In the electric-vehicle market, Nissan's top-selling Leaf has proven to be one of the best options out there for eco-minded drivers. Green technology is constantly evolving though, and Nissan has recently joined the fray with plans for a supercharged hybrid engine.

The Japanese automaker will combine the low-end torque of an electric engine with a supercharger to create one high-performance engine. Superchargers provide more baseline power than turbochargers, which should result in pleased car enthusiasts across the board - even those who would otherwise turn their noses up at a hybrid engine.

But this will be a powerful 2.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine mated to a CVT transmission, electric motor, and a lithium-ion battery pack. Details on fuel economy are forthcoming, as it's not clear which popular model will get the high-performance hybrid set up first. But it does seem likely that you'll be able to find it in the next-gen Nissan Altima or Nissan Maxima, as their 2.0-to-3.5-liter engines are best suited to convert to this new V6 style performance engine.

Of course, Nissan is hard at work perfecting the technology before they put it into any new Nissan models, but stayed tuned with Thoroughbred Nissan for more news and updates from the automaker. In the meantime, stop by and see us at 5163 E 22^nd Street Tucson, AZ 85711 to see all of Nissan's innovative technology up close.

Source: ¹http://gas2.org/2011/10/17/nissan-develops-supercharged-hybrid-system/