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Natural Gas VW Up! Cuts CO2 Emissions
The natural gas-powered version of Volkswagen AG's Up! minicar emits only 79 g/km of carbon dioxide on the European test cycle, the company says.
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The natural gas-powered version of Volkswagen AG's Up! minicar emits only 79 g/km of carbon dioxide on the European test cycle, the company says.
Dubbed the Eco Up, the little four-seater went on sale in Europe earlier this month. VW unveiled a production version of the car at the Geneva auto show in March.
The vehicle is powered by a variant of the 1.0-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine VW developed for the standard Up. When fueled with natural gas, the aluminum powerplant produces 50 kW (67 hp) and 90 Nm (66 lb-ft) of torque. The car needs more than 16 seconds to reach 100 kph (62 mph) and can eventually reach a top speed of 164 kph (102 mph), according to the company.
Two under-floor tanks with combined NG capacity of 71 liters give the car a range of 380 km. VW says the car also can run on bio-methane.
The car is fitted with a 10-liter gasoline reserve tank that can be tapped to extend range by 220 km. The engine uses gasoline for startups at temperatures below -10 C (+14 F). The powerplant also burns gasoline briefly after the NG tanks are filled until it can determine the quality of the gas and adjust engine mapping accordingly.
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