Another year, another Peugeot 208 hybrid – at Frankfurt last year, Peugeot premiered its 208 HYbrid FE, which showcased an engine/electric motor combination. This year, for Paris, the French automaker will be showing a 208 HYbrid Air 2L Demonstrator concept, which works on a petrol engine/compressed air pairing.
Fuel economy is of course the name of the game here, and the car boasts a fuel consumption of just two litres per 100 km, courtesy of the dual energy system. The base car is a production version of the 1.2 litre PureTech 82 hp 208. It still has a 1.2 litre motor, but a compressed air hydraulic system is used to assist and even replace the petrol engine to enable maximum efficiency during acceleration and starts.
The system is made up of a compressed-air tank located below the boot, a low-pressure tank near the rear axle acting as an expansion chamber and a hydraulic system consisting of a motor and a pump in the engine bay. An epicyclic geartrain replaces the manual gearbox from the base car and offers automatic operation.
The 208 HYbrid Air 2L can run in Petrol mode, powered only by the 1.2 litre mill, best utilised for travelling at fixed speeds such as on highways, as well as in compressed air-only mode in urban environments. There’s also a Combined mode, which mixes the use of both energy sources and is optimised for transition phases in urban environments, such as standing starts and acceleration.
Regeneration for the compressed-air tank is done while slowing down (during braking or when off the accelerator) or by part use of the energy developed by the three-cylinder petrol engine to compress the air. Either way, maximum pressure for the compressed air system can be achieved in just 10 seconds.
The sterling fuel economy isn’t just accomplished through the workings of the HYbrid Air system, but from light-weighing the car as well. The study lops off 100 kg from the base 208, tipping the scales at 860 kg.
A mix of steel, aluminium and composites are to be found. In the case of the latter, carbon composites are used for the body panels, sides, doors and roof, along with the suspension’s coil springs.
The automaker adds that the weight shedding hasn’t just centred on the use of new materials, but on redesigning existing parts for improved weight efficiency as well. Like the 208 HYbrid FE, this year’s concept has also been fine-tuned aerodynamically, with a number of improvements to reduce drag, including a lower stance on the road.
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but but.. what about the electricity required to power the air compressor station in the first place?
If Naza, you will regret
“Regeneration for the compressed-air tank is done while slowing down (during braking or when off the accelerator) or by part use of the energy developed by the three-cylinder petrol engine to compress the air……..”
The keyword is Regeneration.
U didnt pay attention to the article above or u dont understand it..
oh my god……my honda ex5 only rm3 to my work place everyday……
but this car very amazing i can save my rm3 for a week @ i can balik kampung for rm3
amazing rite?.. if this figure is true.. i can topup tank for RM20 and cover 500km of distance and go to Perlis from KL
yeah this model got free steering lock for protection
also personally signed by kiki..
Thing that caught my attention is the side mirror. Both side view appear in front windshield ? Like the mustang in NFS Marshall drive, if so it could be the technology that I want the most rather than those day time running light crap…
DRL is NOT crap. It’s now standard in EU for safety reasons – visibility for other motorists and pedestrians. It also serves as a solution to a law on Sweden (it’s compulsary to drive with headlights on, even on daytime, for safety reasons obviously).
Those camera side mirrors are cool, seen them on Proton EMAS prototype also. But I think it serves no advantage to the driver over the traditional side mirrors. It would be farking confusing to use! Not to mention the cost replacing them if someone accidentally broke it in the parking lot!
hmm…for safety reason? How come a car cannot be seen?except trying to suicide or brain tin kosong~ I’ll try to understand that. By the way, allow me to paraphrase “not to mention the cost replacing them if someone accidentally broke it in the parking lot, oh come on la since the day you park ur car, how many times had you send it for replacing side mirror? I believe the mirror is fold able?
As for the confusing, i think not really if you are up-to-date. When you try to change lane, traditionally, you will see left and right mirror, which means you have let say 2 second on each,total 4s your eyes are not on the road(front). If the side view are display in front, it will be easier and safer compared to traditional. EU might make this as standard like DRL you mentioned, but instead of drl, the display side view in front windshield is better.
LED DRL very helpful for safety reason.
imagine in the morning or late evening,
bright sun just started rising,
imagine a car coming from that direction..
sun too bright it blind the car as your eye adapt to bright light,
especially in the morning, children going to school .. Bright DRL increase alertness to the car,
now u understand ..
1 more thing, do you know some people forgot to switch on the light at night? or maybe early morning/late evening,
DRL a life saver.
1 more situation when people driving into dark area at noon such as underground parking with no lights on, DRL helps alot
i think i heard this kind of answering trend many years ago…oh ya..when nokia button phone nominated the market. Smartphone with a touch screen, and everybody said” not to mention the cost of replacing them if dropped on parking lot”
Now who’s nominating the market? button phone ar?
confusing? let’s just say you are a little bit of behind advance? nokia and smartphone as an example here. You yourself think about it. I lazy to explain.
EU makes it standard and you just follow blindly? Safety in road is of course everyone’s responsibility. Follow the rules, don’t zig zag, don’t stuck at right lane, don’t drive like a king, don’t let your anger drive when your in bad mood, don’t cross the road blindly,don’t attempt to have the taught of your walking speed is faster than a car,use the bride don be a moron crossing the highway. Tell me how many of those i mentioned, malaysian obey? Is all about attitude.DRL safety? don make me laugh
@Mi Kolok, compressed air is from the kinetic energy of the car, not pumped in at some station like fuel… basically what they have is an air pump in the car which acts as a turbine also..
sorry out of topic, any idea when the COMOS EV car-sharing scheme wil start??
this year.
cant wait any longer…fast~~
hope the rate is affordable…
Maximum compression achieved in 10 second, how long can it power the car in compress air mode? 10 second as well?
How does it work?
This is because the compressor pump work efficiently to pump in loads of pressure in 10s. Even in big manufacturing plant which use large volume of compressed air in its machinery operation, the big compressor only require a fews minutes to reach max pressure of more than 100 psi. For smaller tank with less volume, 10s is more than enough to max the air pressure.
Oh my.. this air compression technology is brilliant.
Salute Peugeot on this.
Been following this technology some time..
Save fuel but high maintanance fees
I don’t think a few compressed air tank and a simple pneumatic motors are more complex than traditional ICE-electric hybrid. Batteries and electric motors can fail and short circuit. I couldn’t think any risk of this pneumatic system other than leaked cheap hoses.
..better late than never.. Compressed air technology has been around for quite some time now.. there are comercial vehicle in use in France just by using this tech. It’s brilliant that Peg managed to combine it & the figure is startling!!.. even the best my jazz hybrid did on highway was 4.6l/100km
Really? I can get the same figure with Focus TDCi on highway.
kiki…kiki…kiki…kiki…
Remember a couple years ago, they did it in bicycle to do a pizza delivery… The issue is u need a 10s to recharge the compress air, but you will empty it just in a second…
Oh my….. The stering lock is getting compressed air….
This car is lighter than Gti by 300kg , amazing power to weight ratio if combine 200hp engine with 860kg car weight
go peugeot!