Detroit Auto Show: Chevrolet Volt Concept

Yep you guessed it, this is another one of those “I am definitely the future” concepts that we see by the dozens in every major Auto Show. Chevrolet’s Volta concept is a battery-powered 4door-coupe passenger vehicle that uses a gas engine to create additional electricity. The technology behind the Volt concept, GM’s E-flex System, allows electricity to be produced from gasoline, ethanol, bio-diesel or hydrogen.-Continued: Click “Read More…” below

According to GM, the Volt can be fully charged by plugging it into a 110-volt outlet for approximately six hours a day. When the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, the Volt can deliver 40 city miles of pure electric vehicle range. When the battery is depleted, a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged engine spins at a constant speed, or revolutions per minute (rpm), to create electricity and replenish the battery.

The engine runs on E85 (a fuel blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline). Using E85, fuel economy of 150 mpg would translate into more than 525 miles per petroleum gallon. The Volt can get 50 mpg by using the engine to convert gasoline into electricity and extending its range up to 640 miles.

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Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept – Detroit preview for +400Hp Hybrid Supra

I know you want to go straight to point so we’ll cut the crap. This is a 2+2 rear-wheel drive sports car with a partially retractable roof powered by a 400-horsepower hybrid powertrain that consists of a 3.5 V6 petrol engine and an electric motor –most probably based on Lexus GS450h powertrain. And yes the FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept could very well base the next gen Supra.

Don’t believe us? Listen to what Kevin Hunter, vice president of Toyota’s Calty Design Research had to say about it: "We feel there's a hole in our lineup. Toyota hasn't had a sports car since the Supra was dropped in 1997. We need some emotional punch in our lineup, a halo product." Hunter added that "It's a new kind of sports car for the 21st century. Eco and emotion in a sports car concept with a performance target of 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds and a price tag in the mid-$30,000 range."

So what do we think about a product version? In Europe, however good the Supra is, I highly doubt that it will convince consumers even if it’s priced much lower than a Porsche Cayman, but I think that it can serve Toyota as a “halo car”.

The US though is a different story. Even if some will be hasty to consider a V6 powered sports car not being up to standards, we remind you among others, that the highly respected Porsche 911 / 911 Turbo and the Nissan Skyline GT-R both carry 6cylinder motors. But the magic word here is “hybrid powerplant” which will translate to many as “I own an eco-friendly supercar”. In my opinion, even if that’s not 100% true, showing that you’re “politically correct” is reason enough for plenty of people to buy the car. Pics via: Jalopnik

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HuoYun Electromobile : Yes, it's a Chinese Smart Fortwo clone!

Stop rubbing your eyes and start cracking up a smile on your lips, cause this is no photoshop, it's a copyshop! Once again, the Chinese automakers are doing their best to amaze us with there ingenuity ! This time the victim is the Smart Fortwo and the victimizer is Shandong Huoyun, a subsidiary of the Qilu Petrochemical Corporation.

As Autobild reported, Smart boss Ulrich Walker was caught completely off guard when the magazine contacted him about the Chinese plagiarism. While the exterior looks of the car a complete knockoff, the interior and the mechanical parts are different -guess that makes it ok for the Chinese...

Anyway, instead of having a petrol motor, as its name implicates, the HuoYun Electromobile gets an electric motor that's good enough according to the Chinese to give it a max range of 120 km / 75 miles and a top speed of 50 km/h / 31 mph.

OFFICIAL SPECIFICATIONS

Passenger capacity : 2 people
Range (loaded) : 120 km
Max. speed : 55 km/h
Power : 6.5kw
Wheel base : 1.800 mm
Wheel track : 1235/1320 mm
Minimum turning radius : 4 m
Max. climbing ability (loaded) : 30%
Overall dimensions : 2.510 x 1.515 x 1.530 mm
Max. loading weight: 500 kg
No-load weight : 1.000 kg

Technorati: Smart+Fortwo, HuoYun, Electromobile, China, Germany, green+cars, ecology, electric+cars, autos, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles

Citroen C-Metisse Concept Video

Check out Citroen's flamboyant C-Metisse Concept, a 4-seater 4-door hybrid coupe that revives the spirit of Grand Touring vehicles. Design aside, the most important feature of the C-Metisee is a diesel hybrid powertrain that could very well find its way into production in the near future.

It combines a diesel combustion engine, PSA Peugeot - Citroen's 208 Hp V6 HDi DPFS, mated to a 6-speed automatic gearbox that drives the front wheels & two electric motors in the rear wheels, each developing torque of 400 Nm with output of 20 Hp. As a result, C-Metisse boasts a 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) sprint in 6,2 sec with a combined cycle consumption of just 6.5 litres/100 km

• Dimensions
• Length: 4,740 mm
• Width: 2,000 mm
• Height: 1,240 mm
• Wheelbase: 3,000 mm
• Gross vehicle weight (GVW): 1,400 kg (batteries included)

• Performance and fuel consumption
• 0 to 400 m: 14.2 seconds
• 0 to 1,000 m: 25.4 seconds
• 0 - 100 kph: 6.2 seconds
• 30 - 60 kph: 1.9 seconds
• 80 - 120 kph: 4.2 seconds
• Top speed: 250 kph
• Combined consumption: 6.5 l/100 km
• CO2 emissions: 174 g/km

• Diesel hybrid drivetrain
• V6 HDi diesel engine developing 150 kW (208 Hp) with a DPFS and 6-speed automatic transmission
• Two electric motors in the rear wheels:
• - each with torque of 400 Nm
• - and developing 15 kW (20 Hp)
• ZEV mode (range of 3 km at 30 kph)

Technorati Tags: Citroen+C-Metisse, , Paris+International+Motor+Show, video, concepts, autos, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, Mondial+de+l'Automobile, 2006

Electric powered MINI QED Concept with 640 Hp!

309,9 Kgm of tourque, 0-100 km/h (62mph) in just 4,5 seconds, 240 Km/h top speed and 1.500 Km autonomy

Sounds perfect don’t you agree? PML’s Mini concept was unveiled at the British Motor Show this week and it features 4 electric powered motors (one for each wheel) that generate a stunning 640 Hp (160 Hp each). More astonishing is the torque that sums up to a total of…3.000 NM or 308,9 Kgm !!!

According to PML, the all wheel drive electric powered mini needs a mere 4,5 sec (!) to accelerate from standstill to 100 km/h (62mp/h) while it’s top speed reaches 240 km/h (149 mph). PML say’s that athough a production model would be a bit slower (0-100 km/h in 6 seconds) the impressive 1.500 km (932 miles) autonomy will be retained.

Another real cool thing is the fact that the car wears a 250 cc 2 stroke petrol engine attached with a generator that supplies power to the batteries. As the battery level reduces, the rear mounted engine/generator starts to automatically top up the battery. So when you arrive at your destination you simply park the vehicle knowing that when you return the battery will be replenished!

Although the project wasn’t supported by BMW (BMW UK Ltd requested that PML mention that they have no involvement with the project and that such conversions invalidate warranty) PLM hope that a car maker will be interested in the technology.

I on the other hand hope PML can keep it’s promise concerning their systems hugely impressive specifications.

Item	Original target specification
Emissions Autonomy Top speed Acceleration Braking Fuel BHP	Zero 1500 km 200 kph minimum 0-100 kph in 6 secs No mechanical brakes Zero carbon 250 bhp minimum
	Current specification
Emissions Autonomy Top speed Acceleration Braking Fuel BHP	Zero for 4 hours 1500 km 240 kph 0-100 kph in 4.5 secs No mechanical brakes Carbon neutral option > 640 bhp

Specifications

Motors: 4 x 750Nm 1800rpm high efficiency Brushless permanent magnet sine wave Hi-Pa drive™ 24 phase water-cooled

Drive electronics: 4 x 480Amp 450V Hi-Pa drive™ 24 phase sine wave inverter IGBT water cooled CAN bus communications

Battery: 300V nominal 70Amp Hour Lithium Polymer 700Amp peak

Battery Management system: Active cell balancing, temperature and voltage monitoring CAN bus communications

Ultra Capacitor: 350V 11 Farad 700Amp limited

Energy re–circulator: 1400Amp continuous IGBT water cooled CAN bus communications

Generator

Engine 250cc 2 cylinder 4 stroke gasoline 15kW at 7000rpm

Generator 20kW continuous at 250V 80Amp

Controller350V 80Amp water-cooled CAN bus communications

Display: Touch screen high resolution LCD with steering wheel and 4 area screen menu indexing Displays battery, ultra cap, fuel status, mileage calculator, boost display and options for GPRS link to allow remote diagnostics and tracking Diagnostic and configuration menus CAN bus communications

Traction control: Dynamically distributes torque when any wheel is in skid management mode to obtain optimum tractive effort and stability.

Steering sensor: Optional addition to provide feed forward input to traction control system. Allows driver intent and wheel alignment to influence vehicle stability and tractive effort functions.

Vehicle attitude, yaw and gyroscopic sensors: Optional addition to provide further stability inputs to traction control system. Allows vehicle orientation and direction (if different from steering wheel implied direction) to be accounted for in determining optimum tractive effort distribution.

Differential/torque share functions: Standard feature incorporated within each wheel to allow optimum speed and torque share when cornering. Minimises tyre scrub and power wasted energy.

Efficiency optimisation: Dynamic management of power delivery to wheel ensures best use of available power. Accounts for motor related efficiency variations across speed and torque ranges.

Technorati Tags: PML, electric+vehicles, green, EV, Mini, Cooper, ecology, British+International+Motor+Show, London, 2006, concept, autos, auto+news, automobile, cars, automotive, images, pictures, press+release