The XR-3 Hybrid
A Three-Wheel Super-Mileage Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle
You can build from plans...

Plans and Instructions
RELEASING MAY 2008

PLACE YOUR PRE-RELEASE ORDER TODAY

 

In truth, the ideas and images in men's minds are
the invisible powers that constantly govern them.
                                                    --John Locke

The XR-3 Hybrid is a super-fuel-efficient two-passenger plug-in hybrid that achieves 125 mpg on diesel power alone, 225 mpg on combined diesel and electric power, and performance like a conventional automobile.  The design of the XR-3 Hybrid focuses on existing technologies and a vehicle “personality” that makes conserving energy a fun driving experience. It showcases the design ideas explored in Robert Q. Riley’s book, Alternative Cars in the 21^st Century.
          At just 1300 pounds, this high-performance design combines lightening-fast acceleration, a maximum speed of 85 mph, and fuel economy of 125- to over 200-mpg.
          Its clam-shell canopy and three-wheel platform boldly differentiates the XR-3 from conventional passenger cars. The vehicle’s hybrid power system, diesel engine, and low curb weight are the main ingredients of its super-high fuel economy and excellent performance. Acceleration equal to that of a conventional car and a maximum speed of 85 mph make the XR-3 Hybrid equally at home on freeways and surface streets.
          Advanced safety features of a production XR-3 Hybrid will include occupant protection and crash avoidance systems. Enabling technologies already exist, and nothing new has to be invented.
          Plans will enable readers to build a duplicate of the XR-3 Hybrid prototype, or convert their own car into a significantly more fuel-efficient vehicle. Readers will understand the factors that influence fuel economy, and learn how to make any car achieve greater fuel economy. The XR-3 Hybrid gives enthusiasts and experimenters the opportunity to significantly reduce their transportation expenses and have fun doing it. On a broader level, the vehicle is a highly visible example of the kinds of vehicles that could help reduce personal mobility energy on a global scale.

Styling Makes an Implied Promise

          The driving experience is defined by the vehicle’s layout and styling – it's “theme" or "personality.” The vehicle theme says: “This is what I am and this is what I do."  It’s a statement that’s on a visual level, and it’s maintained throughout the ambiance of the vehicle. Mechanical design simply supports that statement. “Once we decide on the basic architecture of the vehicle, styling is the first thing that’s done,” says Riley. “It’s the most intangible quality of the design, but it provides a visual marker for what we are trying to achieve through mechanical design. Styling makes an implied promise, and then it’s up to the mechanical designers to deliver on that promise.”

The Technology of Fuel Economy

          The vehicle’s performance and fuel economy comes from a combination of two fundamental design factors.  First, it’s essential to keep the vehicle as light as possible in order to reduce the amount of mechanical "work" that has to be done. The method of getting rid of unwanted mass while still keeping the car’s mechanical benefits demands good design and modern materials.  Once the amount of "work" has been minimized, then the other part of the equation is to do the remaining "work" as efficiently as possible. And that’s where the hybrid power system comes in. So the fundamental approach is very simple. The key is in the execution.         
         New types of products that rely more on vehicle packaging and market positioning could play an important role in reducing global energy demand. Significantly downsized vehicles - smaller, lighter, highly fuel-efficient personal mobility products - could help turn the tide against escalating energy demand and open new markets in the process.

          Everyone understands that small, super-efficient cars would help the environment and reduce imported oil.  But industry has been slow to see marketing opportunities and create products of this category that capture the imagination of consumers. The XR-3 Hybrid is designed to explore vehicle packaging and styling, with an eye toward creating a new design theme and market positioning for alternative personal transportation products.  We call it a “Personal Mobility Vehicle.” 
          To paraphrase the lead quote from John Locke, the ideas and images in the minds of designers invisibly guide them toward particular design options. A product’s “character” naturally emerges from the collective mind-set of its designers. Consumer appeal of any alternative mobility product depends on the ideas and images in the minds of its creators, not on the core idea of saving energy and emissions through size/mass reduction. In order to enjoy success in a consumer market, significantly different vehicle types - Personal Mobility Vehicles - must be rendered in ways that create new appeals of their own. And energy savings and emissions reduction must be positioned as secondary benefits. Or stated differently, a consumer vehicle’s environmental benefits can be an effective motivator only in terms of providing a rationale for a purchase that is, in fact, based largely on the product’s emotional appeal.
          The XR-3 focuses on the power of “design” to influence consumer perceptions and choices.  It points to a new category of personal mobility products that are neither automobiles nor motorcycles.

**It might be argued that greater utility, rather than vehicle design, is responsible for the popularity of SUVs.  But consider that station wagons and panel trucks have been around almost since the inception of the automobile. And it was only when carmakers connected with consumers through “design” that trucks began to replace family sedans in the personal mobility market.

Plug-In Hybrid Architecture

          The XR-3 is designed as a “plug-in hybrid.”  This makes it possible to drive on battery power alone on trips of about 40 miles.  In other words, on short trips you never have to turn on the diesel engine.  And when both the diesel and the battery-electric systems are used together, and the car is driven conservatively, fuel economy increases to over 200-mpg.  Fuel economy is about 125-mpg on diesel power alone. 
          Today’s hybrids are called “mild hybrids” or “charge-maintaining hybrids”. They use the electric system to help with acceleration. You can drive on battery power alone, but only for a short distance – around the block, for example. The battery pack is typically used to provide bursts of power for brief periods of acceleration. The combustion engine then recharges the battery between periods of acceleration.  But fuel economy suffers while the battery is being recharged. That’s why today’s hybrids do not provide much advantage in fuel economy over a well-designed conventional car. 
          In order to get the full benefits of a hybrid power system, you have to switch to a plug-in hybrid architecture like the XR-3.  Plug-ins will be the next generation of hybrid vehicles. A plug-in hybrid simply means that part or all of the vehicle’s energy is taken from the grid system where it is cleaner and less costly to produce. Most of the world’s automakers are now working on plug-in hybrids. 

Virtually Unlimited Options for the Builder

          The plug-in power system architecture also allows much greater flexibility in power system choices.  With a mild hybrid, like the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius (also called “charge-maintaining hybrids”), proper control of the power system depends on the fact that the subsystems - the internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric systems - are selected in advance and controlled by a computer. The computer, however, has to be programmed for the specific output characteristics of the two systems. Any modification in either of the power systems (electric or ICE) causes a mismatch with the control system. The computer control system cannot, on its own, account for changes in the power system. So whenever a change is made, the computer has to be reprogrammed to account for the change. 
          With a plug-in hybrid system, configured like the system in the XR-3, you are free to add a larger or smaller ICE, or even switch to a gasoline engine, without having to reprogram the control system. You can also build the car as a conventional ICE-powered car, or a full battery-electric car.  So the options are greatly expanded with the plug-in hybrid power system. 
          With the XR-3, the two front wheels are powered by the ICE engine, and the single rear wheel is electric powered. The two power systems are not integrated within the vehicle. The connection between the ICE and the electric power systems is provided by the ground. Proper phase-in between the two power systems is handled by a simple throttle mechanism, and a dash-mounted switch to select between ICE power, electric power, and dual power modes. In the dual power mode, the XR-3 will have lots of burst power for outstanding acceleration. If you were to use this acceleration potential to its fullest, fuel economy would be reduced to something on the order of 150 mpg over a 70 mile trip. Fuel economy will vary according the particular components chosen for the power system, and how heavy you are on the throttle pedal. Performance figures quoted here are for a system configured just like the prototype.  Plans will provide the information necessary for you to select different components if you want to.

Removable Front Clip & Canopy

          The canopy and the entire front of the body are removable.  Removing the front body section provides complete access to engine and suspension components for major servicing. 
         This removable front clip can be restyled and extended to provide additional forward space for a more powerful engine.  With a larger engine you can have big-engine performance and still retain the ability to run on battery power alone. The existing 65-pound (29.5 kg) transmission will handle up to 300 horsepower (223 kW). 
          The removable canopy provides another level of freedom.  A different windshield can be installed to create an open-air roadster effect.

Safety Features

          The front portion of the front clip is foam-filled to absorb low-speed frontal impacts. It also serves as an easily replaceable sacrificial element in the event of a frontal collision.  The sides of the vehicle are filled with foam to provide side intrusion protection. This foam-filled region, varying in thickness from 5 inches to more than 10 inches, extends from the front wheel wells to the rear bulkhead of the passenger zone, and vertically from the canopy parting line to the bottom of the passenger zone. The design is significantly more resistant to side intrusion than the doors of conventional cars.
          A composite roll bar is built into the perimeter of the panel that defines the rear of the passenger zone.  In addition, the canopy is equipped with a tubular steel perimeter frame which is reinforced by steel “A” pillar members. This provides excellent rollover protection.
          An open interior having no conventional instrument panel or steering column provides forward excursion space for occupant deceleration during a frontal collision. Controlled deceleration is provided by conventional seat belts.  Air bags are unnecessary due to the lack of nearby interior structures. 
          There is no conventional steering column.  The steering wheel is supported from the side.  The supporting structure is designed to break away in a frontal collision. It is not designed to resist/carry the loads that would typically be imposed by the forward excursion of the driver.  This design eliminates the inherent danger of an air bag without compromising safety.

(During a frontal collision, air bags prevent occupants from impacting the interior of the vehicle.  But air bag deployment can cause serious injury or death to children and out-of-position occupants.  Air bags are unnecessary in the absence of nearby interior structures that may be impacted by forward excursion of occupants.) 

Plans

          The XR-3 Standard Plans Package is priced at $170.  The package will include 15 or more D-size (24 x 36 inch) drawing sheets and a construction/technical manual of approximately 120-150 pages with approximately 150 photos and illustrations.
         The XR-3 Deluxe Plans Package is priced at $200. The Deluxe version includes everything from the Standard version plus a CD-ROM and DVD.
          The CD-ROM will include electronic 2D CAD files (SolidWorks e-Drawing files and dxf files), 3D models in SolidWorks e-Drawing formats, links to free viewers, and a construction manual set up to run in a web browser with click-to-enlarge color photos, video clips, iges files for CNC machining, and more.
          The DVD will have 1 to 1-1/2 hours of video of the vehicle being built.
          If you’d like to try the eDrawings viewer, you can download an executable eDrawings file of the Front Wheel and Knuckle Assembly model (3.23 MB) by clicking on the foregoing link. You have the option to either Run or Save the file.

Kits

          Although the XR-3 can be built just as the prototype was built, kits are on the agenda. The XR-3 can be constructed using the same techniques used to build Tri-Magnum. Click on FRP/foam composite for a document that shows the composite system used to build the body for Tri-Magnum.  The XR-3 body may be built of carbon fiber over foam or conventional fiberglass over foam.  Both systems are designed for the home craftsman using virtually identical techniques.
          However, kits will follow the release of plans by about 6 to 8 months. If you purchase a kit, the amount you paid for plans will be applied to the price of a kit. Initially, we will provide frame kits and body kits having only those components that you would otherwise have to specially build.
          A knocked-down body kit consisting of pre-molded panels provides the greatest benefit at the least cost. So body kits will be supplied as unassembled panels that builders can simply bond together. In addition to cutting the price by more than 60 percent, this type of kit also makes it possible to nest multiple panels in relatively small cartons and hold shipping costs to a minimum. Frame kits will be configured in a similar way. The goal is to deliver the greatest benefit at the lowest possible price, and avoid supplying parts that you can purchase locally. We are, however, considering the option of setting up a supply chain wherein most of the components can be purchased from a single source.
          The price of kits has not been established.

Completed Vehicles

Information not available at this time.

About the Designer

          Robert Q. Riley consults for corporate and private clients on new product design and product strategies. He promotes environmentally friendly technologies, and writes and speaks on the subject of alternative automobile design. He has chaired conference workshops and spoken at industry, scientific, and academic events, including the Global Energy Future symposium (Columbia University), the World Car Conference, and the Northwest Alternative Fuels Conference. He consulted on the Different Roads automobile exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, and was a panelist on the museum’s daylong symposium on the future of the automobile. He was one of the two U.S. technical consultants selected by Delcan Corporation to assist with Transport Canada’s Sustainable Transportation Technology Forecast.
          Mr. Riley is the author of Alternative Cars in the 21st Century: A New Personal Transportation Paradigm (Society of Automotive Engineers, 1994 & 2003), and Alternative Fuels for Spark-Ignition Engines (for a volume on Motor Gasoline in the series, Critical Reports on Applied Chemistry, Royal Society of Chemistry & Society of Chemical Industry, U.K., 1995). The Second Edition of Alternative Cars in the 21^st Century, with a Forward by Dr. Paul MacCready, was published in 2003.
 

Specifications

In the News

Automotive Manufacturer China magazine ad - distributed at the 2008 Beijing Auto Show, April 20th-28th, 2008: XR3 Hybrid Ad

Rich Ruggles, owner and Webmaster of the site, Fuel Efficient Vehicles Now!, has applied powerful vehicle performance analysis tools to the XR-3 Hybrid.  The result is a very informative technical analysis that shows the effect of various power train options.  You can access the overview and performance graphs at:  XR-3 Hybrid.