Lohner-Porsche
The Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid (sometimes wrongly referred to as Löhner-Porsche) was the first hybrid vehicle developed by Ferdinand Porsche.
First prototypes were 2-wheel drive battery-powered electric vehicles
with two front wheel hub-mounted motors. A later version was a series hybrid using hub-mounted electric motors in each wheel, powered by batteries and gasoline-engine generator.
Development
At the age of 18, Ferdinand Porsche boarded a train in North Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic), and headed for Vienna to embark on his first job. Despite having no formal engineering education, Jacob Lohner, at his
Lohner-Werke
employed Porsche to develop an electric powertrain for his coaches.
Porsche's prototype car boasted a low-friction drivetrain, due to the
hub-mounted electric motors directly driving the wheels. Each
internal-pole electric motor was capable of 2.5 hp (1.9 kW) to 3.5 hp
(2.6 kW) peaking to 7 hp (5.2 kW) for short bursts.
The 1898 "System Lohner-Porsche" created a press whirlwind across
Europe. Lohner received his first order from E.W. Hart, himself a
coachbuilder of Luton, Britain. Hart asked for significant
modifications. His vehicle was to be capable of running on petrol as
well as electricity, of carrying four passengers, and employ four-wheel
drive. The custom coach was a monster dubbed 'La Toujours
Contente'('always Satisfied' in French), a jab at record-holder Camille
Jenatzy's electric 'La Jamais Contente',
and was exhibited at the December 1900 Paris Exhibition. The enormous
Lohner required 1.8 tonnes of batteries consisting of a forty-four cell
80 volt lead-acid battery, all housed in a spring-suspended battery
container to protect the fragile cells. The 4 electric motors weighed a
total of 1280 pounds, contributing to a total vehicle weight of over 4
tonnes on its Continental pneumatic tires. With a battery capacity of
approximately 270 amp-hours and 4 forward speeds, the 56-horsepower
coach ran in several expositions and competitions. It cost 15,000
Austrian Crowns.
Despite such ambitious engineering, the car was completed on time and
was delivered personally by Porsche. Hart was so impressed that he
purchased another, two-wheel drive example at a relative bargain of 7950
Austrian crowns.
In November 6–9, 1900, the Automobile Club of Great Britain and
Ireland sponsored an electric vehicle endurance trial, of which the
4-wheel drive Lohner-Porsche was one of eleven entrants—one of three
entrants Hart brought to the Chislehurst starting line. The first-place
winner of the trial was a Louis-Kreiger car dubbed the 'Powerful'.
Thanks to largely to its lighter weight and larger diameter wheels, it
achieved a first run of 59 miles at an average of about 10 miles per
hour. 'Le Toujours Contente' suffered tire failures on its 34 miles with
Porsche at the wheel. One competitor stated, "there were inches of mud
on the floors; rain came through the roof; the sheds were doorless and
the cars and attendants were nightly exposed to the full force of wind
and rain." Other electric vehicle entrants managed only 7 miles distance
through the muddy rutted course. Ferdinand Porsche caught a severe
cold, contributing to the vehicle's elimination from further
competition.
Too costly for popular consumption, Lohner leveraged the
revolutionary drivetrain technology for larger commercial vehicles.
Lohner-Werke manufactured rear-drive double-decker buses for Berlin and
front-drive fire engines for the cities of Vienna, Frankfurt, and
London. Lohner was commissioned to build vehicles for the Austrian
emperor as well as the kings of Norway, Romania, and Sweden. According
to a biography by Andreas Stieniczka, the funeral coach for Archduke
Franz Ferdinand, whose murder in Sarajevo was the event which sparked
off World War I, was manufactured by Lohner-Werke. Over 300
Lohner-Porsche vehicles were sold through 1906.
In addition to custom coachworks, Lohner supported Porsche' continued
racing efforts. Several Austrian land speed records were set, with a
top speed eventually achieving 37 mph (60 km/h) with Porsche at the
wheel. It was victorious in a number of motorsport
events including the Exelbert Rally in 1901. With both drivetrain
engineering excellence in Lohner's custom coaches and motorsport
experience, Porsche
won the 1905 Potting Prize as Austria's most outstanding automotive
engineer. In 1906, Porsche was snapped up by Daimler-Benz as chief
designer. Jacob Lohner said at the time: 'He is very young, but is a man
with a big career before him. You will hear of him again.'
The Lohner-Porsche's design was studied by Boeing and NASA to create the Apollo program’s Lunar Rover.
Many of its design principles were mirrored in the Rover’s design. The
series hybrid concept underpins many modern railway locomotives, and
interest in series hybrid automobiles is growing rapidly
To Sell your Vehicles in Sri Lanka
Just visit