Jaguar developing Mechanical KERS system
Engineering transmission firm Torotrak announced that is has been working exclusively with Jaguar to develop a mechanical energy recovery system. Unlike several current regenerative braking systems which store the energy developed when the car slows down as electrical energy, this system uses a small infinitely variable transmission, coupled with a flywheel to store the energy.
When the Jaguar brakes, the kinetic energy is sent through the IVT and spins the flywheel at speeds up to 64,000 revs per minute. This energy is stored and when the car accelerates again it is released back into the drivetrain, giving an added boost of power. As the energy is not wasted, this makes the Jaguar more fuel efficient.
Tototrak and JLR have not said when the system will see an application in production cars, but trial are underway integrating the system into the current crop of petrol and diesel models, and it could be launched in the new Jaguar XJ which we are expecting to see towards the end of 2009.
