Volvo announces plans to phase out gas-only engines

[ifcar]

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40505671

Starting in 2019, no new Volvo will debut without some degree of electrification (hybrid or EV). Pretty conveniently, of course, Volvo will likely have just finished redesigning its entire lineup by then.

[12,000 RPM]

Smart plan IMO. I think much of the complexity, expense and crappy sound/response of turbochargers can be eliminated via hybrids. Hopefully the tech continues to advance and e-turbos become more mainstream.

[Raza]

I am just imagining a bunch of $60,000 Galaxy Notes. Hope they come with fire extinguishers. Fiskers didn't, and look what happened to them.

For real, though, this is probably a good move. I was never going to buy a Chinese Volvo anyway, so this doesn't affect me. But, it's time for this again:

[r0tor]

It's not like the company really has any serious sporting intentions anymore... So why not

[12,000 RPM]

Yea, hybrid tech is completely incompatible with sportiness.

[GoCougs]

Bad move.

~15 years on and hybrids are DOA unless it's a Prius and electric cars are still at hobby level, all the while gas is still cheap and global warming hysteria has been beat back significantly.

[r0tor]

Yea, hybrid tech is completely incompatible with sportiness.

Mainstream buyers see hybrid and think prius.

[12,000 RPM]

Mainstream buyers see hybrid and think prius.

Mainstream buyers don't care about sportiness.

[veeman]

Since Volvo is owned by a Chinese company and the Chinese government and Chinese companies are essentially one and the same (in my mind) - Volvo is just echoing what China demands going forward.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bertelschmitt/2016/11/25/china-to-automakers-make-evs-or-die/#36f50fef4e62

On a side note, I drove my cousin's brand new red Tesla Model S over the July 4th weekend.  If I had $100,000 liquid expendable cash, I would buy that car.  That experience was so cool.   

[Galaxy]

Yea, hybrid tech is completely incompatible with sportiness.

Something akin to the MGU-H I would like to see in road cars. BMW did announce plans years ago, but apparently nothing became of it.

[r0tor]

Mainstream buyers don't care about sportiness.

... Which is why Volvo going hybrid is fine...

[r0tor]

Something akin to the MGU-H I would like to see in road cars. BMW did announce plans years ago, but apparently nothing became of it.

I've read that Mercedes is planning a hyper car with a full on F1 drivetrain

[shp4man]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, engineers, but the process of converting gasoline into rotary motion is more efficient than converting gasoline to electricity to rotary motion, right? Ya, I know about regenerative braking, but still.

[giant_mtb]

Smart plan IMO. I think much of the complexity, expense and crappy sound/response of turbochargers can be eliminated via hybrids. Hopefully the tech continues to advance and e-turbos become more mainstream.

Crappy sound?  I love listening to turbos.

[12,000 RPM]

Crappy sound?  I love listening to turbos.

Turbos sound cool, but the engines they are connected to generally don't when compared to engines without turbos.

Only exception I've seen are N/A engines with turbos strapped to them.... but this new crop of small turbo tiny cam engines is not wavy.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, engineers, but the process of converting gasoline into rotary motion is more efficient than converting gasoline to electricity to rotary motion, right? Ya, I know about regenerative braking, but still.

Not necessarily. The big benefit is in the transmission- or more importantly the ability to toss it, and allow the engine to operate at an ideal speed all the time. There is some loss, but it's much less than what you lose through the friction and nearly never ideal RPMs normal transmissions force engines to run at. Again there's good reason diesel locomotives use that exact setup.

[giant_mtb]

Turbos sound cool, but the engines they are connected to generally don't when compared to engines without turbos.

[Raza]

Yea, hybrid tech is completely incompatible with sportiness.

Yes.


"Turbos are for Camrys, Prius tech for supercars!"

[Raza]

Only exception I've seen are N/A engines with turbos strapped to them....

So....like turbo engines?

[Submariner]

Mainstream buyers see hybrid and think prius.

Is hybrid tech pushed in motorsports because it's technically better than turbocharging/extra displacement/etc or simply because it's the cool thing to do these days?

[Submariner]

I've read that Mercedes is planning a hyper car with a full on F1 drivetrain

They should just build an F1 car with a hydraulic suspension and headlamps. 

[Submariner]

So....like turbo engines?

No.  Like turbocharged engines, not engines with turbochargers.   

[cawimmer430]

I've read that Mercedes is planning a hyper car with a full on F1 drivetrain

Wut? 


Mercedes-AMG Readying Insanely Powerful 800HP Four-Door GT For 2019



It looks like Mercedes is going after the Porsche Panamera with the throttle wide open, as the latest reports say that the upcoming GT4 four-door model will offer 800hp in its top version.

Base models will be powered by the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 which will be tuned for over 600hp but Mercedes also plans a hybrid powertrain inspired by Formula 1.

This version will continue using the 4.0-liter V8 unit, only now it will be helped by an electric motor in order to produce 805hp and enable the upcoming AMG GT4 to accelerate from 0-62mph in under 3 seconds, Autocar reports.

Power will be transmitted in all four wheels, using the same all-wheel drive system that debuted with the E63 model, with the range-topping 805hp version expected for launch in 2019.

Numbers like these will put the hybrid GT4 way ahead of the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which is right now the closest thing to a rival, with its 671hp and 0-62 in 3.4 seconds.

Mercedes is planning to launch the less-insane 600hp AMG GT4 in September 2018, with prototypes already spotted on several occasions being tested at the Nurburgring.


Link: http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/mercedes-amg-readying-insanely-powerful.html

[12,000 RPM]

So....like turbo engines?

No... like an S2000 engine with a turbo on it. Very different from something like a GTI engine, which is designed around the turbocharger.

[r0tor]

Is hybrid tech pushed in motorsports because it's technically better than turbocharging/extra displacement/etc or simply because it's the cool thing to do these days?

It became popular in Lemans due to being able to make less pit stops for fuel over the 24hr race while maintaining pace with traditional engines.

F1 changed rules to ban refueling the cars during the race and put in place limits on fuel injection rates.  The hybrid tech allows them to meet those goals.


From an outright speed point of view, the hybrid tech is not needed.  In a point of view where motorsports is a tool to push technology that gets eventually transferred down to the street - then it's probably good to have.

[r0tor]

Wut? 


Mercedes-AMG Readying Insanely Powerful 800HP Four-Door GT For 2019



It looks like Mercedes is going after the Porsche Panamera with the throttle wide open, as the latest reports say that the upcoming GT4 four-door model will offer 800hp in its top version.

Base models will be powered by the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 which will be tuned for over 600hp but Mercedes also plans a hybrid powertrain inspired by Formula 1.

This version will continue using the 4.0-liter V8 unit, only now it will be helped by an electric motor in order to produce 805hp and enable the upcoming AMG GT4 to accelerate from 0-62mph in under 3 seconds, Autocar reports.

Power will be transmitted in all four wheels, using the same all-wheel drive system that debuted with the E63 model, with the range-topping 805hp version expected for launch in 2019.

Numbers like these will put the hybrid GT4 way ahead of the Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which is right now the closest thing to a rival, with its 671hp and 0-62 in 3.4 seconds.

Mercedes is planning to launch the less-insane 600hp AMG GT4 in September 2018, with prototypes already spotted on several occasions being tested at the Nurburgring.


Link: http://www.carscoops.com/2017/07/mercedes-amg-readying-insanely-powerful.html

Actually, a bit more insanity is rumored...
http://jalopnik.com/mercedes-will-give-you-a-street-legal-f1-engine-for-3-1793185285

[cawimmer430]

Actually, a bit more insanity is rumored...
http://jalopnik.com/mercedes-will-give-you-a-street-legal-f1-engine-for-3-1793185285

Gotta love how the "engine will only last for 31,000 miles" literally starts up a discussion on how a Corolla/Camry is a better car...   

It's almost 2018 and Jalopnik has a comments section that is still stuck in the stone age. 

[Raza]

No... like an S2000 engine with a turbo on it. Very different from something like a GTI engine, which is designed around the turbocharger.

Oh, I see.

[Morris Minor]

Since Volvo is owned by a Chinese company and the Chinese government and Chinese companies are essentially one and the same (in my mind) - Volvo is just echoing what China demands going forward.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bertelschmitt/2016/11/25/china-to-automakers-make-evs-or-die/#36f50fef4e62

This. China does not like importing oil. It's a strategic weakness. They're addressing it by switching to EVs powered by coal, of which they have plenty.

[veeman]

This. China does not like importing oil. It's a strategic weakness. They're addressing it by switching to EVs powered by coal, of which they have plenty.

Yes.  Also, air quality is a big issue there and govt authorities are starting to address it.  When half your cities population walks around outside with a white face mask, it's not a good look.

[Galaxy]

They're addressing it by switching to EVs powered by coal, of which they have plenty.

They still use to much coal, but they are actually more aggressive in switching to renewables then the US. 20% of electricity in China comes from renewable sources, compared to 14% in the US.

Just look at the installed solar power capacity.