Electric Supercar, the Italdesign Quaranta

Motor Trend recently had an exclusive test drive of an outrageous new electric car, the Italdesign Quaranta.

This futuristic, fighter jet canopied car features a central driver's seating position and was designed by the same man who brought us the Lamborghini Gallardo. Instead of a roaring V-10, the Quaranta makes a lot of noise by making none at all.

The Quaranta is indeed a mid engine car, one sporting all wheel drive. It is entirely overwhelming in design quality, concept, and execution. And unlike most show ponies, this one is built to be driven as it most certainly was less than 60 days after making it's show circuit debut.

Italdesign and Toyota have a great relationship, so it's no surprise that the powertrain is sourced from the Lexus RX 400h. Toyota provided the 3.3-liter DOHC V-6 engine, electric-motor assist hardware, continuously variable transmission, and all-wheel-drive system, but the rest of the car has all been hand crafted by Italdesign.

The 3100 pound green muscle machine is rated at 268 total horsepower. Battery charging is assisted by Toyota's regenerative braking system and also by solar panels affixed to the car's front and rear horizontal surfaces. As functional and styling elements, the panels generate an additional 250 watts of free power, so long as the sun is shining.

The twin fuel tanks hold a total of about 16 gallons of gas and offer a claimed range of over 600 miles. That equates to around 37.5 mpg. 0-60 comes in around 5.6 seconds or so. This is no Lambo beater, but it does get roughly 3.5 times the gas mileage, after all.
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Ford launches special site, contest for 2009 Mustang

With all of the hype surrounding the 2010 Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro, it's easy to forget that the model year also brings with it an updated version of Ford's venerable Mustang. The new 'stang will make it's official debut at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show on November 19th, and is expected to be on dealer lots by spring 2009.

In an effort to keep interest in the car as high as possible, Ford has created a new promo site for the 2010 Mustang. The site will feature lots of updated information on the car between now and it's launch.

In addition to carrying information on the soon to be released car, Ford is launching a "Mustang Stories" contest on the site beginning on August 27th. If you've got a great story to tell in 250 words or less, you could win a 2010 Mustang and a trip to the Los Angeles auto show.

The Mustang Stories contest will be whittled down to 25 contestents and then the voting will be done by internet visitors.