Cadillac Club Estonia

In addition to revealing General Motors' future plans for driverless vehicles, Rick Wagoner will also take the wraps off of a new Cadillac concept at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Dubbed the Provoq, GM hasn't released many details on the concept, but did say that the car is "a vision for a petroleum-free future of luxury transportation."

Judging by that statement, it would be safe to assume that the Provoq will be powered by an all-electric powertrain, a hydrogen powertrain or a combination of the two. GM showed a bodyless-version of its E-flex platform — the same that underpins the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Flextreme — with a hydrogen range extender at the Shanghai Motor Show, leaving the door open for a possible Cadillac model.

With updated Cadillac styling cues on a 180-inch long CUV body, it's stretched 10 inches longer than a Volt to allow comfortable seating for five passengers. The Provoq is built around GM's fifth-generation fuel cell stack combined with a 9kWh lithium ion battery pack. The electrical energy is used to power a 70kW AC motor driving the front wheels and a pair of 40kW hub motors at each rear corner. Like the other E-Flex vehicles, the Provoq has plug-in capability and the battery has enough capacity for about twenty miles of driving range. Combined with the 6kg of compressed hydrogen gas stored in its two tanks, the Provoq has a total range of about 300 miles. Clay Dean's Cadillac design team incorporated some of the aerodynamic lessons learned by the Volt crew, including thermostatically controlled slats in the grille to minimize drag when cooling air flow isn't needed.

Allikas: General Motors, AutoblogGreen