France
The Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP, French Oil Institute), has introduced a natural gas vehicle (NGV) which reduces its CO2 emissions down to 84 g/km. The "Vehgan" was made from a standard older model Smart Fortwo with several technologies added to reduce fuel consumption. These include a downsized engine using a turbo and an intercooler (optimized for use with natural gas), and a powertrain mated to a Valeo StARS 14V+X hybrid system, for which the IFP developed a new management process to minimize fuel consumption. The mild hybrid system has a Start&Stop function and features regenerative braking.
The combination of these developments in an urban hybrid gas-powered
vehicle also provides significant environmental performance without
affecting driving pleasure, according to IFP.
The car has a range of about 200 km (120 miles) Composite-made gas are
stored under the chassis with no impacxt on interior space. IFP expects
future developments to reduce CO2 emissions down to 80 g/km (or 32 percent less than the standard gasoline version).
