New Opel Flextreme Concept Car Includes Pair of Segways

Rüsselsheim/Frankfurt - Opel Flextreme is the name of the concept vehicle that marks a milestone in the development of the electric car: with its completely new, environmentally friendly E-Flex electric propulsion concept most commuters in Europe could travel everyday without producing any CO2 emissions. The car only needs to be charged for a relatively short time through the mains outlet after traveling 55 kilometers. If required however, the Flextreme can travel up to 715 km without stopping to recharge or refuel thanks to its small turbo-diesel engine. According to the European test cycle (ECE R101), this unit’s emissions are expected to be less than 40 g CO2/km. With the dynamic IAA monocab coupé concept, Opel also highlights others innovative solutions – including the electric personal transporters under the FlexLoad® load floor.

The Opel Flextreme uses GM’s E-Flex architecture and represents the company’s strategy to develop vehicles that reduce CO2 emissions and the automobile’s dependency on oil, thereby supporting global diversification of the energy mix. This also includes using the mains electricity network as an energy source. At the concept’s heart is an electric motor that takes its power from a large lithium-ion battery. The difference to conventional hybrid propulsion systems is that the E-Flex system’s 1.3-liter diesel engine is not connected to the wheels. It is purely on board to produce additional electricity to charge the battery and provide a greater operating range. It always operates in the optimum rpm range and its cylinder pressure-based closed loop technology controls the combustion process, further reducing the vehicle’s emissions.

With a fully charged battery, the Flextreme has an operating range of 55 kilometers when running purely on electrical power, and only requires a standard 220 V mains socket to recharge the battery in around three hours. Commuters in Europe have an average commute of less than 50 kilometers, so if they were to charge the car up overnight and during the day, they could drive over 100 km each day without producing any CO₂ emissions. “Commutes to major city-centers in Europe will do nothing but grow more challenging in the future, ",” says Robert A. Lutz, GM Vice Chairman, Global Product Development, “and we see E-Flex vehicles as an elegant solution for commuters.” Bob Lutz sees the Opel Flextreme Concept vehicle as “a natural for the Opel brand in Europe, where it has long been known for technological innovation and strong design.”
The E-Flex system is not just a vision of GM – it is already fully integrated into product development. It enables different propulsion systems to be fitted into one uniform chassis with electric propulsion. Fuel cells or bioethanol/diesel engines can also be fitted as secondary propulsion units depending on what energy source is readily available in the driver’s area.

The timetable for series production is closely tied to the development of key technologies, such as high-performance lithium-ion batteries. E-Flex Chief Engineer Frank Weber is confident about its further development: “We fully intend to bring this technology to market,” says Weber. “we’re increasingly confident that our strategic battery partners will be able to deliver a production-ready battery in the near future.”   . . . more including specifications

Comments

[JohnBo]

Encourage your children to be electrical engineers and technicians as this is the future. JohnBo

[Ani]

Wrong picture.

[David R.]

Please show the correct picture.

[Blakzit0]

The picture is INCORRECT... :P