The Low Down On Green Living
May 8th, 2009
The Volvo ReCharge: A Different Kind of Hybrid
Stumble it!
Written by Christopher DeMorro, courtesy of Gas2.O
Sometimes when looking forward, you have to look back to really get inspired.
110 years ago electric cars were at their peak, representing over a quarter of all cars on the road in America, but Henry Ford and the mass-production gas motor changed all that. And while most of us have gotten used to the idea of an engine under the hood, a transmission, and sometimes a driveshaft as integral to our cars, Volvo is taking a nod from the first electric carriages and putting their motors where they are most needed: the wheels. The Volvo ReCharge is a plug-in hybrid concept that relys on four indepedant electric motors, one in each wheel, to move and power the C30-based concept.
The ReCharge concept is said to get 60 miles on electric power, and a small petrol engine sooths range anxiety. Volvo is also known for some of the world’s safest cars, and true to form the ReCharge boasts numerous safety advantages over its petrol-powered cousin. There is no driveshaft or transmission, which means a solid firewall and flat floors and increased energy efficiency. Should one motor fail, the other three can compensate for their fallen comrade and keep you moving. Also, there are no brakepads, but rather the motors do the stopping, which also serves to restore some lost energy via regenerative braking.
Volvo was in talks with the Swedish government for small-scale fleet testing of the ReCharge, which is said to be the basis for an upcoming 2012 production car from Volvo, though not much has been heard of the ReCharge since it debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show.
Click here to see a video of the ReCharge concept car.
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Comments
Dr Joe
May 15th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Once again a car that will be out XXXX date and we never see it. Come on Volvo just release the car, sell it for $30,000.00 and be the first on the block. I told my wife who ever come out with an electric car for $30K I will buy. But like all the others, you need 10 BS years of testing to only drop the car from production schedule.
PML flight the makers of the wheel motors won’t sell there wheel motors either, so the average Joe can’t go out and make his own electric car, truck or motorcycle too help the advancement to more eco friendly living.
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