The Independent American Magazine for all Mini Owners
Issue link: http://mc2.epubxp.com/i/33537
This is the key to the whole package: A very compact coupling of a single rotor Wankel engine ZLWK D ÁDW SHUPDQHQW PDJQHW generator means that series hybrid technology can be packaged into small cars as well. The entire power plant is both smaller and lighter than a typical 4-cylinder engine. by Matt Richter Photos courtesy AVL LIST GMBH Illustration by the author W henever BWM/MINI is asked about a hybrid MINI, they say no, the car is too small. But there is a company that has proven that premis wrong. AVL LIST GMBH is a company that makes lots of items for things automotive and one of their divisions, Powertrain Engineering, wanted to show off just what their hybrid technologies could offer. (No, I didn’t know about AVL either, but they are sub-tier suppliers to Ford, among others, and the Fusion Hybrid that won the North American Car of the Year in 2010.) To meet this marketing goal, they chose to create one of the most innovative technological showcases possible: A series hybrid in a MINI Cooper! For those not up on the vocabulary, don’t think Toyota Prius, think Chevy Volt. So what’s a series hybrid? The gasoline (or diesel) engine doesn’t drive the wheels; it turns a generator that creates electricity. This electrical power can then be used to either 46 MC2 Magazine www.mc2magazine.com charge batteries or power the electric motors that drive the car, or some mixture of both. An odd by product of this is that one doesn’t hear the gasoline engine rev up when the car is accelerating, but rather it’s either on or off, running at it’s most efficient point to get the most usable power from each drop of liquid fuel. There are several reasons why a series hybrid is a desirable combo of technologies. We’ll look at the “big hitters” now: Eliminating Range Anxiety One of the biggest criticisms of pure electrics is that they just don’t have enough driving range. And while it’s true that in the US, 70 percent of people drive 100 miles or less on any given day, pure electrics are always dogged by the question, “what do I do if I want to drive farther?” With the series hybrid, the car drives on electricity until the MI N b I mu at on y s y t r ae G h am e t ta e om hn c ir c pa ar in s ty h o a o ss pr m oa vl el t n t o mh ae k e in t m w r o a h y br i on g . d , A Rotary-Hybrid MINI?