Done some research and woilla, it's already named flybrid system, originaly an F1 KERS, but now derived and pending application to road vehicles as soon as 2013. The figures are looking good (20-30% fuel savings, 80 hp and lots of tourqe at instant will be able to launch any car from standstill to cruising speed with conventional engine turned off, 150k miles life span). Most realistic fuel saving thingy imo
http://www.flybridsystems.com/Roadcar.html
In an F1 it uses as little as 13 litres of space and weighs about 25 kilograms. Great potential for an aftermarket installation, just a matter of time when it will happen. Many will choose these and save fuel rather than superchargers and oversized turbos.
Ironically, the original technology of flywheel energy storage is more than 60 years old but couldn't reach full potential until composite materials like carbon fibre were brought to perfection.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flywheel_energy_storage
On top of that, flywheels have been used for decades for storing electricity and they are proved to be much more efficient than modern batteries in applications which require rapid charge/discharge and would last 25 years almost maintenance free.
So, looks like friction toy cars wont be so different than real ones in the future after all.
This may be off topic, sorry about that but as of right now I'm impressed with this technology, so comments are most welcome
British engineering, again, bravo. Chinese would have to pay a lot more to get hold on this
