Rendered Speculation: Jaguar working on extended-range electric XE roadster?
We've been hearing rumors for at least the last few months that Jaguar was working on a new extended-range electric vehicle. Up until now, we had expected the eco-friendly hardware to show up in the British brand's upcoming XJ revision, but a new report from Motor Trend indicates that Ratan Tata, head of the Indian company that owns Jaguar, is putting his weight behind a new two-seat roadster that would likely be known as the XE.If there's any truth to these rumors, the new XE would use a Chevy Volt-like plug-in capable extended-range electric powertrain consisting of a small three-cylinder gasoline-powered engine driving a generator to keep the onboard batteries topped up. The new XE would supposedly debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 2011 and production would be decided after judging the success of other overtly green vehicles that hit the market ahead of the show. In addition to the EV model, the XE would also feature Jaguar's latest 5.0-liter V8 in both standard and supercharged guises.
[Source: Motor Trend]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mike!!ekiM 11:37AM (6/13/2009)
Why don't they try that small Turbine Engine?
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RAN 2:23PM (6/13/2009)
There was also mention of a pure EV version. I don't know why every company that's doing series hybrids doesn't offer a BEV model. Once they've got the hybrid figured out, the straight EV should be easy. They should also offer it with a choice of ranges. C'mon Jaguar, Fisker, GM, etc., you're hurting yourselves by forcing potential customers to accept the one version *you* decide to grace us with.
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Charles 4:57PM (6/13/2009)
Extended range EV is the paradigm of the next decade. Full EV won't be practical for at least another 10 years (charging infrastructure for long trips, quick charges, battery capacity, smart grids, etc)
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polo 10:16AM (6/14/2009)
The "long trips" charging infrastructure comes on the backend, after the market has already been saturated, so you definitely be seeing alot of pure EVs before every distant location has a charging station. Meanwhile their are still car rentals and I'm sure companies will be offering gas generator rental hitches for the niche buyers who need to make long trips.
polo 10:22AM (6/14/2009)
The long-distance charging infastructure will come in the back-end, after the market is already saturated with enough EVs to justify the expense. You'll be seeing alot of pure EVs before every distant locale has a charging station. For the niche drivers, there are still car rentals and sure they'll also be offering gas generator rental hitches for those long trips
3PeaceSweet 5:55PM (6/13/2009)
Its amazing that the diesel-electric drive train which has been in use in trains and submarines since the 30's hasn't been scaled down and mass produced for automobile use. The small engines designed for range extenders would also be ideal for CHP.
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DasBoese 11:56PM (6/13/2009)
Diesel-electric is not similar to range-extended electric. It's a common mistake really.
The diesel-electric drivetrain in locomotives usually doesn't have any batteries, it's primary advantage are the torque characteristics of electric motors, not needing extremely heavy and expensive gearboxes and the ability to switch between diesel and grid power on electricified rail lines.
There were actually cars using that drivetrain, Leno has one if you're interested, but for obvious reasons they never became popular. RE-EVs with batteries have also been built multiple times, but they ultimately suffered from the same problem of inadequate batteries that has made pure EVs impractical and/or expensive until now.
Chris M 6:25PM (6/13/2009)
There is no doubt that the success and jaw dropping performance of the Tesla Roadster has inspired several EV and PHEV programs. Not surprising that a high performance marque like Jaguar would want a piece of that market.
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Javier 3:04AM (6/14/2009)
Jet hybrid Ford focus
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Photo-Release-Capstone-C30-pz-15498531.html?.v=1
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