Hyperdrive, a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain system, is being touted as a major fuel saver for vehicles – especially light and medium trucks up to 20,000 lbs. GVW.
Gaithersburg, MD-based Paice Corp. says dynamometer and computer testing of its Hyperdrive system shows that it could cut fuel consumption in pickups by 36% and in SUVs by 57%.
Paice presented data for a Hyperdrive system in a U.S.-model SUV of 3,860 lbs. with towing capacity of 3,500 lbs. The Hyperdrive system with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine was compared to a current SUV with a 3.0 liter V-6 and a four-speed automatic transmission.
In the SUV, the Hyperdrive's fuel economy was 40 mpg on the EPA city cycle and 38 mpg on the highway cycle, for a combined rating of 39 mpg. The comparison SUV ratings were 20 city, 31 highway, and 24 combined.
Vehicle performance also improved, Paice says. The Hyperdrive-equipped SUV could accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, compared to a gasoline-only SUV's acceleration of 10.8 seconds.