This paper presents the measured energy consumption results of a range of efficient vehicles over a 57 mile urban / extra-urban route. The results show that on average the electric vehicles used the least amount of energy (average 0.62 MJ/km), followed by the hybrid vehicles (average 1.14 MJ/km), and the internal combustion engine vehicles (average 1.68 MJ/km). The hydrogen fuel cell vehicle used 1.2 MJ/km. An estimate of CO 2 emissions was also made and it was found that hybrids gave the lowest CO 2 emissions, with around half of the vehicles emitting less than 70 gCO 2 /km. The most efficient diesel combustion engine vehicles emitted about 80 gCO 2 /km but the majority exceeded 110 gCO 2 /km. The majority of electric vehicles emitted 70-110 gCO 2 /km assuming a United Kingdom grid average emissions factor of 542 gCO 2 /kWh.

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This paper presents the energy consumption results from the 2012 RAC Future Car Challenge. It discusses measurement techniques for the different types of powertrain and draws conclusions about their applicability to different vehicle segments. The energy consumption of a plug-in hybrid vehicle is analysed in detail to illustrate separately electric versus fuel energy consumption. The ChallengeThe RAC Future Car Challenge (FCC) is a motoring event promoted by the Royal Automobile Club in which the challenge for participants and their vehicles is to consume the least energy possible over a 63-mile route from Brighton to London. The event is open to internal-combustion engine (sub-110 gCO 2 /km), hybrid, range-extended/plug-in hybrid and pure-electric vehicles. These are grouped by 'Euro Car Segment' (mini, small, medium, large, executive, luxury, sport, multi-purpose and sports-utility) and type of build (prototype or series production) for the awards. This paper analyses the energy consumption results from the 2012 FCC -the third Challenge. The most significant change in the 2012 FCC compared to the two previous events (in 2010 and 2011) was the inclusion of motorway driving. The aim of this was to make the FCC drive cycle reflect realworld driving conditions as closely as possible.The paper will first briefly outline the methodology employed (Section 2) and illustrate the drive cycle in terms of speed and distance (Section 3). Section 4 then provides the energy consumption results for all the vehicles that were measured. In order to make like-for-like comparisons, the results are analysed in terms of fuel/propulsion type, vehicle class and weight. Data collected from previous FCCs (2010 and 2011) as well as from the 2012 FCC is used to examine energy consumption trends over time.Section 5 discusses the energy measurement methods and energy consumption results of a prototype plug-in hybrid vehicle, of which three were entered in the Challenge. This allows for a discussion of energy management optimisation and driver impact on vehicle performance under different conditions. Finally, Section 6 draws conclusions. MethodologyAs in previous years, vehicles with different types of powertrain, fuelled by various energy sources and emitting no more than 110 g/km CO 2 , participated in the 2012 FCC.The 'transition' from conventional internal-combustion engine (ICE) powertrains to pure electric vehicle (EV) configurations is illustrated in Figure 1, with Table 1 listing the adapted FCC categorisation. Essentially, three combinations are possible (see Figure 1, from left to right):(1) the vehicle runs solely on liquid fuel; (2) the vehicle runs on a combination of electric energy and liquid fuel; or (3) the vehicle runs solely on electric energy. The allowed time frame to complete the route was set to a minimum of 2h15min and a maximum of 3h. (further details in the Rules and Regulations [1]) Figure 1 -Vehicle classification by drivetrain configuration