Drayson Racing Technologies built this EV demonstration car on a standard Lola racing chassis with an 850 hp electric drive train and wireless charging. This was the car’s first public appearance and it set the EV record for the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Translogic got a crack at the Honda Fit EV at Honda’s press launch in Pasadena, California. It’s kind of an exciting EV because the Fit is such a fun car to drive in gasoline form. The Fit EV replaces the floor with a 20 kilowatt-hour battery pack and the engine is replaced with a 123 horsepower (92 kw), 189 ft-lbs electric motor. That means the Fit EV is probably faster and handles better than the regular Fit. Another interesting spec to note is that the battery pack only takes 3 hours to charge. Compare that to the Nissan Leaf that takes 9 hours to charge a 23 kwh battery. There’s also smart phone and key fob connectivity that allows you to control charging and air conditioning remotely. It’s an incremental step up in technology, but it goes a long way into making EV’s some more normal and appealing. My main gripe is the trend to make EV interiors light colored and sterile. That still appeals more to transportation appliance people and not car people.
Source: Translogic
Here’s an interesting point in my case to prove that electric vehicles are cool. This is the Green Rock Dawg. It’s a rock crawler that has hydraulically actuated legs and electric motors driving each wheel. The hydraulics can be run electrically or with a small gas engine. The wheelbase, track width and ride height all have extreme ranges of adjustment and each wheel can be steered individually. It’s basically a robot spider truck that works because of the flexibility offered by the placement of the electric drive motors.
The Team Yokohama EV Challenge HER-02 is the current record holder for electric racing cars at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The car began competing in 2009 and has continued improving its time culminating in a 12’20” last year. For reference, Monster Tajima’s overall record (in a gasoline powered car) is a little over 10 minutes. In addition to testing EV technology in the form of high voltage AC motors and lithium-ion batteries, the HER-02 also helped develop Yokohama’s BluEarth tires. The BluEarths use natural fibers in the casing and orange oil instead of petroleum based products. These materials lent to easier recycling as well as improved grip when compared to a traditional tire. The Yokohama BluEarth has just hit production and was selected as the OEM tire for the Toyota Prius V. Tire Rack classifies them as a Grand Touring All-Season tire and currently only carries them in the Prius V’s OEM size.
The HER-02’s record is going to come under heavy attack this year. The EV class will be filled with new heavy hitters including Monster Tajima’s E-Runner, Toyota’s Nurburgring record holder EV P002 and Mitsubishi’s i-Miev Evolution. It should be a very exciting year for EV racing, but for now check out the videos of HER-02 in action at last year’s Pikes Peak and around Laguna Seca at REFUEL 2012.
The video footage to accompany the pictures I posted earlier has hit YouTube courtesy of the Car@Nifty channel. There’s a few interesting things I picked up on while watching the video. First, the engine definitely sounds turbocharged. Second, the car is able to leave the pit garage in pure EV mode. Third, the mechanics torque both of the front wheels simultaneously by hand. The car isn’t front wheel drive like the street version of the CR-Z, but Honda has confirmed that the car is indeed a racing hybrid. I’m guessing there could be an electric motor on the front axle for regenerative braking purposes. I don’t think JGTC cars are allowed to be all wheel drive, so the electric motor would only work in one direction. If the car does have an electric motor on the front axle, its drive train will actually be very similar to the new NSX.