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Our recent post about the hybrid powered Porsche GT3 Cup based endurance racer really made it hit home for me about just the how “real” the current trend towards adopting so-called “Green” technology for the racetrack is. So of course the very next thing my brain does is wonder just how far it might go. We’ve already got a compelling case of the Greens in top level racing. Sure the adoption of so-called “Green Tech” in motorsports so far is arguably more about competition than conscience but whatever the reason is there’s no arguing against the fact that it’s happening.
Chances are that you’re already pretty familiar with the Audi R10 TDI and Peugeot 908 HDi diesel powered cars which have dominated LeMans and ALMS for the past few years. The same proably goes for last year’s McLaren and BMW F1 cars, which used the controversial (albeit optional) KERS technology to good effect, winning races and podium spots in 2009 even though Brawn GP snatched the Championship win in the end. At less exotic levels, we’ve also seen diesel powered SEATs, Volkswagens and BMW Touring Cars doing well in numerous endurance events around the world as well.
Meanwhile on the streets, we’ve got tuners going ga-ga for E85/ethanol and getting insane power out of turbodiesls by way of simple chip tuning, while electric motored Tesla Roadsters and Ariel Atoms slay exotics on the dragstrip.
The writing’s on the wall then. But how far might this go? This very question was posed in 2008 to some of the top car designers in the automotive industry as a part of the LA Auto Show’s Annual Design Challenge.
To raise as many questions as they answer then, here’s what the best car designers in the world have to say.
theshadow
