Fly wheels in autos? Not the La Ferrari type, but a cheap al

File: large-flywheel2.jpg (62KB, 1078x713px) Image search: [Google]

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Volvo hybrid drive: 60,000 rpm flywheel, 25% boost to mpg. Volvo’s vision of the future sees hybrid vehicles equipped with flywheels spinning in a vacuum to produce large amounts of power for a few seconds, enough to get a car up to speed quickly, or perhaps accelerate safely onto the freeway.

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Punch Powertrain pushes its flywheel-CVT hybrid technology

Automakers charge more for hybrid-electric vehicles than standard cars because hybrids need costly batteries as well as motor/generators and power electronics to cut fuel consumption. But what if car manufacturers could achieve the same gain more cheaply by using mechanical flywheels instead?

http://articles.sae.org/13226/