Like the Jeep Wrangler plug-in revealed earlier, as well General Motors’ own Chevrolet Volt, the Town & Country plug-in combines the drive components of a pure electric-vehicle with an integrated small-displacement petrol engine used to charge its lithium-ion batteries.
The prototype features a 255hp (190kW) electric motor with an instantaneous 258lb-ft (350Nm) of torque. This is enough to accelerate the vehicle from 0-60mph in around nine seconds. While not as impressive as the previous Dodge sports car and Jeep Wrangler plug-in prototypes, the Town & Country model still promises a respectable 40 mile electric-only driving range, and a 400 mile range using just 30 liters of petrol for topping up the batteries between charges.
Front-wheel-drive applications such as in the Town & Country prototype make the most sense for electric vehicles as this configuration is usually more efficient than rear and all-wheel-drive designs. Not surprisinly, Chrysler is planning to develop other front-wheel-drive electric vehicles but no other details have been released yet.