What you see here could be the replacement for the U.S. Army’s world-famous Humvee. Called the Fuel Efficient Demonstrator (FED) Bravo concept, this military vehicle showcases army’s intentions to go green, sort of, and reduce its fuel consumption and carbon footprint. The Bravo certainly looks the part, but will it work?
Well, on paper it should. The vehicle has a diesel hybrid system with a Ford-sourced 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 diesel developing 268 hp to power the rear wheels, and an electric motor to power the front ones, this massive 16,760 lbs (7 and a half ton) truck can get out of its own pay pretty good. They just need to make sure the hybrid system is built military-grade tough. You sure don’t want the electrics to go wrong in the battlefield.
Just like a normal hybrid car, the Bravo features start/stop system and can also run on electricity alone for 5 miles. Estimated fuel consumption for this vehicle is 8.2 mpg in the city and 14.2 mpg highway. That sounds poor, but it’s actually three times better than the current Humvee.
FED Bravo was designed in collaboration with College for Creative Studies and is just a concept for now. The cost of making hybrid military vehicles like this might not be justifiable for the DoD just yet.
