Author: tsport100

Posted on

Victory for Renault ZOE on the 2014 ‘Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN’ [VIDEO]

The prestigious Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN saw Renault ZOE overcome horrendous weather conditions to celebrate its international competition debut with an emphatic outright win and victory on all four regularity tests.

  • 1st overall, Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN,
  • 1st, regularity prize,
  • 1st, energy consumption prize,
  • 1st, autotest,
  • 1st, Teams' challenge.

    The Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) is the "greenest" segment of the Monte-Carlo New Energies Rally, the event is open only to electric vehicles. The fifth edition is holding from March 21 to 23, 2014 in Monaco and featured three special stages ranging from 46.51km to 88.08km in length. These stages were divided into a total of four regularity tests.

    The roads visited by the event included the breath-taking, twisty runs from La Turbie to Peille and from Sainte Agnès to La Turbie, high above the Mediterranean coast. Participants had to contend with a combination of torrential rain and fog on the busiest day (Saturday, March 22) which featured two special stages divided into three regularity tests. Action concluded with an autotest on the harbour-side in Monaco. 

    Almost two years after ZOE established a new 24-hour electric vehicle distance world record (1,618km) in June 2012, last weekend saw the all-electric hatchback's first attempt at the Rallye Monte-Carlo ZENN provide further eloquent evidence of its technical and dynamic qualities by securing every one of the five trophies that were up for grabs.

    • Posted on

    Opel to launch city electric car by 2017

    Opel plans to start selling an all-electric compact car no later than by 2017 as the automaker is striving to meet EU emission targets, Automobilwoche reported on Sunday.

    The new model, dubbed internally as battery electric vehicle (BEV), will be much smaller and cheaper than the 38,300-euro ($52,400) Ampera electric car, the magazine said without citing the source of the information.

    The GM division last September announced a price cut for the Ampera of almost 8,000 euros in Europe's biggest car market for the model which can travel between 40-80 kilometers electrically and a further 500 km with a combustion engine range extender.

    Opel did not return calls seeking comment.

    Opel's new electric model would be launched as part of a small-car offensive that in 2015 may also bring to the market the "City" vehicle, due to cost less than 10,000 euros and rival Volkswagen's Up subcompact, Automobilwoche said.

    Posted on

    BYD ebus achieves 325km on one single charge in Denmark

    What could be a distance record unmatched by any pure electric bus has been recorded with minimum fanfare by a BYD ebus on trial with Copenhagen Denmark bus operator City-Trafik.

    The 12 metre BYD ebus completed its normal service on Route 12 a week ago, a total distance of 110km (or 68.4 miles) carrying an average of 40 passengers. Then the bus set off along the Ballerup highway – a standard motorway – and further covered a distance of 215km (or 133.6 miles) ending the day with 8% of battery charge remaining, clocking up a total of 325km (202 miles) on a single charge.

    This result exceeds the previous best performance of a BYD ebus during the company's Europe-wide trial programmes. Last year an ebus achieved 310 km using only 69% of total charge between the Polish cities of Warsaw and Krackow.

    A second trial of an ebus in Copenhagen with the city's other operator Arriva produced a no less impressive result. The bus completed an arduous full day of city operation – 150km (or 93 miles) from 06:00 to 16:50, operating fully loaded and with the electric heating system in constant use. The bus was then taken on a 90km (or 56 miles) motorway run and again ended up with a 8% charge remaining, covering a total distance of 240 km (149miles) on a single charge.

    The two ebuses have been in service in Copenhagen since the beginning of January, in the hands of Movia's two service providers City-Trafik and Arriva. The bus, specially equipped to handle the rigors of the Scandinavian winter, has performed well. Operating costs have been low – electricity in Denmark costs 2DKK (€0.27) per kWh at normal prices. This compares with diesel at 9.79DKK (€1.3) per litre.

    Posted on

    Formula E full-power track test [VIDEO]

    Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli test drives the new Formula E car in France.

    The Italian drove the fully-electric single-seater featuring the full 200kw (270bhp) race-mode battery in mid-March 2014.

    Posted on

    Tesla Model S sets yet another sales record in Norway

    During the last week in March, 597 Tesla Model S were registered in Norway, giving it a market share of 12.9 percent. Number two on the list was the Volkswagen Golf with 169 vehicles.

    For the entire month of March there were 1493 Model S registered which is an all time high for any car model in Norway in a single month, beating a previous record 1454 Ford Sierra in May 1986.

    So far this year 2056 Tesla Model S were registered, surpassing the 1983 sold all of last year.

    To put this figure into perspective, the Model S has out sold Ford's entire model range (1825) so far this year.

    Tesla has a market share of 5.6 percent in 2014 and 10.8 percent in March. The U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer is the nation's sixth most registered mark in 2014!

    Posted on

    Porsche Considering Electric Sports Car good for 400 km range

    Porsche CEO Matthias Müller has confirmed the company is considering an electric vehicle.

    Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Müller said "Yes, of course we think about it." The executive went on to say he isn't a fan of range-extended electric vehicles but he's open to pure electric models.

    He believes the range needs to be at least 300 km (187 miles) to be practical with 400 km (250 miles) being the preferred option.

    Source: Auto Motor und Sport

    Posted on

    Brammo Empulse Cutaway – Tech Overview [VIDEO]

    Brammo's Brian Wismann dissect the high-tech inner workings of the award winning Brammo Empulse electric motorcycle!

    From Battery cells to electronic controllers to a powerful electric motor. Check out this unique technical overview using a "cut-away" of the 2013 Empulse as seen at CES!

    Posted on

    Toyota begin testing Yaris hybrid WRC car

    Toyota are testing their Yaris WRC car this week. The Toyota Yaris WRC prototype, powered by a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine (as dictated by world rallying’s rules), built at Toyota Motorsport in Cologne, Germany will begin testing in Tuscany.

    It is thought that the test car is based on a Yaris chassis but the final WRC car will be based around a new model which has yet to be launched.

    Toyota wants to use hybrid technology in the World Rally Championship if it returns to the series and although the Japanese car giant has expressed an interest in returning to the WRC – in which it won four drivers’ titles and three constructors’ crowns with the Celica GT-Four and the Corolla WRC during the 1990s – it has so far stopped short of committing to a competitive return.