Jan 21, 2009
Lincoln + Pure Hybrid = LincVolt
In a recent post I remarked on my love for reusing and repurposing as a way to maintain or reduce our environmental footprint. Well, avid reader Moose reminded me of a project I’d read about a while back called LincVolt.
Started by Neil Young (yes, that Neil Young), the project aims to get over 100mpg (2.3 l/100) out of Neil’s ’59 Lincoln Continental. No easy task considering the car is 5.8 meters long and weighs close to 2.3 tons.
What’s really interesting is that the team behind the car are taking the pure hybrid approach of having motivation provided solely by an electric motor with a compressed natural gas (CNG) generator to top up the batteries as they deplete. This is similar to the path that Chevy is taking with the Volt and what Toyota should have done with the new Prius.
I’m totally wowed by the work these guys have done and hope that they have success at the Automotive X Prize for 100 mpg vehicles. I just wish they were working with the sublime Engel-penned ’61 Conti, not the bloated ’59…
Not Neil Young's '59 Conti