Is Power Becoming A Useless Luxury? Are The Enthusiast's Days Numbered?

In a world that is growing more congested, more environmentally conscious and ticketing speeders through the use of cameras, we have to ask ourselves:

Are the days of power numbered?

Although it seems that just about every manufacturer will be producing a hardcore, electric vehicle within the next five years, it is readily apparent that MPG requirements are becoming stiffer and stiffer.

With that said, Porsche has shown us the light with their latest creation on the Geneva show floor -- the 918. Not only does the car look good, it boasts a 500-horsepower motor and two electric motors that add another 218-horsies.

Supposedly the vehicle can obtain 78 MPG and will be able to lap the Nurburgring faster than a Carrera GT.

Sounds good to me.

We want to know, are the days of power over OR will we be seeing a lot more performance hybrids running the show? Remember, even with the hybrids there will be speed cameras and more congestion.

Let us know in the comments below...


The Truth About Cars reports:

Who doesn’t like a proper wacky duel? Like the one where James May raced a Ferrari against a camel, or when the guys from TopGear did a “train vs Aston Martin” from London to Cannes?

As in the case of the proverbial hare and tortoise, when you set two unlikely opponents against each other, you get some entertaining results — and you might even prove a point. That’s what Germany’s AutoBild (print edition, March 5) tried to do when it tested the assumption that power = speed.

They raced the slowest E-class Mercedes station wagon against the fastest one, on German public roads, over a distance of 1,000 KMs. It was E63 AMG vs E200 CDI; 525 HP against 136 HP; 6.2L vs 2.1L displacement, V8 against Diesel-L4. 0-60 in 4.6 s vs 10.9 s. And not to forget, purchase prices of €42,483 against €108,409. So, what happened? Not what you might think…