EXTRA.(Briefs)

It's Official

The dyno numbers are in: The supercharged 6.2-liter V8 in the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 officially cranks out 638 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque. That's 18 hp and 4 lb-ft more than Chevy estimated when it unveiled the car at the Detroit auto show in January (This Week, Dec. 24, 2007). The ZR1, with a price likely to be in the $100,000 neighborhood, goes on sale this summer.

Trouble in Green-land

Competing California electric-car makers Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive may be headed to court over allegations of design espionage. Tesla sued Fisker and two of its executives on April 14, alleging that they stole Tesla's hybrid technology and are using it to bring a Fisker hybrid car to market. Henrik Fisker, a former Aston Martin designer who created his own company in 2005, denied the allegations.

Tesla said it paid Fisker $800,000 for work on its WhiteStar hybrid sedan, which is expected to launch in 2010. Tesla alleged that Fisker, at the same time, was working on his own hybrid sedan, the Karma, which was revealed in January at the Detroit auto show.

Air of Electricity

Sports-car guru Neil Hannemann, the engineering brains behind the Dodge Viper, the Ford GT and the Saleen S7, is bringing his expertise to Aptera Motors, a California electric-car company. Hannemann will oversee program management and manufacturing for Aptera, which is trying to get its three-wheeled, $30,000 electric car to market by December (This Week, April 21).