Russian entrepreneur Mikhail D. Prokhorov may have big plans for moving the Nets downtown and turning them into the Brooklyn New Yorkers, but another of his big plans will stay a little closer to home. Well, his home anyway. It's the ë, the Cyrillic character "yo," and a funky name for a recently revealed hybrid that has scored the billionaire's support. The ë is a little four-door, four-seater car with a top speed of 80mph and a range of 680 miles, delivered by a hybrid powertrain with two electric motors and a single internal combustion lump. However, unlike the parallel hybrid
Prius and the (
mostly) series hybrid
Volt, both of which rely on expensive and heavy battery packs, the ë will only be able to hold a small charge. Instead the engine, which uses a rotary vane design, will run continuously, spinning a generator and providing the current to turn the wheels. It's an unusual layout for a car, but if it can deliver its supposed 67mpg at its proposed $14,500 MSRP when it's slated to hit the streets of St. Petersburg in 2012, you can call us converts -- and comrades.
Russian Yo hybrid said to offer 67mpg, cost under $15k, gets a billionaire's backing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 12:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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