Connaught Motor to Build Hybrid Sports Coupe
29 March 2007
Connaught hybrid. |
Connaught Motor Co. announced that it will build the Connaught Type D high performance hybrid sports coupe at a new plant in southwest Wales. Connaught unveiled the hybrid as a concept in 2004. (Earlier post.)
Connaught will begin with a conventional version, the four-seater Connaught Type D GT Syracuse, with a V10 2.0-liter supercharged 300hp engine, to be delivered in early 2008. The Syracuse will be followed by the hybrid version: the Connaught Type-D h V10 sports coupe.
The mild hybrid coupe will deliver a top speed of 150 miles per hour (mph), with 0 to 60 mph acceleration in 6.2 seconds and estimated fuel economy of 42 mpg Imperial (35 mpg US or 6.7 l/100km).
Connaught designed its own engine and powertrain, which combines an all-aluminum, ultra-compact, V10 engine with a Lynch electric motor and a supercapacitor system for energy storage. Future developments could include V8 and V12 versions of the engine.
The Connaught mild hybrid system (C-MHS) provides a flat torque curve across the entire engine rev range. The Lynch electric motor is attached to the crankshaft nose via a variable gearing system designed to exploit the fact that an electric motor delivers its highest torque at its lowest speeds. The motor is powered by, and recharges, a 48-volt electrical supply.
The hybrid offers three modes of operation. Sport mode uses all available motor assistance, but will use up the battery power so it cannot be engaged all the time. Normal mode adds battery charging on deceleration (regenerative braking) and rations the motor assistance. Economy mode maximizes the deceleration charge.
The hybrid sports coupe delivers a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to vehicles in its class, according to Connaught. Connaught anticipates building 100 cars in the first year, 250 in the second year, and ultimately increasing to 1,000 in year five.
Here we go again. Do we really need a limited production, hybrid, high performance vehicle that can go 150MPH and 0-60 in 6.2? Or do we need an affordable hybrid commuter vehcile that gets 70mpg, 0-60 in 10-12 seconds with a top speed of 80MPH. If high performance is the goal, just stick with an ICE and save yourselves some money!
This is just another toy for the Jay Lenos and George Clooneys of the world. Wow, they are going to need to build a bigger garage to hold their toys!!!
Posted by: Mark A | 29 March 2007 at 09:45 AM
I agree, what the heck went on at that brainstorming session when they decided this mild hybrid would have a market appeal? Were ANY "world concsious" people invited at this meeting?
Posted by: Richard | 29 March 2007 at 10:33 AM
ZAP has announced a similar car engineered by Lotus (who also designed the Tesla.)
http://www.zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=4560
Seems these guys think that high performance new tech cars in the hands of high profile "elites" will garner acceptance for consumer products to come. Same reason auto makers enter NASCAR and other endurance races with their brand names all over the place.
They call it brand "loyalty" or some such drivel.
Posted by: sulleny | 29 March 2007 at 12:31 PM
just what the world needs now , another tin box for over caffinated tossers !
Posted by: andrichrose | 29 March 2007 at 02:22 PM
I don't necessarily have a problem with the idea of a low production hybrid sports car, or even SUV for that matter. Just don't try to pass it off as a 'Green' vehicle. Hybrid technology is just one of many ways to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and the fact that you implement it in your vehicle does not make the vehicle 'Green.' Here's a little hint: If your hybrid vehicle still doesn't use less fuel than a mid-80's sedan (30+ mpg), it sure as hell ain't Green!
Posted by: Bob Bastard | 29 March 2007 at 02:30 PM
Hey Bob, if the mid-80's sedan is the benchmark (30+mpg), then, I hope my patience doesn't run out waiting for these feelgood niche Green manufactures to figure out that a gallon saved is a gallon earned torwards the next purchase of a more efficient vehcle. It Could be, their going to pass off a lot more of this mild-hybrid eco sensible wrapping to appease the ICE infrastructure and their cohorts, before really mandating any significant efficiency gains to curb emissions and their effects on living things. I have to breath the toxic gasses that are emitted from these mobile pollution sreaders as I try to roll on self-propelled emission free transportation. I am trying to do my part in alleviating what is becomming a real threat to the health and saftey of the numbskulls who are buying these Green "whatever" vehicles.
Posted by: William | 29 March 2007 at 04:06 PM
Just turbocharge a Honda Insight, cheaper, and just as fast.
Better gas milage too.
Posted by: Ash | 29 March 2007 at 08:39 PM
Hybrid drivetrain is universal technology, and could be applied to any application. To achieve record-breaking fuel efficiency as on Insight, overall versatility as in Prius, performance as in Accord and Lexus, heavy duty applications on buses and trucks, or even on stealth military vehicles.
As for me, I am waiting for small (short wheel base is the must) performance coupe with front wheel drive Prius-like drivetrain plus two electric motors on rear wheels, with dynamic stability control. Nothing fancy, 100 hp gas engine will do for me (plus 80 hp peak electrical power). In this layout with about 1200 kg weight and small frontal area fuel consumption could be about 60 mpg.
Posted by: Andrey | 29 March 2007 at 10:05 PM
300hp/L out of an Insight? Whoo boy, feel free to try. It's nice seeing smaller displacement 6/8s... With aggressive cylinder deactivation and the right gearing, they could probably see 50-60mpg cruising on the highway.
Posted by: yesplease | 30 March 2007 at 11:48 AM
vesplease
HP/L doesn't mean anything.
HP/Weight and HP/Aerodynamics do.
HP/L is for fantasy.
Also the above setup doesn't have 300hp/L, it has 150hp/L, which the Insight has already been pushed to with turbocharging Plus the IMA motor... while yielding the same gas milage.
Posted by: Ash | 30 March 2007 at 02:58 PM
First off, if the Insight requires both the 1L engine and electric motor to make 150hp, it's not making 150hp/L in any conventional sense. It's making whatever hp/L plus however much power the electric motor provides.
If we take a supercharged 2L motor making ~300hp and drop it in a chassis of about 1 ton, a vehicle of similar weight will only be [i]just as fast[/i] if it has similar power output. Unless that 1L motor is making 300hp/L, it won't be [i]just as fast[/i]. We can adjust the figures for actual weight, but the point remains... So, an Insight won't be [i]just as fast[/i] w/o ~300hp/L.
Posted by: yesplease | 30 March 2007 at 04:54 PM
Heh, use "just as fast"or just as fast instead of [i]just as fast[/i].
Posted by: yesplease | 30 March 2007 at 04:56 PM
Again yesplease, you are confusing Hp/Liter with Hp/Weight.
HP/liter doesn't mean anything... ever.
Posted by: Ash | 31 March 2007 at 08:28 AM
Of course it does. Hp/L means peak power compared to engine displacement. Hp/Weight means peak power compared to vehicle weight. A 1L 1 Ton car has to make ~300Hp/L to be just as fast as a 2L 1 ton car making ~150Hp/L. We can't simply slap a turbocharger on a Honda Insight and have a car that's just as fast as a 300hp car of about the same weight. The only Turbocharged Insight I've heard of is on InsightCentral.net. It goes from 0-60s in ~9s instead of 11s, and still wouldn't be as fast as the mild hybrid version of this coupe.
Posted by: yesplease | 31 March 2007 at 11:34 AM
Whether we like it or not, there will always be a market for high performance vehicles. If someone buys this, or a Zap-X, or a Tesla, instead of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Bugatti, then yes it deserves some credit for its greenness. Furthermore, the best way to popularize this new technology is to make it an aspiration for the gearheads of the world. The sad fact is that there are just too few people that will buy a car solely for its environmental impact. Coolness is in the eye of the beholder. My personal gratitude goes out to those that recognize and embrace this aspect of the world, instead of just trying to fight it and change people's mindsets. Kudos to Connaught, Tesla, Zap, even Toyota (http://www.lexus.com/models/RXh/features/performance.html, http://www.lexus.com/2008lsh_prelaunch/lsh_popup.html?s_ocid=30106),
and the many others yet to come.
Posted by: Tom Prucha | 01 April 2007 at 11:24 AM