Business

A new kind of hybrid car: Mean and green

Ferrari and Spyder are trying their hands at making hybrids

Mean and green

PORSCHE 911 GT3 R Hybrid, International Motor Show Geneva 2011

Hybrid cars have become a status symbol among the fashionably environmental, but they’ve hardly been considered high-performance vehicles fit for the racetrack. That’s changing as the world’s luxury supercar makers are jumping into the hybrid market. Ferrari announced that it would build a hybrid version of its Enzo. Dubbed the F70, the car is expected to sell for more than $850,000 and will combine two electric motors with a 12-cylinder gas engine and other Formula One-based technology. Recently, Porsche said it would launch a hybrid version of its Spyder for around the same price. The company already sells a hybrid SUV and four-door coupe, but the 918 Spyder will include both a 500-horsepower engine and a 218-horsepower electric motor. It might not have quite the same thrilling roar, but racing your car down the highway at 300 km/h has never been greener.

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