[Ecky]

Maybe it's due to the weight? I find myself occasionally wondering why there aren't any hybrid sports or performance cars, which maintain high fuel economy. The NSX is a hybrid but isn't remotely economical.

Food for thought, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to take a Prius and (for Toyota to) quadruple battery and motor size. Fuel economy would be practically the same, so long as you kept the same tires. You might even be able to downsize the engine a bit. Cost would go up, but you would keep great fuel economy while having great acceleration.

Granted, putting a big engine in a Prius, a sports car does not make, but the principle applies. One could, for instance, quite reasonably put a 300HP "motor assist" on a small 3 or 4 cylinder in a Miata. Highway cruising could be in excess of 40-50mpg even with sticky tires, while being able to shred the back tires and scare the **** out of people on demand. Short trips could be on electricity alone.

I feel the Accord hybrid was probably the earliest, closest idea to this, but the battery wasn't big enough and the gas engine basically provided most of the electricity fed to the 181HP electric motor. Plus, it was put in a big, heavy car, so 0-60 was "only" around 7 seconds with 50mpg highway economy. Either Accord, or Volt for that matter, could have the gas engines downsized and the electrical side enlarged to make them truly fast, gas sipping vehicles without the limitations of EVs.