Automotive

Volvo to unveil XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept car in Detroit

Volvo to unveil XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept car in Detroit
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept pairs a 280 hp gasoline engine with a 70 hp electric motor
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept pairs a 280 hp gasoline engine with a 70 hp electric motor
View 18 Images
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's save mode
1/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's save mode
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's driving mode buttons
2/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's driving mode buttons
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept pairs a 280 hp gasoline engine with a 70 hp electric motor
3/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept pairs a 280 hp gasoline engine with a 70 hp electric motor
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
4/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's plug-in charge connection
5/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's plug-in charge connection
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's battery pack
6/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's battery pack
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
7/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's rear cargo space
8/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's rear cargo space
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept driver's view
9/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept driver's view
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's center stack
10/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's center stack
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's instrument cluster in Pure driving mode
11/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's instrument cluster in Pure driving mode
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's instrument cluster in Hybrid driving mode
12/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's instrument cluster in Hybrid driving mode
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's instrument cluster in Power driving mode
13/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's instrument cluster in Power driving mode
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's VEA gasoline engine
14/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's VEA gasoline engine
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's battery pack
15/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's battery pack
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's powertrain
16/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's powertrain
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's battery pack
17/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's battery pack
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
18/18
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
View gallery - 18 images

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2012, which kicks off in Detroit next Monday, will see Volvo unveil its XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept car that it describes as "an electric car, a highly economical hybrid and a powerful high-performance car all rolled into one." At the press of a button, the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept can switch between Pure electric mode, Hybrid mode, or Power mode, which combines the power of the 280 hp gasoline engine with the 70 hp electric motor to propel the car from zero to 60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 5.8 seconds.

The four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine generating 380 Nm (280 lb. ft) of torque that powers the vehicle's front wheels is from Volvo's upcoming Volvo Environmental Architecture (VEA) engine family. This is a modular range of diesel and gasoline engines that see a reduction in the number of unique parts resulting in a lighter engine that Volvo says is up to 35 percent more fuel efficient than similarly performing engines and which are also designed to accommodate future electrification technologies.

The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept

Power from the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's engine is delivered to the car's front wheels via a newly developed eight-speed automatic transmission with Volvo claiming its four-cylinder VEA engines will offer the same performance as today's six-cylinder engines, but with fuel consumption lower than current four-cylinder units.

Meanwhile, a 70 hp electric motor generating 200 Nm (148 lb. ft) of torque drives the vehicle's rear axle with power supplied from a 12 kWh lithium-ion battery pack located under the floor of the rear cargo compartment. Recharging via a 11V/12A outlet will take 7.5 hours, while a 22V/12A outlet will get the job done in 3.5 hours. While recharging, the passenger compartment can also be cooled or heated to save battery power when hitting the road.

Driving modes

The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's driving mode buttons
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept's driving mode buttons

In Pure mode, the car is powered solely by the electric motor "as much as possible" at a range of up to 35 miles (56 km) under the U.S. certification driving cycle, or 28 miles (45 km) according to the European certification driving cycle. In Hybrid mode, which is the default setting when the car is started up, the gasoline engine and electric motor work in tandem to provide a total operating range of up to 600 miles (960 km) with fuel economy figures of 2.3 l/100 km (102 US mpg) and CO2 emissions of 53 g/km under the NEDC driving cycle, or 50 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) combined fuel economy in continuous driving under the U.S. certification standard.

If get up and go is more important than fuel economy then Power mode combines the power from the gasoline engine with that from the electric motor, whose instant torque delivery contributes to the car's acceleration performance of 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 6.1 seconds.

Instead of a conventional starter motor or alternator, the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept features an Integrated Starter motor and Generator (ISG) connected to the crankshaft that can deliver an extra 34 kW (45 hp) during acceleration and also charges the battery during braking. There's also a Save feature that allows battery power to be saved for later and will see the generator topping up the battery if necessary to provide sufficient power for about 12 miles (20 km) of electric-powered driving.

The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept driver's view
The Volvo XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept driver's view

Rather than a conventional four-wheel drive system that transfers power to all wheels mechanically, the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept features an electric four-wheel drive system that sees power distributed between the gasoline-driven front wheels and the electrically driven rear axle via a central control unit when AWD mode is activated.

While Volvo will unveil the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept with its VEA engine in Detroit next week, Volvo President and CEO, Stefan Jacoby said, "this world-class gasoline plug-in hybrid technology, featuring a state-of-the-art four-cylinder engine from our upcoming Volvo Environmental Architecture engine family, will reach our American showrooms in a couple of years. However, it is too early to say which model will be the first to feature this solution."

View gallery - 18 images
5 comments
5 comments
Mark A
Call me crazy but it just seems to me that two methods of propulsion increase the cost to an unhealthy level. Yes I know Prius proves me wrong or is it just a matter of too much money and not enough sense.
Facebook User
Would prefer a larger video screen in centre console for all controls other than speedo and steering wheel buttons.
SpaceBagels
Yay! Now I can just push a button and presto, all the rain forest, polar bears, humpback whales and orang utans are saved!
Thank you Volvo for saving planet Earth with such a green technology! I feel so green now that I think my body is beginning to start photosynthesising by itself!
KellyRW
A Voltvo?
electric
This vehicle is part of the way there. In the future, all cars will be built with an entirely electric drive. All transmissions, gears, differentials, transfer cases, drive shafts and CV joints will be replaced by a motor on each wheel, a computer, and some wires, together weighing less than one kilogram.
Consider that locomotives have been built this way since the 1930s and you'll wonder, as I do, why this hasn't yet happened. The reason we build cars as we do is simply that this is how we have done it for nearly 100 years, but electric drive is quite possible and its just a matter of time and working out motor and control details.
Once we figure it out building cars as now will no longer make sense.