Category Archives: Transport
Whoever said electric cars crawl? A common myth amongst people, electric cars aren’t necessarily slow. We’ve had the Jaguar CX75 concept supercar proving just that before and now to make the myth vanish into thin air, two French companies, FCI and Formulec, have come up with the world’s fastest electric machine on wheels, a car sculpted to do the rounds at Formula One races. And when we say fast, we sure as hell mean so. This one sprints from 0-100km/h in as little as 3 seconds and the speed needle touches the 250km/h with ease. Using a high-performance RCS800 connector to transmit power from the battery to the electric engine, this astonishingly fast F1 car juiced from by the plug could just pave the way for street-legal and fast electric automobiles in the future.
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Given that the Prius worked oh so well in the automotive market world over, Toyota decided to give the little electric car a bit more flesh and bone, launching the “Prius α” hybrid minivan in Japan. Just like its smaller version, the iconic and loved Prius, the Prius α uses a lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable battery and is available in two models. While the five-seat model sports a nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable battery, the seven seat Prius uses the same system like the original Prius. Costing ¥2.35 million (approx US$29,066) and ¥3 million for the five- and seven-seat models respectively, both the Prius α models boast fuel efficiencies of 31.0km/L.
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Yet another machine to add to the green line of two-wheeled beasts on wheels, Quebec-based Amarok Consultants recently unveiled its own rendition of the perfect electric motorcycle, the P1. Packing in a 7.5-kilowatt-hour battery and two Agni 95 electric motors, this relatively light electric motorcycle weighs in at just 325 pounds and sports a powertrain capable of producing a decent 75 horsepower. For now, Amarok hasn’t introduced this one to the assembly lines yet, though the firms pretty sanguine about its reception from the public.
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We’ve been following the exploits of the Solar Impulse for quite some time now and the revolutionary solar powered airplane just set yet another bench mark completing the world’s first international flight powered by the sun. Taking off from an airfield at Payerne in western Switzerland on Friday morning, the Solar Impulse completed its solar powered trip to Brussels airport after 13 hours of flying. The 10 year project worth 90 million Euros ($128 million) seems to have paid off with the successful development and flight of the Solar Impulse, packed with 12,000 solar cells.
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Renault’s compact electric platypus-mouth car, the Twizy is now online for advance reservations. The two-seater micro car (and when we say micro, believe us, this one’s tiny) is available in two models, the Twizy 45 with a five-horsepower (4 kW) electric motor and the Twizy with a 17 hp (13 kW) motor while the battery will be leased by Renault for a monthly fee. The car scheduled to launch in Europe this year, use a compact tandem design and boasts a range of 100 km (62 miles). The Twizy touches speeds of 80 km/h (50 mph) while the Twizy 45 does a slow but steady 45 km/h (28 mph).
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German automakers Audi are looking to bring a change, and are planning to do so by introducing the energy from the winds as a source to power up future electric and natural gas vehicles. No car is truly carbon neutral, since somewhere in its life it directly or indirectly leads to carbon emissions, be it during manufacturing, or while charging up. Audi plans to set up four wind turbines in the North Sea that will together generate as much as 53 GWh of electricity. This clean energy will then be trickled into the power grid and will also power up Audi’s e-tron vehicles and help the company produce hydrogen an e-gas for its cars.
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A true environment friendly vehicle design that literally breathes green has just caught our notice. Designed by Gunwoong Kim & Suji Kim for the 2011 Michelin Challenge Design Showcase, the Vieria’s design is unlike any we’ve seen before. Using an advanced air purification system, the vehicle breathes in smog-soaked air through its air intake, giving out clean and pure air out of its outtake. The insect-shaped vehicle adds a touch of aerodynamics by pulling in its four wheels closer together on open roads at higher speeds.
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Chairman and chief executive of Iceland utility company Northern Lights Energy, Gisli Gislason, was all smiles, being recently handed over the keys to his shiny new electric Mercedes-Benz ML 350. The car had its guts pulled out by Ohio-based Amp Electric Vehicles. These were then replaced with electric-powertrains, making this ML 350 the greenest of its kind. Packing in a 900-pound battery unit, Amp has previously been overhauling Chevrolet Equinox cars and was able to do the same for the ML 350 because of similarities in dimensions. The car is expected to cover a range of a reasonable 100 miles on a single charge, regardless of the fact that it weighs in 2,000 pounds more than the pure electric Nissan Leaf.
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Electric means to transportation gets a lot more inexpensive with Tajima Motors’ recent brainchild, the e-Runner. This little electric scooter based on a moped-type design powers up with electricity and carries a battery in its belly, with zero emissions. Compact and light, this moped is probably one of the most affordable and inexpensive ways to get around town. Available in several bright colors to suit your taste, the e-Runner takes two hours to charge up completely and boasts a 36km range, just about enough to get around the neighborhood. For an extended range, a 50km-range version of the e-Runner is available too.
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Paul Racioppo and Chomnan Men, district sales manager for General Motors, set out to demonstrate the Chevrolet Volt recently and decided to loll back at the Courtyard Marriott hotel on Route 9 in Hadley. What took them by surprise however, was an electric-car charging station at the hotel. So instead of driving up to the gas station to fuel up their car, with gas prices souring to $4 a gallon, Racioppo and Men hooked up their Volt to the charger for four hours, juicing its batteries to the brim. The hotel was gracious enough to cover the electricity charge too, owing to the fact that this was the first time the charger was used since its installation in February.
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