Cars with History: Chrysler Patriot

Although the Chrysler Patriot has not enjoyed much luck since it was first shown, it was designed at a time when no one even dreamed that a diesel could win at Le Mans, let alone a hybrid, as was the case with the Audi e-tron. The Patriot was the first hybrid in history conceived for Le Mans, but it never made it to La Sarthe.

The story of this concept has a great deal to do with Ian Sharp, a British designer who had previously worked in Britain within the racing car manufacturing sector. Hired by Jeep, under the Chrysler brand, Sharp joined the “technical freedom” department, where he conceived ideas for possible uses of carbon fibre in future vehicles, ideas drawn from his time at Reynard and Lola in Britain.

With his new idea under his arm, Sharp contacted the motorsport department of Chrysler, led at that time by Bob Lutz. The proposal had a few main foundations: a generator, liquid gas as fuel, a energy recovery system, two electric motors of 525 volts, and the guidance of the experienced Reynard to build the model.

The energy regeneration system, rated at 400 kilojoules and weighing only 5 kilos, would be used during braking, as in today’s hybrids, which Sharp believed could give it victory at Le Mans thanks to lower fuel consumption, something that was to be promoted at Le Mans.

The project went ahead even though Ian Sharp was removed from it, owing to “clashes of egos” between Chrysler’s executives and engineers. However, it has been considered unsafe, since the outcome in the event of an accident with the energy-recovery flywheel, spinning at 58,000 RPM, would have been catastrophic.

Fortunately, the car has not suffered the fate of other concepts, and it remains in one of Chrysler’s museums, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. Had it been managed properly, perhaps the history of the hybrid car would have changed, and it would have been ahead of its time thanks to a Le Mans victory.

Via | Allpar