Mercedes Adds 'Extended-Range' Plug In to its Family of BlueZero EV Concepts
By John O'Dell September 2, 2009
Mercedes-Benz has added a small gas engine to its BlueZero E-Cell electric car concept to turn the limited range battery-electric hatchback into an extended-range hybrid in the manner of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt.
The battery-extended Benz, called the E-Cell Plus, utilizes a turbocharged, 1-liter, three-cylinder engine mounted over the rear axle to serve as a generator feeding juice to the lithium-ion battery pack once the initial charge is depleted.
Mercedes says the E-Cell Plus has a range of up to 600 kilometers - 375 miles - including 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, of all-electric drive from its grid-charged battery before the engine-generator kicks in and starts burning gasoline. The original BlueZero concepts were unveiled at the Deptroir Auto Show in January.
The compact concept car uses the same electric drive system as the non-augmented E-Cell, with an 18 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack feeding a 70-kilowatt sustained output (100 kilowatt maximum) compact electric motor capable of 320 Newton meters of torque (236 lb-ft).
It is capable of pushing the car from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour (60 mph) in "less than 11 seconds" - nothing to write home about unless its way, way less than 11 - and is electronically limited to a top speed of 150 kph (93 mph).
The gas engine in the E-Cell Plus wouldn't improve performance figures as it would be used only to continue generating electricity to extend the vehicle's range to three times the pure-electric model's 200 kilometers, or 125 miles.
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Concept shows 1-liter gas engine-generator through cutout in cargo bay floor.
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Mercedes says that with a special rapid charger the E-Cell Plus' battery can be brought up to half-full n just 30 minutes and to full charge in just under an hour. Charging could take 6 hours or so with standard household current. On-board electronics would support the billing and information systems used by the electric charging stations that are slowly being installed in cities around the globe to accommodate increased use of plug-in electric vehicles.
We like the concept, but we've liked it since General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. both introduced it during the 2007 Detroit Auto show.
GM was first to declare that its extended-range electric vehicle concept would become a real car - the Chevrolet Volt - an event now slated for the end of 2010.
Mercedes is a late-comer, as number of other automakers (Toyota, Fisker, BYD, Lotus, Mitsubishi, Jaguar and Opel to name a few) have shown or discussed so-called extended range, plug-in electric-drive vehicles.
But being late to the show won't matter if they actually build it.
We think extended-range EVs have lots of promise because they can provide meaningful amounts of zero-emissions driving on their initial battery charges but don't limit owners to relatively short distances between time-consuming battery charges. That's because, with, with periodic refills of their fuel tanks, they can run indefinitely on juice produced by their on-board engine-generators.
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