Jaguar and Lotus Working on Series Hybrid Limo

[dpeilow]

Limo Green: Jaguar drives to be green - Times Online

When the Limo Green prototype is unveiled later this year it will not look very different from the restyled XJ saloon that goes on sale in 2010. However, Limo Green is a “series hybrid”, which means it is an electric car with an on-board generator to keep the batteries charged.

That sets it apart from the hybrids now available, such as the Toyota Prius, which uses a combustion engine and an electric motor. It can also be plugged into the domestic mains to provide enough charge for 30 miles of zero-emis-sions electric motoring.

Jaguar is working on this project with the engineering division of Lotus, the Motor Industry Research Association, and Caparo, a specialist in aluminium construction.

A powerful (170 bhp) electric motor will give Limo Green comparable performance to a diesel-engined Jaguar XJ, but with the maximum speed restricted to 112mph. The headline figure is an average fuel consumption of 57mpg. Carbon dioxide output will be less than 120g/km, perhaps even dropping below the 100g/km limit that qualifies for zero road tax.

Putting Limo Green into production will take three years and cost £500m.

What it doesn't say here that is in the paper version is that the range extender is a 47bhp unit supplied by Lotus and the entire car will weigh under 1350kg thanks to extensive use of aluminium. Li-ion batteries would sit in the usual spare wheel area.


I wonder how much running gear is shared with the forthcoming Lotus REEV?

 

[dpeilow]

Jaguar to build extended range-EV version of new XJ in 2011

Autocar - Jaguar to build hybrid XJ

The completely reworked XJ is due to arrive in 2010 with a look heavily derived from the smaller XF. A year later, the Indian owned British luxury maker will launch a plug-in version with 30 miles of electric only range that should help the big car get 47 mpg (US) and a CO2 emissions rating of less than 120 g/km.

 

[efusco]

Another link to the Jag story:
Jaguar To Join The Electric Bandwagon
(it refers back to the Autocar story)
Jaguar is going to join the electric car party now that it's secured a £307 million ($450 million) loan from the European Investment Bank, reports Autocar.

Their offering will be a Jaguar XJ plug-in hybrid along the lines of the Karma or the Chevy Volt. They hope to get 30 miles from an electric charge and after that the car will be fueled by gasoline. The average commute lasts only 30 miles, so that should be enough to avoid gas, but that target is much lower than what Tesla or Fisker offer.

Tesla says its Roadster gets 244 miles on a single charge. It's new Model S should be able to get 160 miles for the low end model. The Fisker Karma gets 50 miles on a single charge, and it too has a gasoline engine to power it when the charge dries up.

The current (gas powered) model of the Jaguar XJ starts at $66,475. Make it electric, and we see the price jumping as batteries cost an additional $20,000 on average. At that price, it's just as expensive as a Fisker Karma, and much pricier than the $57,400 Tesla Model S.

The Karma will roll out at the end of the year, and if Tesla gets a loan from the DOE, production of the Model S will start in late 2011. Jaguar wants to start production in 2011 as well, says Autocar.