Filed under: Hydrogen, Honda, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
Honda FCX concept fuel cell car in depth, Pt. 2 - Styling and powertrain
(Editor's Note: don't miss the Part One of this series)
The new Honda FCX concept is a four-door, four seat sports sedan with a profile reminiscent of the Lamborghini Portofino concept of the late 1980s. It has an extreme cab-forward stance, with a sharply raked windshield, and a fairly tall rear deck. The A-pillars stretch way out toward the front corners with a fixed quarter window between the pillars and the leading edge of the doors. This design element is also reminiscent of another late eighties vehicle, the unfortunate first generation GM mini-vans. However, on this car the whole design seems to work much better.
The roof line sweeps back from the front bumper to trailing edge of the trunk lid one continuous sweep. The total effect is futuristic and slightly aggressive. It definitely doesn't have the top-heavy, slightly clunky look of the current FCX. The 2008 production version will look almost identical to the current prototypes, the main difference likely to be in the front bumper area. The front styling is expected to be maintained but the structure will be modified.
(Continued after the jump)
The 2005 FCX power-train is on the left with the 2008 version on the right.
The insanely short nose is made possible by the redesigned and very compact power-train that Honda has devised. The previous FCX had the the electric motor and transaxle in two different planes. The new design has the gearbox and motor mounted in-line on the same axis, making the whole package almost nine inches shorter than the old one. In addition to being smaller the new motor is has an output increased from 107 to 127 hp. As with other electric power-trains, the gearbox is just a reduction gear-set, but is otherwise direct drive.
Under the hood of the 2005 model.
The fuel cell power-plant is 400 lbs lighter than the unit in the 2005 model. One of the pitfalls of previous fuel cells has been cold-weather start up performance. The Ford Focus FCV that was recently evaluated here needed to be kept above 40 degrees Fahrenheit to start. The 2006 FCX can start up at -4F and the new car with the vertical V Flow fuel cell stack can start-up at -22F. The current model also uses an ultracapacitor instead of a battery. The new version is equipped with a newly designed lithium-ion battery pack to supply supplemental power and also to run the air compressor necessary to get the fuel cell started. The battery is 40 percent lighter and 43 percent smaller in volume than the ultracapacitor while having much more power capacity.
The electro-hydraulic brake unit.
The battery gets recharged by a combination of the fuel cell and regenerative braking. The regen braking is accomplished thanks to an electro-hydraulic brake system that handles the blending of regen and friction braking. In place of the electrically powered vacuum pump used for brake assist on the current car, the new one features hydraulic brake boost. Unlike some systems that integrate the booster with the slip control system, this one uses two separate units. The brake system includes disc brakes at all four corners with an electronic park brake system all suspended by double wishbones in the now classic Honda configuration.
For fuel storage, the new car replaces the two smaller hydrogen cylinders of the current car with a single larger capacity tank. Capacity of the tank is now 4kg (8.8 lbs) of hydrogen gas at 5000 psi. The combination of increased fuel capacity and more efficient powertrain yields a thirty percent improvement in range compared to the 2006 model. The current car goes 210 miles on the EPA combined test mode while the new one goes 270 miles and is expected to improve even more by the time production starts in 2008.
(Up next, the interior and construction of the FCX)
The H2 tank is under the panel labeled FCX Concept in the trunk.
The back end of the 2005 FCX.
The new Honda FCX concept is a four-door, four seat sports sedan with a profile reminiscent of the Lamborghini Portofino concept of the late 1980s. It has an extreme cab-forward stance, with a sharply raked windshield, and a fairly tall rear deck. The A-pillars stretch way out toward the front corners with a fixed quarter window between the pillars and the leading edge of the doors. This design element is also reminiscent of another late eighties vehicle, the unfortunate first generation GM mini-vans. However, on this car the whole design seems to work much better.
The roof line sweeps back from the front bumper to trailing edge of the trunk lid one continuous sweep. The total effect is futuristic and slightly aggressive. It definitely doesn't have the top-heavy, slightly clunky look of the current FCX. The 2008 production version will look almost identical to the current prototypes, the main difference likely to be in the front bumper area. The front styling is expected to be maintained but the structure will be modified.
(Continued after the jump)
The 2005 FCX power-train is on the left with the 2008 version on the right.
The insanely short nose is made possible by the redesigned and very compact power-train that Honda has devised. The previous FCX had the the electric motor and transaxle in two different planes. The new design has the gearbox and motor mounted in-line on the same axis, making the whole package almost nine inches shorter than the old one. In addition to being smaller the new motor is has an output increased from 107 to 127 hp. As with other electric power-trains, the gearbox is just a reduction gear-set, but is otherwise direct drive.
Under the hood of the 2005 model.
The fuel cell power-plant is 400 lbs lighter than the unit in the 2005 model. One of the pitfalls of previous fuel cells has been cold-weather start up performance. The Ford Focus FCV that was recently evaluated here needed to be kept above 40 degrees Fahrenheit to start. The 2006 FCX can start up at -4F and the new car with the vertical V Flow fuel cell stack can start-up at -22F. The current model also uses an ultracapacitor instead of a battery. The new version is equipped with a newly designed lithium-ion battery pack to supply supplemental power and also to run the air compressor necessary to get the fuel cell started. The battery is 40 percent lighter and 43 percent smaller in volume than the ultracapacitor while having much more power capacity.
The electro-hydraulic brake unit.
The battery gets recharged by a combination of the fuel cell and regenerative braking. The regen braking is accomplished thanks to an electro-hydraulic brake system that handles the blending of regen and friction braking. In place of the electrically powered vacuum pump used for brake assist on the current car, the new one features hydraulic brake boost. Unlike some systems that integrate the booster with the slip control system, this one uses two separate units. The brake system includes disc brakes at all four corners with an electronic park brake system all suspended by double wishbones in the now classic Honda configuration.
For fuel storage, the new car replaces the two smaller hydrogen cylinders of the current car with a single larger capacity tank. Capacity of the tank is now 4kg (8.8 lbs) of hydrogen gas at 5000 psi. The combination of increased fuel capacity and more efficient powertrain yields a thirty percent improvement in range compared to the 2006 model. The current car goes 210 miles on the EPA combined test mode while the new one goes 270 miles and is expected to improve even more by the time production starts in 2008.
(Up next, the interior and construction of the FCX)
The H2 tank is under the panel labeled FCX Concept in the trunk.
The back end of the 2005 FCX.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KC 1:48PM (11/16/2006)
So does the new FCX do away with the ultra capacitor altogether or does it have both a LiON battery and an ultra capacitor?
What of the interior? What changes are expected to the interior for the production model? Will they keep the bio-fabric seats?
So is the FCX Concept more comparable in overall size to a civic or an accord? Hopefully in future models they find some way to make a proper 3 passenger back seat.
I guess due to the combustible mature of Hydrogen gas we can kiss 60/40 folding rear seats good by on sedans forever that use this power source. At least future models could increase in length to include a spacious trunk to somewhat offset the sacrifice of the loss of the pass through.
Range is good though. 570Km on a tank of hydrogen in the concept and maybe even more in the production model is definitely going to gain favor with consumers. If they can get it over 600Km per tank for the production model that will be approaching diesel capability. Range and refueling time are what in my opinion - right now anyway - put Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles ahead of pure EVs.
Overall, Honda seems to be the only company right now that's got a fuel cell vehicle that provides a good alternative to comparable gasoline powered vehicles.
Great job on the coverage Sam. hope there's more parts ahead like the interior and the driving experience.
Reply
Sam Abuelsamid 2:25PM (11/16/2006)
1. The ultra capacitor is gone completely. The battery is cheaper, smaller, lighter and has much more capacity than the capacitor. As for the interior, it will stay pretty much as is, including the bio-fabric. In terms of size, it's comparable to an Accord or RL in overall length, but the cabin is much roomier thanks to the overall packaging. The folding back seats could return based on developments in hydrogen storage, especially solid storage systems. A lot of research is being done on alternative storage, and solid systems could probably be made into just about any shape. The current FCX can hold three in back. The new car was designed as more of a luxury sport sedan, to demonstrate what is possible with the latest fuel cell advancements. There is also the aspect of being able to command a somewhat higher price point with this type of car as opposed to a smaller utility type vehicle.
The concepts trunk is actually compromised somewhat because space under the floor is being used for instrumentation during testing. The production version will have more trunk space than is shown on this example. Honda is ahead of the pack right now thanks to the advances they've made on their fuel cell, but Ford, DaimlerChrysler and GM are all working diligently on their cars. I would expect to see something all-new from Ford during 2007. I'm glad your enjoying this series, and the interior and driving impressions are coming shortly. I also have a couple of very interesting interviews coming in the next few days.
Reply
Peter G 11:37AM (11/17/2006)
Math? 270 miles is not 570 kms. It is 434 kms.
Range will be further compromised by distance between filling stations and the need to keep reserve capacity to get to one.
Reply
ksec 1:02PM (11/17/2006)
Sorry but why is 270 miles converted to 570 Km as poster 1 has stated?
Isn't it 1 Mile to 1.609 Km?
Reply
CM 1:57AM (11/18/2006)
What they really should do is throw out the very large hydrogen tank that takes up most of the trunk, throw out the very expensive fuel cell, and run it on the LiIon batteries. Cheaper, much more efficient (85% vs 30%), possibly greater range.
To solve the "long recharge time" problem, design a modular swappable battery pack for a quick change refill. Quicker than refill by compressing hydrogen to 5,000 psi.
Reply
angelo g muzzin 11:58AM (5/06/2007)
yea
Reply