VDS VISION
The car of the 21st century
Twenty universities and colleges are working on the development of the VDS VISION, a revolutionary and environmentally friendly car we want to commercialise at the Indian and Chinese market. The Belgian VDS GROUP T Team is developing the lightweight frame and the electrical motor.
Specifications
|
Initial performance and safety criteria |
|
|
Persons |
six Indian adults in comfort |
|
Life cycle impact |
95% reduction in materials and energy, compared to today’s standards |
|
Curb mass |
600 kg |
|
Fuel economy |
1 - 1.5 liter / 100 km (200 MPG) energy equivalent |
|
Range |
320 km (200 miles), both city and inter-city use |
|
Maximum speed |
120 km/h for the curb mass |
|
Acceleration |
0 – 100 km/h in 11 seconds, for curb mass |
|
Motor power |
30 kilowatt |
|
Safety systems |
ABS, Traction control, Vehicle stability system |
|
Life span |
200,000 km |
|
Crash test ratings |
NCAP ****, pedestrian impact ** |
Features
Hybrid plugin architecture
The hybrid architecture selected for use in the VDS VISION will utilize an electric motor and an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to maximize fuel efficiency and optimize vehicle performance. The increased fuel economy is achieved primarily through 3 mechanisms: a) Reducing wasted energy during idle/low output by utilizing the more efficient electric motor and turning off the APU; b) Recapturing waste energy (e.g. regenerative braking); and c) reducing the size and power of the APU unit, which often has 10x more power than required for nominal cruising conditions in order to meet acceleration requirements.
Vehicles are a leverage point for radical and systemic change. 90% of all commuting requires is within a 50 mile range. To address this, the VDS Vision is designed as a two-mode vehicle with a design optimized for short and long distance transportation. Batteries will give the vehicle a 75 kilometre range without use of any APU, and the plug-in feature enables easy charging at home. For longer trips, the APU provides range up to 320 km.
To address variation in regional demand and infrastructure, six propulsion teams will work to develop a set of modular APU’s for the VDS Vision. These will allow the vehicle to quickly be reconfigured to run on hydrogen, compressed natural gas, methane, ethanol, biodiesel, or straight electricity. This modular characteristic will enable the vehicle to dynamically meet different load requirements and consumer demands.
Performance and safety
To be viable, marketable, and successful it follows that the Vision must provide exceptional safety, please the driver and passenger, and otherwise outperform other vehicles currently competing in its niche market. The high-level design requirements of the vehicle to be produced in VDS take this into consideration.
Compare the VISION with...
