The Biodiesel Trident - 170 mph - 60+mpg
Ok, so it isn’t flashy, just nice clean lines and a monster under the hood. It’s the new Trident Iceni, a two-seat sports car boasting a 6.61 litre V8 turbo diesel from GM that will launch you from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds. The company, Trident Performance Vehicles based in the UK, says computer calculations suggest a top speed of 230 mph, and a range of approximately 1000 miles.
The car’s chassis is stainless steel throughout, forming what the company says is a complete safety cell around the occupants against front and side impact. Rollover protection is supplied by a central spine configuration that is said to have the highest torsional rigidity of any car tested. Trident guarantees the car for life against corrosion.
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While the engine is located behind the center line of the front axle, the 8-speed automatic gearbox is located in the rear of the car, and is controlled by paddle shifts behind the steering wheel. Seats are fixed and there’s an electrically adjusted pedal box and steering column. Four oculight removable roof panels complete this biodiesel, rear wheel drive beauty.
The company says it is now taking advance orders for the car, that may cost up to $120,000. Will it be available in America?
If the guy flipping burgers at McDonalds can’t afford it then it is just another dead cat.
have a look at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7577493.stm
perhaps this is a beginning of 0 emission durable flight;-)
greetings
That’s a cool ride. But anyone that can afford it doesn’t care that it can get 60mpg. How about a 3/4 ton truck ext cab, long bed, 4×4 that get’s 35mpg? I’ll buy one now even if it cost $35,000.
This sounds like fantasyland to me. The 6.61 litre V8 turbo diesel engine must add 300 lb of un-needed weight. My Honda S2000 is the real world; this Trident seems highly improbable. I suggest maybe a more plausible and desirable design would re-arrange some of the numbers. How about 170 mpg, 60mph+ speed and move the price one decimal point to the left.
Would anyone ever buy another GM diesel? We have a long memory of GM’s last one. BB
For the performance and “economy” (mpg), its a great price. Too bad about 5% of the population can afford it, and of those, maybe 1% would consider buying it. GM’s focus is way out of whack. If this is their solution, then they will see further 50 YEAR lows in their stock. Focus on the people who are affected by gas prices, which is certainly not those who buy $120,000 cars.
Would I buy it if I had the money?? No way! It’s a GM (reliability history sucks). I’ll take a Porsche over that any day.
GM needs to get their reliability factors worked out, make AFFORDABLE efficient vehicles, and make their production cars look nicer (and stop using so much plastic on the interior).
I think they could bring the price down if they didn’t build the chassis out of stainless steel! I would buy a new designed diesel from GM, but not a diesel based off of a gas engine! Surely you could take the engine/transmission and transplant into another vehicle to make cheaper. G8 maybe?