After showcasing the Concept Universe (above) at last year’s Shanghai Auto Show, Volvo will unveil an all-new concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show in just a few week’s time. This latest project will be used as a platform to promote the brand’s new 4-cylinder engine lineup that it claims won’t reduce driving pleasure or the luxury experience.

“It’s time to stop counting cylinders,” says Volvo R&D boss Peter Mertens. “At the Frankfurt Motor Show we will reveal a new concept car. It proves that downsized engines can go hand in hand with our customers’ expectations on luxury and driving pleasure.”

The new VEA (Volvo Environmental Architecture) engine range will include both gasoline and diesel engines with power equal to current six-cylinder engines, with efficiency beyond what today’s 4-cylinders offer. In addition, Volvo claims these new engines will use roughly 60% fewer parts than the current engines and will weigh as much as 200 lbs less.

At Frankfurt Volvo will also announce a new SPA (Scalable Platform Architecture) that will underpin a new line of future models. Weighing 220 to 440 lbs less than the current architectures used by Volvo it will also allow for all future models to receive some sort of electric drivetrain, be it hybrid or fully electric.

And on the topic of electrification, Volvo will also tout its new KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) that it will test on a road-going vehicle this Fall. Storing brake energy in a flywheel, this system will allow the power to then be used to add power during acceleration or simply to keep the car moving at cruising speeds. Mertens says the Volvo KERS system will add 80 horsepower while improving fuel economy by 20 percent.

Finally, Volvo’s new concept car will also give a hint at the brand’s new styling direction. Often criticized for building boxes on wheels, Volvo promises “to give forthcoming Volvo models more exciting looks.”

GALLERY: Volvo Concept Universe

The next-generation Porsche 911 is set to make a significant departure from past models, including the use of a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on all models.

The system will be similar in principle to that introduced in Formula 1 cars back in 2009, storing energy from braking and then transmitting that energy as an acceleration force. Unlike those KERS systems, however, the Porsche design uses a mechanical flywheel design rather than a complex system of electronics and heavy batteries.

According to a report by Autoblog, Porsche’s KERS system is suggested to be the reason why the next-gen 911 gains roughly 4-inches in wheelbase, as it will sit between the engine and transmission. Previous reports have suggested the added length will also be used to transform the 911 from a rear-engine car into more of a mid-engine one.

The new Porsche 911 could debut as early as this Fall’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

[Source: Autoblog]

Ferrari has announced that it will run a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) in its Formula 1 cars next season. The team had tested a KERS system in 2009 but scrapped the plans for 2010 when all the competing manufacturers collectively agreed to avoid the system in a bid to cut costs.

Ferrari has been pushing for a return to using KERS, asking for rule changes to make the systems more effective. The reason behind the resumed interest is that Ferrari is pushing to bring to market a street car using the KERS system in the next few years and, as always, Ferrari sees the race track as the best place to test its upcoming road car technology. At the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year, Ferrari unveiled the HY-KERS concept, a bright green Ferrari 599 which uses the hybrid system to deliver extra bursts of power, while also improving fuel economy iduring low speed driving.

As for the F1 system, Ferari had been pushing for regulations that would permit a more powerful electric boost but that has been scrapped in favor of a higher minimum weight for all vehicles, allowing Ferrari to make use of that extra weight allowance for the KERS system.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has said the current plan is to run the KERS system in every race next season. Mercedes is expected to announce if it will use a similar setup in the coming weeks.

[Source: ESPN]

We still don’t know much about it, but we do know its name… sort of. The 599 hybrid, sitting on display at the Geneva Auto Show, is accompanied by the title Vettura Laboratorio HY Kers. Details of the matte-green hybrid Ferrari (ever thought you’d heard those words in the same sentence?) are still scarce, but the name says a lot about the car.

Derived from Formula One, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), converts the power generated under braking and transforms it into usable energy to help give an extra bit of boost to the engine, likely via a button on the steering wheel. Ferrari won’t announce more details on the car until tomorrow so until then we won’t know if the 599 Hybrid Concept (or Vettura Laboratorio HY Kers), is able to operate on just electric power or if it is capable of using the electric energy generated to assist the vehicle at low speeds, helping to improve fuel economy and improve emissions. An auto start/stop system could be a also a part of the package.

So until tomorrow, browse through our new gallery of 599 Hybrid photos.

GALLERY: Ferrari 599 Hybrid Vettura Laboratorio HY Kers

While Ferrari has claimed hybrid F-Cars are several years off, a recent report suggests that a hybrid version of the company’s 599 GTB flagship will debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March. This hybrid will likely be performance based and use a kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) setup similar to the ones designed for Formula One.

The 599 Hybrid will use a lithium-ion battery pack with electric motors built into the rear transaxle. This setup would allow for regenerative braking, a start-stop function and an electric boost capability to add even more acceleration to the 599′s already impressive 620-hp V12 engine. Under city driving it would also help improve mileage by 30 percent. That will be particularly noticeable on such a gas-hungry beast as the 599, which currently only gets 8.7 mpg, bringing it up to 13.8 mpg.

See our review of the old school gasoline-powered 599 GTB below:

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano Review

[Source: Quattroruote]

The next BMW M5 will get a version of BMW’s Formula 1-developed KERS system. KERS, which stands for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, is a technology whereby the energy generated from braking is reused to help “power” the vehicle.

The regenerative braking system will use the electricity to help power electrical aspects of the car (and thereby reduce the strain that alternator and accessory belts would have on the engine). The stored energy will also be harnessed and made accessible to the diver for enhanced acceleration through a “boost” button. The next M5 is also expected to feature cylinder deactivation for city driving.

Word of a regenerative braking system comes from a BMW insider Scott27 on The German Car Zone.

As for the powertrain of the next M5, code named F10, there are two current speculations. The first is that it will get a version of the 550hp, 4.4-liter V8 used in the BMW X5 and X6 M, but there have also been several rumors that a V10 powerplant based on that same architecture is a possibility. Based on BMW’s Efficient Dynamics approach we expect to see a smaller engine than the current 5.0-liter V10, with turbochargers.

[Source: BMWBlog]

Spy photos of Ferrari’s F430 successor have almost become common-place over the past six months and now word comes that the Italian car maker may show a concept version of the exotic at the Frankfurt Auto Show this Fall.

Known internally as the F142, the F430′s successor is more commonly called the F450, as it is expected the V8 engine will gain a slight increase in displacement for at least 550hp – although as much a 585hp is possible.

The new benchmark for exotics will be wider, longer (with a longer wheelbase) and slightly taller than the 430. There is also the potential that it will use the Formula 1-derived KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery) system, turning energy from both braking and deceleration into electrical energy to help power the on-board electronics. This would help improve fuel-economy slightly.

Direct-injection technology may also be used to not only add performance, but also increase fuel-economy.

The F450 could mark a significant engineering change for Ferrari if it uses a double-clutch gearbox like that found in the more civilized California instead of the F1-style box it first brought to market in the 355.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport via WorldCarFans]