Ricardo to participate in U.K.-sponsored low-carbon vehicle-development program

Ricardo has announced that it will be taking part in a $45 million low-carbon vehicle-development project funded by the U.K. government's Technology Strategy Board. Ricardo will be an active participant in three of the 16 winning project consortia.

"We welcome the investment decision announced today by the U.K. Technology Strategy Board and look forward to participating in three of the major U.K. low-carbon vehicle programs that have successfully secured funding," says Neville Jackson, Ricardo technology director. "Improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions are major imperatives globally for both the automotive industry and society in general. We are proud that the consortia in which we are participating have secured funding for these three very important projects, which aim to provide some of the crucial enabling technologies for future low-carbon road-transport applications."

Building on the work of the 2/4SIGHT engine concept, the 2/4CAR project aims to deliver a global premium vehicle demonstrating a 25-30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions with no loss of performance using an innovative, highly downsized gasoline engine with two-stroke/four-stroke switching technology. Laboratory work has shown that torque output more typical of an engine with twice the capacity is achievable. The engine design incorporates a cycle-switching valvetrain and an advanced boosting and control system, and will demonstrate powertrain-integration and drivable-control strategies. Ricardo will lead this project, which will be carried out by a consortium including the University of Brighton, DENSO Sales UK Ltd. and Jaguar Cars Ltd.

Reflecting the emerging importance of vehicle electrification, Ricardo also will participate in the Range Extended Electric Vehicle project, which will be led by Land Rover. This project aims to develop a modular electric and electric/diesel powertrain suitable for several different vehicle types. It will be tested on a large, premium sport-utility platform delivering 120 to 130 g/km and zero emissions range of at least 12 miles. The project also will investigate range extension and plug-in charging and installation/commissioning of local recharging facilities for vehicle trials within the vehicle fleet of E-ON, who along with Ameriac Projects Ltd. are also consortium members.

Kinetic energy recovery will be the theme of the Flywheel Hybrid System or the Premium Vehicles project. This project will involve the design development of a mechanical hybrid (flywheel and variable-drive system) kinetic-energy recovery system for use in a premium-segment passenger vehicle as an alternative, cost-competitive solution to other hybrid systems.

The project will demonstrate this within an existing vehicle platform to prove its effectiveness and viability for production and suitability for modular application. Jaguar Cars will lead this project, which will be carried out by a consortium also including Flybrid Systems, Ford Motor Company Limited, Prodrive, Ricardo UK Ltd, Torotrak plc and Xtrac Ltd.

For more in formation about Ricardo, visit the company's Web site.