Posted on 09/30/2011 9:03:59 AM PDT by Red Badger
A group of gear heads from Croatia has produced a car designed to show that “electric vehicle” doesn’t have to mean “something my granola-eating neighbor drives.”
Rimac Automobil, named for its founder, Mate Rimac, unveiled the Concept_One at the International Auto Show in Frankfurt. Designed as a sleek sports car it is powered entirely by batteries, and can, the company says, hit 62 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds, and reach a limit of 190 mph. The batteries carry 92 kilowatt-hours, or enough to power an average American home for three days -- or drive the car 372 miles, enough to get from New York to Pittsburgh. (The Tesla Roadster, also a very impressive electric hotrod, hits 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, has a top speed of 125 mph and has a battery range of 245 miles.)
The engines put out the equivalent of 1,088 horsepower, enough to beat some internal combustion models. The motive force to the wheels is divided among four engines that can each be controlled independently. That allows the torque to each wheel to be adjusted as necessary. A computer subsystem controls each pair of wheels and, according to Rimac, can make adjustments thousands of times each second.
The body is light, made of carbon fiber, and the battery is placed near the center of the car for better weight distribution.
This isn’t the only electric supercar out there: there’s the Tesla Roadster, which boasts a similar 0 to 60 acceleration and Audi rolled out a high-performance electric concept car, the e-tron, in 2009. But if nothing else it shows once again that newer body designs and advances in control technologies can build an electric car that is both powerful and environmentally friendly.
That old bugaboo, again?
Yeah, the utility is required to buy any surplus power you might generate, but you will be required to provide it at a certain voltage level, at a certain condition and you will be required to install and maintain protection so your surplus power doesn't screw up their network.
It requires more than a feedback loop and throwing a switch.
Yes, there are a lot of questions... But the key word here is “concept”. And looking at this car, I’m not sure too many soccer moms will be transporting their kids to the game in this particular car.
My only issue with this “concept car” is will it come with downloadable apps for whatever engine sound you want to hear? I mean seriously, you can’t drive something like this from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds with out some kind of roar. That just ain’t right...
It's not magical at all. It's power vs. time. You can blast out 1088HP in one quick shot, or you can inch along at 20HP for 6 hours.
A "non-supercar" as you call it can go 0-60 in 3.4 seconds (slower than 2.8...but enough to fold the floor mat over your feet) and it has an 18 gallon (2,300MJ) "energy storage device" that can wind out 200MPH for about ten times longer without stopping than this supahstahcah can.
Look. R/C electric cars are fun, too. But they're just toys.
Putting the heavy battery in the middle of the car and low, lowers the center of gravity, making the car more stable on turns, and equalizes the weight on each wheel, so the motors can be equally driven.................
Where's your entrepeneurship spirit?
There will be a chain of VOLT-n-NAP's all along the highways.
Charging stations can be also added at truck stops (where they nap anyway) as large trucks go to battery powered engines.
Look at all the jobs this will create.
A loaf of bread will, it is likely, cost $8 but heck, we're saving the whales, ya know!
How long does it take to recharge?
Nikola Tesla was Serbo-Croatian.
CC
Doesn’t say, nor is it on their homepage website.........But the laws of physics would decree a several hour charging time,at current battery technology. if they are using some new technology battery charging system it may be shorter.........
Sooty Utility Vehicle?
He was Serbian.
—Combustion produces heat, not motion.—
Thanks. I completely forgot about that. It’s the same problem incandescent light bulbs have - they are excellent heaters but only a so-so light source.
Understandable, but almost all automotive advancements have come from racing and prototype cars like this.
Anti-lock brakes (I believe) were first introduced on motorcycles and then mass produced for family car.
Product development is very expensive. Therefore, the newest advances are typically incorperated into the most expensive vehicles.
Electric vehicles will probably remain uncompetitive for the mini van & four door sedan market for some time unless there is a major breakthrough on battery technology.
Friend of mine used to drive us around in an electric car.
The fun part was being able to accelerate faster than porches at stop lights. People who don’t know this about electric cars are very surprised to see.
But electric cars have really crappy range. (and poor top speed, and going fast kills range further)
I’m very skeptical of the range claims for this car when it is so different than for other electric cars.
They most likely are using sophisticated computer controlled pulses of electricity to keep the car moving once it gets up to speed. It takes less energy to keep a car moving than it does to get the car moving...............
They are not going to make a profit and prove the concept until they make a practical family car. Fancy electric sports cars are not the way to go. No one is going to put charging stations for ‘em. They are not going get the concept acceptance.
Maybe if the make an electric NASCAR race car...
They are not going to make a profit and prove the concept until they make a practical family car. Fancy electric sports cars are not the way to go. No one is going to put charging stations for ‘em. They are not going get the concept acceptance.
Maybe if the make an electric NASCAR race car...
I thought the ball point pen was a pretty good invention.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.