Volkswagen Unveils Milano Taxi EV Concept at Hanover Trade Show

A new member has been added to Volkswagen's Up! city car concept series. Revealed at the Hanover Trade Show, the Milano Taxi is a potential prototype for a new generation of emission-free taxis powered by an electric motor.

The mini-MPV-esque show car measures just 3.73 meters in length, 1.66 meters in width and 1.60 meters in height, making it shorter and narrower than the Fox. It features a single swivel-sliding door on the passenger's side that opens in a forward direction.

Volkswagen says that the Milano Taxi concept is capable of carrying two passengers at the rear in comfort with legroom at the back measuring a luxury-saloon-rivaling 120mm. To improve space, the car uses the front passenger seat to carry luggage.

Special features include an iPad-like LCD display mounted on the reverse of the driver's seat that allows rear passengers to see an overview of the route being taken, pay the fare or change the climate functions in the back of the vehicle.

The driver gets similar screen that can be personalized to show any combination of information relating to the vehicle systems, passenger fare or navigation functions.

The Milano Taxi is motivated by an electric motor capable of generating a peak output of 115-horsepower. Energy is provided by a lithium-ion battery integrated into the underside of the vehicle with a storage capacity of 45 Kilowatt-hours.

Weighing in at a hefty 1,500kg or 3,306 pounds, the Milano Taxi can travel at speeds of up to 74 mph or 119 km/h and up to 186 miles or about 300 km between charges.

The German maker also claims that the charging time of the lithium-ion batteries has been substantially reduced with over 80 per cent of its total capacity being reached in just over an hour.

Volkswagen plans to have its first all-electric model on the road by 2013.

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Car-Puccino: This 'Back to the Future' VW Scirocco Literally Runs on Coffee

When people think of alternative fuels for their cars, we doubt that coffee beans make the list. Yet a team of wacky inventors from the BBC1 science programme "Bang Goes The Theory" have managed to create a vehicle runs solely on gas produced by espresso roasted coffee granules!

Nicknamed Car-puccino, this 1988 VW Scirocco that looks like a bit like the Marty Mcfly's time-travelling DeLorean DMC-12 from the 'Back to the Future' trilogy, has been heavily modified to us coffee granules to power the engine.

So how does it work? According to the graph, the first stage involves heating the coffee granules with charcoal until the beans break down into cool hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

The gas is then fed into a radiator to chill down before it is filtered out in the boot. The purified gas is then led through a rooftop pipe into the engine where it burns and powers the car.

Nick Watson, producer of Bang Goes The Theory, said: 'Coffee, like wood or coal, has some carbon content so you can use it as a fuel. The coffee needs to be very dry and in pellets to allow the air to move through the pile of coffee as it burns. The brand doesn't matter.'

But even though the Car-puccino is full of beans, it sure won't please any bean counters with an estimated average consumption of 1 kilo / 2.2 pounds of ground coffee for every 4.8km / 3 miles (or about 56 espressos per mile).

The BBC1 team said that it is planning to cover a distance of 210 miles between Manchester and London using only coffee beans.

According to Daily Mail's calculations, "the journey will use about 70 kilos of ground coffee which, at supermarket prices of between £13 and £26 a kilo depending on brand and quality, will cost between £910 and £1,820, or between 25 and 50 times the £36 cost of petrol for the journey."

So now you know why coffee beans don't make the list with alternative fuels.

Via: Daily Mail / BBC1

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VW BlueSport Roadster: 30 New High Res Photos of Mid-Engined, RWD Sportscar

If you want any more proof that Volkswagen's BlueSport roadster concept is heading towards production, just consider the fact that the German firm has not only given the car an internal development code name but it also invited a number of journalists to take the one-off concept for a quick test drive. Furthermore, VW has published a brand new photo album of the car on the road, that you can check out in all its high-res glory after the jump.

Even though VW officials may not publicly admit it, the mid-engined, rear-wheel drive BlueSport roadster that was revealed for the first time at this year's Detroit Show, is essentially a low-cost alternative to the Porsche Boxster.

"The two-seater is still a concept, but as a production car it would have the best talents for turning the segment of compact, genuine sports cars upside down," said VW in a statement. "That is because this roadster is sporty, sustainable and affordable all at once – a people's car and a sports car for a new era."

Developed with a 'back to basics' approach, the concept version of the 3.99 meter long BlueSport roadster is powered by a 2.0-liter TDI turbocharged diesel engine that cranks out 180HP and 350Nm or 258.2-lbs/ft of torque which is transferred to the rear axle through a 6-speed dual clutch transmission with shift paddles on the steering wheel.

With the 180HP 2.0 TDI, the soft-top roadster that weighs in at less than 1,200kg (2,645-lbs), can sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62mph) in about 6.6 seconds and achieve a top speed of 226km/h or 141mph. Volkswagen claims that the two-seater roadster can deliver an average fuel consumption of just 4.3 liters per 100km (54.7mpg US). In combination with the 50-liter tank, the car's theoretical range is greater than 1,150 kilometers or 715-miles.

If, or rather when the Roadster enters production, expect to see an array of turbocharged gasoline (TSI) and diesel (TDI) engines that will most likely include the 160HP 2.0 TDI, the 1.4 TSI with 122HP as well as the Scirocco R's 265HP 2.0 TSI.

The German firm promises that in spite of the car's sporty credentials, the roadster still offers a respectable level of everyday utility. In the cargo area under the front hood, the Concept BlueSport can stow 112 liters of luggage while the rear trunk handle an additional 70 liters of cargo. Altogether that makes 182 liters or 20% more space than what the Mazda MX-5 / Miata offers (150 liters).

If all goes well and the BlueSport Roadster receives the final green light for production, the first cars could arrive at VW showrooms around late 2012.

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