Italdesign Giugiaro Fraser-Nash Namir: hybrid or electric?

Italdesign has announced in February its main attraction at the Geneva Motor Show would be the fastest hybrid car of the world. It was supposed to be named Fraser-Nash, but, in fact, it has a much longer name than that. It is the Italdesign Giugiaro Fraser-Nash Namir (tiger, in Arabic). And the car uses a combustion engine only to charge its lithium-ion batteries. Can it be called a hybrid instead of an electric car with extended range, as Chevrolet Volt or Fisker Karma?



The answer could vary, but we do not think naming this car a hybrid would be correct. The 4.56 m long sportscar does not use its 814 cm³ Wankel engine to run, but solely to charge its batteries, which can also be recharged at any domestic power supply. Namir is 1.19 m tall, 1.97 m wide and has a wheelbase of 2.63 m. It is a two-seater, with bucket seats and 20-inch alloy wheels, wearing 245/40 R20 tyres in front and 275/40 R20 at the back. Using its petrol engine, Namir is able to run up to 39 km with one litre of fuel and emit less than 50 g/km.

With a total weight of 1,450 kg, it can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 s and reach a top speed of more than 300 km/h. This can be credited to the propulsion system created by Fraser-Nash. That's right: the British company has not disappeared, it has only stopped producing cars. Namir uses four electric engines that produce 367 bhp (270 kW). They are not installed in each wheel, as in Venturi Volage, but inside the car. It is a pity, since it would represent a reduction in parts and weight, but the car is still amazingly fast. It would be nice if this speed helped it get into a production series, even a limited one, as soon as possible.











Source: Italdesign