West Race Cars, based in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the premier makers of race cars on the market. Their latest model, made in conjunction with Kleenspeed Technology, is the WX10-T, an all-electric sport racer.
While West isn’t the first race car manufacturer to make an electric, they are the first North American one to make one for production. The WX10-T was unveiled at the Performance Racing Industry trade show in early December and has already sold at least one car. The initial production run, which will take place in 2009, will be for between 5 and 10 of these cars with more being built as demand requires.
The car features some awesome specs, not the least of which is the Thruxar electric motor made by Kleenspeed. This motor produces a whopping 200hp and 165fp of torque right off the line. The battery pack on this racer is good for 30 minutes of drive time and is made to be “hot swapped” in the pit, for quick “refueling.” The battery packs take about 1.5 hours to recharge at 220v.
The cars are capable of doing 150mph, but no numbers as to quarter mile and other data are available yet. The car is based on the frame for the WX10 racer and was designed with the involvement of the IMSA (International Motorsports Association).
This probably doesn’t seem like much to most people, since race cars are hardly the cars we’ll see everyday on the road. They aren’t exactly the world’s largest pollution contributors either. It is exciting, however, when you consider that motor sports are usually the cutting edge of the automotive technology world and that more testing, refining, etc. happens thanks to racing than from any other source. Fuel injection, which greatly boosts both power and economy in cars, is an innovation made thanks to racing, for instance.
Now with electrics becoming a new sports market, and with innovators like the Wrightspeed X1 electric race car and established racing manufacturers like West Race Cars in the field, plus the involvement of a major race player like the IMSA, things will only improve.
Cree, which was founded in 1996 and began prototyping and testing an innovative 3-wheeled electric called the SAM, went out of business in 2003 due to lack of sales and investors. The vehicles were being tested on Swiss roads almost exclusively by private consumers in Zurich and Basle.
Barely a year later, the company restructured and came back, debt-free, with new investors for the newly-emerging electrics market. The company now boasts about 13 million CHF in investment capital and nearly 400,000 CHF in shareholder capital. The company is still private and has been busy putting together the SAM for today’s market.
Aimed mainly for the Swedish, Danish, and German markets, the SAM is approved for public road use. This little 2-seater’s got some pretty impressive stats:
168v, 250a motor putting out 15kW at 1,800rpm (Permanent magnet, brushless)
5.54:1 gear reduction to synchronous belt drive
Full charge in 6 hours (40% in 1 hr, 70% in 2)
Range of 50-70km
Top speed of 85km/h
0-50km/h in 7 seconds with full load (2 passengers)
The chassis is almost entirely aluminum and the vehicle has a tare weight of 545kg (with batteries). It’s an interesting front-wheel steering and rear-wheel drive with the rear wheel being the single wheel. One thing it doesn’t have is regenerative braking, but it does sport great stability for such a small, 3-wheeler. It meets all European safety standards and has a roll cage and 3-point safety belts.
One of the designs that really sets this one off, though, is the hinged gull-wing doors that fold inward to crimp their profile for tight parking spots. This means the doors don’t extend beyond the front wheels when opening, allowing for very tight parking without “door dings.”
It’s a little dated in looks, but still isn’t too bad for a 3-wheeler. I’m not a big fan of these designs, though I do like the Aptera (thanks to it’s alien spaceship looks). I’m willing to cut the SAM some slack, though, because it’s an extremely fun-looking electric vehicle. Plus it’s been road tested and approved, so it’s literally ready to sell right now.
Cree is looking for business partners in marketing and investing to get this car to market and into mass-production. Most of the drive train technology is proprietary and designed by Cree while most of the standard parts, like tires, wheels, struts, etc., are freely available after-market. This means that maintenance and repair won’t be too costly.
The prototype is currently being sold on a minimum-build run in four color offerings. Customization is, of course, available. It’d doubtful that the SAM will ever see American shores in any numbers, but it would be cool to get one. If they meet their target mass-production pricing (6,600 Euros), it might be possible to import one for less than $20,000USD.
The Triacis neither a car nor a motorcycle, but sort of a combination. It’s in the same category as the Apteraand other “technically-motorcycles, but really cars” vehicles, with it’s 3-wheeled design, thin body, and light weight.
These electric vehicles are highway-capable, have a top speed of around 80mph and can go 100 miles (at 45mph) on a single charge. Made by Green Vehicles, the car can charge from a 110v or 220v outlet and has a 5-speed transmission.
The Triac looks like a VW bug (the new ones) from the front and are in a tear-drop shape with a single wheel in the back. They seat two and are designed for the American market and feature a 20kW AC motor and lithium-ion batteries. No price fields are forthcoming as of yet, but supposedly the release date for this could be as early as 2010.
Green Vehicles is also in the final design phase of an electric pickup called the Buckshot. This one will feature the same motor, but a 3-speed transmission with lower gearing to make it a “true work truck.” Little else is available on that EV, but it’s an interest development. Especially to me, since I like my pickups.
This is great news, although it would be nice of Green Vehicles were to give out a little more info so we can compare some specs. The good news about this company is that they’re apparently spending more money and effort on actually building the vehicles than they are on marketing. This is obvious by the fact that their initial press release on the Triac was met with such high feedback and questions that their marketing department was overwhelmed and had to release a new information sheet to try to deal with the overload. Many sites reported an inability to get through via email or on the phone to have questions answered. I personally take that as a good sign.
Green Vehicles has two dealerships currently, one in San Jose, California and a new one in Mill Valley (where they are located). They’ve also got partner dealerships in Salem, Oregon and Escondido, CA. New dealers will be opening in February in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles, California.
Check out the Triac preview video put together by Green Vehicles:
As with our electric car picks for 2008, of top electric scooter picks are all available in the USA now or will be in 2009 and are top picks for various reasons: design, capability, innovation, etc. Most of you know by now that scooters are one of my least favorite things, but there are an amazing number of them on the EV market and they seem to be popular as commuters and all-around “get around” machines.
We narrowed the picks and left the best electric scooters by cutting out all that aren’t commuters, per se, and are really just glorified toys. So you won’t see any modified Razors or skateboards with handlebars on this list. You will see one and two passenger scooters and mopeds, though.
The Piaggio MP3 Hybrid is the only one on this list that’s not all-electric, but it won out purely on design and innovation. It’s 3-wheeled design, amazing engineering that allows a 40-degree tilt to either side, maximum stability (and safety) and extreme performance, all pushed it to the top of this list. Available world-wide next year, including here in the USA, this one will be hard to beat.
While not a lot of change and innovation took place with the Vectrix VX-1 for the 2009 model, it’s one that already looks good, has great performance, and is tried-and-true on American streets. A name change and a paint job make this scooter different from its predecessors, with performance and reliability already tested. New models, like the VX-1e and VX-2 will also be available next year, but are basically dumbed-down versions of this number two pick.
Not the most stylish moped on the market, maybe, but the Zero Emission Motors Bolt electric scooter is a reliable performer with great characteristics. Aimed at a market that looks for affordability as part of their main requirements for an EV commuter, this model definitely delivers great performance for value. We were most impressed with the range and speed capabilities of this little goer.
I know I said I wouldn’t include any glorified skateboards on this list, but the Zuumer electric scooter is just too cool to skip. This one, though, is technically a glorified SNOWboard, so it sneaks past that little roadblock. There’s no other words to describe this one other than “cool” and “fun as hell.” The Zuumer is probably the most innovative scooter on this list as far as an enjoyable ride goes. Anyone who tries one will become addicted. Ask our editor, Sebastian. He’s waiting impatiently for his.
The Zapino is not the most stylish or most innovative scooter on the market, sure, but definitely one of the most popular and affordable. That puts the Zapino on our list, since not only are these well-tested, but they are also consistently popular. Their low price tag and decent performance are what make them the favorite for many EV buyers.
Alright, these are our picks for the top 5 electric motorcycles of this year. As with our pick of cars, these are all models available for purchase in the USA by 2010 (well - except for one… see below) and are being gauged by innovation, design, and availability. I’ll dispense with my usual flowery commentary and present to you, now, our 2008 picks for Top 5 Electric Motorcycles! \insert drum roll sound file here\
Our contention for number one was close, with the number 2 Enertia nearly winning out. What put the GPR-S over the top, though, is it’s freeway readiness. The GPR-S is a stylin’ bike that won’t easily be confused as electric at first glance. Until you “fire it up” that is. Being the first street AND freeway-legal electric motorcycle in the USA, the GPR-S definitely gets points for innovation. With an affordable price tag to compete with like-sized and styled gasoline bikes and with a smart, modular component platform, this bike is definitely worthy of our top spot.
As I said, this was a close one. The Enertia missed the number one spot purely because it’s a commuter, not a freeway machine. For style, though, this one is top of the list. The Enertia has to be seen to be understood for it’s awesome looks. It comes with strong innovation and good power too, though it’s price tag is higher than an equivalent gas-powered model by more than double. Sleek, fast, and innovative, this is a great product from Oregon that we hope to see more of.
Our list features two dirt bikes, which wouldn’t have happened last year. Previously only available to those who live in the country or have access to remote riding areas, motocross had a limited appeal. Until now. With quiet electrics, new motocross tracks could be appearing right off the freeway, in neighborhoods near you. The Zero-X is one of the innovators to make that happen, delivering great style, strong performance, and electric innovation, this one easily made our list. How can you argue with 0-60 in less than 4 seconds?
Austrian motocross firm KTM announced their race-ready dirt bike to be released by 2010, powered entirely by electricity. With standard motocross styling, this bike doesn’t win any design awards, but it will deliver definite race-ready performance. With the popular enduro frame of most racing dirt bike, the KTM model delivers great performance and strong appeal to those in the “better than amateur” level of motocross. The KTM name doesn’t hurt either.
I admit that this one doesn’t meet any of the requirements we listed for electric motorcycles except that its’ electric. That being said, it’s just too frikkin’ cool to ignore. The world’s fastest motorcycle on the drag strip, the KillaCycle has been consistently setting, then beating, then re-setting and beating again it’s own records. This is the fastest electric vehicle right now, bar none. The coolest part? It costs about 7 cents to run this thing down the quarter mile strip, including the burnout. Definitely worthy of it’s name, we had to put KillaCycle on this list.
There you have it, our top 5 picks for electric motorcycles in 2008. No pedals, no engine noise, just pure, 2-wheeled electric performance!
Honda’s FCX Clarity has been around for quite a while, being tested, refined, and re-tested on the streets of California and Japan. The car was first introduced in 1999 as a concept based on the Honda Accord platform. Soon, it evolved as the concept was engineered and tested, being released as the Clarity in 2002.
Since then, the FCX is more efficient than ever, with the latest 2008-09 model appearing first at the LA Auto Show in 2007 and released for lease in 2008 to Southern Californians. Honda chose California because of the already-existing infrastructure of hydrogen pumping stations. The Clarity can be leased for $600/month (which includes insurance) for 36 months.
The car is remarkably understated and largely ignored by most main stream press because it’s not perceived as “revolutionary.” Honda hasn’t put the marketing behind it that Toyota put behind the Prius, even though the Clarity is, compared to the Prius, a much more revolutionary car.
The FCX Clarity uses a hydrogen fuel cell, which consists of a relatively small tank filled with compressed hydrogen. This is then split, using a catalyst within the fuel cell, with the electrons going to power an electric motor and the protons escaping through a polymer electrolyte membrane to another chamber. Air from the outside is then added along with the end of the circuit (returning electrons), which combine to create pure water (H2O), which is finally emitted from the car’s tailpipe.
No pollutants, no mess. Just water.
The current version of the Clarity carries four passengers, does 0-60km/h in 4.8 seconds (that’s about 0-60mph in 7.7 seconds). Using the new EPA combined standard and assuming 1kg of hydrogen is equivalent to 1 gallon of unleaded gasoline, the car is rated at 68mpg. Those are the new EPA numbers that are used for most hybrids—the same numbers that reduced the Prius’ record from 60mpg to 48. Yep, that’s a 20mpg difference right there.
The downfall of hydrogen as a fuel source is its current production means. Most hydrogen in the US (and the rest of the world) is produced by steam reforming natural gas—a big term that just means “burning natural gas to produce steam.” Other methods are easily available, however, including electrolysis (splitting water via electricity).
That method is also being tested by Honda as a sister project to the Clarity’s development. The setup is called the Home Energy Station. Two phases of this program supplement gas heating of the home by adding the new furnace addition Honda has developed which reduces the amount of gas a home uses to heat itself by up to 30%. Currently being tested in New England, this technology is expected to become available nationally as a stand-alone product by 2012.
The other addition is the use of solar panels, an electric compressor, and regular water from the home’s water source (city water, well, etc.) to ultimately produce compressed hydrogen for refueling the Clarity. This setup uses sunlight at peak times of day to produce electricity to perform electrolysis on the water, which gives off hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere and the hydrogen is sent to a compressor, which compresses it into a tank. Excess hydrogen could be fed into the home to supplement the home heating unit as well.
The solar panels could, of course, be replaced by wind or any other generator to produce the electricity needed.
Other methods of producing hydrogen are also being experimented with right now, by universities and scientists, such as biological water splitting, biomass and waste reforming, and solar thermal water splitting.
The Clarity itself gets ignored or even poo-pooed by a lot of sites, including some of my favorites like Treehugger, because it’s not a pure electric and because most people can’t wrap their mind around the idea of hydrogen as a battery. They think of it as a fuel like gasoline or diesel, when in fact it doesn’t “burn” at all (it produces heat, but not flame or carbon). Your cell phone battery and your electric car’s batteries get hot when they’re being used as well.
While battery storage gets more and more technically efficient and becomes easier to incorporate into a car, it will be quite a while before cars with the range and performance of a Tesla Roadster or Fisker Karma become cheap enough to build that most of us can afford them over the standard car available at dealerships right now. The Clarity, however, uses current technology that can be used right now without much waiting. They are cold weather friendly and uncomplicated to understand.
As the use of lithium-ion batteries increases, so do the roadblocks to its adoption as a standard. Safety issues, transportation restrictions on the batteries, and more are all things that must be addressed before the cost of lithium-ion batteries can be used on a wider scale. The cost of those batteries will no doubt fall as production in creases, though few in the “green” community discuss the fact that those batteries use a lot of plastic. Plastic made from petroleum.
Compressed hydrogen, however, has been proven to be safe, can be housed in containers that are 100% recyclable, and is a renewable and possibly 100% non-impact storage medium for electric vehicles. Takes up less space than batteries too.
That’s why I think Honda is bold to be putting most of their “alternative” energies into hydrogen and that’s why I think hydrogen will be one of the, err, driving forces of the future.
Here’s a great first drive video of the Honda FCX clarity, put together by the guys over at myride.com
Well, it’s the end of the year, so it’s time for everyone to start rolling out their favorites lists and summing up what they saw during the year. This is our top five favorite electric cars that are either on the market or will be before 2010.
While this car has some drawbacks, namely the price tag, it’s got a lot going for it: great styling, beautiful concept, and a well-put-together package of performance and practicality. I really like this car and hope that other car makers stand up and notice it.
Although the car’s looks aren’t all that breakthrough and it’s definitely not getting the kind of publicity that the Chevy Volt and similar cars are getting, I feel that this car is probably the most innovative design to hit the roads so far. Released in limited numbers for testing to Hollywood celebrities and mogul types this summer, the car is quietly revolutionizing how people think about energy. If the car had been designed to look a little cooler, it might have made number one.
This is, design-wise, easily the most innovative car yet. Due to hit the roads soon, this car has all kinds of great things going for it. The hybrid version gets great mileage and is capable of long distances while the EV is practical enough to be useful. Either way, the aircraft design elements in this car make it extremely unique. That’s coming from me, who generally doesn’t like trikes.
This car and its design (as well as Tesla themselves) have had some real ups and downs this year: from Tesla claiming they’ll have the sedan model out in 2010 with a new factory to boot to their claim a couple of months later that they’re going bankrupt and need government money. The year for Tesla has been rocky at best. Still, this car is the benchmark to which almost all electrics are compared. That despite the exorbitant price tag the Roadster sports.
OK, not the most stylish or even innovative car out there, it’s still hitting the roads faster than most. Leave it to the Chinese to take a concept like “electric car” and make it affordable through mass production. I hope to see these on the road here in America on their promised 2010 release date. Meanwhile, we can watch the other side of the world drive them for a while. Work out the kinks for us, will ya?
There were others I wanted to put on this list, but most were either too far out to make the 2010 release or were just not quite good enough to really be counted. Even though electric vehicles are still considered “cutting edge,” there’s enough of them out there now and a long enough history that many “new” designs are really just rehashes of old ideas and a lot of “breakthroughs” just don’t give you the “wow” factor anymore.
Most of us can’t afford a Fisker Karma or a Tesla Roadster, so we’ll have to find another way to go electric with our vehicles. Some of the more intrepid of us will do it ourselves. Sites like DIYelectricCar.com are there for that. This is a great resource and I was amazed to look through and see what’s there. A friend sent me the link and said I should check it out. Thanks! This site is awesome!
It’s a user-supported Wiki combined with a blog from various members of the site who are in the process of or have just completed conversions. Other useful information like real-world product testing (like batteries, motors, etc.) are also to be found here. The best part, though, is the EV Conversions Forum, in which users can talk about, ask questions about, and generally get help from people when doing or planning EV conversions. Frikkin’ awesome.
For instance, the DIY EV Wiki on the site gives great general information as well as some specifics on basic design and mechanics considerations. Users are, however, encouraged to search the forum by make and model and see if anyone has done a similar conversion and, if not (or if new questions have arisen), to create their own post regarding the conversion of a specific vehicle.
Others who’ve “been there, done that” can then jump in and give pointers, ideas, information, and so forth. It’s a great user-supported setting with lots of great information from people who really know what they’re doing.
For instance, I’m considering doing a conversion of my Toyota 4×4 pickup—originally I was going to go with CNG, but have since thought maybe electric would be better. There are a couple of dozen forum posts regarding Toyota pickups—even an already-converted EV for sale. Great formulas for estimating energy needs, battery weight, and other things are also to be had.
This is a great resource for both the build-from-scratch and the conversion planner in EVs. Lots of great information, great people, and a very nice community. The site could use some work on organization and cleanup, but it’s an amateur site, not a professional for-profit, so that can be excused.
If you’ve got questions about or plan to do an electric conversion, you definitely need to spend some time at DIYelectricCar.com. A great resource for sure!
In July of 2007, the Solar Taxi embarked on a trip of 32,000 miles around the world. The car is completely solar powered and took a few more than 80 days to traverse the planet and didn’t do all of it on solar, but that doesn’t make headlines.
The car had to plug into the electrical grid during the winter in Poland in order to keep moving and made abysmal pace thanks to all the celebrities and politicians who wanted to hitch a ride along the way to get a photo op. All told, though, the car marks an incredible feat and great point in history.
The trip culminated in a crash of the World Climate Change Conference in Poland, when the car smashed through a wall of styrofoam to enter the event. Guess they weren’t invited.
During the entire journey, the car lost only two days to repairs. The owner and builder, Louis Palmer, drove through 38 countries to get there. He says he spent a fortune converting the car himself, but if it were mass produced, it could be made for about $20,000US per car.
“I hope that the car industry hears,” Palmer said, “and makes electric cars in future.”
A man by the name of Neil Bailey has a vision: to build a car with all of today’s modern sports and speed refinements based on the classic Shelby Cobra look. The inspired design has become the Bailey Blade, a great-looking concept car design.
Mr. Bailey then had his long-time friend Eric Rodela join him and formed the company BaileySpeed and has begun the hard design phase. The foam and computer modeling is done, now the car is taking shape for real. Originally, the car was to be a high-end, ultra-custom gasoline-powered speedster, but during development, Bailey started to realize the benefits of using different technologies.
Now the Bailey Blade is being developed in three configurations: the XTR, EVR, and HDR.
The XTR is a 750hp, 5.4L V8 with a 6-speed transmission and a top-notch motor from ROUSH. This was the original configuration of the Bailey Blade.
The EVR is a hybrid with both front and rear hi-torque electric motors, giving 300×2 foot pounds of torque to each axle. This 4WD system will give 600fp of torque up to 3,000 rpms and utilize lithium-iron phosophate batteries. A small gas-powered, 100hp 30kw generator on-board will provide recharge for longer distances.
The Blade HDR is the same ROUSH motor as the XTR, but with a Hydrogen on-demand injection system to save a projected 20% in fuel.
No hard numbers on the fuel economy of the gasoline or hydrogen versions is available, but the 100hp generator they’re utilizing is capable of 140mpg or better, depending on the size of the battery bank it’s to charge and how often it has to run. It’s likely that the gasoline motor will get 18-20mpg under standard driving conditions.
The Bailey Blade is a 2-seater and is only a concept at this point. But what a concept! Even if it never goes into production on a scale higher than the one this guy builds in his garage, it’s a totally hot car and the photos make a great computer desktop for your dream car salivations. So far, the cost on this puppy has reached nearly $200,000 in development, which Bailey has footed entirely from his own pocket. He projects it will be another $100,000 before the first XTR is completed and road-worthy.
