Category: Electric Car News

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Exagon Furtive-eGT electric supercar ready for production

The Furtive-eGT has been around in concept form since 2010 and a few may even have been delivered, but now Exagon appears ready to go into serial production.

The Exagon Furtive eGT electric supercar is powered by a pair of 300 kW Siemens electric motors that combined have the potential to deliver up to 600 kW / 516 Nm, the car is exceptionally rapid. Power is transferred to the rear wheels and Exagon says throttle response is virtually instantaneous, delivering a 0-100km/h sprint of just 3.5 seconds, faster than a Tesla Roadster.

The car has a top speed of 250km/h and the electric motors are energised by a hefty 53kWh lithium-ion battery which provides a range of around 300km but Exagon will option a small range-extender engine to charge the batteries on the run, which gives the car a theoretical 730km range.

The Exagon Furtive eGT has four seats and features a monocoque light carbon fiber body, which weighs an astonishingly low 124 kg. The manufacturer is also offering a wide selection of personalization options, while the price and availability are set to be announced at a later date.

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Tesla Model S P85 Dyno Run gets 436 HP @ the wheels [VIDEO]

Tesla owner Emmanuel Chang had his 2013 Black Tesla Model S P85 dyno tested on a mobile CCMR Dynojet recently at some generic car show.

The Model S P85 is officially rated 416 HP at the motor shaft. This particular combination of dyno and P85 recorded 436 HP at the wheels. (there is usually a significant drivetrain loss between motor and wheels)

A few details regarding this test:

  • 1) The tech couldn't attach a sensor to the motor's crank so "engine rpm" has to be recalculated as he took the wheel RPM (so multiply the RPM by 1000, then by 9.71 *approx*)

  • 2) The dyno maxed out at 2000 lbs·ft but math from the specs indicates 4301 lbs·ft at the wheels.

  • 3) Horsepower and torque number are inaccurate as the car smoked the tires on the dyno's drum so the wheels were not spinning 1:1 for the computer to measure accurately, basically it has slightly more power than what the computer thinks it has.

    Source: TMC

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    Sand-based lithium ion battery improves energy density 3x

    Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have created a lithium ion battery that outperforms the current industry standard by three times. The key material: sand.

    “This is the holy grail – a low cost, non-toxic, environmentally friendly way to produce high performance lithium ion battery anodes,” said Zachary Favors, a graduate student working with Cengiz and Mihri Ozkan, both engineering professors at UC Riverside.

    The idea came to Favors six months ago. He was relaxing on the beach after surfing in San Clemente, Calif. when he picked up some sand, took a close look at it and saw it was made up primarily of quartz, or silicon dioxide.

    His research is centered on building better lithium ion batteries, primarily for personal electronics and electric vehicles. He is focused on the anode, or negative side of the battery. Graphite is the current standard material for the anode, but as electronics have become more powerful graphite’s ability to be improved has been virtually tapped out.

    Researchers are now focused on using silicon at the nanoscale, or billionths of a meter, level as a replacement for graphite. The problem with nanoscale silicon is that it degrades quickly and is hard to produce in large quantities.

    Favors set out to solve both these problems. He researched sand to find a spot in the United States where it is found with a high percentage of quartz. That took him to the Cedar Creek Reservoir, east of Dallas, where he grew up.

    Sand in hand, he came back to the lab at UC Riverside and milled it down to the nanometer scale, followed by a series of purification steps changing its color from brown to bright white, similar in color and texture to powdered sugar.

    After that, he ground salt and magnesium, both very common elements found dissolved in sea water into the purified quartz. The resulting powder was then heated. With the salt acting as a heat absorber, the magnesium worked to remove the oxygen from the quartz, resulting in pure silicon.

    The Ozkan team was pleased with how the process went. And they also encountered an added positive surprise. The pure nano-silicon formed in a very porous 3-D silicon sponge like consistency. That porosity has proved to be the key to improving the performance of the batteries built with the nano-silicon.

    The improved performance could mean increasing the expected lifespan of silicon based electric vehicle batteries up to three times or more, which would be significant for consumers, considering replacement batteries cost thousands of dollars. The energy density is more than three times higher than that of traditional graphite based anodes, which means cell phones and tablets could last three times longer between charges.

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    Record Breaking Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Run at Pikes Peak [VIDEO]

    Record Breaking Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle Run at Pikes Peak by Greg Tracy.

    Tracy climbed Pikes Peak in the Mitsubishi I-MiEV Evolution III and shatters Monster Tajima's 2013 Electric Modified Class record by 38 seconds with a 09.08.188 record time.

    Greg Tracy came in 2nd overall beating everyone in the competition except for overall winner Romain Dumas in his Honda powered 2013 Norm racer.

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    BMW, Daimler Jointly Developing Wireless Inductive Charging Standard

    Driving pleasure and sustainability are fused together in unprecedented fashion in the all-electric BMW i3 and the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car. Their high-voltage batteries can be recharged quickly and easily by means of the BMW i Wallbox that forms part of the 360° ELECTRIC portfolio. This sophisticated charging station with fast-charge facility for feeding cars with power either at home or at work underlines the all-embracing approach adopted by the BMW i brand when it comes to developing products and services for sustainable mobility of premium calibre.

    In the process, the BMW Group has assumed a pioneering role in this field and is therefore pressing keenly ahead with the development of innovative technologies for making driving with zero tailpipe emissions more and more attractive. Systems for inductive charging of high-voltage batteries are the next step forward for energy supply. The development objective in the medium term is to put reliable, non-wearing and user-friendly solutions for inductive charging into production that have been tailored to both the batteries in the BMW i cars and the high-voltage batteries in future plug-in hybrid models from the BMW Group.

    The crucial advantage of inductive power supply over conventional charging stations is the cable-free connection between the supply point and the vehicle’s high-voltage battery. Carmakers Daimler and the BMW Group have signed an agreement on the joint development and implementation of a standardised technology for inductive charging of electric cars and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The system consists of two components: a secondary coil in the vehicle floor as well as a base plate with integral primary coil that is located underneath the car, for example on the garage floor. The arrangement of the coils, and consequently of the field pattern, is based on a design derived from their circular shape that offers a number of crucial benefits.

    These include the extremely compact and lightweight construction along with effective spatial confinement of the magnetic field. The electrical energy is transmitted via an alternating magnetic field generated between the coils, contact-free, without charging cables and at a charging rate of 3.6 kW. With an efficiency factor of over 90 percent, this method enables the high-voltage batteries in vehicles to be charged efficiently, conveniently and safely.

    A further development target is to minimise the charging time for contactless power transmission. At a charging rate of 3.6 kilowatts, the high-voltage batteries in many plug-in hybrid vehicles can be fully charged in under three hours. It takes less than two hours to charge the BMW i8 using a fully working prototype of an inductive charging station. In order to make allowance for the higher storage capacities of high-voltage batteries in pure-electric vehicles, the future technology standard also foresees the possibility of increasing the charging rate to 7 kW. This ensures that the battery in the BMW i3 could still be fully charged overnight when using the inductive system.

    Inductive charging makes life considerably easier for the driver of an electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, as there is no need to connect any cables to top up the power reserves. Once it has been correctly positioned above the primary coil, the driver can simply start the charging process at the push of a button using the vehicle’s own operating system. Data is transmitted via a WiFi connection between vehicle and charging station to help the driver even with parking.

    The inductive charging facility can be used regardless of the weather conditions. Not even rain or snow has a negative effect on the power feed as all of the system’s conductive components are protected, which means the primary coil can even be installed outdoors. During charging, ambient electromagnetic radiation is also kept to an absolute minimum. The space between the primary and secondary coils is permanently monitored, allowing charging to be halted instantly if any foreign bodies are detected.

    As with today’s BMW i Wallbox, the inductive power supply systems of the future will also make it possible to activate and monitor the charging process from a smartphone. The relevant smartphone app will let drivers call up the data transmitted online on the battery’s charge status, for instance, or the time remaining until charging is complete.

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    400 hp VOLVO XC90 will be worlds’s most powerful SUV

    Volvo Cars' all-new XC90 will offer an unrivalled combination of power and clean operation when it is launched later this year. The all-wheel drive seven seater offers drivers up to 400 horsepower but with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of around 60 g/km (NEDC driving cycle). There has never been an SUV offering this level of power this cleanly.

    "There are no compromises when you drive an all-new XC90," said Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development of Volvo Car Group. "In the past you could either have power or low CO2 emissions. But with the all-new XC90 you can have both."

    The new XC90 offers a range of Drive-E engine options, all of which provide an outstanding combination of performance and fuel-efficiency. The main distinguishing feature of the Drive-E engine range is that they are all four-cylinder engines.

    "With our new Drive-E powertrains, we have created a family of intelligent petrol and diesel engines with power curves that give exciting driveability at the same time as delivering world-beating fuel economy," added Dr. Mertens. "With seven people in the new XC90, carbon dioxide emissions per person and kilometre are outstandingly low."

    The CO2 performance of the all-new XC90 will reinforce Volvo Cars' leadership when it comes to bringing more environmentally-sound technologies to market. According to figures monitored by European car industry association ACEA, Volvo Car Group delivered an industry-leading reduction of average fleet emissions by 8.4 per cent from 2012 to 2013.

    Twin Engine technology

    Volvo has made it possible for a four-cylinder engine to provide all the driving pleasure associated with a much larger engine and do so far more efficiently and cleanly. Drive-E engines will over time be introduced across Volvo's entire range.

    For the all-new XC90, the top of the range 'Twin Engine' will carry the badge 'T8' and be a plug-in electric car, hybrid car and high-performance car rolled into one.

    Normal driving is conducted in the default hybrid mode. This utilises a two-litre, four-cylinder supercharged and turbocharged Drive-E petrol engine that powers the front wheels and an 80 hp (60 kW) electric motor that drives the rear wheels.

    It uses the supercharger to fill in the bottom end of the power range to give the engine a big, naturally-aspirated feel, while the turbocharger kicks in when the airflow builds up. The electric motor on the rear wheels provides immediate torque.

    But at the push of a button the driver can switch to quiet and emission-free city driving on pure electric power where the range will be around 25 miles, and then, when needed, immediately revert back to the combined capacity of the petrol engine and electric motor, with its combined output of around 400 hp and 640 Nm of torque.

    Full range of other engine options

    The Volvo XC90 range also includes the D5 twin turbo diesel engine with 225 hp, 470 Nm and best in class fuel consumption of around 47mpg (combined), plus the D4 turbo diesel engine with 190 hp, 400 Nm and a fuel consumption of around 56mpg (combined cycle).

    Not only is there no compromise in terms of performance or efficiency, but Volvo Cars' new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) chassis technology also allows for far more flexibility inside the car. Other carmakers have struggled to combine the bulk of a battery pack with a luxurious and spacious interior, something that Volvo has managed to overcome.

    "Since our new SPA technology is designed from the start to accommodate electrification technologies, the Twin Engine installation does not compromise luggage or passenger space," said Dr. Mertens.