

Think rising fuel prices, global warming and tightening fuel economy and emissions rules will leave us driving cars as thrilling as a Toyota Prius? Don’t bet on it. The supercars of tomorrow will be as green as they are mean.

So says Georg Kacher of Car Magazine, who talked to some of Europe’s leading automotive engineers and came up with the blueprint for a 300 horsepower BMW coupe that’s cleaner and more efficient than a Honda Civic. Diesel and hybrid versions would be even greener.

Kacher calls the car Vision Z, and although it’s not a real car, it could be. Everything about it is here now or coming soon.

"Does Vision Z sound like science fiction?" he writes in the May issue. "It shouldn’t. Hybrids, start/stop systems, downsized engines, multi-material chassis, plastic panels and brake-by-wire all feature on today’s cars. This is just the next step."

And what a step it is.

The Vision Z may exist only in the pages of Car Magazine, but Kacher says it is "based upon actual research projects and detailed interviews with leading engineers. It’s a natural extension of the lead that BMW has taken with its Efficient Dynamics program."

Kacher obviously is gazing into a crystal ball, but nothing about the car is particularly revolutionary from a technology standpoint. As we noted in "How Detroit Will Reach 35 MPG," all automakers are developing direct injection gasoline engines, clean diesels, hybrid drivetrains and dual-clutch transmissions with seven or more speeds. What Kacher does is put it all together in a high-performance sports car we could see by 2018.



The Vision Z looks a lot like the Z4 coupe (pictured) on steroids. A modular engine cradle would allow BMW to easily offer it with four drivetrains. The top-of-the-line turbocharged six cylinder gasoline engine would produce 400 horsepower. Direct injection and cylinder deactivation deliver 35 mpg while emitting 200 g/km of carbon dioxide. The 295-horsepower Porsche Cayman S gets 15 mpg (combined) and emits 254 g/km.

Two turbocharged four-cylinder engines also could be offered. A 300 hp gas version returns 38 mpg and emits 130 g/km. Compare that to the Civic, which gets 29 mpg (combined) and emits 139 g/km. A 56-mpg diesel would emit "similar levels of CO2," Kacher writes. He envisions a plug-in hybrid version that cribs from the Chevrolet Volt and its sibling, the Opel Flextreme, by using a small gasoline or diesel engine to charge lithium ion batteries or capacitors that drive an electric motor

Electronic components like steering and air conditioning pumps improve efficiency by reducing parasitic drag on the engine. Color impregnated in plastic body panels reduces the ecological impact of painting. A steel cockpit with aluminum nose and tail and body panels of aluminum, composite material like carbon fiber and/or plastic keep the car under 2,800 pounds.

And just what would all this technology cost? About as much as the M3 Coupe, Kacher says. BMW would have to sell about 40,000 of them a year to make it profitable. That’s not an unrealistic target to shoot for, as BMW sold 44,421 7-Series sedans last year.

"It might be hyperbole to describe Vision Z as the car BMW can’t afford to ignore," he writes, "but the risk of not building it would certainly outweigh any reservations."