ELLICA

ELLICA (Electric Lithium-Ion battery Car), concept car created by students of Keio University, Japan comes close to breaking speed records for combustion-engine cars during a test run in Italy. This is a Eight wheeled car 4 in front and 4 rear. The car can accelerate from 0 to 100kms in less than 4 sec and has a top speed 370km/hour. On paper they belive that it can touch 400km/hour under ideal conditions. Main reason for its lightening speed is the use of aerodynamics concept in this car. This is also the reason as why the ground clearence is very less. Its has a bullet like body with four doors, front doors open forward and rear opens upwards. Its lenghth is 5.1 meters and width 1.9 meters. All the eight wheels are equiped with a electric motor of 80 horsepower each, which adds up to around 640hp to the car. Has a seating capacity of 4 people, which is very less compared to its size. From this we can make out that most of the space is used by motor and batteries which helps the car to move with such a great speed. The car weighs around 2500kg. Its has a total of 80 batteries, which are placed in 4 tracks in chassis. These 80 batteries takes around 10 hours to recharge completely. The suspension arm is attached to the outer motor casing on each wheel. The in-wheel drive units eliminate the need of power-transmission devices which connects the engine and the wheels. Each wheel has a disc brake and its breaking system is designed in such a way that energy will be recovered whicle applying breakes.

ELLICA has two varients:-1) Top speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) with a range of 200 km (125 miles) 2) Top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph) with a range of 320 km (198 miles) and provides a acceleration of 0.8G. All wheels has its own power motor, so it is easy to drive and handle even in extreme conditions. It delivers a smooth and pollution free drive. ELLICA will be available in limited edition, few hundreds only and will cost around 225k dollars.

Electrum Spyder

Have a look at a fashionable electric car Electrum Spyder from the house of Universal Electric Vehicle Corp. The Electrum Spyder has a sporty design, and will be available in limited edition only. The Spyder is an exciting 2 passenger convertible all electric car. The car is powered by a 300 vdc system, and it provides an effective range of up to 250 miles at a top speed of about 100 miles/km when assembled with Lithium ion batteries. The base model is assembled with a Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, which is more cost effective and provides a range of 150 miles per charge. As the range depends on the type of battery used, same is the case with the cost of this car. If Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are used then the car will cost 70k dollars, and if the Lithium ion batteries are used then the price increases.

Electrum Spyder can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles in less than 7 seconds. The car weighs 2900 pounds and the weight ratio. The motor develops over 300 horsepower and the maximum load it can carry is 3600 pounds. The luggage capacity is 16 cubic feet. It has on-board high frequency battery charger (120v / 240v charger). To charge the battery completely you have to wait for 6 hours. Equipments you will find in the car are Removable hardtop, Tinted glass, Electric heater, A/C, Alloy wheels, Electric windows, CD\DVD player and optional Touch screen navigation. Polyester glass fiber is used in composite body panels. Now we will talk about the safety features of this car. It has a Layered composite construction and a Large front and rear crunch zone, which will work as a cushion during collision. The batteries are kept in safety containers and the power is automatically disconnected in case of accident. The car has Four wheel disk brakes, Coil over shocks. The car has Redundant interlocks, will do not allow car to power up unless driver is in the driver's seat.

Why Hybrid Cars?

Due to the rising cost of fuel and the environmental damage caused by normal gasoline vehicles to our planet, now many car owners or buyers are looking for an alternative way to save money and enviornment. Since, fuel supply is finite and the prices of gasoline is rising higher and higher, that is where a hybrid car has its advantages. Hybrid cars have gained a popularity in recent years. With lower cost of production and new hybrid car technology being developed, owning a hybrid car is becoming affordable to everyone. The two best things about hybrid cars are:-

Energy Efficient
The concept behind the Hybrid Electric Car is, that it takes the benefits of an electric car and a traditional combustion engine and blends them together. The electric power is generated by the light weight, rechargeable batteries made from Nickel-Metal-Hydride. These batteries have the ability of storing electrical power.
The combustion engine used in a Hybrid Electric Car is similar to a normal smaller engine. However, in contributing to the energy efficiency, the motor is smaller and lighter in weight. Efficiency is maximized because the motor is built based on the average power needed by the Hybrid Electric Car. Whereas, in a conventional combustion motor, the size of the motor built depends upon the specifications required for the highest level of power demanded.
These vehicles has a miles per gallon range between 40 to 60 miles per gallon. Which is much more economical than normal cars.

Environment Friendly
Because Hybrid Electric Car being more energy efficient, one of its important benefit is the decrease of pollutants released in the air. This reduction in air pollution is due to less fuel being expended per mile travel. On an average, Hybrid Electric Car reduces carbon monoxide and other pollutants by as much as 75 to 85 percent.
Also in hybrid cars the gasoline engine is shut off automatically when the car stops. This also helps in saving fuel. That is also the reason why hybrid cars are so quiet while it is stationary. The gasoline engine is automatically turned on when you step on the accelerator pedal.

Kurrent Electric Car

Kurrent the cute, small and slow electric car comes under the category of neighborhood vehicle (NV), which means it has four wheels and weighs less than 2500 lbs. It runs on the same standard electricity we use to operate our household appliances. This car has been designed in Europe and is manufactured in America by American Electric Vehicle. It's design is considered to be inspired from Golf cart. Kurrent is a two seater car and its cost of operation is very low around 2cents a mile. Kurrent, when fully charged, will travel 35-40 miles at a constant speed of 25 miles per hour and costs around 10,000 US dollars. This car is mainly designed for small distance travel only as its range is only 40miles.

Now talking about the specification of this car, its Length is 92 inches, width 50 inches and weighs 1080 lbs with batteries. It has a 4.1 KW electric motor plus 4 lead Deepcycle batteries of 48volt. The front breaks are disc brakes while the rear ones are drum brakes. To recharge the car just plug into standard household 110-volt outlet and the car will be fully charged in 8Hrs. Also, It meets all FMVSS 500 federal standards. Kurrent brakes require almost no maintenance since the electric motor provides 90% of the braking force. Maintenance cost of this electric vehicle is very low, and company provides a 1 year of limited warranty.

Reva - The First Hybrid Vehicle on Indian roads

Reva, the first electric car launched in India by REVA Electric Car Company Private Ltd. Bangalore in the year 2001. And, now it is considered to be the most selling electric vehicle accross the world. The car has already been launched in most of the European markets and also in Japan and China. Reva isn’t available yet in the United States.

Reva is two-door roadster which seats two adults and two children. with a maximum range of about 150 kilometres per charge and a speed of 80 kilometres per hour. The car is powered by a high performance 37 kW AC induction motor that drives the front wheels, and uses Sodium Nickel Chloride batteries. REVA 4-wheel independent suspension with integrated regenerative and has hydraulic braking system which provides better handling and braking. The operating cost is around 40paise/KM which is much more economical than any other petrol/diesel cars.

Tesla Roadster

Tesla roadster is the two seater sports cum electric car and a superb design produced by Teslamotors. This car has a range of 350Km ie. once we charge the car it can run a maximum of 350km without recharging. The car has a top speed of 200Km/hr, and 0-100km/hrs in around 4sec. This is really a heoric performace for a electic car. And the best thing is it is enviornment friendly ie non-polluting. Tesla roadster will cost around 1Lac US dollars.

The prototype of this car was unvielded back in mid of year 2006. And now they company has started the production of this car and you will see these cars running on roads by the mid of year 2008. It is believed that there are more than a thousand bookings already made for this beautifull zero emission vehicle. More to come...