Advanced military vehicles keep rolling along.

With the world's largest vehicle fleet, the U.S. Army is a leading advocate of hybrid and fuel cell vehicles to reduce the amount of fuel it must purchase and transport to vehicles in the field. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and fuel cell vehicles (FCV) are also harder to detect than their diesel-powered counterparts because of their lower visible, thermal and acoustic signatures. Finally, they are better able to provide exportable electric power needed by today's high-tech Army.

One key way to reduce the unit cost of HEVs, or for that matter just about anything, is to build them in large volumes. That's the idea behind the MP Hybrid, a multipurpose platform that is easily configurable for a variety of homeland defense, military and commercial jobs. The MP Hybrid was developed by the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center, in conjunction with Quantum Fuel System Technologies Worldwide, Inc., and California Motors LLC.

According to Alan Niedzwiecki, president and CEO of Quantum Technologies, "the MP Hybrid is not just one vehicle. It is a modular, easily configurable, light-duty platform that allows a fleet purchaser to define requirements, select from a variety of assemblies and features, and custom configure the body and powertrain to best suit their specific vehicle need."

The military version of the MP Hybrid is designed for non-tactical, medium-speed applications such as military police patrols, base operations, routine personnel transport and remote power generation. It would allow existing tactical vehicles like Humvees to be reserved for more demanding missions, increasing their useful lifetimes, reducing their maintenance and decreasing fuel use.

About the size of a Jeep Wrangler, the MP Hybrid can carry four adults plus 500 lb. of cargo for a GVW of 3200 lb. The overall length is 150 in., width is 68 in. and wheelbase is 96 in. It rides on 255-70/R16 tires.

The modular vehicle includes many features to enhance maintainability such as unencumbered access to the engine, electric motor, drivetrain, suspension and wheel area. Also aiding maintainability, as well as production costs, are similar front and rear suspension and wheel subassemblies, as well as the use of other common components.

The military variant features a series hybrid electric configuration where a small diesel engine drives a generator. The front and rear drivetrains, each with a 10 hp General Electric motor, are completely independent and managed through an on-board vehicle control system to provide four-wheel-drive. Top speed is 45 mph.