A
pre-production Golf
Blue-e-Motion electric vehicle
has won its class in the RAC
Future Car Challenge for the
second time, using the least
energy to cover a 57-mile route
from Brighton’s Madeira Drive to
Pall Mall in the heart of
London. This year’s Challenge
attracted a larger entry list
than the inaugural event,
including hybrids and fuel cell
models as well as highly
efficient diesel cars such as
the Passat BlueMotion. The Golf
was named the Most Energy
Efficient Regular Car
(Prototype) class.
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Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the Golf
Blue-e-Motion has an electric motor with a peak power output of 115 PS
and a range of around 100 miles in normal conditions. It can reach a
top speed of 86 mph and accelerate from rest to 62 mph in 11.8 seconds.
The car features battery regeneration that can activate when the
accelerator is released and during the initial travel of the brake
pedal. This reduces the amount of energy that would otherwise be wasted
during driving. Despite its unconventional motive power the Golf
Blue-e-Motion appears like any other Golf with space for five adults and
a slightly reduced boot volume of 279 litres. |
The class-winning vehicle was
piloted by Volkswagen engineer
Folko Rohde, aided by co-driver
Fabienne Kleinert, and is one of
two Golf Blue-e-Motion models
that took part in this year’s
event. The second vehicle,
which won the inaugural event
last year, was the first car
away from the start and was once
again driven by Jim Holder,
editor of Autocar
magazine, and this time
co-driven by Volkswagen engineer
Eike Feldhusen.
The third Volkswagen entry, a
production Passat BlueMotion,
one of the most efficient and
lowest-polluting internal
combustion engined vehicles on
sale today, was driven by
motoring journalist Richard
Aucock and Edd China, best known
for his part in TV’s Wheeler
Dealers, and the creator of
the road-legal motorised sofa.
The Passat BlueMotion is powered
by a 1.6-litre diesel engine
producing 105 PS and employs a
series of aerodynamic and
mechanical changes to maximise
the efficiency of the engine,
giving it a combined fuel
economy of 68.9 mpg and CO2
emissions of just 109 g/km.
On
arrival in London on Saturday
afternoon, the Golf
Blue-e-Motions had their data
recorders removed by the RAC
scrutineers and then joined the
Passat BlueMotion plus all the
other competing vehicles for a
display in the centre of London
as part of the inaugural Regent
Street Motor Show.
A
production version of the Golf
Blue-e-Motion is planned to be
introduced to the market in late
2013. The Passat BlueMotion can
be purchased now.
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