This enables Volkswagen to squeeze a more potent engine into a very tight engine bay.

FORBES: Test Drives

Added to that eye-widening pub fact is that the heat insulation applied liberally to the engine bay and underside is a substance called 'Aerogel' - a compound formulated by NASA to insulate the Mars Rover.

BBC: Trick of the light: A California road trip

The broad lower fenders are aerodynamically sculpted to manage the flow of air to the engine bay and front brakes, whilst reinforcing the powerful, dynamic road presence of the new Lexus signature frontal design.

ENGADGET: Lexus LF-CC Concept shows the future of touchscreen interiors

Unlike many electric vehicle battery packs that are positioned in the floor of the vehicle, the Axeon pack has been designed to fit into the vehicle's engine bay in order to maintain ground clearance and wading height for this unique vehicle.

ENGADGET: blogger-avatar

The program is a case study in how jobs often override ideology in shaping congressional constituencies: former Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy supported the GE engine with sizable earmarks, and so does his Republican successor Scott Brown even though the Boston Globe found the engine would only produce a few hundred jobs in the Bay State, won largely at the expense of neighboring Connecticut.

FORBES: Battle Over GE Engine Subsidy Reaches Climax