World fastest electric car

We like stuff that comes from Shelby SuperCars (SSC) because its fast. The Ultimate Aero currently holds the record for world’s fastest production car at 256 mph, and the 2009 car is promised to be even faster. So when SSC announced it will build the world’s fastest electric car last summer, we thought we might have a reason to start getting excited about EV cars (no offense Tesla).

SSC decided to release a few details about its progress on the electric supercar, and its having us check the calendar to make sure it isn’t April Fool’s Day. For starters, SSC is keeping with its basic principle and keeping the electric car’s charge time fast; a hard to believe ten minutes.

In a sixth of an hour, SSC says its Nanotechnology Rechargeable Lithium Battery pack can be charged up for a 200 mile run. These figures are not from hooking up the car directly to the local nuclear power plant, but just by using the same household plug that powers an alarm clock. The reason why his is a little questionable is because the engineering team at SSC has accomplished what a lot of bigger companies have not been able to do yet. For example Chevrolet’s Volt will need an eight hour charge on a 110v plug to go 40 miles.

If SSC really has created a system the will charge an EV car’s batteries in the same time it takes to fill up with fuel, and it fits in a performance car, then the electric car revolution may really be here. Now all we have to do is keep our homes from burning down when the Ultimate Aero EV pulls the current (presumably an ungodly amount) to get its quick charge.

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The pricey, small-batch lithium-ion powered Mini E has arrived. And it looks and drives like, well, a really quiet Mini Cooper

Regenerative braking, the process through which an electric car grabs otherwise wasted energy from the brakes as the car glides to a halt, is a brilliant bit of engineering for efficiency—take energy that's otherwise only good for burning up brake pads, and turn it into electricity that charges the battery.

It may also make the uninitiated driver want to vomit. This is what my handler told me as she guided me toward a fleet of Mini Es—electric Mini Coopers—parked in the basement of the L.A. Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. See, regenerative braking starts to slow the car as soon as you let off the gas, as the braking system harvests the energy emitted by the decelerating vehicle. The experience can be unsettling at first—it can trick you into thinking you've been driving with the parking brake on. You might end up lunging unexpectedly forward in your seat as the regen takes over, until you learn to let this magical automatic braking system do its thing. It takes a little practice to learn to smooth the transition between speeding up and slowing down, between starting and stopping. Until then, Mini's publicist told me, you might feel as if you need to pull over and grab some ginger ale.

But in my drive around LA in the Mini E, it took only a couple miles in the car to learn when to cede stopping power to the regenerative braking. By then I'd also gotten used to the other notable difference between this car and its gas-driven brethren—the eerie silence of a pure electric vehicle (the only sound is that of the tires rolling along the pavement). The Mini E is no glorified golf cart. It's a little slow off the line, but once you get moving acceleration is impressive. On one traffic-free straightaway I hit the accelerator and realized I'd been underestimating this car: My head snapped back as the car launched ahead. The route Mini planned for me didn't include any freeway driving, probably because I'd just end up sitting in traffic, but the car has a top speed of 95 mph. In other words, the Mini E drives pretty much like a normal Mini Cooper.

It looks pretty much identical to the standard Mini Cooper, too, but there are interesting differences. What used to be the backseat is now filled with lithium-ion batteries supplied by AC Propulsion. (That company supplied the entire powertrain—batteries, motor, power electronics and all.) Behind the steering wheel you'll find a battery-charge gauge. The cars are numbered. They come with a custom charger that churns out 240 watts at 50 amps, which means you can charge the car fully in two to three hours.

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Reva G-Wiz Automatic Electric Vehicle

its Web site claims the G-Wiz's electric engine produces zero direct emissions, and a full, eight-hour charge costs about $1 (50 pence), the equivalent of nearly 600 miles per gallon. The vehicle is also exempt from London's hefty new congestion charges, and drivers can park for free in certain areas and make use of on-street charging points while away from the G-Wiz.

G-Wiz Specifications

The G-Wiz is actually known as a "quadricycle" in Britain -- the contraption weighs about 880 pounds (400 kg) without the battery and produces less than 15 kW of power, so according to the European Commission, it's not a car. Although it's legal to drive a G-Wiz on any road in the United Kingdom, GoinGreen stresses that the vehicle was "designed as a low speed urban runabout and commuter car," and they "do not recommend it is used [sic] on motorways and fast roads."

There are three different G-Wiz models available. Re­va no longer produces the original two versions, the G-Wiz dc and the G-Wiz ac, but GoinGreen still offers used models on its Web site. The newest version, the G-Wiz i, has improved safety standards and will be available in February 2008.

Despite the different names and varying safety packages, each type has the same general technical specifications. A G-Wiz is a two door, "2 + 2" seating arrangement, which means two adults can fit up front and two children can squeeze in the back. Eight six-volt lead-acid batteries, located under the front seats, power the tiny quadricycle's electric motor, which is located in the back. You can charge the battery of the G-Wiz by simply plugging a charge cable into the side of the vehicle and any electric outlet, the same way you would charge your cell phone. (GoinGreen does recommend protecting a typical household outlet with an RCD (Residual Current Device), or a surge protector). Two and a half hours will charge the battery 80 percent, while an eight-hour charge will give the car its full charge. Using electricity, especially from a renewable source, can save you money and help the environment -- a years worth of power would cost about $100 -- but the downside is the life of the battery. A replacement pack of eight batteries costs £1,595, or more than $3,000, and the batteries last between two and three years. This is the main reason why many people are looking toward fuel cells, which are charged quickly and don't need replacing.

The range of a G-Wiz is only about 50 miles per battery charge, but as mentioned before, the quadricycle wasn't built for long drives through the English countryside. The top speed of the vehicles range between 40 and 50 miles per hour (64-80 km/h) -- very slow compared to most other cars on the road, but this emphasizes why the G-Wiz is for an urban environment. The speed limits in London, for example, are typically no faster than 40 mph (64 km/h), and data downloaded from G-Wizzes driving around the city showed that customers recorded an average speed of 10 mph (16 km/h). London does happen to have the slowest traffic in Europe -- UK traffic information service KeepMoving.co.uk reported that all traffic, G-Wiz or not, moves at an average of 12 mph (19 km/h) in England's capital.

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its Dodge electric

Not to be outdone by GM's Chevy Volt hoopla last week, Chrysler today revealed three prototypes from its own electric-car program earlier today on CNBC. Who knew Chrysler had an electric-car program? Practically no one. But the company calls it ENVI, pronounced "envy," and the first consumer product from the program could appear as early as 2010.

Each of the cars revealed are electric-drive vehicles, one of which is an all-electric sports car with more than just a visual connection to the Tesla Roadster. It's called the Dodge EV, and by the looks of it, Dodge has appropriated the body and chassis of the Lotus Europa, a mid-engine GT car not sold in the U.S. Chrysler isn't discussing where it got the rolling stock, but it is talking about the drive system. The two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive speedster is powered by a 200 kW (268 horsepower) electric motor, an advanced lithium-ion battery, and an integrated power controller. The electric-drive motor produces 480 pound-feet of torque, which can take the Dodge EV from zero to 60 mph in less than five seconds, on to a top speed of more than 120 mph.

The other two vehicles -- the Chrysler EV minivan and the Jeep EV Wrangler four-door -- share a similar powertrain setup as the Chevrolet Volt. That is, an electric motor drives the wheels and a small gas engine is assigned to charging the batteries as needed, and providing enough power to extend the cars' electric range. Like Chevrolet, Chrysler isn't calling these cars hybrids (though most engineers refer to such systems as "series hybrid") -- rather they're "range-extended electric vehicles."

Chrysler says it intends to bring at least one of the electric-drive vehicles to market by 2010 to consumers in North America, and later in Europe.

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BMW CEO confirm new electric compact car mini crossover

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has finally confirmed that the Munich-based automaker is developing an all-new ultra compact city car said to adhere to the forthcoming stringent emissions standards in the U.S. and Europe. Initial speculation pegs the car to be at dealerships by 2012.
As first reported by Autocar back in April, BMW engineers were said to have been testing advanced electric vehicle technologies under the "Project i" initiative as a result of California's 2012 emission regulations. The laws mandate that automakers must produce zero emission vehicles capable of at least a 200 mile range. Engineers were said to have even mulled the idea of producing a limited run of electric powered Mini Coopers to test the California ZEV waters."It'll be a car with a completely new look, with two engines available. One will be a very efficient combustion engine and the other will be a purely electric model," Reithofer stated to German publication Die Zeit.It is unclear if the "mega city" compact car will be badged a BMW or Mini when it hits the streets in a few years time. Rumor has it, CEO Reithofer and team are even considering the creation of a new "green" brand to launch the car under.

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ANOTHER FASTEST ELECTIC CAR

KAMALA K360R: No British auto show would be complete without a slew of low-volume, high-performance cars aimed at die-hard enthusiasts and madmen. The Kamala’s calling card is a 0-60 time of three seconds when fitted with a highly turbocharged version of Ford’s 2.0-liter Duratec engine mounted behind the driver. It’s really meant for track usage, but a road-legal package is available.

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Next-Wave Astrovan: Canadians Pen All-Electric Concept With Aeronautic Touches

It has the profile of a Toyota Prius interpreted by the late Maxime Faget, designer of the Space Shuttle. It's the Hinterland 1, a conceptual all-electric minivan with a drag coefficient of less than 0.25 (the Prius's is 0.26). And if its designers get their way, it'll become a Canadian icon on par with the CN Tower, Geddy Lee and Poutine.
Chief designer of the Hinterland 1 is a veteran of Québec-based Bombardier Recreational Products, maker of the Sea-Doo watercraft, who says the project "combines sources of artistic, technical and scientific expertise" from recreational vehicles, electric motors and batteries, aeronautics, aluminium, plastics processing and video games. In theory, the sculpted body would comprise an aeronautical-style aluminum monocoque, fashioned by the same hydroforming process GM uses to create body panels for its curvy Pontiac Solstice roadster. A drive system proposed by electric-car startup Higgins-Aubé would involve a 43 kW-max motor (14kW continuous) powered by Li-ion or Zebra (Sodium Nickel Chloride) batteries with a maximum power of 37,000 kilowatts. Designers envision two models built on the same platform, a two-seater "Mini" and the six-person "Van."

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ONE OF EXTREME ELECTREIC CAR

LIGHTNING GT
The GT was one of the motorshow stars this year and its fabulous looks and luxurious interior could have earned it that title alone, but what gets it a place in our Five of the Best is its rather extreme powertrain. How does 700bhp sound to you? Pretty impressive, right? Well, the shock comes when you realise that the GT produces that output from electricity. Using the latest 'Nanosafe' batteries and a high-powered electric motor in each wheel, the Lightning Car Company is claiming a 0-62mph time in the region of four seconds and a top speed around 150mph. Yet that'll be done in a relatively noiseless car. Another interesting aspect of the GT is that it does away with any disc brakes, instead relying on the motors to slow the car, at the same time feeding charge back into the battery pack. Lightning is taking orders right now, with deposits for £15,000, which suggests that its new GT could come in at a reasonable £150,000. Sounds like extremely good value to us.

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