RE: i8: BMW Names Hybrid Super Coupe

[benzito]

I'm probably alone on this but what might be funny is if someone takes one of these reasonable looking electric hybrid whatsits and converts it into a normal petrol-powered car just for a laugh - some sort of mean v8 engine i suppose, an idea for a future top gear episode me thinks!

i have to say that in terms of styling some of the electric concept cars do look quite good actually

[ewenm]

XitUp said:

I love wind farms and I'd be happy to have a nuclear plant near me.

But even on our power mix as it stands electric cars could work.

I grew up with a view of a couple of nuclear reactors (and the Lake District hills ), no problem with them and I have the added bonus of not needing to use lights in the house at night now

Edited by ewenm on Monday 21st February 21:07

[Munich]

bobcorb said:

Well BMW have been stckng the letter "" at the end of all ther model descrptons snce the 70s ( and t's been pretty pontless snce 1993 snce every car has been ftted wth fuel njecton) [/footnote]

It a way to signify petrol.

[bobcorb]

XitUp said:

I love wind farms and I'd be happy to have a nuclear plant near me.

But even on our power mix as it stands electric cars could work.

I think based on the present UK utility fuel mix a half decent electric car still "causes" the emmision of around 86 g/km of CO2.

My father in law designs nukes, my dad develops oil terminals, my sister works for the environment agency at Sellafield and I design engines. We dont talk shop though.

The good old IC engine still has a place in transport with careful design, but I hope the i8 does look like that becasue my wife is a real eco warrior and she'll let me buy anything "green" within reason...

[bobcorb]

Munich said:

It a way to signify petrol.

Thats whats its become today but in 70s and 80s it meant fuel injection. Lesser models were just a number eg 316. Although I dont know what the e in 525e meant.

[XitUp]

bobcorb said:

I think based on the present UK utility fuel mix a half decent electric car still "causes" the emmision of around 86 g/km of CO2.

My father in law designs nukes, my dad develops oil terminals, my sister works for the environment agency at Sellafield and I design engines. We dont talk shop though.

The good old IC engine still has a place in transport with careful design, but I hope the i8 does look like that becasue my wife is a real eco warrior and she'll let me buy anything "green" within reason...

I agree, there will always be a place for IC engines. Just not as the motive force for the majority of cars. In the next few decades I can see most new cars being plug in hybrids with small ICE or micro turbine generators.

[A Scotsman]

ZOLLAR said:

Why is everything following apples "i"?, any new or cool technology gets an "i" in front of it, its slowly becoming my number 1 pet hate

Cos it stands for "idiot" which is a good description of anyone buying one.

[Supervet]

MarJay said:

I thought it was i h8

if i 'it it is it ir8, i will 'it it if it is

[Ceylon]

ewenm said:

Ceylon said:

So going down the electric recharge route rather than the hydrogen route. Pretend green route then BMW. Innovation can be left to others.... pretty though!

How is using electricity generated in a power-station to recharge your car less green than using hydrogen to power it? Hydrogen that takes huge amounts of energy to refine.

The key is that green energy can be stored as hydrogen and used when required. Solar/wind energy is considerably greener than burning fossil fuels but it is irregular. Storing it as hydrogen makes it much more flexible. Manufacturing batteries for cars is not green at all. The ideal solution is to have a solar panel at home producing hydrogen which can be used to refuel your car.

The more people that go green, the more petrol left for those of us who like driving!

[XitUp]

Ceylon said:

The key is that green energy can be stored as hydrogen and used when required. Solar/wind energy is considerably greener than burning fossil fuels but it is irregular. Storing it as hydrogen makes it much more flexible. Manufacturing batteries for cars is not green at all. The ideal solution is to have a solar panel at home producing hydrogen which can be used to refuel your car.

The more people that go green, the more petrol left for those of us who like driving!

Hydrogen is just an inefficient, explosive, expensive battery that leaks a lot.

Go read up on the laws of thermodynamics then come back to the discussion.

[Ceylon]

XitUp said:

Ceylon said:

The key is that green energy can be stored as hydrogen and used when required. Solar/wind energy is considerably greener than burning fossil fuels but it is irregular. Storing it as hydrogen makes it much more flexible. Manufacturing batteries for cars is not green at all. The ideal solution is to have a solar panel at home producing hydrogen which can be used to refuel your car.

The more people that go green, the more petrol left for those of us who like driving!

Hydrogen is just an inefficient, explosive, expensive battery that leaks a lot.

Go read up on the laws of thermodynamics then come back to the discussion.

Perhaps you should get up to date and then come back to the forum when you know what you are talking about

http://www.itm-power.com/

[ewenm]

Ceylon said:

Perhaps you should get up to date and then come back to the forum when you know what you are talking about

http://www.itm-power.com/

What efficiency does their H2 generator run at? I couldn't find a figure on their site. As I understand it using electrolysis to split water into H2 and O2 is very inefficient. I guess if all that electricity is from a solar panel (warning - nasty chemicals in photovoltaic cells ) then it doesn't matter but going solar panel output to battery may be significantly more efficient.

I guess it depends how strongly you buy into the "green" movement for how much that bothers you. Cost-wise it might be cheaper to run your home electrics off the solar panel and continue using an IC engine. To get lots of people enthusiastic about this stuff it needs to be marketed as a way to reduce your household bills rather than a way to be "green".

[WorAl]

volvoforlife said:

another 'i' brand. hope it fails and bankrupts BMW.

[jake15919]

Best face on a BMW since the original 6 series. EVs though are just a waste of time.

[XitUp]

Ceylon said:

Perhaps you should get up to date and then come back to the forum when you know what you are talking about

http://www.itm-power.com/

Yup, nothing new really.

Unless I've missed something that you can explain to me.

[thinfourth2]

XitUp said:

Ceylon said:

Perhaps you should get up to date and then come back to the forum when you know what you are talking about

http://www.itm-power.com/

Yup, nothing new really.

Unless I've missed something that you can explain to me.

A few snippets from the new wonder tech website

"ITM electrolysers deliver hydrogen at 15 bar which is consistent with existing propane storage technology "

Erm propane is a very different gas to hydrogen as it can remain at a liquid at 15bar at room temperature. Liquid hydrogen in a 15 bar pressure vessel at room temperature is normally called a bomb.

[XitUp]

Yeah, but you've got to remember that mining the metals for batteries is harmful to the environment, unlike the platinum in fuel cells, which grows on trees. Right?

[renrut]

Ceylon said:

Perhaps you should get up to date and then come back to the forum when you know what you are talking about

http://www.itm-power.com/

I was expecting some clever hydrogen solid storage system. But nope...

[AlpinaB5s]

DrTre said:

Quite like the i8....they're releasing a smaller model in Q1 2012

Very good

I look forward to the i4 v-engine

[Twincam16]

bobcorb said:

Munich said:

It a way to signify petrol.

Thats whats its become today but in 70s and 80s it meant fuel injection. Lesser models were just a number eg 316. Although I dont know what the e in 525e meant.

I think it was 'economy' as IIRC they had lean-burn cylinderheads and taller gearing, although in Germany 'E' is sometimes used to signify injection as it's 'einspritzung' in German, hence Opel Manta/Monza/Kadett GTE.