With a well-achieved aesthetic, the Cadillac Provoq Concept combines lines of the past with the current style of the traditional American brand. While it looks brazy, like any contemporary vehicle on the American market, its dimensions are not as exaggerated as you might expect from a Cadillac product, top of the range in your country.
With a total length of 4,826 mm, the Provoq Concept outlines a new medium crossover criterion. Its interior is not really great despite a wheelbase of almost 2,800 mm, as the bulky exterior appearance and its slanted windscreens waste space relegating interior comfort.
But the crux of this presentation is clean propulsion technology. Cadillac engineers provided the Provoq Concept with a fuel cell (hydrogen) and lithium-ion batteries that feed three electric motors, one 70 kW on the front axle and two 40 kW on each of the rear wheels.
Electric motors are in fact secondary, since their range barely reaches 32 km. The main engine uses hydrogen. The range with a tank full of hydrogen rises to 482 km, a perfectly acceptable value.
General Motors once again implemented in a concept car E-Flex technology, which allows you to power your batteries directly from any home outlet. Meanwhile, its two hydrogen tanks can store 6 kilograms of that element (each) at 10,000 pounds of pressure.
This technology is complemented by painstaking work in the aerodynamics of the Provoq. The drag value was significantly reduced and work was done on computer-controlled active air intakes. These sockets open or close the air intake according to the needs of the engine.
Aerodynamics were also worked in the lower sector. The soil has channels for air to circulate efficiently. A small spoiler was included in the roof as a deflector which, due to pressure differences, also reduces drag.
With all this work, the Cadillac Provoq Concept achieves very satisfactory performance, highlighting an acceleration of 0-100 km/h in 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 160 km/h.
Finally, it is worth noting the incorporation of the brake system with a selective energy source. When the driver applies the brakes, a computer will decide whether to take the braking force of the hydraulic system or the electrical system. The goal is to take advantage of the energy implemented in braking to recharge the electric batteries.
It seems that finally in the United States they are beginning to accept the inevitable fate: oil must be replaced by new sources of energy that do not pollute the planet so unreasonably. There are still more concepts that you will have to accept and teach in your society.
© Adrián Blanco 2008 - Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
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