflow that enhances down force and road-holding.

Like the Bentley, the Ferrari F430 Scuderia does all this while using less fuel than its predecessor, and its aluminium and carbon fibre construction is some 100kg lighter. Although this represents good progress, it is in another car—Ferrari’s “Mille Chili” concept—that we see where the company’s future and that of many sports and supercars may lie. The Mille Chili looks like a cut-down Enzo, though it’s almost a metre shorter and 300kg lighter. Much of the saving in length comes from an F1-style carbon crash structure in the nose, which is light and can be made around 20 per cent shorter, because it absorbs energy more efficiently. The car’s lower, unsprung weight would also improve handling and allow for smaller, lighter wheels (you can hear Cobra owners howling). And Ferrari has been working on active aerodynamics—so-called “synthetic jets” that open and close in the car’s underbody to alter the airflow instantly, either reducing drag to improve speed (and aerodynamic efficiency), or increasing it to assist braking. This, combined with higher friction ceramics, allows the brakes to be reduced in size and weight, dispensing with the need for a heavy brake booster.

The less-is-more theme is extrapolated throughout the car, with new materials and developments giving more power and performance for less energy used and at a lower environmental cost. In order to meet looming emissions legislation of 120g CO2 per km by 2012, Ferrari is also said to be looking at hybrid power units, but little of the Mille Chili’s comprehensive package of innovations is yet with us.

So are there other high-end sports cars we can buy now that take the green crusade further, while still pushing the performance envelope?
Alternative fuels for relatively conventional engines are one of the most immediate options available, with at least two choices allaying sports-car enthusiasts’ worst fears about dull biofuelled four-wheelers.

The Trident Iceni R is a high quality Jaguar/TVR-esque bespoke two-seater that utilises a modified General Motors diesel, V8 engine as the basis for its 6-litre, twin-turbo, biodiesel-fuelled power unit. With a hefty 450hp being fed to the back wheels through an eight-speed paddle-shift, semi-automatic gearbox, it shoots from zero to 60mph in 3.9 seconds and will go on to a claimed 230mph.

The extra gears allow the car to make full use of the diesel engine’s power, which produces much of its torque in the lower rev range, as well as helping to achieve an estimated 60mpg. The £60,000 British Trident’s body is made from long-lasting Kevlar carbon-fibre body and the company guarantees the stainless-steel chassis for 100 years. That should give you a chance to collect the 10 or more you would need to trade in against another biofuelled performance crusader—the Koenigsegg CCXR.

With its price tag of around £690,000, no-one would argue with the Swedish Koenigsegg’s credentials as one of the most formidable (and expensive) supercars of our time—1004bhp in a car that weighs the same as a Mini sees to that. A 0-60mph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of over 240mph can be taken as a given, but what really marks the car out as a Titan is its single-minded nature, from its driving position, road manners and sound, to the fact that you have to bend to its nature. The great sports cars have at best tolerated their owners, and many enthusiasts would not have it any other way, but will the new, cleaned-up automotive world tolerate the likes of the Koenigsegg?

The Swedish rocket runs on bioethanol E85, which is 15 per cent petrol and 85 per cent alcohol. It is argued that such a car leaves a 50 per cent smaller carbon footprint by virtue of such factors as the grain (used to make the fuel) absorbing CO2 when it’s grown. This offsets the CO2 produced in combustion. But if a high proportion of road cars were to use this fuel, it could upset worldwide grain prices, leaving fragile economies unable to buy corn or flour, or spark an ecological debacle of its own, as forests are cleared for corn growing. Is there nowhere for eco-friendly fans of performance cars to turn? How about electricity?

Electric and supercar are not two words that go together well. Electric and milk float or golf cart maybe, but electric sports car isn’t an easy one, and that image problem could hinder the uptake of such vehicles. Range is another weak point, with 125 miles being about the limit between charges. But, if you need persuading that electric sports cars are a potent tool, the American Tesla and the British Lightning make a very convincing argument.

The Tesla Roadster was designed in conjunction with Lotus’s own studio and is based on the chassis of that company’s Elise. The Tesla’s pure, two-seater sports-car looks dispel any thoughts of golf carts, while on the road the car is reported to be more or less the equal of the Elise (though on a track it might be different). The Tesla uses an AC-induction electric motor generating 248hp, giving it a 0-60mph time of under four seconds and a top speed of 125mph—enough in the real world most of the time. At present this car is only available in the US and costs around $98,000.

The British-built Lightning is what one of the firm’s directors, Chris Dell, describes as “a big GT”, and in it we see those long, flowing muscular curves so beloved of the British marques. The car is based on the company’s current petrol-engined models. Both offer a conventional, modern driving environment. “It will change people’s perceptions,” affirms Dell. “It’s what electric cars have been wanting until now.”

The Lightning’s silhouette may suggest a classic British sports car, but its £150,000 price tag puts it firmly in modern Ferrari territory, and under the carbon-fibre/Kevlar body the technology is cutting edge. Four 120kw permanent magnet motors located in the wheels provide over 700bhp in permanent all-wheel drive and feature kinetic energy recovery systems that recycle energy used in braking to recharge the battery. With so much power so well controlled, it’s no surprise that the Lightning reaches 60mph in four seconds, though like the other electric sportsters, it tops out a modest 130mph. Its range however is a more useful 250 miles.

One characteristic of the electric cars is the immediate, on-tap nature of the power; there’s no waiting for an engine to reach its optimum power band—just roll it on. And rolling on the power has always been so much part of the sports car experience, coupled with the enjoyment of a multi-cylinder engine in full cry. So how will drivers react when that visceral howl is reduced to an impartial hum? More than any of the others, electric sports cars challenge our assumptions of what it is that we enjoy in a supercar.

Numerous technologies are emerging that will carry us as fast and as far as we want, but whether we will desire them as much as our more explosive warhorses remains to be seen. Still, we could have a lot of fun finding out.