Category: TV

Posted on

Ten Bucks a Litre – Dick Smith Documentary cherry picks the facts [VIDEO]

A recently aired Australian documentary by local eccentric millionaire Dick Smith about alternatives to fossil fuels has stirred quite a hornets nest of feedback, both positive and negative.

While on the whole the Doco was fairly interesting and we here at EV News noted Dick's enthusiasm for electric cars, the facts seem to have been seriously cherry picked.

The EV segment starts @47 mins with Dick enthusing about an EV powered only by renewables and which has Vehicle to Grid Technology (V2G) that can held smooth the intermittency of renewables.

The cherry picking starts @50 mins when to close the segment Dick holds up a flask containing 1 litre of fuel stating that it weighs 700 grams and will take an average car approx 10km. The bad news for EV's, we are told, is that the equivalent battery would weigh 25x as much! End of argument apparently and the story moves onto bio-fuels.

What Dick failed to mention was that the equivalent of the 1 litre of fuel stored in an EV battery can propel an electric car 10x as far (100 km)... surely a worthy trade-off in energy efficiency Dick?

Of course, battery power may not be a solution for his Helicopter any time soon although Dick was so impressed with EVs he is now the proud owner of a solar powered Nissan Leaf

Posted on

Acura NSX Hybrid Prototype Laps Mid-Ohio Race Circuit [VIDEO]

It's not finished. But it is complete. The Acura NSX concept has moved to prototype and added an essential piece, a driver. The prototype NSX supercar took to the racetrack just prior to the Honda Indy 200 IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

Utilizing a unique 2 Electric Motor DriveUnit with a bilateral torque adjustable control system, the new hybrid all-wheel-drive system can instantly generate negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering, which Honda anticipates will deliver handling performance unmatched by previous AWD systems.

In addition to the handling benefits of the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system, a powerful next-generation VTEC V-6 engine with direct-injection, works in concert with a dual clutch transmission and a third electric traction motor integrated within the transmission housing, to create supercar acceleration while offering outstanding efficiency.

This Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system will make the NSX the ultimate expression of, "the synergy between man and machine," added Ito. "The NSX will make the driver one with the car to enhance dynamic driving abilities without getting in the way."

Honda (UK) has opened a pre-order bank for the hotly anticipated supercar. For a deposit of £5,000 potential owners can be among the first in the UK to get behind the wheel of the brand new NSX when it hits showrooms in 2015.

Posted on

Tesla Model S P85 vs 2008 Mitsubishi Evo GSR – Standing Start [VIDEO]

More Tesla Model S street racing from the guys at Drag Times. This time they're racing the Model S Performance against a 2008 Mitsubishi Evo is running 25 psi boots with a full turbo back exhaust, tune, intake and upgraded clutch.

This race is from a standing start with the Evo using a 5,500 rpm Launch control to build turbo boost while stationary.

Posted on

GoPro: Monster Tajima – Pikes Peak 2013 EV Class Winner [VIDEO]

Finally the GoPro video of the Pikes Peak EV class winning run is uploaded.

Nobuhiro 'Monster' Tajima returned to the 91st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb with his E-Runner Special electric car. Tajima was back and more determined than ever, not only to break his personal record (9:51.278 in 2011) but to make a statement that the electric car is a force to reckon with.

Tajima set a new personal record of 9:46.530, winning the Electric class and placing 5th overall.

Posted on

Engadget Test Drive the Spark EV [VIDEO]

Engadget got to test drive the The Spark EV, GM's first pure electric car since the company scrapped the EV1 program in 2002.

Performance is quite impressive for an EV this size: it sprints to 60mph in just 7.6 seconds with a top speed of 90mph. The 21kWh nano-phosphate Li-ion battery pack is liquid cooled / heated and is located in the floor. It offers a range of up to 82 miles and takes less than seven hours to fully charge using a level 2 (240V) charging station. Better yet, with a DC fast-charging option coming to the Spark EV later this year, you'll be able to charge the battery to 80% capacity in just 20 minutes.

Chevy's managed to keep the weight down to 2967lbs, which is pretty svelte for a pure electric car. This, combined a low center of gravity and a close to 50/50 weight distribution makes the Spark EV nimble and fun to drive.

Source: Engadget

Posted on

Formula Sun Grand Prix | TRANSLOGIC 134 [VIDEO]

Translogic head back to the Circuit of the Americas race track in Austin, Texas to check out Formula Sun.

The Formula Sun Grand Prix solar car race attracts college teams from across the globe to compete and promote clean energy.

Some of these teams will, no doubt, be shaking down their vehicles in preparation for the World Solar Challenge race across Australia in October.

Posted on

Formula-E, Electric Racing for the Future – /SHAKEDOWN [VIDEO]

When IndyCar's Andretti Autosport announced itself as a team entry in the new FIA Formula E Championship launching in 2014, it's time for Leo Parente and ShakeDown to bring you up to speed on this global open-wheel racing series that will run on full-electric power.

10 races, 10 teams, 2 drivers per team, 4 cars - because rather than change tires or swap batteries, the 2 mandatory pitstops in each 1-hour race will see drivers swapping cars to keep racing [the other car recharges between stops]. Then, there is the RC car sound vs 'real engines'!