What we are looking at today is essentially a three-wheeled scooter that incorporates a hybrid drivetrain. Electric motors are placed in each of the two front wheels and the internal combustion engine propels the rear wheel, making the HYbrid3 an all-wheel drive. The most useful feature of this concept is its ability to drive in EV mode up to 10 km (about 6 miles). Urban dwellers could use the scooter for running errands and not use a drop of gasoline.
What are the odds this concept can make it to production?
From Green Car Congress:
| The HYbrid3 Evolution. Click to enlarge. |
At the Milan International Cycle and Motorbike Show, Peugeot is presenting a three-wheel drive hybrid scooter concept: the HYbrid3 Evolution. The scooter delivers 36 kW (49 bhp) of power, with fuel consumption of 2.0L/100 km (118 mpg US) and 48 g/km of CO2 in the combined cycle.
The HYbrid3 Evolution is a roofless—and higher-powered—version of the HYbrid3 compressor, presented at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. The HYbrid 3 Evolution features electric motors in each of its two front wheels and a naturally aspirated engine at the rear. There are no mechanical connections between the front and the rear, with everything controlled electronically (“by wire”), which works in favor of the vehicle’s compact size.
| Engine and rear wheel. Click to enlarge. |
The new 300 cm3 supercharged gasoline engine providing the concept’s rear wheel drive has an output of 30 kW (41 bhp). The two 3kW electric wheel motors are powered by lithium-ion batteries which can be recharged by an energy recovery system active during deceleration and braking.
The HYbrid3 Evolution can be driven in three different modes:
in electric only mode (start-up, low speed and deceleration, offering a range of up to 10 km);
in gasoline only mode, at stable speed on the open road, when the gasoline engine attains its optimal efficiency;
Gasoline engine/electric motor combined: as required by road conditions; and during phases of acceleration for extra power (“boost” function) and grip, when the power can attain a maximum of 30 + (3x2) = 36 kW (49 bhp). These characteristics allow acceleration and in-gear acceleration equivalent to that obtained with a single 500 cm3 engine (the Peugeot Satelis for example).
The HYbrid3 Evolution also uses a stop & start system that places the engine on standby when the vehicle is at a standstill (at traffic lights, a stop sign or in traffic jams) or when the vehicle is being driven in electric mode.
The front suspension, consisting of deformable parallelograms (i.e. wheels that incline) has at its center a transverse damper for optimal driveability and stability. The suspension assemblies are positioned on the wheel hub.
The brakes incorporate an ABS system coupled with a linked integral braking system (PBS) which acts simultaneously on the rear wheel and the two front wheels. The braking system operates by means of three ventilated discs and, in addition, via the front electric motors which in this way recover energy to recharge the batteries. This assembly (3 wheels + electric motor braking) also makes it possible to reduce the braking distance by around 30% compared to a two-wheel scooter equipped with traditional brakes.
Peugeot says that this hybrid technology and its original implementation is one of its technologies of the future, that could be applied in different forms with different naturally-aspirated engines, different electric solutions and on any type of vehicle, even the smallest models.
From 2011, the HYbrid4 3008 will be the Group’s first vehicle to be sold with an HDi engine at the front and an electric motor at the rear.
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