Volvo ReCharge... Coming ... Soon?

Volvo is coming to Frankfurt with its own version of the Volt concept. A redesigned C30, the Recharge is an electric car first, gas car second. In other words, it's a plug-in capable of getting 100 km before the gas engine is required to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack.

With a full charge (takes about 3 hours), it can give you 124 mpg over a 93 mile stretch. If you're daily commute is less than 62 miles, you may never need to stop for gas again.

Each wheel has its own electric motor, providing 'independent traction power.' A four cylinder 1.6L Flexifuel engine can recharge the battery pack (located in the back) when it gets low.

According to Ichiro Sugioka, project manager for the Volvo ReCharge Concept, "... our C30 with plug-in hybrid technology retains its lively and sporty driving properties. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 9 seconds and top speed is 160 km/h."

To be clear, this is a concept car and is not likely to go into production.

Jalopnik has the press video up.

Press Release Follows:

Volvo Cars is introducing the Volvo ReCharge Concept, a plug-in hybrid with individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet for maximum environmental benefit. Recharging allows the car to be driven about 100 kilometres on battery power alone before the car's four-cylinder Flexifuel engine is needed to power the car and recharge the battery. Volvo ReCharge Concept makes its debut in a specially designed Volvo C30 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

"A certain proportion of electrical vehicles will be necessary to meet the CO2 emission demands of the future. Since the Volvo ReCharge Concept combines an excellent battery range with a backup combustion engine, it is a very interesting concept," says Magnus Jonsson, Senior Vice President Research and Development at Volvo Cars. The ReCharge Concept has been developed at the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center (VMCC), the Volvo Car Corporation's think-tank in Camarillo, California.

"This is a ground-breaking innovation for sustainable transportation. A person driving less than 100 kilometres a day will rarely need to visit a filling station. In the USA, this may apply to almost 80 percent of drivers," says Magnus Jonsson. Thanks to the excellent electrical range from a fuel consumption angle, the Volvo ReCharge Concept is exceptionally kind to the car owner's wallet. When driving on electric power only, operating costs are expected to be about 80 percent lower than that of a comparable petrol-powered car. When driving beyond the 100 km battery range, fuel consumption may vary from 0 to 5.5 litres per 100 km depending on the distance driven using the engine.

"This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should have about 66 percent lower emissions of carbon dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today. Emissions may be even lower if most of the electricity in intended markets comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower and nuclear power," says Magnus Jonsson.

An electric motor at each wheel
The Volvo ReCharge Concept combines a number of the latest technological innovations into a so-called "series hybrid" where there is no mechanical connection between the engine and the wheels.

The battery pack integrated into the luggage compartment uses lithium-polymer battery technology. The batteries are intended to have a useful life beyond that of the car itself. Four electric motors, one at each wheel, provide independent traction power. Four-cylinder 1.6-litre Flexifuel engine drives an advanced generator that efficiently powers the wheel motors when the battery is depleted.

Electric car with a combustion engine as backup
In principle, the Volvo ReCharge Concept is a battery electric car with an efficient generator, an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), that steps in when battery charge becomes insufficient for adequate driving performance. The APU is designed to distribute electrical power to the individual motors at each wheel. Since the combustion engine only powers the APU, it can operate in an optimal fashion, both for regulated emissions and CO2. The APU is sufficiently powerful to supply an entire villa with electricity. For example it could with minor modifications in principle give the car owner an electricity generator right at his front door in the event of a power failure.

The driver can choose the power source
The combustion engine starts up automatically when 70 percent of the battery power has been used up. However, the driver also has the option of controlling the four-cylinder Flexifuel engine manually via a button in the instrument panel.

This allows the driver to start the engine earlier in order to maximize battery charge, for instance when out on the highway in order to save battery capacity for driving through the next town.

"There is a considerable difference between our plug-in hybrid and today's hybrids. Today's hybrids use the battery only for short periods to assist the combustion engine. Our solution is designed for most people to run on electric power all the time, while providing the extra security that comes with having a combustion engine as a secondary source of electrical power," says Ichiro Sugioka, project manager for the Volvo ReCharge Concept. He adds: "What is more, our C30 with plug-in hybrid technology retains its lively and sporty driving properties. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes 9 seconds and top speed is 160 km/h."

Specially developed electric motors
The central electrical components in the Volvo ReCharge Concept demonstrator - the generator for the APU and the wheel motors - were developed together with British electromagnetic specialists PML Flightlink.

With an individual electric motor at each wheel, weight distribution as well as mechanical efficiency and traction are maximized. The friction in mechanical gears is eliminated. Since the car does not have the transmission found in ordinary cars, there is no need for a gear lever. To help maximize the environmental benefits, the Volvo ReCharge Concept has high-efficiency tyres developed by Michelin. They are specially designed to accommodate the wheelmotors. Further more, the car has All Wheel Drive in the truest sense of the term. Power to each wheel is controlled individually.

The energy that is generated during braking is transmitted to the battery pack. When the system is ultimately developed, traditional wheel brakes will be completely replaced by electrical brakes with minimal energy wasted through friction. To ensure reliable operation of the drivetrain and braking system, driver inputs are fed into a quadruple-redundant electronic control system.

Ecologically sound solution for commuters

The Volvo ReCharge Concept is best suited to car drivers who cover moderate distances every day. For example, a commuter who has less than 100 kilometres (62 miles) to drive between home and workplace can cover the entire round trip on electric power alone and the equivalent daily fuel economy will be zero litres per 100 km.

Even drivers who cover more than the battery-only range will benefit from the ReCharge Concept. For a 150 km (93 mile) drive starting with a full charge, the car will require less than 2.8 litres of fuel, giving the car an effective fuel economy of 1.9 l/100km (124 mpg).

"The only requirement is that the car owner has access to electrical outlets at convenient places, such as at home or at the workplace. A full recharge takes 3 hours. However, even a one-hour quick charge should provide enough charge to drive about 50 kilometres," says Magnus Jonsson.

Autoweek interviews Ford's new hybrid chief

Nancy Gioia as the new director of Ford Motor Co.'s Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle Programs was interviewed by Autoweek. Among her new responsibilities, Goia will be leading Ford's 300 member engineering team in developing the new hybrid transmission for Ford.

Nancy will be responsible for Bill Ford's goal of hybrid technology available in 50% of Ford's products. As part of that goal, the engineering team is working on Gen II hybrid technology which she expects to see in 2008 products. At the same time, they are already working on Generation III.

Working on Generation III when Gen II isn't available may seem strange, but as she puts it: "When we talk about generations, we are talking about taking advantage of consolidation and micronization - things getting smaller - which is good for hybrids because of better weight and smaller package." She goes on to say, "We already have an idea of what Gen III will look like, and we even have ideas for what comes after that."

Nancy seems to bristle when the interviewer mentions Toyota and Honda large lead when it comes to the area of hybrid technology. She points out Ford brought to market the first hybrid SUV. Also, they are the only SUV out that meets California's Partial Zero Emissions (PZEV).

BMW Confirms Concept CS for Production

BMW fans in Dubai were recently treated to the BMW Concept CS that BMW calls a “concept study of a four-door Gran Turismo for the luxury segment.” The Concept CS, on display at the 9th International Middle East Motor Show at the Dubai Exhibition Centre, was designed by Lebanese born Karim Habib, and presents BMW’s vision of a four-door saloon car that combines the luxury of a Gran Turismo with the performance of a sports car. But the big news is that only last month the BMW board of management confirmed that the Concept CS will go into production in the next few years. This is according to BMW Group Middle East managing director, Phil Horton!

It terms of exterior design, the low-slung concept car with its dynamic front-end design exudes performance. At the front, the BMW signature kidney grille and the highlight are striking. The flared wheel arches, with their 21-inch light-alloy wheels, emphases the wide track of the car and enhances the Gran Turismo stance. The rear end, with its quad exhausts and slender tail lights, is also quite sleek.
The aesthetically designed interior, with its driver-oriented cockpit, top-quality materials and high quality of finish, is all luxury while the low seating position of both the front seat occupants and the rear passengers, leaves no doubt of that this is a performance car. There are quite a few innovations in the cockpit, including the dashboard with a newly developed metal structure that embraces the various surface elements, and the use of high-tech ceramics for the controls and instruments, as well as the BMW iDrive Controller.

No information on the drive train has been released yet, but the concept car featured a 6.0-liter V12 engine, with some reports claiming that it is essentially the 5.0-liter V10 engine from the M5 with two extra cylinders.

The Concept CS reminds me a lot of the BMW 850 Ci from the 1990’s, so could I please have a coupe version with two doors?

Sketches of the Mitsubishi Concept-RA

Mitsubishi has released sketches of the Mitsubishi Concept-RA that the car manufacturer will unveil at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show in January. The Concept-RA is a small, lightweight, eco-friendly, four-wheel drive sports coupe concept that will set Mitsubishi fans’ pulses racing because the sketches show a resemblance to the original Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the Concept-RA is a technological marvel.

Mitsubishi has thrown all sorts of acronyms at it: S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control), ACD (Active Center Differential), AYC (Active Yaw Control), Sport ABS (Antilock Brake System), ASC (Active Stability Control), and of course MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control)! In plain English, that means the concept car features Mitsubishi’s all-wheel-drive system and the twin clutch automated manual transmission from the Lancer Evolution X.

The Concept-RA, however, is powered by a new high-output, high-efficiency clean diesel 2.2-liter 4-cylinder engine with MIVEC continuously variable valve timing control. The engine features piezoelectric injector common-rail direct fuel injection, and a Variable Diffuser / Variable Geometry (VD/VG) turbocharger. Maximum power output is rated at 201 hp while maximum torque is 310 lb-ft.

The Concept-RA also features an aluminum space frame made from extruded aluminum sections and die-cast aluminum members, as well as an engine hood, fenders and other body panels made from impact-resistant, recyclable plastic resin. These provide the Concept-RA with crashworthiness while reducing vehicles weight.