This is a 1000 horsepower Ford Explorer. Let me repeat, this is a 1000 horsepower 2002 Ford Explorer with a top speed of 155mph, 10 second quarter-mile, 0-60 time of 3.0 seconds. Oh, yeah it gets 35mpg! Cal Poly's Hybrid Vehicle Development Team, a student group of Cal Poly engineers, has designed the Explorer to obtain performance and efficiency in the same package. The heart of the design is the two powerful hydraulic motors at each differential. They are rated at 500 horsepower each. In order to turn the motors, a hydraulic pump pressurizes hydraulic fluid to a max operating pressure of 5100 psi and stores it in hydraulic accumulators. Running the pump is a 1.9L Volkswagen TDI engine. This 110 horsepower engine runs on B20 biodiesel fuel and operates at its most efficient point at a constant rpm. Note, this is a series hybrid setup. The VW engine does not directly provide power to the wheels. The vehicle is currently under construction. We are sponsored by Cal Poly's Mechanical Engineering.

See our progress on the new wiki page: hvdt.cjforster.com

The Hybrid Vehicle Development Team follows the steps of the past FutureTruck team. FutureTruck was a competition sponsored by Ford Motor Company where fifteen schools turned a Ford Explorer into a more efficient and cleaner running hybrid SUV. After the last year of the competition the team disassembled and now HVDT is using the Ford Explorer chassis to design and create a new, stronger hybrid; thinking out of the box from current technology. Even with the increase in gas prices, SUVs are still very popular and useful vehicles. Now is the time to gain as many miles per gallon as possible, now is the time to seriously research alternative fuels, now is the time to have as clean an exhaust as possible, now is the time to develop hybrid technology. This team truly practices the “learn by doing” motto of Cal Poly—the best way to gain experience and knowledge. As the team develops, members are gaining teamwork experience and technical experience; preparing for the business world in a technology that is our future.

We are a team of motivated students ready to construct a vehicle from the ground up. We meet weekly to discuss design parameters and any modifications necessary or desired, and then meet Saturdays to implement these ideas. It is through research projects like HVDT that Cal Poly students practice the “Learn by Doing” motto to maximize their education.

No experience is necessary to join, solely the passion and desire to work with cutting edge technology in a team environment. We are looking for all majors and all experience levels.

Educational research project experience is an excellent way to further understand what is taught in the classroom and stands out on any resume. Senior project opportunities are available upon request. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

We meet twice a week in our shop during the school year: Thursday's from 11AM - 12 to discuss design & progress, and Saturday's 9AM - 4PM to work on the vehicle. If you are interested in the project and would like to come see what we do and meet the team stop by our shop; a map is attached below.