TURBO OBSOLESCE

I read with interest the Honeywell turbo development (‘Explained’, Wheels, September.) Good on them. But isn’t that a bit like improving gas lighting? Surely the trend towards splitting the turbo (to drive a generator) from the compressor (run by an electric motor), makes it pretty much redundant? Even then, it’s surely just a stepping stone from hybrids to full EVS? And given CSIRO has solved the shipping of hydrogen problem (stripping off the H from ammonia, at the filling station), EVS may be a fleeting ‘stepping stone’ to fuel-cell EVS?

Referring to Insider in the same issue, I’ll get an early vote in that BMW is doing the smart thing by using the same platform for fuel, hybrid and EVS until the market settles down. Although some may like to wear their hertz on their sleeve and drive a funky futuristic-looking EV, I’m betting the larger part of the potential market just want the benefit without the ‘look at me’ theatrics. Personally, I’d be up for a 440e right now if BMW would like to provide one. The idea of driving silently to work and back as an EV yet having something like 250kw/500nm for a fang on the weekend, is very compelling.

In the meantime, I’m off to buy an atmo, V8, manual, Mustang … Call me when youse all have made yer mind up. Not that I’m likely to hear the phone ring… We take your point, Brian, and the CSIRO’S hydrogen development could be a game-changer. yet with the path to a low-emissions motoring future as fragmented as it is, it’s clear there’s a place for incremental ICE gains alongside R&D into alternative tech.