Design and Development of the University of Wisconsin's Parallel Hybrid-Electric Sport Utility Vehicle

The University of Wisconsin - Madison FutureTruck Team has designed and built a four-wheel drive, charge sustaining, parallel hybrid-electric sport utility vehicle for entry into the FutureTruck 2002 competition. This is a two-year project with tiered goals; the base vehicle for both years is a 2002 Ford Explorer. Wisconsin's FutureTruck, nicknamed the ‘Moolander’, weighs approximately 2050 kg. The vehicle uses a high efficiency, 2.5 liter, turbo-charged, compression ignition common rail, direct-injection engine supplying approximately 100 kW of peak power and a AC induction motor that provides an additional 33 kW of peak power. This hybrid drivetrain is an attractive alternative to the large displacement V6 drivetrain, as it provides comparable performance with similar emissions and drastically reduced fuel consumption. The PNGV Systems Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) model predicts a Federal Testing Procedure (FTP) combined driving cycle fuel economy of 16.74 km/L (39.4 mpg) with California Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) emissions levels. These goals will be met while maintaining the full passenger/cargo capacity, appearance, and towing capacity of 2495 kg.