Believe it! New sports car goes 200 mph, gets 70 mpg

A cheesecake that helps you lose weight. Beer that cleanses your liver. Some things are just too paradoxical to be realistic. But in a world where everything your heart desires involves some kind trade-off, a plucky British automaker is trying to bring us the ultimate in have-your-cake-and-eat-it, too.

After years of stalled efforts, the Trident auto company has announced that they will soon introduce a revolutionary production-ready model called the Iceni Grand Tourer. Packing a 430 hp diesel engine and a top speed of 200 mph, it's a scorcher capable of going from 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds. Yet it will also boast one of the best fuel efficiency ratings out there, with a combined city and highway rating of about 70 mpg. The popular eco-friendly Toyota Prius hybrid has a rating of 50 mpg.

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So not only will it rival your neighbor's Porsche but it'll can also outgreen your treehugging hippie friend's hybrid. And being that it runs on bio-diesel as well, the Iceni GT can be powered using a wide range of fuels from regular diesel to "mineral diesel, bio diesel, palm oil and linseed oil," according to a press release.

I don't know what kind of engineering dream team Trident has assembled, but it's hard to fathom how this is even possible -- even with a car that runs on diesel. And though Trident has released some basic specs, they've been coy about what kind of secret sauce they've got running under the hood.

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What we know so far is that the car's relies on a 6.6-liter turbocharged diesel horsetrain that, when combined with Trident's innovative Torque Multiplication system and proprietary transmission technology, delivers 430 bhp and a staggering 950 lbs ft of torque at under 3250 rpm. Roughly speaking, this means that cruising at a constant 70 mph, the specially tuned engine will run at just 980 rpm, produce 700 lbs ft of torque and keep on going for over 2,000 miles with just one full tank of fuel.

For an extra cost, buyers can also upgrade to a 660bhp model that delivers 1050lbs ft of torque.

The Trident will be on display at the Salon Privé 2012, an annual car show held at West London's Syon Park in early September. The company plans to start taking orders shortly after with a starting price of $119,000.

The latest fuel efficiency breakthroughs:

• Volkswagen car goes 1,626 miles on a tank of gas
• This car gets 3,000 miles per gallon
• Breakthrough could lead to 732-mile electric car battery
• Is this 400-mile electric car battery for real?
• New engine radically improves fuel economy, cuts emissions
• Gas-powered diesel engine may double fuel efficiency

Smart solutions for rising gas prices:

• Breakthrough may lead to ‘limitless’ supply of hydrogen fuel
• New electric car 2x more fuel efficient than Nissan Leaf
• Ford’s powerful mini-motor saves fuel, cuts emissions
• New smartphone innovations may improve driving smarts

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com