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See more Hyundai BLUE-WILL concept pics
Manufacturers like to go big at their home motor show, so with the Seoul show (tickets going fast, book now!) kicking off this week, Hyundai has gathered up all the green tech it can possibly lay its hands on... and wedged it into a funky, angular concept-thing.
This is the Blue-Will concept, a plug-in hybrid built from old Coke bottles, plant extract and recycled tramps' shoes. OK, we lied about the tramps' shoes. The headlights, though, are manufactured from plastic drinks bottles, while the engine cover is moulded from plastic derived from plant extracts instead of fossil fuels.
On the roof, just in front of the Prius-style angled hatch (a shape that keeps cropping up in hybrids thanks to its aerodynamic efficiency) there are dye-sensitized solar cells that help top up the Blue-Will's lithium-ion battery pack.
On the subject of which, the drivetrain is perhaps the most relevant bit of the Blue-Will. The concept is powered by a direct-injection 1.6-litre petrol engine coupled to an electric motor which drives the wheels: like the Chevrolet Volt (and Vauxhall Ampera), the petrol engine is only used to top up the battery pack, never to power the car directly.
At least some of this technology is just about production ready: Hyundai will introduce the world's first lithium ion polymer battery pack into a production vehicle when the Elantra (the Korean version of the i30) goes on sale this summer. Don't tell us you don't want one...
Open Car Bar
What do you think?
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Afaque commented on this article
at 12:27 pm on 30 March 2009
It looks pretty funky! I'ld like one... If only the production model looks anywhere close to this one!!
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JohnnyNFS commented on this article
at 01:35 pm on 30 March 2009
Is that Elanta or Elantra?
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Sam_Philip commented on this article
at 04:48 pm on 30 March 2009
Erm, yes... the Elanta. It's the short wheelbase version of the Elantra. Maybe. Thanks for the spot, Johnny. Changed it now.
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VieVentar commented on this article
at 06:14 pm on 30 March 2009
First thought on seeing this was: "Wow, Peugoet got there Mojo back!" Then I saw that it was a Hyundai and that train of thought was replaced by: "Best looking Korean car yet". Its a surprisingly handsome beast, seems to get that balance of weird and stylish about as right as its possible to get.
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tuklaw commented on this article
at 06:29 pm on 30 March 2009
I don't trust any car with a silly grin in its face. It looks like its designers are from "Looney Tunes"
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