Michelin developed the tweel a few years back - a airless tire / wheel combo in which urethane fin spokes support a tread around a wheel.

http://www.gizmag.com/go/3603/

I think in terms of tires and wheels, the benefit to a normal automobile and the benefit to an PHEV are the same.

Tweels are just a good idea all around. They have a lot of potential.

I'd like to see what a final production design tweel looked like first. The ones I recall seeing remind me of centrifugal fans. I wonder what the aero drag is.

http://auto.automk.com/auto_img5/4ca959450103p98j.jpg (http://www.automk.com)

Damn! That car has really thick doors . . .

Damn! That car has really thick doors . . .

You're right. But somehow I totally missed the fact that there were doors in the photo at all.:rolleyes: Wonder how that happened?