It’s gorgeous, yet beastly. It’s classic, yet innovative. It burns rubber, yet is environmentally friendly. It can destroy most sports cars off the line and you won’t hear any loud tremling exhaust pipes spewing out noxious fumes. It is what every gas guzzling classic car enthusiast turned eco friendly gas sipper could ever want in a car.  It is the 2 SSIC.

Top Speed - 150mph

0-60  - 2.1 seconds!

Range - 75 miles

The overall shape of this new Honda, you could argue is a complete rip off of the Toyota Prius. That may not be a bad thing, for Honda at least. Here are a couple spy shots of the Honda doing some extreme weather testing in the deserts of the south west. Honda would argue that it is more of a relative of their FCX Clarity Hyrdrogen.

Regarless of the look, this thing is sure to get some great gas-mileage if it is supposed to be a better competitor to the Prius. Look for MPG ratings we would peg around 48-55 MPG! Exciting news for Honda as more and more people are convinced Hybrids are the way to go.

Look for this car on showroom floors in late 2009.

The new zero-emissions FCX Clarity hydrogen vehicle from Honda rolled off the production line Monday in Japan and is headed to Southern California.

The FCX Clarity, which is powered only by hydrogen and electricity, emits only water. It is two times more energy efficient than a gas-electric hybrid and three times that of a standard gasoline-powered car.

Only a select bunch of lucky consumers get to sign a three year lease for the new FCX Clarity. But it comes at a steep price for some. $600 a month, however, the lease covers all maintenance costs and collision protection.

The fuel cell draws on energy synthesized through a chemical reaction between hydrogen gas and oxygen in the air, and a lithium-ion battery pack provides supplemental power. The FCX Clarity has a range of about 270-miles per tank with hydrogen consumption equivalent to 74 miles per gallon, according to the carmaker. It has a top speed of up to 100 miles per hour. Not that anyone should be driving that fast.

Japanese company Genepax presents its eco-friendly car that runs on nothing but water.

The car has an energy generator that extracts hydrogen from water that is poured into the car’s tank. The generator then releases electrons that produce electric power to run the car. Genepax, the company that invented the technology, aims to collaborate with Japanese manufacturers to mass produce it.

The Australian government has allocated A$500 million ($475 million) towards the Green Car Innovation Fund to encourage development of low-emissions vehicles. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Toyota would get A$35 million in grants for Camry hybrid production.

Toyota will start assembling its Camry hybrid cars in Australia in early 2010 and aim to produce 10,000 of them a year, in its latest effort to popularize such fuel-efficient vehicles.

That would make Australia the fourth country to build gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.

“We decided to build the Camry hybrid in Australia because Australians are keenly aware of environmental issues including global warming,” Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe told a news conference in Nagoya, central Japan, attended by visiting Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Honda announced that it will introduce a new small hybrid in early 2009, as well as another unique small hybrid vehicle based on the sporty CR-Z compact concept sports car and a hybrid version of the Honda Fit subcompact.

The first new dedicated hybrid vehicle, due in 2009, will be offered as a 5-door hatchback with seating for five passengers and will employ an exterior design concept that evokes the FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle. With the new hybrid, Honda is aiming to produce the most affordable hybrid on the market. Fuel economy for the new car is expected to exceed 40 miles per gallon. Hopefully much more than 40 mpg. 65+ mpg would be a great target and would definitely help surpass the sales of the Prius.