At next month’s Paris Auto Show, the air-powered Peugeot 208 HYbrid Air 2L concept will debut (again) in response to a challenge from the French government to offer 117 MPG vehicles by 2017. Does Peugeot’s unique answer stand a shot at production? The answer may surprise you.
Peugeot started out with a standard 208 hatchback, but from there they threw out the usual playbook and started thinking in less conventional terms. First they started by putting the 208 on an extreme diet that includes an aluminum chassis and carbon fiber-reinforced plastic body panels, cutting another 10% from the already lightweight car. All told the 208 2L weighs just 1,895 pounds, down 220 pounds from stock.
he real star here though is the unique gasoline-air hybrid drivetrain, which captures kinetic energy from braking and stores it in the form of compressed air. A hydraulic pump on top of the gearbox stores the air in accumlators, which replace heavy batteryt packs, and the air can be converted back into energy when the car calls for it. While there have been attempts to build lightweight air-powered cars before, they all suffered from the same lack of power and driving range to make them practical, but the Peugeot 208 2L solves that with a gas engine.
A 82 horsepower 1.2 liter gasoline engine is the sole powerplant offered, though the 208 2L comes with three driving modes; Gasoline, Air, and Hybrid modes, which are all self-explanatory. Peugeot also added aerodynamic enhancements like new alloy wheels and and a roof spoiler to smooth out airflow, making the 208 2L as efficient as possible.
But it’s just a concept car, right? Technically, yes, at least for now, but Peugeot is alrady hinting that the HYbrid air drivetrain is more than just an exercise in efficient engineering. By 2016, Peugeot has hinted that it will bring its air-powered car to the market in another model. The 208 2L will be joined in Paris by a refreshed and well-recieved Peugeot Exalt concept as well.
Hint hint?
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