Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid
Wrightspeed creator wants to build series hybrid HD pickup truck
Our friend Mike Levine, the proprietor of PickupTruck.com recently had a chance to talk to Ian Wright. You may recall that Ian is the driving force behind WrightSpeed, the company developing an electric sports car called the X1 based on the chassis of the Ariel Atom. Ian may be a fan of electric cars but he also needs to drive a heavy duty pickup to haul lumber on his property. He is exactly the kind of person that GM had in mind when they started developing their two-mode hybrid system on their full-size trucks. Not everyone who drives a big truck does it just to look cool, many also use them for their intended purpose. With that though in mind Wright wants to develop a series hybrid powertrain for use in heavy duty pickups. While a diesel HD pickup is actually quite efficient in terms of gallons per pound per mile when they are loaded, when they are empty they suck. An electric powertrain would be very efficient when the truck is empty and still has enough torque for loads. A big truck also has the space to package batteries under the bed that wouldn't be as available in a smaller car. Wright wants to develop the technology and then either license it to car-makers or build the systems and supply to them at assembly time. Check out Mike's whole article at PickupTruck.com
[Source: PickupTruck.com, thanks to Mike for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Domenick 10:47AM (10/15/2007)
I like the way Ian Wright thinks. It seems to me a truck is perfect application for an electric drivetrain. Lots of torque, and lots of room for batteries and a generator. Perfect for hauling and hunting.
I hope to see a prototype with all wheel drive AND steering sitting on 44's. ^_^
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BassClef 4:56PM (10/15/2007)
Hell yeah! As the owner of a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins TurboDiesel I am baffled as to why nobody has put this idea to work. Almost all truckers who know anything about hybrids have variants of this idea dancing in the back of their heads. If such a truck were brought to market with 4WD, a 4-door cab, on-sight power generation, and a price of not more than $60,000 (my truck was $42k) they will sell as quickly as they get to the dealer.
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Chris M 6:14PM (10/15/2007)
Wrightspeed could take an approach similar to what Phoenix Motors is doing - buying trucks without engines or transmision, then adding the batteries, motor, and generator. The question is who would he get the "gliders" from? Getting them from local companies like Ford, GM, Dodge, or Toyota would save on shipping, but those companies would likely gear up to make their own "plug-in" if they saw a good market opportunity.
While it will be no problem getting electric motors powerful enough (they power locomotives, after all), there might be a problem getting batteries powerful enough to run the motors at maximum power. One way around that is to run the IC engine generator any time maximum power is needed. Another way is to use a parallel or split path hybrid, and run the IC engine when max power is needed - the parallel and split path hybrid designs have less conversion losses but greater complexity than a serial hybrid design.
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Dave 8:47PM (10/15/2007)
"Wright wants to develop the technology...."
There is no technology to develop. It already exists. It's just expensive. And possibly no more efficient than a parallel hybrid such as the one GM will soon offer in the Silverado.
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