Southampton - Hybrid vehicles will preserve gas, save you money at the pump and save the world some say, but for the sports car enthusiasts, must you sacrifice power and style to get all that?

Take those two facets out of sports cars and they're barely recognizable. Car makers have worked not only to mimic the driving experience of your traditional whips but to drive home that this is such. A lack of power is an image problem that will take time for hybrids cars to make over - even the Priuses and Fusions of the world - and that's especially the case for luxury sports cars.

This is a situation with which Gary Gentile, general manager at Mercedes Benz of Southampton, is all too familiar. He and his team of salesmen have handed the keys to curious if not skeptical hybrid test drivers, and with their hair blown back and ear-to-ear grins, they've been reluctant to give them back.

Porsche has delved into developing an "electric supercar" but its classic Boxster won't soon be made a hybrid. (Porsche.com)

Not bad.

"You still have a little more horsepower in the 8-cylinder," said Gentile, comparing the S550 to the new S400 hybrid, "but the feedback from customers who have driven both is that the difference is so negligible. They were actually surprised that the S400 was a hybrid."

OK, so the S400 and many other hybrids wouldn't be the first car chosen in a "Bullitt" remake - that's just a given. Those dipping their feet into the warm hybrid waters surely have lowered their expectations before entering the showroom. Not dramatically though. The S400, one of the more readily available high-end hybrids on the East End, is the first to make Mercedes showrooms. Its pricetag resembles all S-Class sedans, as does much of the equipment. The 3.5-liter V6 engine and electric motor combine for a very respectable 295 horsepower; by contrast, the S550 comes in at 382. One figure that will turn heads - its fuel efficiency is 26 percent better than the S550.

"The S400 gives you a nice balance," Gentile said.

Porsche and Audi, which are both owned by Volkswagen, have dipped their feet in the alternative pool, debuting a diesel Cayenne overseas and, to the Porsche purist's chagrin, its first-ever four-door sedan. Porsche's long awaited hybrid Cayenne SUV set to be released sometime this year. But fear not, Porschephiles, the automaker's CEO, Michael Macht, told Autocar that are there are no plans to build hybrid versions of its Boxsters, 911 and Caymans, but rather its focus is on developing "an electric supercar."

The Tesla Roadster is said to boast a 0-to-60 time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 125 miles per hour. Image courtesy teslamotors.com

If you search far and wide (or know somebody), you could find yourself in the highly anticipated, all-electric Tesla Roadster. It's on every car aficionado's watch list for 2010, with range on a full charge of its lithium-ion battery being touted at 244 miles. A duo from Australia claims to have traveled 313. Meanwhile, tests have shown the electric Roadster maintains its zip, with the capacity to go from 0-60 in 3.9 seconds with a top speed of around 125 miles per hour. Good luck on your search; just 900 Roadsters have been delivered to customers to date.

The Karma, Fisker's plug-in hybrid electronic vehicle (PHEV), is due in showrooms by September. Its 0-to-60 time has been measured at sub-six seconds and it boasts off-the-charts fuel efficiency, so much so that if you drive less than 50 miles per day, you'd have to fill your tank just once a year. The top speed? Also 125 mph.

Considering their scarcity, these are vehicles that you're more apt to find at April's New York International Auto Show and only in your dreams after that, no matter your socioeconomic class. The more mainstream auto makers aren't far behind. Audi's Q5 hybrid with lithium-ion batteries is due out this year; its all-electric E-Tron is pegged for 2012. BMW has already revealed its all-electric Mini-E. Mercedes' all-electric SLS AMG can be expected in 2013. Gentile said the movement toward assembling more fuel-efficient vehicles is obvious, but it's far from being the norm.

"The manufacturers of Mercedes are really working on multiple technologies at the same time," Gentile said. "We have a hybrid, we're working on an electric, and there are also a number of clean diesel vehicles. You're starting to see manufacturers spend more of their [research and development] dollars on that type of technology. Still, the market has to exist first. The infrastructure comes first."

No matter what the auto makers tell you, the doubt will always linger until you give the hybrids and the lifestyle a test drive. Can sexy really be eco-friendly, and vice versa? There's only one way to find out.