The Chevrolet Sequel was a purpose-built
hydrogen
Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...
fuel cell-powered concept car
A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle or show vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not ...
and
sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
from
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
, employing the then-latest generation of
General Motors
General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
'
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...
technology.
The Sequel's
powertrain
In a motor vehicle, the powertrain comprises the main components that generate engine power, power and deliver that power to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the internal combustion engine, engine, transmission (mechanics), trans ...
included an electronic control unit and a fourth-generation version of GM's
fuel-cell stack. The Sequel became the basis for the design of the gas-powered
Chevrolet Traverse
The Chevrolet Traverse is a full-size crossover SUV with three-row seating built by General Motors produced since the 2009 model year. It is built on the same platform as the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave, known as the GM Lambda platform, Lambda ...
, which was the replacement for the
Uplander minivan
Minivan (sometimes called simply a van) is a car classification for vehicles designed to transport passengers in the rear seating row(s), with reconfigurable seats in two or three rows . The equivalent classification in Europe is MPV (multi-p ...
.
Characteristics
The Sequel's fuel-cell stack had a rated power output of , supplemented by a
lithium-ion battery
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, energ ...
pack rated at . One electric motor drove the front wheels, and individual wheel-motors (outboard of the rear brakes) drove each rear wheel, providing total tractive power of .
The Sequel stored of gaseous hydrogen in three cylindrical, carbon-composite fuel tanks, pressurized to and mounted longitudinally beneath the cabin floor. As a result, the range of the vehicle was more than .
The Sequel was just short of five metres long (4,994 mm, 196.1 in.), on a similarly long (3,040 mm, 119.7 in.) wheelbase in order to accommodate the extremely long fuel tanks.
Possible production
GM made no commitment to building the Sequel. However, GM vice-chairman
Bob Lutz has said he would push the company's strategy board to approve full production of a fuel-cell vehicle by 2011
model year
The model year (sometimes abbreviated as MY) is a method of describing the version of a product which has been produced over multiple years. The model year may or may not be the same as the calendar year in which the product was manufactured.
...
. Due to the extremely high cost of fuel cells, GM opted to instead build several hydrogen-powered
Chevrolet Equinox
The Chevrolet Equinox is a crossover SUV introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. It was intended to replace the North American Chevrolet Tracker and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The third-generation Equinox also replaced the fir ...
-based vehicles as testbeds. It then decided to change its direction of alternative-fueled vehicles, and unveiled the concept
Volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
in 2008, followed by the production version in 2010. As of October 2006, GM has built two Sequels.
See also
*
General Motors Hy-wire
*
Zero-emissions vehicle
A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. T ...
References
External links
CHEVROLET SEQUEL 300-MILE ZERO EMISSIONS FUEL CELL DRIVE* Fahey, J. "GM's wild gamble." In ''Forbes'' #175, 25 April 2005, pp. 78–83.
{{Chevrolet vehicles
Crossover sport utility vehicles
Fuel cell vehicles
Hybrid electric cars
Hydrogen cars
Sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...