Red Bull's KERS problem fixed - Marko

Red Bull has fixed its KERS problems ahead of this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, according to the team's consultant Helmut Marko.

The championship leaders have struggled with the technology so far this year, with Mark Webber yet to have a trouble-free weekend. After the Chinese Grand Prix Red Bull vowed to get to the bottom of the issues, which were believed to be related to overheating, and Marko insists it is now fixed.

"Our KERS system is fine, over the Easter break we have made some modifications," he told the German newspaper Bild. "It is much better now. It works."

With KERS working the Red Bull's could extend their advantage over one lap, which was up to 0.7 seconds in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel is hoping for more of the same in Turkey but is not underestimating his rivals.

"Our car should be strong there, but of course we have to respect our competitors and can never take anything for granted," Vettel said. "People are pushing hard, but we are pushing very hard too to maintain our strengths."

BYD e6 all-electric car [video]

A short promotional video about the BYD e6 as used in the world’s largest all-electric vehicle Taxi fleet.

YASA Motors Announce Electric and Hybrid Road and Racing Car Deal

Oxford YASA Motors, Westfield Sportscars and Potenza Technology have signed a Risk & Revenue Sharing Agreement (RRSA) that creates an exclusive business alliance to support the development and launch of the world’s first fully race-prepared electric vehicle, the iRACER and the new Electric GTM sportscar.

YASA Motors and Potenza Technology will provide high-performance integrated battery, traction motor and controller solutions based on the innovative YASA axial-flux motor, Sevcon Gen 4 Size 8 controllers and Potenza’s well proven Battery and Vehicle Control Systems.

The iRACER will feature in the EV Cup, the world’s first dedicated electric race series that starts at Silverstone on the 6th August this year. The EV Cup has attracted high-profile teams such as Drayson Racing who will be running the iRACER throughout the first season of racing.

The eGTM road vehicle is currently being developed by Westfield and Potenza Technology for Potenza Sports Cars Limited who recently entered into a separate RRSA with DRB-HICOM in Malaysia, to manufacture and distribute the eGTM throughout South East Asia. The recently announced collaboration between Sevcon and YASA Motors to develop the novel ISYS Drive, a compact integrated, direct-drive twin motor and controller unit offering a combined specific torque of 30Nm/kg and 200kW / 270bhp of power will be the exclusive drive-train solution for the eGTM.

Dr Paul Faithfull, Managing Director of Potenza Technology and Technical Director of Westfield Sportscars, said “We have built a strong and successful relationship with the team at YASA Motors since the company formed in 2009. Their motor and controller package has proven to be reliable and, simply put, offers us the best performance, packaging and efficiency available on the market”.

Nick Farrant, CEO of YASA Motors, said “Our collaboration with Westfield Sportscars and Potenza Technology underpins our high pace of commercial development and supports our business model of market-facing collaboration with world-class partners. The iRACER is a fantastic platform to showcase the performance and potential of our combined products and technology in the most demanding motorsport environment, as well as demonstrating the growing number of exciting electric vehicles to the wider viewing public. We are delighted to enter into this agreement and to help create two appealing new vehicles that will benefit from the very latest electric propulsion technology. This strategic alliance of small UK companies yet again confirms the leading position that the UK has in this growing segment of the automotive market”.

Amp Electric Vehicles scores $100M deal in Iceland

With its short driving distances and tech-friendly population, tiny Iceland could become the electric-car capital of the world. And a Cincinnati-area manufacturing company could help make it happen.

Amp Electric Vehicles will supply 1,000 sport-utility vehicles to Reykjavik-based Northern Lights Energy as part of the country's strategy to go electric.

Steve Burns, president of four-year-old Amp, hopes the new, $100 million contract with Northern Lights is just a hint of things to come for the company as the rest of the world seeks alternatives to fossil fuels.

"We cannot continue to send this much money out of country every day for oil," Burns said. "There's some threshold where America won’t take it anymore. And if you’re an electric car company in middle of that, it could be a good thing."

Mercedes plans electric S-class

A full electric version of the next Mercedes S-class is not being ruled out, according to the firm’s technical boss, Thomas Weber.

“At the moment, we are looking at customer demand,” he admitted.

The next-generation car will have hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions, though. At the heart of the standard engine range will be Mercedes’ new V6 and V8 MoVe petrol powerplants. Diesel options are likely to include the 201bhp, 369lb ft 2.2-litre, four-cylinder motor from the current S250 CDI, the smallest engine to ever be offered in the S-class.

The new luxury saloon will also carry over no cabin architecture from existing models. But hints of its design can be seen in the F800 Style concept revealed at the Geneva motor show in March.

It will also showcase new interior technologies such as more reliance on head-up displays and a move into driver-oriented virtual displays.

Chevrolet Volt Drawing New Customers to Dealers

The Chevrolet Volt demonstration units are a popular showroom draw for dealers as they let consumers look, touch and drive the electric car with extended-range capabilities. It’s part of the plan to gain exposure for the vehicle and the Chevrolet brand.

Almost nine of 10 customers who traded in a vehicle as part of their purchase are new to the Chevrolet brand. That’s why hundreds of Volts that could be sold to individuals are tagged for dealers as demo vehicles, meant for customer exposure to the Volt and to other Chevy products they might otherwise not see.

“The Volt is clearly bringing new customers to our dealership,” said Rick Alpern, general manager of Keyes Chevrolet in Van Nuys, California. “We are seeing customers who own competitive brands that have never visited a Chevy dealership before. Now they have a Chevy on their shopping list because of the Volt.”

Chevrolet dealerships in the initial launch markets of California, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington, D.C. have taken delivery of more than 550 dedicated Volt demonstration vehicles for customer test drives. By the end of the year, more than 2,500 U.S. dealers will receive a dedicated Volt demo

Chevy expects to deliver Volts in all 50 states by the end of 2011. Deliveries begin in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii in the third quarter.

“We know the best way to experience the Volt is to get behind the wheel and drive it,” said Cristi Landy, Chevrolet marketing director. “An added bonus is that our dealers are seeing that the Volt is increasing traffic onto our dealer showroom floors and is exposing consumers to Chevys line of ‘gas-friendly’ vehicles, including the Cruze, Malibu and Equinox.

"It's tough to limit the number of Volts for sale to potential customers when demand is so strong, but the Volt has value to the Chevrolet portfolio well beyond incremental sales," said Landy. “Our Chevy dealers will keep their Volt demo units for six months and then they sell these units at the conclusion of the demo period.”

The Volt’s extended-range capability offers a total driving range of up to 379 miles, based on EPA estimates. For the first 35 miles, the Volt can drive gas- and tailpipe-emissions-free using a full charge of electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery. When the Volt’s battery runs low, a gas-powered engine/generator seamlessly operates to extend the driving range another 344 miles on a full tank.

Red Bull KERS components ’scattered’ on RB7

Red Bull has taken a different approach to KERS, a technical report in Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport has revealed.

The otherwise-dominant team has struggled with the technology so far in 2011, and is using the three-week break before Turkey to try to fix the problems.

"If I’m honest," said designer Adrian Newey recently, "I would rather not have KERS on the car."

The Briton was also quoted as saying Red Bull is in a "learning phase" with its system, amid suggestions Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel have been banned from talking about KERS or any specifics of their difficulties.

"Actually I don’t know (what’s wrong)," said Australian Webber in Shanghai, "and honestly I don’t really care either. I just want it to work!"

Auto Motor und Sport said the foundation of Red Bull’s KERS is the Renault system, but it differs in design by 40 per cent to the base unit, which has functioned in the Lotus-Renault essentially without drama so far in 2011.

The report said Newey has packaged KERS unusually compared to the bulk of the field, for example by placing some components to the left and right of the gearbox.

In comparison, Renault’s KERS is under the seat, while Red Bull’s has suffered from vibration, high temperatures and software glitches.