VIA Motors is a privately-owned electric vehicle company founded in 2010 that has developed a proprietary extended-range drive technology called VIA V-Drive that is designed for use in full-size pickup trucks, vans and SUVs. It purchases standard GM vehicles, replaces their powerplants with its own and then sells them to fleets under the VTRUX brand.
Former GM VP Bob Lutz became its chairman in 2011. Known as “the father of the Volt” – among other vehicles, that is, Lutz has been a champion of electric vehicles for a long timt, but his vision of EVs is somewhat different than what most people have come to expect…
At this year’s Detroit Motor Show VIA Motors and Lutz launched the X-Truck, a full-size pickup that has been developed in association with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). It’s based on the 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and, despite looking very aggressive, it also features an extended-range hybrid powertrain.
Then again, it’s not your average hybrid powertrain. In fact, it’s not even VIA’s average eREV powertrain, as the latter uses a 4.3-liter V6 gasoline engine as a generator and a 402HP electric motor to power the wheels.
The X-Truck uses two of VIA’s VR-300 electric motors and ditches the V6 in favor of 5.3-liter V8 that charges a 24kWh, liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack. VIA’s eREV models typically run the first 40 miles (65 km) on electric power alone before the gasoline engine kicks in to start charging the battery.
In spite of the EPA not having tested the vehicle yet, the company says it expects to get “over 100 mpg in typical local daily driving” – or, as Lutz put it, “it can deliver the torque of a monster truck with the fuel economy of a Prius”.
VIA also launched the Presidential, a modified Chevrolet Suburban SUV that is powered by the standard 402HP eREV powertrain.
You can watch Lutz presenting the two models at the 2013 NAIAS press conference and learn how the eREV propulsion system works in the videos that follow the jump.
By Andrew Tsaousis
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