Opel Unveils New Ampera – And it Looks Really Good
I wasn’t expecting to be impressed with the new Opel Ampera (the Chevy Volt’s European cousin). In fact, I was convinced I would find something dull, unimaginative and lacking in technical innovation.
But instead, I believe that I’ve actually found the only serious contender to replace the Audi A3 TDI that’s sitting on my driveway right now.
This week GM invited Gas 2.0 to witness the unveiling of the Opel Ampera, to go on sale in Europe in 2011.
- » See also: Is the Renault-Nissan Alliance Going in Two Different Electric Car Directions?
- » Get Gas 2.0 by RSS or sign up by email.
The Ampera not only looks great but features genuinely innovative technology, which according to GM vice Chairman Bob Lutz will ‘leapfrog the competition’. With a 16 kWh advanced lithium ion battery pack the Ampera has a battery range of 60km – not far, but far enough to satisfy the average daily requirement of 80% of German drivers – after which the gasoline powered engine begins to generate electricity enabling a total range of 500km.
GM’s Frank Weber, engineering lead on the Voltec drive train which underpins the Volt and the Ampera goes to some length to explain how this approach differs from the competition. Instead of driving the wheels directly with an option for electrical assistance (as is the case in the majority of today’s hybrids), the Voltec engine generates electricity only, allowing it to operate in the most efficient part of the fuel map while the power transmission is entirely electric. The result is an estimated running cost only 1/5th that of similarly sized conventional cars.
However, what’s most impressive is the passion and enthusiasm demonstrated by the Opel team for this product. In the Ampera they have created a stunning yet practical car which ticks every box on my A3 replacement list.
In short, it is one of the few cars that I saw at this year’s Geneva Motor Show which inspires a genuine feeling of desire – of the kind that makes one forget the poor economic arguments for cars in a country well served by public transport, and makes you just want to write the cheque and own it.
The Ampera is on my shopping list..
More Images
Fast Facts:
- 220 lithium-ion cells
- Nearly silent electric drive unit delivers 370 Nm of instant torque
- Equivalent of 150 horsepower,
- Zero to 100 km/h acceleration in around nine seconds, and a top speed of 161 km/h.
Images © GM Corp, with permission.
woah am i the only one who absolutely hates the design!?!
seriously its very unique but uniquely bad in my opinion. i hate how the hood is just plain white. and the lights are just blehh.
i think we are suckered into thinking its really good and cool because we have never seen anything like it before but to me its nothing but an electric car with messed up headlights. i’ll wait for the next model please…
Lithium Ion batteries are the most prone to explosion of all the batteries currently used in electric vehicles, especially at high temperatures.
Do you think it is a good idea to combine this with a combustible gasoline engine and consumers who will be using this vehicle on the Autobahn?
[...] a country well served by public transport, and makes you just want to write the cheque and own it. http://gas2.org/2009/03/04/opel-unveil-new-ampera-and-it-looks-really-good/ Written by Alex in: Global Warming, Technology, Transportation | Tags: Ampera, Auto Emissions, [...]
GM’s volt is just for show to boost their image. The original chevy volt was offered in the us for ‘LEASE ONLY’, then pulled from the road and trashed. I wonder if there’s any left rotting away. However, since GM is doing so bad, maybe they’ll actually sell this instead of leasing it this time around. This will decrease oil revenues if enough are sold. I’m talking millions here though. Either way, I expect someone to be paid off not to put these on the road.
Why does all of these electric/hybrid/ green cars all look like some space ship leftovers. Just build cars that look like cars and stop making them look so “futuristic” that is why they are so expensive. just give me a honda civic body with all the guts of this thing and i’ll be content and probably save money to spend on the gas or electricity or trash for the Flux Capacitor.. i mean c’mon WTF!
The efficiency of the series hybrid drivetrain (diesel-electric, as mentioned above) has been known for a long time, even to the automotive industry.
It hasn’t been significantly used, because it has one big disadvantage: battery weight. It doesn’t work efficiently without an electric energy buffer (battery) between the generator and the drive motors, and until recently, the added weight of the batteries would totally offset any gains in efficiency.
John, the Volt designers wrote an article about that - the sloping-hood, blunt-back design you see on the Prius, the new Honda Insight, the Volt, and the Ampera is pretty much the most aerodynamic car design they can make right now. In the world of flagship hybrids, it wouldn’t make sense to make one that wasn’t as streamlined as possible, so they can get a couple extra miles of range.
I think it’ll be a while before they figure out how to make aerodynamic cars that don’t all look the same, or get these powertrains to the point where they can sacrifice some efficiency for some style.
Ok, the hybrid drivetrain developped by Opel is efficient. But can you give some numbers about this gain when you use the IC motor to drive longer?
If you calculate, you can loose all the gain of this small IC motor-done-to-charge-the-battery if you have too many losses when you charge batteries(80, 90% efficiency?) and use an electric motors (90% efficiency). I just want to be convinced…
Tell me again, why is North America getting the Volt instead of the Opel?
European cars are way ahead of US cars in both design & innovation.
Where did you get the crazy idea it was the other way around ?