Hyundai is working on a new hybrid-only model to directly compete against the Toyota Prius. “We are studying a dedicated Prius-fighter vehicle, meaning a hybrid-specific nameplate that isn’t based off a Sonata or a Santa Fe,” Miles Johnson, Hyundai product public relations manager, told HybridCars.com. “It’s its own thing.”

While Johnson did not confirm a specific production date, he placed the new hybrid-only model ahead of the Hyundai Blue Will plug-in hybrid concept. “We’ve also been studying plug-in hybrid technology, which is a bit farther out for us. But the near-term would be a Prius-sized vehicle,” Johnson said. “You can look at the dimensions of the Blue Will concept and see it would be a similar package and size to a Prius.”

Automotive News last year reported that the four-door Blue Will will launch in the United States in late 2012, according to Yang Woong-Chul, president of Hyundai-Kia Motors’ R&D division. Although the date for the Blue Will plug-in hybrid could easily slip into 2013 or later, the implication is that a new Hyundai hybrid-only model could go into production in the next two years.

Moving Target for Green Top Spot

“A hybrid vehicle usually takes double the time of a standard production car, and a plug-in even more than that,” Johnson said. “Think about how long GM has been spending on the Chevy Volt. It doesn’t happen overnight, but we’ve got some good partners with LG Chem on the batteries.” Johnson downplayed the reality of the Blue Will plug-in hybrid as “just a concept car,” but pointed to a Hyundai “Prius-fighter” as more immediate and real. “We have a lot of engineers working quietly behind the scenes. We’re really moving as fast as we can.” Both projects are being developed at Hyundai’s Namyang design center in South Korea.

Honda made its own attempt at knocking the Toyota Prius off the top spot on the green mantle when it introduced the 2010 Honda Insight last year. But the company was not successful. The 2010 Insight is almost a carbon copy of the Prius—but is smaller, uses a less robust hybrid system, and is less fuel efficient and not significantly less expensive.

Hyundai will take a different approach. We can look at the shape and design of the Blue Will—which employs Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture” concept—for cues on the shape of a new Hyundai hybrid-only model. Johnson said the Blue Will was like “fluidic sculpture on steroids.” So, tone down all the flourishes and gadgetry to predict the design direction of a new ground-up Hyundai hybrid.

Toyota sells more Priuses than all other hybrids combined. It will be difficult for any other carmaker to pass the Prius strictly in terms of sales, but by the time Hyundai introduces its Prius-fighter, the Toyota Prius might no longer be the green car to beat. The Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid and all-electric Nissan Leaf, which respectively use little or no gasoline, will be in full production next year. In addition, Toyota will be competing against itself for top green honors when it introduces the plug-in version of the Prius in 2012. The key question, of course, is price. It’s too early to tell how low Hyundai is willing to price a new hybrid-specific model—but it will have to keep the price tag at $20,000 or lower if it wants to undercut the red-hot competition for green affordability.

The Highway Hybrid

In terms of technology, a new Prius-like Hyundai likely will follow the direction of the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, due for release in late 2010. That model uses Hyundai’s proprietary full hybrid system with lithium polymer batteries. Great pains were taken to reduce weight and improve aerodynamics in the Sonata Hybrid. An original platform should allow Hyundai to go even further. Moreover, Hyundai is emphasizing efficiency in highway driving instead of city driving.

Some hybrid drivers have been disappointed when real-world mileage does not meet the MPG numbers on the window sticker. Hyundai executives expect to earn customer loyalty by configuring and calibrating its hybrid system to emphasize faster driving, mostly on the highway. “We’re trying to delight our customers so when they see what’s on an EPA label on a Hyundai vehicle, that number is actually achievable,” said Johnson.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s most recent fuel economy report, Hyundai is the most fuel-efficient automaker in America. Last year, Hyundai’s leadership promised to achieve the government-mandated 2016 fuel efficient standard of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2015 or earlier. “As a company, about five years ago, the chairman came out and said we need to have laser-like focus on quality. We’ve done that,” Johnson said. “Now, you’re seeing a new focus on design and the environment.”

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Today’s car shoppers should not get too excited. The L1 and e-Up! are futuristic models with little or no chance of going into volume production. Referring to the E-UP!—perhaps the more practical of the two concepts—Martin Winterkorn, VW chairman of the board, said, “To be a genuine success, such an electric car must be affordable to a broad customer base and must be uncompromisingly practical in everyday driving. Only then, in high volumes, and ideally on all continents, can one truly speak of the beginning of the electric age in automobiles and a perceptible reduction of their environmental impact.”

Winkerton indicated that production numbers would need to approach levels of the VW Polo, and that would probably not happen until 2020. He said, “That is why our highly efficient TDI and TSI engines are the most important waypoints of the present.”

L1: World’s Most Efficient Road-Legal Hybrid

The L1 is powered by a turbo diesel and electric motor and weighs only about 840 pounds. Its narrow body is made of carbon fiber, and its drag coefficient is 0.195, lower than any production car on the road today. The L1 name refers to the European concept of a “1-Liter” car, meaning it uses no more than 1.0 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers, or about 235 miles per gallon. The L1 is capable of a top speed of 100 miles per hour, and 0-to-62-mph acceleration in a leisurely14.3 seconds.

The L1’s 0.8 liter TDI is the smallest diesel engine intended for production applications every built by Volkswagen. It’s derived from the 1.6 TDI just introduced a few months ago. The 1.6 TDI is making its debut in Frankfurt in cars such as the new version of the Golf BlueMotion and Passat BlueMotion. The engine is mated to a 10-kilowatt electric motor and a 7-speed direct-shift gearbox—all situated at the back of the car. Volkswagen calls the L1 the “most fuel-efficient road-legal car hybrid drive in the world.”

The passenger sits directly behind the driver. You enter the car through a roof cover hinged at the side. All instruments and controls are arranged over a 180-degree radius to the driver. To start the L1, the driver pushes a button on the right side of the steering wheel. When it is rotated, the round start button simultaneously serves as a gear selector switch and is used to activate the electronic handbrake. The driver controls the on-board computer, navigation and entertainment systems, via keys in the steering wheel. Due to the driver’s low seating position, there is an additional window in the roof used to view traffic lights.

E-Up!: Beetle for the 21st Century

Volkswagen’s other piece of green car eye candy is the E-Up!, a 10.5 foot minicar that seats four—three in front and one in back. Top speed is less than 85 miles per hour, with a 0-60 mph pace of about 11 seconds. E-Up! weighs about 2,400 pounds—with more than 500 pounds coming from the 18 kWh battery pack that can deliver about 80 miles of range from a single charge. The driver activates forward or reverse gear via a rotary knob in the center console.

VW is suggesting that the E-Up! could be the “Beetle for the 21st Century,” although its design is decidedly current, more closely resembling previous VW concept vehicles, such as the Up! city car and Space-Up! microvan.

The VW logo on the V-shaped engine bonnet of the E-Up! is more than just an homage to the Beetle. Hidden behind the folding logo is the integrated port for charging the batteries. The concept car has a touch-screen interface that monitors battery state of charge, provides traffic data, and locates available charging stations.

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