Revolution On The Road
Creating A New Generation Of Cars
Hypercar, Inc. takes the environment-friendly vehicle concept to the next level with its 100 mpg, affordability, and smart power distribution features.

THE FACE of driving is about to change and the company behind the wheel is Hypercar, Inc. Based in Basalt, Colorado, Hypercar, Inc. designs, develops and markets “green” technology for the automotive industry. If the employees at Hypercar, Inc. have anything to do with future road rules, ultralight, recyclable sport utility vehicles made of strong composite materials, fueled by hydrogen cells, and propelled by electric motors will zip up and down highways — producing no emissions and getting close to 100 miles per gallon on an equivalent energy basis.

“We want to enjoy the outdoors without harming the outdoors,” says Michael Brylawski, Hypercar, Inc.’s vice president of market development. “We have an active staff. We bike, rock climb, hike, ski, snowboard. We know that cars need to hold the gear. It’s a very big trend to advertise ‘lifestyle vehicles’ today. But for us, it’s not just a buzz word.”

Hypercar was started as a concept, not as a company, in the early 1990s, by Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) director Amory Lovins. In 1990, automakers knew change was inevitable when the California Air Resources Board passed new regulations requiring ten percent of cars sold in California by 2003 to be zero emissions vehicles. Since then, several states have adopted similar regulations. “The automotive industry is moving in this direction. Ford, Chevy, all of them, know that fuel cells are the wave of the future,” Brylawski says. Vehicles like the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius, available today, are a step in the right direction when it comes to environment-friendly technology. Hypercar, Inc. sees these cars as the first step in the transition to a new generation of vehicles. However, the innovations of the Hypercar concept will make zero emissions vehicles more functional, safer, better performing, more affordable, cleaner and more efficient, company officials say.

Lovins and his research and development staff at the nonprofit think tank worked in an alpine hideaway in the Rocky Mountains until 1994 to fully develop the hypercar concept — envisioning something beyond an electric vehicle with a storage battery. The research team knew the car had to have the size, safety, performance, handling, amenities and affordability of mainstream vehicles.

In 1994, the researchers stopped channeling their energy to the hypercar concept alone, instead focusing on how to promote one of the long awaited dream machines — and the nonprofit Hypercar Center was born, dedicating itself to supporting rapid commercialization of ultralight hybrid vehicles. By the middle of 1997, at least 30 automakers were in serious discussions with the Hypercar Center team. The auto manufacturers had an insatiable interest not just in the Hypercar concept, but in the zero emissions vehicle itself.

LAUNCHING A COMPANY

The interest and demand of the auto industry fueled the start-up of the for-profit Hypercar, Inc. in 1998. Today, the small company applies the hypercar concept as a basis for technology development and to their first concept vehicle, the Revolution. The privately financed company’s goal is to accelerate the auto industry’s transition into the next generation of human and earth friendly automotive technologies. Technologies incorporated in the Revolution may never be sold as the Revolution: The Revolution simply houses the components of the technologies Hypercar, Inc. has developed. These technologies can be sold to major vehicle manufacturers, and Hypercar, Inc. will provide customers with engineering services.

“Our goal at Hypercar, Inc. is to accelerate the technology in mainstream vehicles,” says Brylawski. “By marketing our technologies to automakers, we can impact the environment in the biggest way possible. Otherwise, if we sold our concept car, only an elite few would drive the vehicle. We want our technology instead to be the DNA in every car,” he says as a dog barks in the background of the casual office place.

ADVANCED COMPOSITES

The Revolution’s crash resistant body utilizes advanced composite structures commonly found in racecars, skis, boats and bicycles. Advanced composites are a mixture of reinforcing fibers, like carbon, and reinforcing polymer matrix, such as epoxy. They are as strong and solid as stainless steel but weigh almost 60 percent less. Hypercar, Inc. is developing a unique design and manufacturing process for automobile structures allowing for cost-competitive production volumes of 50,000 a year. “Advanced composites are recyclable,” Brylawski says. He predicts people will want to recycle the body because of its high value in carbon fiber and polymers.

In keeping with the compact, low-materials use theory, the innovators at Hypercar, Inc. have a special eye on the hybrid-electric and fuel cell systems. “The engine works by taking oxygen from the air and hydrogen from its tank for a chemical reaction that yields electricity and water,” Brylawski says. “And water is the only by-product,” he adds. The fuel cell and hybrid system integration cuts down on vehicle mass by close to 50 percent.

Direct hydrogen fuel cell systems are more efficient than other powertrains, getting 45 to 55 percent at peak efficiency, compared with 15 to 25 percent for a gasoline internal combustion engine, the company says. Today, there are filling stations in California, New York and Germany. It is expected that infrastructure for hydrogen filling stations will be built in the next decade. Some large energy companies, like BP, have hydrogen-fueling programs in place and are waiting to build fueling stations until the market is favorable for demand.

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Drivers will be able to feel the radically different technology of the hypercar concept as it switches into gear going up a peak in the Rockies. The Revolution protocol has a networked power distribution smart system that analyzes driver, vehicle and environment information. Designed to consume as little and save as much power as possible, the software and electronics in the Revolution take advantage of recent advancements in wireless communication and software technology. The driver accesses those electronics advances through sidestick steering — not through the traditional steering wheel and pedal system. The electronic system, not bogged down by heavy hydraulic and mechanical controls, helps contribute to the lower fuel consumption.

The car also has a battery pack that kicks in under extreme conditions. “The car is designed to go up Vail Pass in Colorado comfortably using the fuel cell. But if you wanted to pass someone, the electric battery would kick in,” Brylawski says. The battery is also used in what’s known as regenerative braking technology. “In a normal car, you lose one-third of your energy in braking. That lost power is captured in the battery pack of the Revolution and used again when the battery pack is needed.” Design costs for system innovations have not exceeded $2 million.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

Hypercar, Inc. is working with about a dozen technology partners, including Michelin and Sun Microsystems, for engineering support and materials. “We’re not a pie in the sky engineering firm. We’re dealing with real world stuff. This technology could feasibly be marketed and in your driveway in the next five to ten years,” he says.

Based on Hypercar, Inc. estimates, if produced in volumes of at least 50,000 units a year, a vehicle like the Revolution in 2005 could cost about the same as an entry luxury SUV (such as a Lexus RX-300) — in the $35,000 to $40,000 range. But the big savings would be in “lifecycle costs.” When depreciation, fueling, maintenance and insurance are calculated, per mile costs “should be closer to that of a Ford Taurus,” declare Hypercar staff. — A.S.

BIOCYCLE | IN BUSINESS | COMPOST SCIENCE | HOME www.jgpress.com Copyright & Trademark Notice