Jaguar drives to be green

The Sunday Times
February 22, 2009

Scientists at the carmaker are gearing up to give people a cleaner drive
Ray Hutton and Dominic O’Connell

PRIME MINISTER David Cameron steps out of No 10, waves at the photographers and slides into the back of his waiting Jaguar. He has taken some flak for abandoning his environmental credentials by choosing the limousine but points out that it is one of the most economical cars on the road.
That’s how the scriptwriters at Jaguar Land Rover would like things to pan out, though they are probably not bothered about the identity of the future prime minister as long as their products feature outside No 10.
The Midlands carmaker, bought by India’s Tata last year for $2.4 billion (£1.7 billion), is working hard to improve its green credentials - including an ambitious plan, dubbed “Limo Green”, that will produce a prototype luxury saloon capable of more than 57 miles per gallon - about the same as the best family cars today.
Tougher emissions regulations and wider concerns over climate change are pushing all carmakers to make their vehicles greener, but for Jaguar Land Rover there is an added spur.

In December The Sunday Times revealed that the company was in secret talks with the government about a £1 billion loan to tide it over the worst of the credit crunch, which has taken a heavy toll on its sales. Talks continue, with the company now thought to be seeking a £500m loan guarantee.
Meanwhile, Brussels and Whitehall have made some funds available to the whole industry, but with strings attached. Loans will be made only to “low-carbon” projects. If Jaguar Land Rover wants some of that to come its way, it needs to show it is serious about the environment.
The Sunday Times has gone behind the scenes at its engineering centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, to look at four green projects. All are part-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, a government agency, and involve other British car firms.
Tony Harper, the company’s head of research, said projects like these could lead to a “road map” that would identify which key technologies needed to be fostered for success with low-emission vehicles.
Limo Green
When the Limo Green prototype is unveiled later this year it will not look very different from the restyled XJ saloon that goes on sale in 2010. However, Limo Green is a “series hybrid”, which means it is an electric car with an on-board generator to keep the batteries charged.
That sets it apart from the hybrids now available, such as the Toyota Prius, which uses a combustion engine and an electric motor. It can also be plugged into the domestic mains to provide enough charge for 30 miles of zero-emis-sions electric motoring.
Jaguar is working on this project with the engineering division of Lotus, the Motor Industry Research Association, and Caparo, a specialist in aluminium construction.
A powerful (170 bhp) electric motor will give Limo Green comparable performance to a diesel-engined Jaguar XJ, but with the maximum speed restricted to 112mph. The headline figure is an average fuel consumption of 57mpg. Car-bon-dioxide output will be less than 120g/km, perhaps even dropping below the 100g/km limit that qualifies for zero road tax.
Putting Limo Green into production will take three years and cost £500m.
Rehev
A separate project, Rehev (Range Extended Electric Vehicle), is developing an electric-diesel plug-in hybrid powertrain suitable for a large 4x4 like a Range Rover.
Several manufacturers are working on plug-in hybrids but the off-road capability of a Land Rover means it will need a rugged electric motor and a large, lithium-ion battery pack to work with a low-consumption diesel engine.
The Rehev will run as a pure electric car for up to 12 miles in town and the diesel engine and electric motor will combine to drive all four wheels at higher speeds when off-road. The target for its average carbon-dioxide figure is below 130g/km.
This is a further development of Land Rover’s hybrid plans, which are needed to reverse the image of its 4x4s as gas-guzzlers.
The partners in the Rehev project are engineering consultancy Ricardo, battery maker Amberjac and energy group Eon, which will use it to study the installation and operation of recharging facilities.
Flywheel hybrid
When the Formula One racing season starts next month, teams will be able to fit Kers (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems) to provide drivers with short bursts of additional power for overtaking. The idea of racing’s rule-makers was to make a connection between F1 and hybrid road cars.
Jaguar has taken a mechanical flywheel Kers device and fitted it to an XF saloon. Its associates in this programme are suppliers to F1 teams - Flybrid, Xtrac, Prodrive and Ricardo.
For a road car, the flywheel system, which recovers and stores energy generated during braking, will be used to reduce fuel consumption (and therefore lower the carbon-dioxide output) rather than provide extra performance. Combined with the XF’s latest V6 diesel engine, it is expected to cut fuel consumption by 20%.
Real
Jaguar is established as one of the leaders in lightweight aluminium car construction, having introduced the XJ model with aluminium body and chassis in 2003 and since applied the same principles to the XK.
Reducing weight is a key factor in the production of more economical, low-emission cars. Currently, Jaguar uses about 50% recycled material. The Real (REcycled ALuminium) project aims to demonstrate that this proportion can be raised to 75%.
Jaguar’s Mark White is confident the 75% target can be reached in two years, allowing the carmaker to use aluminium for other, cheaper models.
GREEN IDEAS
FIRMS can get advice on how to save money by going green. Stiebel Eltron (www.stiebel-eltron.co.uk ), a renewable-energy specialist based in the Wirral, will do a free “energy efficiency” survey of any British firm’s premises, and offer advice on tax breaks and grants.
Stiebel Eltron is a subsidiary of a German company that has been installing green equipment, such as heat pumps, on the Continent for 25 years. For details call its advice centre on 0151 346 2300.
greenideas@sunday-times.co.uk