Hybrid

What if our cars were zero emission for most trips plus we could use conventional fuel for long trips - at high speed... Hybrids use a combination of propulsion systems - commonly an electric motor+combustion engine - to get the best of both.

About the Organisation

GreenTomatoCars is an award-winning private taxi hire (minicab) service in London with a fleet of hybrids that are often completely emission free when used as taxis. Green Tomato also carbon-offest unavoidable emissions and have built up a huge number of loyal customers.

 

Photo

2010 Bridgestone Eco-Rally Guest Speaker: Dr Ralph Clague. After graduating from Imperial College with a BSc in Physics and an MSc in Mechanical Engineering, Ralph worked for nine years in the automotive powertrain technology sector as an analyst and designer of cutting edge internal combustion engines for the likes of McLaren F1. He then gained his PhD from Imperial College, studying the computational analysis of fuel cells and co-founded Imperial racing Green with Dr Greg Offer. At EVO, Ralph works on advanced electric and hybrid drive systems with a particular interest in control systems and battery management. He also holds the position of Research Fellow at Imperial College London.

About the Organisation

EVO Electric develops and manufactures advanced electric machines, drive systems and other integrated products for a wide range of transportation and mobile power applications.

About the Organisation

Oaktec is an engineering research and development business concentrating on the development of petrol electric hybrid technologies for motorsports and other niche vehicle applications.

About the Organisation

ITM's electrolyser and fuel cell technologies have the potential to become the cornerstones of a future hydrogen economy based on 'green' hydrogen. Their hydrogen systems are able to convert renewable energy to a clean fuel, that can be indefinitely stored for use in transport, residential and industrial applications.

Photo

Robert Llewellyn is an actor, presenter, and writer. He recently starred in  Carpool and has a huge following on YouTube and Twitter. Robert played the android Kryten in Red Dwarf and used to present Scrapheap Challenge with Lisa Rogers. Robert has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Eco-Rally since the beginning.

Golf R32 v Toyota PriusRobert's work means he needs to spend a lot of time driving so he swapped his beloved Golf R32 for a more fuel-efficient hybrid Prius and is an avid supporter of zero emission transport and lift-sharing. For the past year, he has been driving an electric Mitsubishi iMiEV and loving it.

Photo

Patrick Head is the co-founder and Director of Engineering for AT&T Williams. He is also a Director of Williams Hybrid Power Limited (WHP). Under Patrick's direction the Williams F1 team has been at the forefront of technological innovation in Formula One, including developments such as Active suspension, Semi Automatic gearboxes, and composite development.

Selection of F1 cars designed by Patrick Head

Since co-founding the Williams F1 team in 1977, the tean has grown from a staff of 17 to over 500, and has won 9 constructors titles, 7 drivers titles, and 113 Grands Prix. This engineering brilliance doesn't come without a cost and when Patrick was Technical director, he was putting in 90 or 100 hours a week.

Eco-Rally guest driver Nico Hulkenberg is a rising star in AT&T Williams and Ross Brawn is one of several top engineers who worked under Head's supervision early in their careers.

“I am very much an engineer first and a racing fan second. I love motorsport, but I’m not really a petrolhead... if somebody else sorts out the tax and insurance and it always starts when you turn the key, that’s fine by me. If I wasn’t involved in motor racing, I suppose I’d probably be doing something nautical.”    - Patrick Head

Ferrari used the Geneva Motor Show to unveil a hybrid future that it says will not only make its sports cars more efficient, but also aid their handling and performance.

Pulling the wraps off a lime green version of the 599, fitted with the Prancing Horse's new hybrid powertrain, CEO Luca di Montezemolo joked that you "don't normally see a green Ferrari" on the firm's Geneva stand but that this marked a "new direction."

Revolve Eco-Rally display in Croydon

Up until very recently, whether or not a car is "green" was less important to most British motorists than the actual colour of the paint. However, the most important factor was, and still is, price. BCA - the UK's largest used car seller, has provided proof that motorists are now making the connection between the two by discovering that there is a strong demand for hybrid/electric and LPG powered cars in the used car market. In fact they are selling well above the market price for their petrol and diesel counterparts.