2011 Karsan V1 New York City Taxi Concept

Namir is a concept car born of the collaboration between Italdesign Giugiaro and Frazer-Nash, a company specialized in the design, construction, and marketing of hybrid systems deeply rooted in the historical automotive manufacturing.

Giugiaro is promising the fastest hybrid in the world with a concept just revealed at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The official renderings of the car show a sleek and sporty - almost supercar-like profile, yet with hybrid drive and room in the trunk for a set of luggage and some golf clubs.

An official hi-res sketch revealed a car that looked much like the Quaranta concept, which was itself promised to be powered by a hybrid powertrain. Giugiaro Hybird Concept clad in orange paintwork. 

The Quaranta was based around a 3.3L V6 petrol engine and two electric motors rated at 268hp (200kW) and 212lb-ft (288Nm) of torque together, but the Frazer-Nash Namir stores its power in a lithium ion battery pack and maxes out at about 400hp (298kW). That's enough to rocket the car to 62mph (100km/h) in 3.5 seconds and on to 124mph (200km/h) in 10.4 seconds - about the same as a Viper, and enough to lay claim to the title of 'fastest hybrid in the world'. Top speed comes at 186mph (300km/h).

There's also talk of a pure electric-drive system, with an electric motor on each wheel providing full-time AWD and a plug-in hybrid system similar to that of the Chevy Volt. Fuel efficiency doesn't appear to be hurt by the Wankel - it is said to be in the neighborhood of 118mpg (2.0L/100km)

Emissions are targeted at 50g/km CO2, or about half the output of the latest generation of hybrid econo-cars like the 2010 Toyota Prius or the 2009 Honda Insight. Fuel consumption is phenomenal, rated at 92mpg US (2.54L/100km) - almost double the certified rating of the new Prius, which recently got the honor of most efficient production hybrid in the U.S.

The Giugiaro catches a fairer balance of efficiency and performance, however, since the Infiniti relies on a 3.7L twin-turbo V6 to produce the bulk of its power.