The Russian billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov, who bought the Net basketball team from New Jersey, has a new electric car project, a brand new Russian-designed hybrid. He wants to break the stereotype that Russia is not capable of producing good cars, the new model is called Yo, either electric power gasoline or natural gas can be used, they say the Yo can achieve a better fuel economy, 3-5 liters per 100 km.
They want to design a car that will be more economic than the Toyota Prius that makes 51 miles per gallon, whereas the Jo will make 67 miles per gallon, and it will be lighter than the Nissan Leaf.
Due to its bare-bones approach to hybrid technology and its Russian engineering innovations the Yo will be pricey for the public.
Different from the Toyota Prius that needs to recharge its battery, the Yo will have a small petroleum engine that will burn natural gas or gasoline to generate the electricity needed to run the automobile, and like many other hybrids it will also have a pure plug-in electric car.
They expect the car to be in the Russian market by July 2012 costing about $14,500, with a hight speed of 80 miles per hour making 680 miles if both gasoline and natural gas tanks are filled.
Mr. Prokhorov has a team of 40 engineers developing the car and is investing around $200 million in his new e-auto Russian company, he claims that Russian scientists have good ideas and he solely believes in hybrid car effort being a good one. This new concept of electrical generator has been used in city buses but never in cars, and its little petroleum engine will be very efficient and its electrical capacitors can absorb or even discharge energy providing star-and-stop city driving.
The secret of this car is its engine, it has a rotary vane engine, which was used in Germany back in the 1930's and the concept was never totally abandoned in the Soviet Union, it is considered a Soviet-legacy, its engine has a circular motion.
Luckily Mr. Prokhorov is not going through recession as the rest of the world, once he sold his shares in Norilsk just before they collapsed in the financial crisis, making a profit of $4.5 billion.
With so many advantages the US market might consider importing the Yo in the near future, and who knows, you might have one in your garage very soon, make sure you have an energy efficient garage door to match up the new hybrid technology.