Electric Volvos With Range Extenders
(Friday 15 July 2011)
Volvo has revealed three electric concept cars which have been designed to run much longer between charges than ones which simply rely on a battery pack.
They all have what are known as range extender engines (not a new concept in itself - the Vauxhall Ampera also has one, for example) which share the feature that they have three cylinders and can run on either petrol or an E85 petrol/bioethanol mix, but have very different power outputs. The same 111bhp electric motor is, however, used in every case.
The first concept is based on the C30 Electric prototype. It has a 60bhp version of the range extender engine mounted under the boot floor, and in this case the purpose of the engine is primarily, and unusually, to drive the motor. Alternatively, the engine can be used to recharge the battery.
That car is described as having a series-connected range extender, since the engine is never directly used to drive the car. But there's another C30 prototype in which it is. This is the parallel-connected range extender, in which a 190bhp turbocharged version of the engine is mounted at the rear of the car and drives the rear wheels.
Even though the whole point of the exercise is to improve fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions, the parallel-connected C30 is quite a performer. With a total output of just over 300bhp, it has a 0-62mph time of under six seconds.
A similar parallel-connected system also forms the basis of the third concept, which is based on the V60 estate. This time the engine and motor are both mounted under the bonnet (though the battery pack is in the rear) and drive the front wheels. The engine drives the car only at speed of over 31mph, and is also used to charge the battery pack when required.
Using just the electric motor and battery pack, these cars would have maximum ranges of 69, 47 and 31 miles respectively. According to Volvo, the range extender engine contributes up to 625 miles in the series-connected system and over that in the parallel-connected system.
And despite the extra weight and complication involved - and the fact that fossil fuels are being burned - Volvo is claiming CO2 emissions of under 50g/km on the EU combined cycle.
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