Article from TAXI magazine

New cab for
London

Investigations by the
LTDA have revealed
that a new manufacturer is expected to launch a new cab later this year and TAXI gained access to exclusive undercover pictures of the new vehicle. We can reveal it will be a hybrid vehicle utilising a small petrol Wankel rotary engine and an electric motor/ generator. This is similar to the system currently used by Toyota in their Prius and Honda in their hybrid Civic. The electric motor (or motors) powers the vehicle for initial acceleration and low speed driving, while the petrol engine cuts in and out to either supplement the electric power or at high speeds to power the vehicle independently. The battery is recharged by a generator running off the engine and from heat produced either by braking or deceleration. The system has many advantages over a conventional engine in that it is extremely quiet, produces minimal exhaust emissions and is very, very economical, the producers of the cab are talking about 100 mpg! All of the other hybrids currently in production use conventional piston engines whereas the new cab is utilising a Wankel rotary engine which has a higher power to weight ratio and has smoother power delivery than the best of the rest. Rotary engines have been around since the 1950s and have been used to power various cars and motor bikes although the only manufacturer to currently use one is Mazda in their RX8 sports car. The new cab is based on the old Metrocab format although the only parts recognisable are the doors and roof line; the front wings are very similar to the TX4 incorporating twin headlights that make it look very much like a VW Golf from the front. From the back it’s been given a larger boot and improved rear light clusters which makes for a more contemporary appearance. The big questions are when will it be launched and what will it cost? The LTDA's informed source who supplied the photographs, is talking about August/September this year for a trade launch but the price remains a mystery. Cutting edge technology is rarely cheap but in order to break into the market it will need to compete with the TX4. Coincidentally LTI has helpfully just raised the price of the TX4 by between £400 and £550 (depending on specification).

Another Metro cab? No thank you please.

How economical is this vehicle going to be ? Jeremy Clarkson commented once on Top Gear how owners of the Prius were getting nowhere near the official fuel consumption figures.

That is a good find stf, and like zee, I have my reservations about the funny named engine. I think going down the green route is all well and good but with the Euro E7 alternative available for a Metrocab clone it's too little too late. Things have changed since the early Metro was launched and the restricted choice market is'nt there anymore apart from London and TX4 is still going strog there.