Posted on : August 25, 2008
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The world’s premier
car-manufacturing company, BMW, is now offering S400 BlueHybrid. Besides being
powered by 3.5 liter V-6, it has a lithium-ion battery, which Daimler R&D
boss Thomas Weber described the hybrid as “a crucial breakthrough.”
The main aim for S400
manufacturing is fuel efficiency and not performance. Its V-6 engine comes
encumbered with a 20-hp electric motor. It stands proud of its combustion efficiency:
when the car is not moving, the V-6 will turn off and it kicks back on as soon
as the driver moves the car. When stationary, the battery will be charging; the
electric motor assists in acceleration though it can’t propel the car.
Integrated in the car’s cooling
system is the compact lithium-ion battery module, which is a pure Mercedes
production initiative. BMW has 25 patents on the battery. It is even more
powerful than the usual nickel-metal hydride batteries whose main purpose is to
ensure optimal operating temperature.
The S400 can go for a super-speed
sprint of 0-to-62 mph in 7.3 seconds with a governed pull of 155 mph. This
magnificent product of car-manufacturing ingenuity can produce 295 horsepower
and torque of 277 pound-feet; it delivers 30 mpg on the European cycle, all in
S-class comfort and class. Having a tight package, the car has all the hybrid
equipment under the hood, not causing any space incursion and discomfort on its
passengers.
The BlueHybrid has 7.9 liter gasoline consumption per 100 km in the
NEDC, resulting to a low CO2 emission, which is only 190 grams per kilometer,
very low for its class type.
Car buyers or prospective buyers
for luxury cars, sedans in particular, have no environment-friendly
alternatives to the V8 models, but with the Blue Hybrid one can enjoy the
S-class luxury and comfort with improved fuel economy.
Dr. Thomas Weber, member of the Daimler AG Board of Management and
responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development has this to
say: "What we have here is a groundbreaking key technology that is going
to be a decisive factor for the future success of the automotive industry. That
is a tribute to our intensive research efforts, which we have been conducting
in this area since 1992."
