If you’re fed up of all these green cars being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, then why not check out a blue car instead?
Pininfarina and Bollore have displayed the latest version of the Pininfarina BLUECAR at the show as a forerunner to the vehicle which will go into production in Italy starting from 2010. Production on an industrial scale is not expected until between 2011 and 2015 with forecast output being 60,000 by 2015.
The four-seat, five-door vehicle is a compact MPV with automatic transmission powered by an energy storage system comprising of a BatScap lithium-metal polymer battery pack with an array of supercapacitors also produced by Bollore.
The battery pack is likely to be a key feature in the vehicle’s success – it is a laminate of four ultra-thin materials with a cathode composed of vanadium oxide, carbon and polymer to form a plastic composite; a metallic lithium foil anode that acts as a lithium source and current collector; a solid polymeric electrolyte created by dissolving a lithium salt in a solvating co-polymer; and an aluminium foil current collector.
The battery pack will have a capacity of 30kWh with a peak output of 45kW. It can be recharged to support a range of 155miles with the supercapacitors providing greater acceleration and a longer range through the recycling of braking energy. As an additional boost, part of the car’s hood is covered with solar panels to power some of the equipment.
The Bollore group formed a 50-50 joint venture with Pinanfarina at the beginning of 2008 with the aim of the designing, developing, manufacturing and distributing an electric car.
