Although the 2009 Detroit Auto Show didn’t officially start until today, last night Mercedes-Benz showed of its new Concept BlueZero at an off-site reception. The BlueZero exemplifies both the electric and hybrid technology behind the next generation of Mercedes-Benz B-class vehicles as well as their slick new design.
The BlueZero is envisioned with three clean options with its modular powertrain system. Each option is designed for different range requirements. For short range the BlueZero E-cell uses a lithium ion battery pack that will afford the driver a 120-mile range per charge. The mid-range BlueZero F-cell uses a hydrogen fuel cell with a 240-mile range. The long-range E-cell Plus adds a 67 horsepower three-cylinder engine in the rear of the car where the spare tire would normally go. This hybrid form sees the battery cut in half and consequently the battery only range as well, but the total range for the E-Cell Plus is 360 miles.
Also at the off-site reception Mercedes announced a low-volume series production of the fuel cell B-Class in late 2009. This will be followed with a low volume series production of a battery electric vehicle in 2010.
If you’re interested, check out a few more pictures of this impressive electric vehicle.
January 24th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
As usual, more B.S.!! Instead of making the cheaper, easier Electric car, MB enters fantasy land by doing the fuel cell first! At $1 million each, you won’t seem many of those, and at $18/gge you won’t get much fuel for their 3-year lifespan on the $350,000 fuel cell stack and 5-year lifespan on the high-tech tanks to hold 10,000 psi hydrogen.
So like Smart, which is “testing” EVs (!! What’s to test? We drive the Toyota RAV4-EV every day!!), MB is TFS (Totally Full of S***).