GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Volvo will show its ReCharge "sustainable transportation" hybrid concept at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show. The concept car can run 62 miles solely on battery power and also has a four-cylinder engine that is used only to power the electric motors in each wheel.
The ReCharge Concept is based on the Volvo C30 and was developed by Volvo's Monitoring and Concept Center in Camarillo, California.
Volvo said the 62-mile driving range on battery power could mean that "almost 80 percent" of U.S. drivers could use the car as daily transportation and "rarely need to visit a filling station."
The ReCharge's lithium-polymer battery pack is integrated into the luggage compartment. The concept also has four electric motors, one in each wheel, and a 1.6-liter Flexifuel engine with a generator to power the wheel motors only when the battery life is used up. The driver can also choose to activate the engine using an instrument-panel control, "for instance when out on the highway to save battery capacity," Volvo said.
The automaker gave an example of a 93-mile trip in the ReCharge that starts with the battery at full power, saying that total fuel consumption would be 0.7 gallon for what Volvo said was an "effective fuel economy" of 124 mpg. However, extended use of the gasoline engine would offer a more understandable fuel economy of 45 mpg. The full recharge of the battery setup takes three hours.
What this means to you: There's no expectation this show concept will be in dealerships anytime soon, but it's good news to see it at Frankfurt.
The ReCharge Concept is based on the Volvo C30 and was developed by Volvo's Monitoring and Concept Center in Camarillo, California.
Volvo said the 62-mile driving range on battery power could mean that "almost 80 percent" of U.S. drivers could use the car as daily transportation and "rarely need to visit a filling station."
The ReCharge's lithium-polymer battery pack is integrated into the luggage compartment. The concept also has four electric motors, one in each wheel, and a 1.6-liter Flexifuel engine with a generator to power the wheel motors only when the battery life is used up. The driver can also choose to activate the engine using an instrument-panel control, "for instance when out on the highway to save battery capacity," Volvo said.
The automaker gave an example of a 93-mile trip in the ReCharge that starts with the battery at full power, saying that total fuel consumption would be 0.7 gallon for what Volvo said was an "effective fuel economy" of 124 mpg. However, extended use of the gasoline engine would offer a more understandable fuel economy of 45 mpg. The full recharge of the battery setup takes three hours.
What this means to you: There's no expectation this show concept will be in dealerships anytime soon, but it's good news to see it at Frankfurt.
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