The Fast and the Fuel-Efficient Cars

Fuel type: lithium-ion battery electric motor
Top speed: 124 mph
0-62: under 5 seconds

Audi enters the electric car market with a highly designed cute coupe with the equivalent of over 300 hp from its four electric motors at the wheel — quattro, indeed.

Fuel type: gasoline or biofuel engine
Top speed: 202 mph
0-62: 3.7 seconds

Though the super-fast Continental Supersports was the first to go E85, the entire Continental lineup is biofuel capable as of summer 2010.

Fuel type: 2 battery electric motors and a 3-liter diesel engine
Top speed: 155 mph
0-62: 4.8 seconds

What started as a design exercise is likely to become reality, with 5000-10,000 to possibly be built in the near-ish future.

Fuel type: battery electric motor and 8- or 12-cylinder gasoline engine
Top speed: it depends
0-62: it still depends

At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari unveiled this gasoline-electric concept car, which is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano. Engineers designed the experimental system to fit with either 8- or 12-cylinder Ferrari engines, up front or in the back.

Fuel type: 2 battery electric motors and a 2-liter gasoline engine
Top speed: 125 mph
0-62: under 6 seconds

The Karma has been on the auto show scene for a couple of years now, and it looks as great as it did the first time. It’ll be the first — and sexiest — plug-in hybrid on the market.

Fuel type: four battery electric motors and 2 gasoline turbines
Top speed: 205 mph
0-60: N/A (it’s a concept)

With its debut at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the C-X75 pointed in the direction for Jag’s next supercar, whether or not this exact car makes it to the street.

Fuel type: gasoline or biofuel
Top speed: 250+ mph
0-62 mph: 3.1 seconds

Koenigsegg calls this car “green,” but it’s really into the ethanol for the speed. If you fill it with high-octane gasoline, it has 806 bhp on tap. But throw E85 in the tank, and the output goes up to a whopping 1018 bhp.

Fuel type: two electric motors and a V8 gasoline engine
Top speed: 198 mph
0-62 mph: 3.2 seconds

This hybrid Porsche exotic debuted at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, alongside a track-only 911 GT3 R hybrid and a comparitively more mundane Cayenne hybrid. Don’t be shocked, though — Ferdinand Porsche invented the first hybrid car in 1903, so these guys can claim firsties.

Fuel type: battery electric motor
Top speed: 125 mph
0-60: 3.7 seconds

Despite corporate shenanigans and shakeups, the Tesla Roadster is proving itself a capable real-world electric sports car, the first of its kind. They’re high torque serves them well on a drag strip — if you can find a quick recharging station for the drive home.