Vovlo XC60 T8 Hybrid - Plug in, turn on, drive off

Volvo really is taking this green car stuff seriously. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a plug-in hybrid concept of the excellent XC60 crossover. Using a good old turbocharged gasoline engine with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack, it can go 28 miles in EV mode, or sprint from standstill to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, thanks to 280 lb-ft of torque from the gas engine driving the front wheels, 148 lb-ft motivating the rears, and a combined horsepower figure of 350. Consumption is claimed to be 35 percent better than cars with similar muscle from conventional drivetrains. Total range is around 600 miles. Interestingly, Volvo has slapped a “T8” badge on it, because it feels this car’s performance is “into territory previously occupied solely by eight-cylinder engines.” That depends on how far back you want to go. Léon Levavasseur made the first V8 in 1902, which had 24 hp. And in 1905, Rolls-Royce built a V8-engined car to compete with the electric vehicles that were popular at the time. Oh, the irony.