AutoblogGreen

When you say "hybrid" in these parts, it's possible you could mean a couple different things. Gas-electrics are the well-known norm while diesel-electrics are slowly gaining some press and exposure. Well, how about combining hydrogen, biodiesel, grid-electricity and the sun?

Today Agni Inc., an alternative energy technology company, announced the registration of the design rights for its second generation REAL AF (Renewable Energy Automobile - Ambiente Futuro). The car has got an electrical propulsion system that runs on Agni's Hydrogen Power Module, however, for longer trips the car will run on diesel or biodiesel. If that weren't enough, the car also has a large electrical storage unit that can be charged either by solar cells (which appear to be mounted to the top half of the hood and roof in the picture) to get the most out of those sunny days, or from a wall outlet. Oh, and the car also comes with a kit that will allow you to make your own biodiesel fuel from vegetable oil. Unfortunately, the press release is very brief and doesn't list any detailed specs. (I already shot them an email request for additional info. Hopefully, we'll hear back shortly.)

As for performance, the REAL AF will take you from 0 to 62 mph in 8 seconds and delivers 100 km/L on diesel power. That comes to about 235 mpg (if I did the conversion properly) which we remain skeptical about. Considering, though, that the car's got all four wheels firmly rooted in environmental friendliness, we'll hold judgment until we hear more. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if the vehicle's diesel power plant drives the wheels, or charges a battery. Take a look at the wording of the press release, yourself. Either way, 235 miles per gallon seems awfully high.

Until we get more information, click here to visit their website or here to read the old press release for the first generation REAL which was fuel cell-only.

[Source: Fuel Cell Works]