2009 Nissan GT-R

A 21st-century supercar, at a $120,000 discount

The 2009 Nissan GT-R is the sports-car value of the year, if not the decade—a car under 80 grand whose performance matches that of a $200,000 supercar. Engineers scrutinized every component to squeeze out more performance while saving weight and money. Inside the twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V6’s aluminum engine block, the walls surrounding the pistons receive a coating that dissipates heat better than the typical, heavier cast-iron linings. The engine produces 480 horsepower and hurls the GT-R from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds—quicker than a Lamborghini Gallardo. The GT-R tops out at 193 mph, making it one of the fastest cars on the road, and you don’t have to be a professional driver to tap its potential. A twin-clutch system, rare in a car at this price, handles gearshifts, and an adjustable shock-absorber system can stiffen up so that the GT-R feels like a Ferrari F430. Finally, the videogame-inspired control panel displays arcana like steering angle and brake-pedal pressure, giving the driver more detailed information and more control than any other car. Now that Nissan has proven that it can be done, expect more accessible, technology-rich supercars in the years ahead. $77,000; nissanusa.com

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The pricey, small-batch lithium-ion powered Mini E has arrived. And it looks and drives like, well, a really quiet Mini Cooper

Regenerative braking, the process through which an electric car grabs otherwise wasted energy from the brakes as the car glides to a halt, is a brilliant bit of engineering for efficiency—take energy that's otherwise only good for burning up brake pads, and turn it into electricity that charges the battery.

It may also make the uninitiated driver want to vomit. This is what my handler told me as she guided me toward a fleet of Mini Es—electric Mini Coopers—parked in the basement of the L.A. Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. See, regenerative braking starts to slow the car as soon as you let off the gas, as the braking system harvests the energy emitted by the decelerating vehicle. The experience can be unsettling at first—it can trick you into thinking you've been driving with the parking brake on. You might end up lunging unexpectedly forward in your seat as the regen takes over, until you learn to let this magical automatic braking system do its thing. It takes a little practice to learn to smooth the transition between speeding up and slowing down, between starting and stopping. Until then, Mini's publicist told me, you might feel as if you need to pull over and grab some ginger ale.

But in my drive around LA in the Mini E, it took only a couple miles in the car to learn when to cede stopping power to the regenerative braking. By then I'd also gotten used to the other notable difference between this car and its gas-driven brethren—the eerie silence of a pure electric vehicle (the only sound is that of the tires rolling along the pavement). The Mini E is no glorified golf cart. It's a little slow off the line, but once you get moving acceleration is impressive. On one traffic-free straightaway I hit the accelerator and realized I'd been underestimating this car: My head snapped back as the car launched ahead. The route Mini planned for me didn't include any freeway driving, probably because I'd just end up sitting in traffic, but the car has a top speed of 95 mph. In other words, the Mini E drives pretty much like a normal Mini Cooper.

It looks pretty much identical to the standard Mini Cooper, too, but there are interesting differences. What used to be the backseat is now filled with lithium-ion batteries supplied by AC Propulsion. (That company supplied the entire powertrain—batteries, motor, power electronics and all.) Behind the steering wheel you'll find a battery-charge gauge. The cars are numbered. They come with a custom charger that churns out 240 watts at 50 amps, which means you can charge the car fully in two to three hours.

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Audi dynamic steering

With its harmonic drive gearing—a compact, three-piece gearset previously used in lunar rovers—the 2009 Audi A4 modifies the steering ratio in response to the car’s speed. When you’re parking, one turn of the wheel covers the full range of motion. At highway speeds, the same range takes four turns. The system can also detect any potentially dangerous motion and help you correct it; if electronic sensors determine that you’re going too wide into a sharp turn, they will tighten up the steering ratio so you can get back on course with a smaller movement of the wheel. The system works three times as fast as other electronic stabilization systems. audi.com

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