Based on a conventional Town & Country (sold in Europe as the Chrysler Voyager), each vehicle features a 3.6-litre Pentastar petrol engine, compatible with E85 ethanol, and using a front wheel drive hybrid transmission with plug-in recharging. Combining both power sources, the Town & Country has a range of 700 miles and offers 290bhp.

The carmaker has already delivered vehicles in Arizona, North Carolina and Michigan, and will retain two for use by its own engineers. Funding for the two-year project is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, which has invested $10m (£xx) in the research. Chrysler has also rolled out a fleet of Dodge Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid pickup trucks in states around North America.

‘The focus now shifts from engineering design and development of this unique technology, to real-world testing and evaluation,’ said Abdullah Bazzi, senior manager of Chrysler Group’s advanced hybrid vehicle project.