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First drive: Lotus fuel cell hybrid taxi. Image by Lotus.

First drive: Lotus fuel cell hybrid taxi
A zero emissions black cab powered by a fuel cell hybrid system has been developed by Lotus. We tried it out.

   



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| First Drive | Hethel, Norfolk | Lotus hybrid fuel cell taxi prototype |

You might be wondering what a first drive of a black cab is doing on a website for petrolheads, but stick with us. This taxi is a prototype vehicle developed by Lotus among other companies, and beneath the innocuous exterior lies an advanced, zero emissions fuel cell hybrid system.

If you were at Goodwood this year, you may have already seen the taxi driving up the hill. Amusing it may have been, but this black cab is far more than just a marketing gimmick. London Mayor, Boris Johnson, wants all the city's taxis to have zero emissions by 2020 and Lotus, along with the other project partners, is aiming to get an initial fleet of 20 such vehicles on the road for the Olympics in 2012.

In the Metal

The design brief was to keep the taxi as stock as possible inside and out to maximise practicality, so, save for a few decals on the outside, there are no visual differences between the prototype and a run-of-the-mill black cab.

Beneath the bonnet lies an enormous 154-litre tank filled with hydrogen. The fuel cell itself is located in the transmission tunnel where the gearbox would normally be, while the battery packs are mounted underneath the centre of the car, face down, so they're easy to access for tinkering purposes. Finally, the electric motor sits on a new sub frame in between the rear wheels.

It's an immensely clever bit of packaging and it means that there's just as much interior space as there would normally be, so passengers, luggage and wheelchairs can fit in just as easily.

Inside, the only significant changes are to the transmission selector, which has three buttons labelled D, N and R (Drive, Neutral and Reverse) on a sheet of silver - as opposed to a conventional gear stick. There's also a small LCD screen on the dash that displays the fuel cell's vitals and tells you when it's ready to start.

Rear passengers wouldn't know the difference save for a screen mounted on the clear plastic behind the driver that shows when the taxi is running on fuel cell and/or battery power.

What you get for your Money

The fuel cell cab is still in the development stage for now, but mass production will almost certainly happen. It's difficult to put an exact price on the taxi, but Lotus and the other minds behind it realise that it's a tool for drivers, not some sort of lifestyle choice, so it will have to be priced competitively. Chances are, it will command a premium over a basic diesel version, but the benefits should far outweigh the extra cost.

Driving it

Driving a taxi is never going to be a thrilling experience, but the fuel cell hybrid is actually a better performer than the standard cab. LTI, the manufacturer of the London taxi and a partner in the project, doesn't quote an acceleration figure, but the instant torque from the electric motor, combined with the fuel cell's power, shaves around three or four seconds off the 0-62mph time. You're still looking at about 15 seconds, but that's enough to smoke rival cabbies at the lights. The fuel cell produces 30kW (40bhp), while the electric motor kicks out 55kW (74bhp) on average and has a 100kW (134bhp) peak.

The most significant change is in the ride at the rear. The standard taxi has an archaic leaf spring rear suspension system, but Lotus has worked its usual handling magic and totally redesigned it. A coil spring and trailing arm set-up - the kind found in many a modern hatchback - is the order of the day for the fuel cell taxi and it improves the ride in the back immensely.

We drove the cab around Lotus' test track at Hethel and even got a chance to sample it as a back seat passenger. As far as driving is concerned, there's little difference between the prototype and a conventional taxi. Obviously, it's only a single-speed transmission and the diesel clatter is replaced by a series of hums and whines, which Lotus reckons will be even quieter on the finished product. As a rear passenger, the ride is significantly improved, as the addition of a competent suspension system makes a world of difference.

Worth Noting

Cabbies need a decent range from their cars and they're renowned for driving with a heavy right foot. That's why it can cover 160 miles on a full tank of hydrogen when it's driven aggressively, which should be plenty for an average day's taxi work in London. More lenient drivers may be able to coax 250 miles out of a tank.

Filling up with hydrogen is no more difficult or lengthy than usual, but the snag, for the moment, is a complete lack of filling stations that supply it. That will change though, as London is scheduled to have six operational hydrogen fuel forecourts by the time the first fleet of fuel cell cabs goes live in 2012 and more will undoubtedly follow.

Summary

It may be housed in a regular taxi, but this is a fascinating piece of technology. The effort involved to incorporate the batteries, fuel cell, hydrogen tank and motor - not to mention all the auxiliary systems - without eating into the interior, is enormous. Hats off to Lotus and co. for achieving it.

As long as the fuelling infrastructure catches up, there's no reason why this technology couldn't be honed and tweaked to work in other applications. In fact, it has already, as Intelligent Energy, manufacturer of the fuel cell, has used similar ideas in scooters, heating systems, aeroplanes and other areas. We just need to see a fuel cell Evora in action and we'll be totally sold.



Jack Carfrae - 6 Aug 2010



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2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.



2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 

2010 Lotus fuel cell taxi prototype. Image by Lotus.
 






 

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