Our Urban Concept-class vehicle
Baldos II in the depot at the SEM09
Baldos II is the most fuel-efficient vehicle allowed for street–use in Sweden, ever. During a test-run in January 2010 it travelled the equivalent of 152,2 kilometers on one single liter of gasoline (0,657 l/100 km), which is about five times the distance of the most fuel-efficient cars sold in Sweden today.
.
Characteristics
Type: Minicar
Model: Unique
Registration number: DES 459
Owner: Luleå University of Technology
Approximate cost: € 30,000 excl./€ 300,000 incl. work
Width: 1250 mm
Length: 2650 mm
Height: 1250 mm
Kerb weight excluding driver’s weight: 155 kg
Number of seats: 1
Top speed: 35 km/h
Acceleration: 0-35 km/h in 3,2 s
Fuel consumption: 0,675 l/100 km road driving
Carbon dioxide emissions: 12g/km
Tank volume: 0,6 l
Drive train: Serial hybrid with internal combustion engine (ICE), double-layer capacitor and electric motor.
Fuel: Ethanol
ICE type: Fuji Imvac BF-25EI, four-stroke
ICE displacement: 25 cc
Maximum power: ICE 1 kW; Electric motor 600 W
Maximum torque: ICE 1 Nm; Electric motor 20 Nm
Transmission: No
Coach: Carbon fiber monocoque, divinycell sandwich
Tyres: Michelin 95/80 R16
Rims: Own-label aluminium
Brakes: Dual circuit hydraulic
Wheel suspension: Individual, double wishbone
Interior: Austere; hand gas, casual directional indicator controls, three-point seat belt (six-point during race), cellular display, advanced GPS system
Crashworthiness: Approved within its speed range by Swedish authorities
.
Fuel efficieny taken to a higher level
The remarkable fuel efficiency is a result of three major factors: the size and weight, the series hybrid drive train and efficient design choices.
When it comes to size, Baldos II is a minicar in the true sense of the word. Seen in profile it has about the same dimensions as a common bicycle, but still the characteristics of a fancy sports car. Both the size and the shape of the vehicle are designed to decrease wind-resistance, and weight, to a minimum. With its 155 kilos (driver excluded) it’s perhaps the lightest of all registered cars in Sweden. This plays a major role when it comes to fuel-efficiency; less weight carried means less fuel needed to carry it.
Schematic over the Baldos II drivetrain
The series hybrid drive train might seem complicated but is actually quite easy to understand. The car is driven forward by a small electrical motor. The motor gets its energy from what can be understood as a large battery – a double-layer capacitor. The battery is in turn continuously recharged with a very efficient ethanol engine. This might look like a detour but is actually quite clever. By cutting the direct link between the propulsion of the vehicle and the internal combustion engine (ICE), we can allow the engine to work at its most ideal rotation speed at all times. Whatever losses we have in the rest of the system are negligible to the losses that other cars experience when they’re not running at optimal rpm.
Baldos II in Luleå city center
The last thing that makes Baldos II superior when it comes to fuel efficiency is efficient design choices. This means that every piece of the machinery, every component in the electric system and every part of the interior has been revised to gain efficiency. The roll resistance is so low that a small dog could pull it forward. The exhausts are analyzed so that every drop of the fuel is used. The ignition is set at the exact right occasion for the combustion to have maximum effect. The details are made of aluminum whenever steel can be avoided. This together forms a vehicle out of the ordinary.
Baldos means “ice floe” in Sami, which is meant to associate the gentle movement of the vehicle with the almost frictionless motion of ice travelling on the surface of cold water.
.
A vehicle concept for the future
Baldos II in the Alps
Now ask yourself a simple question; what defines a car? If it’s the thing that transports you, the kids and the luggage on vacation, Baldos II is out of the league. But think again; how often do you really use it for that purpose?
According to the Swedish Transport Agency, almost half of the journeys by car in Sweden are shorter than five kilometers. In city traffic, between seventy and eighty percent go on for less than three kilometers. In these five kilometers the maximum time gain for an ordinary vehicle over Baldos II is about three minutes – if there’s a tailback there’s probably no difference at all. Are these three minutes really worth ten times the exhausts?
Another thing – how often do you really use all that extra space? According to the same statistics, the number one way of travelling by car is, by far, one person on his/her own. Finding a way to avoid these single person journeys is labeled one of the top issues to solve the climate change problems caused by traffic. If everyone took their briefcases and drove a Baldos II to work instead, this wouldn’t be an issue at all.
Andreas Carlgren, Swedish minister for the environment
We’re not saying Baldos II is here to replace ordinary cars. Baldos II is just a glimpse of what might be a new way of thinking about cars. Maybe we can still use our ordinary car for what they do best, but whenever they turn inexcusably big and inefficient we can switch to our Baldos-class vehicle. This is something we might have to consider if we ever wish to reach a sustainable future, a future where fuel-efficiency is not just a cost benefit for ourselves but a requirement from our environment. And if you want to get from A to B without overstraining yourself, without getting soaked from the weather, and if public transport just isn’t an alternative, Baldos II is perhaps the most fuel-efficient way in which this can happen today.
.
