2010 Paris Motor Show Preview: Saab 9-3 ePower electric vehicle
By Andrew, 17 Sep, 2010. 0 Comments
Saab 9-3 ePower
Saab Automobile revealed today the Saab 9-3 ePower, firm’s first all-electric vehicle, which will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show later this month. The new car is a prototype and will be produced in a limited edition of just 70 vehicles which will participate in extensive field trials in Sweden early next year. Under the hood, we find an electric motor capable to deliver an impressive 184 hp. With this amount of power, the car can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 8.9 seconds and has a top speed of 93 mph or 150 km/h.
The compact yet powerful 35.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack if mounted in a modified floor-pan, in a space occupied by the exhaust system and fuel tank on the standard 9-3 SportWagon, which means that the car has a lower center of gravity and better stability. Inside the cabin, a conventional, automatic-style gearshift lever provides selection of ‘drive’, ‘neutral’, ‘park’ and ‘reverse’.
The car uses electro-hydraulic power steering and the cabin is equipped with full air- conditioning, via a compressor powered by the battery pack. A separate12-volt battery was mounted for the lights and cabin ancillaries, which is charged via a current transformer from the battery pack. Regarding the range, the car can travel approximately 124 miles and was designed in order to operate with full power in ambient temperatures as low as -30ºC, at least 10ºC below the operating level of other battery packs on the market today. The operation of the vehicle’s powertrain is controlled by a version of Saab’s own in-house Trionic 8 engine management system, with new software written for an electric vehicle application.
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