| Chrysler's Green Concepts | ||
 |
||
|
(Mon 14 Jan 08) Chrysler Group is displaying three concept cars at the Detroit Show, each of them with a different "green" alternative fuel system.
Perhaps the most intriguing is the Dodge ZEO. The letters stand for Zero Emissions Operation, and that's a hint (if you accept that the emissions are created nowhere near the car) that the ZEO relies entirely on electric power. If that sounds dull, just hang on a minute there. The ZEO's electric motor produces 200 kilowatts, which is the equivalent of just under 270bhp, and driving through the rear wheels it makes possible a 0-60mph time of less than six seconds. Assuming that you don't use that kind of performance all the time, the lithium ion battery pack provides a range of over 250 miles. The Jeep Renegade ("ideally suited for the all-weather fun of dune-surfing or rock-crawling," we're told) has two electric motors, one driving each axle, plus a 115bhp 1.5-litre turbo diesel engine using Bluetec technology for minimal exhaust emissions.
The Renegade can run for 400 miles on diesel and for 40 miles if it relies entirely on the battery pack for the electric motors. Used in combination, the engine and motors provide claimed fuel economy of 110mpg. Finally, the Chrysler evoVoyager is a four-door car using the same 200kW electric motor as the Dodge ZEO along with a hydrogen fuel cell.
Larger and heavier than the ZEO, it nevertheless does the 0-60mph run in under eight seconds, and thanks largely to the fuel cell it has a range of over 300 miles. Previous: Saab Crossover Concept Next: MINI Best For Depreciation |
