Change is coming to the motor industry in 2014 faster than anyone expects.

It will happen first on the 19 race tracks of the Formula 1 world championship.

As of this year, F1 cars will be powered by 1.6 liter engines which will bring into focus not only the amount of fuel used by cars but also the limits of harmful emissions out of their exhaust pipes.

Most F1 cars would use turbocharged V6 engines with hybrid technology attached.

Engines would be no more in size than an average four-cylinder engines one finds in a Golf or a Corolla. And to get the point across, the F1 authorities will restrict the amount of fuel an F1 car can use, effectively ensuring that cars get 35 percent better mpg.

The world would be watching big names such as Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso driving hybrid cars around the circuits. Even in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours Porsche’s new 919 Hybrid will do battle with Audi and Toyota’s hybrids. Also, the latest patch of supercars: the McLaren P1, LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 are all hybrids. The new trend is already here.

It is no longer viable for luxury manufacturers to sell million-dollar exotic cars without some form of energy recovery systems.

The trend will trickle down to everyday vehicles, making those driving ordinary vehicles returning 20 miles per gallon look decidedly uncool.

Hybrid technology can deliver 50 miles per gallon without loss of power or prestige.

With F1 making smaller engines with hybrid systems cool to drive, it is hoped that the trend would also reach GCC markets sooner than later. In 2014, it is much more elegant to be seen in a highly efficient hybrid car than in a gas-guzzler V8. This is true in Jeddah and Riyadh as it is in LA and London.

— Adel Murad is a senior motoring and lifestyle journalist, based in London.

Email: [email protected]