First Hybrid Car
Want to know about the world’s first hybrid car ? This article reveals the secrets behind the very first hybrid vehicle.
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Since 1997, people in Japan have been using hybrid cars. It is only in 2002 that this new innovation in automobiles have been brought in the United States by Honda Motors with its "Honda Insight" and the Toyota Motor Corporation with its "Toyota Prius ". But many people do not know that the world’s first hybrid car was built way back in 1899 by a young man named Ferdinand Porsche who was an engineer Jacob Lohner & Company.
Called "Mixte ," Porsche’s creation is today known as the "world’s first hybrid car" was because way back then, this man was able to see the potentials that hybrid automobiles can do.
Many people who are now using hybrid cars do not know it but this environment friendly technology has been around for 100 years. Although it has underwent a series of modifications and improvement, one thing stays the same — it’s mean to save the environment by letting people realize that they can ride into the bandwagon of modernity and efficiency without really destroying what Mother Nature has given them.
How it came to be
Many people believed that the hybrid cars were originated from Japan. Although this is true because the Japanese were the ones to reinvent the technology and introduced it to the larger scale of the market, the tribute should still be paid to the 100-year-old Porsche creator.
"Mixte" as it was called, was a car that had built in wheel electric motors combined with onboard gas. This combination was purposely designed for the engine to recharge the car’s batteries all by itself. With this initial attribute, this car is already considered a "serial hybrid " because a single engine drives the wheels. This car uses a parallel hybrid with both engines driving the wheels. This type of car was an initial breakthrough at that time where conventional cars are not using the same technology.
What sets "Mixte" apart was its in-wheel electric motors were specifically deigned to increase efficiency of the vehicle through the removal of everything that is mechanical in its parts. Another thing that sets it apart is that unlike one of its predecessors — the Volto — there is absolutely no need to plug it since it was designed not to have one.
Using a petrol-electric engine that was constantly rotating in a certain speed that was enough to drive a dynamo, "Mixte" fed current to electric motors. These motors have hubs in front of its wheels. With this design, transmissions, drive shafts, straps, gears, straps, clutch or chains were no longer needed. At that time, it was a brilliant discovery or invention because the simplicity of the car’s transmission used for operation, there was a great yield of 85 percent without losing the energy that has been produced by the mechanical friction .
Although this was a breakthrough at that time, Porsche was not able to see the reason why he should continue developing this technology in automobiles. You know why? Because at that time, gasoline was so cheap that people didn’t have to worry about their consumption with the use of conventional cars which they thought was faster and easier to use and maneuver.
Also, they did not see any reason why they should replace their conventional car into something that was not really introduced into the market yet. They thought that it was a waste of time buying something that is quite expensive because of the modern technology that was used in building it. They also saw the possibility that if they use a car that was not able to gain mass patronage yet, they will have a hard time getting spare parts and looking for people who has the expertise to fix a car such as those hybrid cars.
What Porsche did not realize is that the technology of hybrid cars will soon have a market because many people would be concerned in saving his of her environment. Maybe, he did not also anticipate that time will come wherein gasoline prices would increase its price just like what it is today.
In 1903 the so called, Lohner-Porsche was displayed at the Norvegian Technical Museum . It also appeared in the World Exhibition of Paris wherein the first hybrid car amazed and astonished the whole automobile industry. With its unique attributes, it was an initial crowd favorite. It’s success was not only visible on how motoring people reacted to it but because how it influenced the production of 300 more that was patterned after the design and the technology.
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Recommended Reading (3 More Hybrid Vehicle Articles)
Fun Facts
The Lohner-Porsche ’s design was studied during NASA’s efforts to create the Apollo program’s Lunar Rover , and many of its design principles were mirrored in the Rover’s design. The series hybrid concept underpins many modern railway locomotives, and interest in series hybrid automobiles is rapidly growing. Although produced over 100 years ago, the car has more significance than ever.
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