Sexy hybrid

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 10:42:28 +0100

Via Lab Notes I read about the PML electric hybrid Super Mini:

All braking is performed by the wheel motors acting as very efficient electrical generators which return almost all of the energy back to the battery system.

Because the wheels are high performance motors, ABS comes as a standard function built into each wheel’s software. Now anti-skid can also be applied to acceleration since the motor can smoothly control torque delivery to/from the road in both cases.

Each wheel develops 160bhp - 640bhp in total. The original Mini One develops less than 100bhp with an engine that weighs nearly double the weight of the four electric wheels! Apart from wheel bearings there are no wearing parts in the electric wheels; this means the horsepower stays for the life of the vehicle - and beyond.

The great part is that the wheels and battery/generator assembly can be retrofitted into more or less any chassis so hopefully we'll see other adaptations soon. I could certainly see myself buying one of these (in a more financially stable future) in, say, an MX-5 body.

One thing I noted from the PML page is this disclaimer:

BMW (UK) Ltd has requested that we mention they have no involvement with this project and that such conversions invalidate warranty!

I think BMW should have seen the choice of a mini as a golden opportunity to support such innovation -- A hybrid car people might actually want to buy!

Curiouser and Curiouser! on hybrid-vehicles

Sexy hybrid