GENERAL MOTORS, maker of the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid, announced on Wednesday, 12th October 2011 that it will begin selling a totally electric subcompact car in 2013. Named as Chevy Spark EV, the subcompact will be sold in select markets in the U.S. and will use nano-phosphate lithium-ion battery pack supply by A123 Systems Inc. based in America.
The EV will be based on the popular gasoline version Chevrolet Spark (referred as Holden Barina Spark in Australia), but featuring a full-electric powertrain.
Visual of Spark EV
Concept of the powertrain and chassis dsitribution
Current gasoline driven Chevy Spark
This model will be the rival of Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiev, Honda Fit EV, Ford Focus EV, and Scion, competing in small and medium passenger car segment.
The diminutive Chevy Spark could undermine the idea that the time is right for EV mass implementation to auto market worldwide.
India version of Spark EV called as Beat showed earlier
Anyway, the California Air Resource Board’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandates require that the auto industry’s top six companies collectively produce approximately 25,000 gas-free cars between 2013 and 2015. Because of the ZEV credit system’s complexity—which allows buying credits as well as producing cars—the exact number of vehicles mandated for each automaker is not precise. Observers believe the number is approximately 1,500 to 3,000. Introducing an EV might be one of GM strategy to meet the requirement.
Even for Chevy Volt, it can only satisfy 50% of the GM’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) credit requirement—and that’s only after the car is certified as an Enhanced Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (EAT-PZEV). Since current Volt is classified as a conventional hybrid, GM is required to produce either an all-electric car or a fuel-cell vehicle. The Spark could represent the least expensive option for GM to meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandate. Anyway, GM is not the only company producing electric vehicles only as meeting the minimal compliance pathway to meet ZEV mandates.
No matter if you can't afford a plane ticket to Frankfurt or entrance ticket for the Motorshow. It all doesn't matter. It is time to put a summary to all the concept cars show during Frankfurt Motorshow 2011 in order to save browsing time! Below are the eye-catchers from big players..
Ford Evos
The Ford Evos Concept isn't just a slick styling exercise, it points directly at future design elements you'll see in production vehicles as close as four months away. And if gullwing doors are the new "it" feature of concept cars, the Evos has "it" in spades. Two enormous doors open upward for passengers while two smaller doors serve for cargo.
The Evos' interior mixes high style and high tech, with a handsome four-passenger layout and a concept version of the company's next-generation Sync system. The red driver's seat is a tad over the top though.
BMW i3
"Born Electric" is the tag line attached to BMW's "i" line of concept cars. The i3 Concept is designed for the urban environment and in addition to all-electric operation its enormous windows offer outward visibility exellent. The i3's specially designed Michelin tires balance low rolling resistance and performance, with unique compounds and construction which will probably see production.
Subaru XV
Hyundai i30
BMW 1 Series
Audi S7
BMW i8
The BMW i8 Concept pushes forward the idea you can have your cake and eat it too. A performance EV that looks good and delivers one BMW promise of the ultimate driving machine. Like its less exotic i3 companion, the i8 pushes the envelop of design, combining well-known BMW attributes with Buck Rogers futurism.
Volkswagen Nils
Citroen Tubik
The Tubik's reconfigurable cabin can accomodate up to seven, but can also look a lot like a fashionable living room.
Peugeot HX1
This is the Peugeot HX1. The impossibly slick concept boasts several unique design elements, not the least of which is the ability to go from four to six-passenger seating—the middle bucket seats slide forward into the back of the front seats. Active aerodynamic elements and a low profile contribute to a slippery performance in the wind tunnel. The B-pillar-less design of the passenger cabin makes ingress for the six passenger arrangement possible. Here you can see the seats configured for two passengers on the drivers side and three on the passenger's side.
Kia GT
The Kia GT is the latest signal from the Korean automaker it intends to continue a torrid product assault. The rear wheel drive sport sedan features a 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 and 389 hp and 394 lb-ft of torque all running through an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Audi Urban
One of two open-wheeled concepts from Audi, the all-electric Urban Concept takes the idea of a microcar to the extreme. There is also Audi Urban Spyder Concept available, it is all the fun and frugality of the Urban Concept but sans roof.
Jaguar C-X16
Jaguar unveiled a slinky new concept it calls the C-X16. The two-seater features a hybridized twin-turbocharged V6 good for 380 hp. The really interesting part is a "KERS" style passing system: press the steering wheel mounted button and a kick from the electric motor delivers an additional 143 hp. The best part? You should expect to see something very similar showing up in Jaguar showrooms for about $50,000.
Land Rover DC100
The Land Rover DC100 Sport Concept is a fanciful stab at reimagining the Defender product into something a little less serious.
Fisker Surf
At first glance, you'll agree with me that this is similar to Ferrari FF which has been launched recently in Malaysia by NAZA Italia. Fisker has added some junk to the trunk of its Karma and dubbed it the Surf concept. The sleek hybrid shooting brake addresses some complaints of a lack of trunk space while looking like a million bucks. This Surf is numbered "1 of 50" which may indicated a definite intent to produce them. We can say the perennially under development hybrid luxo barge is showing some signs of definite refinement as it nears actual series production.
Lotus Exige R-GT
Lotus has been talking up its intent to return to rally racing and the Exige R-GT shows how they intend to do it. The Exige R-GT will be available to privateer customers interested in fielding a copy in any FIA sanctioned rally event, although at this time Lotus has no intent to field a factory-backed team. The bevvy of rally lights strictly adhere's to Colin Chapman's edict to always "Add Lightness," just in a more creative interpretation.
Mercedez Benz F125
This hydrogen hybrid concept has been reviewed few days back. The Mercedes-Benz F125 celebrates the company's 125 year history and projects what Mercedes believes is the future to come. The entire machine balances retro cues, futuristic elements, and eco-friendly thinking—it's powered with a plug-in hybrid hydrogen fuel cell. The wide-open interior of the F125 includes sustainable materials and a rattan seat covering.
Audi A2
It has been posted on my earlier post. The Audi A2 Concept is a techno tour de force. A massive 31 kWhr battery delivers a 124 mile range yet somehow the car tips the scales at a featherweight 2,5,35 lbs. The laser-based warning system is a first though, projecting a warning triangle in the mist beind the car during bad weather.
Smart Forvision
The Smart Forvision Concept is a peek at the next direction Daimler will take with the tiny two seater. Far more organic than the current car, the Forvision makes extensive use of plastics to reduce weight in comparison to the current ForTwo.
Volvo You
The You concept is quite large, but manages to look serious and sleek at the same time. And like others, B-pillar-less!
Alfa Romeo 4C (revised concept)
This concept has been showed during Geneva Motorshow this year. However, to maximise the performance, it rely heavily on carbon fibre body. Special for Frankfurt, it also include some minor tweaks to the styling and the new "fluid metal" silver paint.
Some key on the design: Most of the SEDAN/COUPE segment concepts are without B-pillar (pillar-less), Most of the models using light-guide lamps (either rear lamp or head lamp).
Alfa Romeo 4C (revised concept)
Some key on the design: Most of the SEDAN/COUPE segment concepts are without B-pillar (pillar-less), Most of the models using light-guide lamps (either rear lamp or head lamp).
In the future, we won't need door handles.
Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic is one of life’s supreme drags, eating up hours that could be spent doing anything else besides inching forward while cars on the side of the barricade whiz by in the other opposite direction.
It was just such a scenario that gave birth to the EV A2, Audi’s new concept car, which takes over in congested traffic and frees you up to do other things--like using the built-in Wi-Fi to complain on Facebook about how it’s taken you three hours to move less than a mile.
The squat, compact A2, introduced yesterday at the Frankfurt Motor Show, also has a touchscreen user interface designed to assume such burdensome peripheral duties as turning on the high beams and windshield wipers. What else won’t you have to worry about? Straining your wrist on door handles.
This model has none, as the doors open and close in response to gestural commands. Sweet, I guess.
The driver-less A2 is actually something of a logical conclusion, given Audi's joint venture with Stanford in creating a self-driving car. That technology is actually here, and it works. (And cars operating in greater synch might be the only way to alleviate our present traffic problems.)
But that may not be the point: Something like the Audi A2 would probably work best if it were fully self-driving; the ability to engage and disengage that feature would surely create some pretty horrifying/hilarious accidents. It has been posted on our previous article on autonomous pilot drive under testing by big automakers including Audi using Audi TTS before. Check it. Granted, commercial airplanes already fly on auto-pilot for the greater share of many journeys, but the saving grace is that the procedures around its use are highly regimented (and those pilots also don't fly solo). Would it possible to design some of the regimented behavior into a driver-less car?
