A BMW 1 Series front-wheel drive powered by hydrogen? That seems to be the latest rumors. According to a report by Autoblog.nl, BMW has big plans for the 1 Series family. From a four-cylinder gasoline engine, to fuel cell and electric drivetrain, all the technology comes together in this secret project.
And did we forget to mention front-wheel drive?
It all start with relatively normal 120 horsepower four-cylinder gasoline engine. But opening the hood, gives us the big surprise: this concept has a front-wheel drive. At least, on longer journeys.
The rear-drive system is still there, but only operated by an electric motor. This unit gets its energy from some very powerful capacitors and fuel cells. The fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, and recharges the batteries. The capacitors temporarily store electricity from the fuel. During acceleration, they can provide a great amount of energy. The energy coming from braking gets stored as well.
The fuel cell and electric motor are designed for urban driving. The four-cylinder is available when traveling over long-distances. Best case scenario gives us a car with very little to none emissions.
According to BMW, this technique implemented in the concept is still very expensive, but this gives us some hope that BMW hydrogen cars remain important in BMW’s strategy.
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2010/03/27/bmw-1 ... d-concept/