Volkswagen this week chose the Los Angeles motor show – in a state where import brands mostly dominate the sales charts – for the the world premiere of its Up! Lite concept with hybrid driveline which, it claimed, is the world’s most fuel-efficient four-seater.
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The combination of a TDI (turbodiesel) engine, electric motor and a twin clutch, automated seven-speed direct shift gearbox (DSG), plus slippery (Cd is just 0.237) results in US highway test consumption of 70mpg (2.44l/100 km) and CO2 emissions of 65 g/km.
“This makes the three-door concept the world’s most fuel efficient car – and from the perspective of its overall CO2 footprint the world’s most environmentally friendly four-seat car as well,” VW said.
“Both technically and visually, the Up! Lite is a preview of the future.”
Executives hinted the “technically challenging, so-called two-litre fuel consumption car might be launched globally in some form.
Many components of the 695kg show car are based on those of the future ‘new small family’ the automaker is developing.
The company recently announced it would build the first production Up! models at its Slovak plant which is being expanded at a cost of EUR308m ($US400m) to build the new small car line, adding 1,500 direct jobs to the 7,800 already at the plant which also builds the Touareg, Audi Q7, Porsche Cayenne and Skoda Octavia.
Construction work to expand the plant started at the end of November.
The new small family car line is an entirely new model series scheduled for initial markets launch at the end of 2011.
“The Up! Lite concept continues the Volkswagen strategy of offering high-tech and high-end quality in all of its vehicle classes, making progress affordable for every car driver,” VW said in Los Angeles.
“The Up! Lite was designed to be a versatile vehicle that makes trips into the city, commutes to work and naturally long trips as well significantly less expensive and more eco-friendly.”
The combines a new 38kW, 800cc, twin cylinder TDI turbodiesel engine with a 10kW electric motor designed as a pulse start module (starter, alternator and E-drive). This reduces the load on the diesel, provides a propulsion boost where needed (similar to the early hybrid technology used on the first Honda Insight) and also works to recover kinetic energy (regenerative braking).
During boost phases – for, say, a quick passing manoeuvre – the TDI and E-motor combine to develop total power of 48kW/65PS.
Claimed top speed is 160km/h (100mph) and the car accelerates to 100km/h in a respectable 12.5 seconds (0-60 mph: 12sec).
An earlier version of this TDI engine was used in the L1 concept car VW showed at the Frankfurt motor show last September. VW uses TDI turbodiesels as the basis of its current production, low-emission BlueMotion model variants offered range-wide in Europe.
In two of its operating phases, the Up! Lite’s hybrid drive can operate without any help from the turbodiesel. In so-called coast-down, activated by the driver taking his or her foot off the accelerator pedal the car coasts and the diesel engine is shut off. Over shorter distances, such as in residential areas, the E-motor can power the Up! Lite by itself. This is similar to Toyota’s hybrids which can run for a kilometre or two, on the level, on electric power alone.
The automaker’s new Prius plug-in, also unveiled in LA this week, has a 13-mile (21km) and General Motors’ range-extender Volt/Ampera line (a development mule Ampera was shown to UK journalists this week) can run 40 miles (60km) on an electric charge before its petrol engine kicks in though, in this case, solely to recharge the lithium-ion battery pack.
In the Up! Lite’s case, a lithium-ion battery is also used and, since it is capable of pure electric driving, the configuration is classified as a full hybrid. The seven-speed DSG ‘box is similar to the one used in the recently redesigned production Polo line and stop-start is standard.
The concept also has ESP, airbags, ample passenger space. The body itself is a combination of aluminium frame, steel and carbon fibre. Dimensions are 3.84m long, 1.40m tall and 1.60m wide.
Other features include a radiator grille that closes and opens automatically depending on the cooling needs of the engine (VW calls this ‘active thermal management’) and three rear view cameras instead of a mirror. When the car is parked in the summer, hot cabin air is vented outside (‘passive park ventilation’); and an ‘optimised easy-entry feature’ aids entry and exit from the rear seating area. Longitudinal adjustments to the driver and front passenger seats automatically adjusts seat height as well; when folding the rear bench seat, the seatback is easily unlatched by folding the rear head restraints forward (‘easy switch’) and many vehicle features (including ventilation, internet, telephone, MP3 player, video, telephone, trip computer, radio) are controlled centrally via an intuitive touchscreen with hand movement sensors.
This concept, or at least many of its parts, looks pretty much production-ready.
