Manufacturer spotlight: Vauxhall

Poll

Should UK Government look to privatise our roads?

  • View Results
Subscribe to RSS feed. Sign up for our newsletter

Awards won by TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk

The Green Apple Awards 2011 GreenFleet Award

Information

Archive

Image illustrating our Kindle Touch competition.

Boston Power reveals electrified version of Mercedes E-Class

Boston Power and Protean Electric have joined forces to provide lithium-ion battery systems and electric in-wheel motor solutions for two new BRABUS vehicles that are based on the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

The new high performance vehicles were unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

The first is the 4WD Full Electric that comes with an all-new electric vehicle system that has been developed to demonstrate a peak combined 320kW and 3,200Nm torque from pure electric power. It has an operating range of 217miles using a 56kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

The second meanwhile, is the BRABUS hybrid saloon car, which is based on the E220 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY. It has a hybrid system that powers the rear wheels along with the internal combustion engine with the Protean Electric in-wheel motors adding 110hp and 800Nm of peak torque. Overall it can accelerate from 0-62mph in 7.4seconds. Fuel economy is actually improved by about 30 per cent compared to a vehicle not equipped with the Protean Electric in-wheel motors thanks to the high efficiency and regenerative braking it employs.

In addition, the BRABUS 4WD Full Electric car will be the first vehicle to feature Boston Power’s 1.2kWh liquid cooled module Swing Medley. It features the same capabilities as Boston Power’s air-cooled battery systems including 50 per cent more usable energy density by volume; and a 10-year reliable calendar life.

See also

Paul Lucas, September 15, 2011
Filed under: Electric cars,Green cars,Latest news,Mercedes

1 comment

Alex Kovnat

What I would like to see is a modified version of the Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius, or any other hybrid electric front wheel drive car whereby wheel motors would be installed on the rear wheels. The benefits I see are as follows: By pushing harder on one rear wheel than the other, wheel hub motors on the rear wheels would make it possible to control steering dynamics. FWD vehicles have an exaggerated understeer tendency and while one might not want oversteer, one may prefer a lesser degree of understeer.

In addition, I have noticed with my 2005 Toyota Corolla that on slippery surfaces (i.e. when its raining), the drive wheels spin when I step on the gas to get going when a red light changes to green. Motoring the rear wheels would hopefully, reduce this wheelspin tendency.

With rear wheel drive vehicles such as pickup trucks, motoring the front wheels would improve regenerative braking effectiveness, enable one to control steering dynamics, and again, provide additional traction when needed.

September 15, 2011

Leave a comment

Popular posts

Image: Biofuels: the pros and cons
Image: Hybrid cars: a guide
Image: LPG conversion: a helpful guide
The Green Piece
Available UK charge points for electric vehicles