This Peugeot can run on air

The French automaker is testing out a hybrid 208 that runs on petrol and air.

Utter the words ‘hybrid vehicles’ and the first car that usually comes to mind is the Prius. Toyota’s urban conquering Prius has, for years been the stalwart vehicle of those trying to clear their conscience of any wrongdoing, which involves global warming. It offers the practicality of a regular hatchback but with the fuel consumption of a frugal supermini.

It achieves this through the use of two propulsion systems, namely, a regular run of the mill petrol engine and an electric motor. Working in tandem, they are able to offer far better fuel consumption figures than conventional vehicles of an equivalent power output.

Over the years, this formula has defined what a hybrid vehicle should be. Now however, that is no longer the case. Introducing the Peugeot 208 HYbrid Air 2L Demonstrator, the vehicle that uses a revolutionary new hybrid system, which allows it to run on air.

Based on the regular Peugeot 208 with a 1.2-litre (82bhp) engine, this car, like the Prius, uses two propulsion systems. One’s a regular 1.2-litre engine, the other, in place of the electric motor used by the Toyota, is a compressed air system. The compressed air can be used to aid the petrol engine or propel the car all on its own, which is similar to what an electric motor does.

The system is comprised of a compressed air-tank located below the boot, a low-pressure tank near the rear axle that acts as an expansion chamber and a hydraulic system consisting of a motor and pump.

When in air mode, the car doesn’t consume any petrol, which is good for traveling at a leisurely pace. When speed is required, the 1.2-litre engine springs to life and takes over. Working together these systems are able to give the HYbrid Air Peugeot a fuel consumption figure of 2 litres per 100km or 50km/L.

The compressed air tank can be refilled when the vehicle slows down or by tasking the petrol engine to compress the air, with either method taking a mere 10 seconds to complete the task.

Though based on the regular 208, this car weighs a minuscule 860kg, which is a whole 100kg less than the standard car. That’s because materials such as a mix of steel, aluminum and composites were used in its construction. Carbon composites have been used for body panels, sides, and doors along with the coil springs providing suspension. Besides the new materials, the existing ones were also reworked to reduce their overall weight. Peugeot even tweaked the car’s aerodynamic properties including lowering the stance in order to achieve the best fuel consumption figures possible.

Peugeot is still working out the kinks, but hopes that collaboration with other partners can bring this fuel sipper to the general public in the not so distant future, which is part of the French government’s plan of introducing an ultra fuel efficient car by 2020.

-motor trader