Ever-Growing Corn Field of Hybrids

   Hybrid technology has come a long way since the first Toyota Prius in 2001. The Toyota Prius was a revolution for the automotive field. Being able to power a car with a source other than gasoline was unheard of. However, as an overall vehicle, the Toyota Prius and other hybrids leaves the owner wishing for an old-fashioned gasoline engine. In fact, the majority of true car enthusiasts would only drive a hybrid during an apocalypse. The best part about hybrids is the electrical engine that can provide an extra grunt under hard acceleration. The time has come where the geniuses at Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren and BMW have engineered hybrid cars with supercar performance.

   The LaFerrari boasts a V12 that produces 790-brake horsepower, mated to an electric motor pushing out another 160-brake horsepower. That’s a total of 950 horses in a car that weighs roughly 2900 pounds. This equates to a 0-60 mph time of less than three seconds and a top speed greater than 217 mph. While this is all repetitive information, it’s astonishing how automotive companies are turning environment friendly technology to enhance engine outputs. More importantly, hybrid technology allows manufacturers to continue using large displacement engines.

   Christopher Burdick at Automoblog.net stated that he scoffed at the use of hybrid technology in supercars at the beginning. But he now feels as if, “…done correctly, hybrid technology can make a car faster. But depending on your preferred driving style and preference, you may not like it.” Burdick brings up a very good point. There have been a plethora of good things to say about the LaFerrari and McLaren P1, but not so many bad things. A car can have an infinite amount of horsepower and be amazing for the environment, but if it lacks the ability to make a connection with the driver, it becomes an expensive piece of art.

   Being a car enthusiast, I was always a fan of the muscle car era. During that time, the entire planet was producing cars with massive engines. More recently, auto manufacturers have begun to use smaller turbocharged engines in their battle to get better mpg figures. It pains me to know that V-8s, V-10s, and V-12s are on their last leg. While hybrid cars don’t tickle my driving bone, I am absolutely delighted to see the technology being used in a way that will postpone the extinction of large displacement engines.