History

In 1900, Ferdinand Porsche developed the Mixte, a 4WD series-hybrid version of "System Lohner-Porsche" electric carriage previously appeared in 1900 Paris World Fair. It was presented in the Paris Auto Show in 1901. The Mixte broke several Austrian speed records, and also won the Exelberg Rally in 1901 with Porsche himself driving. The Mixte used a gasoline engine powering a generator, which in turn powered electric hub motors, with a small battery pack for reliability. It had a top speed of 50 km/h and a power of 5.22 kW during 20 minutes.
In 1905, Henri Pieper of Germany/Belgium introduced a hybrid vehicle with an electric motor/generator, batteries, and a small gasoline engine. It used the electric motor to charge its batteries at cruise speed and used both motors to accelerate or climb a hill.
In 1931 Erich Gaichen invented and drove from Altenburg to Berlin a 1/2 horsepower electric car containing features later incorporated into hybrid cars. Its maximum speed was 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). The car battery was re-charged by the motor when the car went downhill. Additional power to charge the battery was provided by a cylinder of compressed air which was re-charged by small air pumps activated by vibrations of the chassis and the brakes and by igniting oxyhydrogen gas.


The Mixte