Hyundai Blue Will: Hybrid Concept
Motoring Channel Staff - 26/March/2009
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Hyundai Blue Will Hybrid concept
Hyundai Blue Will hybrid concept will rival
the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight when it
reaches production in the next 18 months
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Seoul, Korea
– There are still lingering doubts
about the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show's viability after a number of European
and American car marques have decided to pull out, but the Seoul Motor
Show in Korea is building up to be an interesting event. The
idea that Korean cars could compete with their Japanese rivals was
laughable 10 years ago, but today it is a different story. Looking
to take on one of the world's most recognisable cars, the Toyota Prius
hybrid, Hyundai will launch the Blue Will at the Seoul Motor Show. The
Blue Will plug-in hybrid has a funny name, but the concept shows that
Hyundai is well on the way to developing a mass produced hybrid
petrol/electric car. Hyundai says the vehicle 'has exceptionally advanced
technology crammed inside its striking body shell'. It
will rival the Prius as a 'family-sized' hybrid but also has "plug-in"
capability to recharge its lithium ion polymer battery pack. Like
all concept studies, the design is too intricate to become a reality
(the creases on the doors for instance would be very expensive to
stamp) but a toned-down exterior will form part of a production model. Powered
by a 1.6-litre 4-cylinder direct injection petrol engine, the Blue Will
concept is a parallel hybrid and is hooked up to a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Hyundai will release more information on the specifications of the car, including fuel consumption, but so far we know this:  Power: 100kW (134hp)
Torque: 220Nm (est.)
Fuel Economy:
4.5L/100km (est.)
Hyundai's
new environmentally friendly Blue Will gets its electric power from
regenerative braking, plug-in electricity and engine generation, and
the lithium ion polymer battery pack is located under the rear seat so that boot space isn't overly impinged. Solar
panels integrated into the cars panoramic glass roof also
contribute to the Blue Will's cruising range, by providing more charge
for the battery pack. Some of the other features include the car's construction. Recycled PET soft drink bottles
were used to make the material for the headlamp bezels says Hyundai.
Bio-plastics that are bio-degradable and made from plant extracts (as
opposed to petro-chemical based plastics) are also used in the car's
interior, all of which will help reduce the dedicated hybrid's carbon
footprint. Hyundai
will be the first automaker in the world to apply lithium ion polymer
batteries (supplied by LG Chem) to a mass market vehicle in July, when the Elantra LPI Hybrid goes on sale
in Korea. Related Links:
- Hyundai Equus (2010)
- Hyundai i20 (2009)
- Hyundai i30cw (2009)
- Hyundai i30
(Road Test)
- Hyundai
Getz (Road Test)
- Hyundai HED 6 ix-ONIC Concept (2009)
- Hyundai Grandeur (2009)
- Hyundai Sonata (2009)
- Hyundai Genesis Coupe (2010)
- Hyundai Concept Genesis Coupe (2009)
- Hyundai Genesis (2008)
- Hyundai
Santa Fe (Road Test)
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