100 MPG Plug In Prius on display in Boston
The Embedded Systems Conference in Boston played host to a buildup of a 100-mpg Prius equipped with a pair of additional battery packs and plug-in facilities. If Toyota won't build a series hybrid to compete with GM's burgeoning E-Flex program, aftermarket innovators will help them along. The retrofitted Prius can drive up to 14 miles in EV mode, and if you keep your boot out of it, the developers say that the 100mpg number is attainable. The car had been previously disassembled, and the retrofit was installed live during the show.
The system design was cooked up by the California Cars Initiative and uses newly designed batteries from Nilar that reduce size, weight, and internal resistance. Nilar's developments result in a battery that's equal in power to the standard Prius battery, but about half the length. The conversion does run into the low tens of thousands, but you can make the math work if you keep the car for ten years, bringing the cost for the additional hardware down to $1,000 per year.
Video trailer posted after the jump
[Source: Automotive Design Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Snowdog 1:58PM (9/27/2007)
Argh. Can we stop supporting these bullshit 100MPG plug in claims.
The car does NOT get 100MPG. It gets its standard 40-50MPG with some additional plug-in electric only range.
Not only that but this extra range is hideously expensive and since you start using the Hybrid like a PHEV those extra battery packs are going to get beat down fast. Your cost/mile is going to be higher than GAS.
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