Aside from the traditional red double decker bus, the other iconic transportation image from London England is the classic black taxi. The purpose-built taxis have been use in London and other British cities for decades, trundling around powered by small noisy diesel engines. The current TX4 version is built by London Taxi International (LTI). LTI is partnering with Intelligent Energy, Lotus Engineering and TRW Conekt to build a test fleet of fuel cell powered London cabs. The fuel cell system provided by Intelligent Energy will fit into the engine compartment of the cab providing a maximum speed of 75mph and better acceleration than the standard diesel cab. Lotus will handle packaging and integration of the new electric drive system as well as the control systems to make it all work. TRW Conekt will handle the safety analysis, and testing of the controls, electrical systems and electronics. The goal is to have 50-100 fuel cell cabs operating on the streets of London before the 2012 Summer Olympic games take place there.

[Source: Intelligent Energy]

Launched three weeks ago by LTI Vehicles, the next generation of purpose-built London taxis, the TX4, is now available on Edinburgh streets. The TX4 looks like previous generation London taxis, but under the hood and inside the cab there have been some changes. Most interesting for us is the lower-emissions, Euro IV compliant VM turbodiesel engine, which puts out either 211 grams of CO2 per kilometer with a manual transmission version or 233 gm/k with an automatic. Combined mileage numbers are 36.2 (manual) and 32 (automatic).

Cabbie David Hamilton is the first to buy and operate a TX4, and he called it a much better vehicle overall than the cab he used to drive, a TXII. Hamilton says the TX4 rides better, and has increased power even while emitting less CO2 than the TXII.

[Source: LTI]