Lotus releases images and info on its first electric car, the Evora 414E Hybrid

When people say electric cars can be exciting, some will doubt it. Tesla has already tried to prove them wrong with the Roadster, but the final statement on that must come from Lotus, a company that is widely known for its sports cars with superb handling. That final statement is called Evora 414E Hybrid.



Lotus calls it a hybrid, but only because it also uses a combustion engine. Since it is a mere range extender, we do not understand it is a hybrid car, but a full electric car with some old timer's help.

The new machine will be able to accelerate from 0 to 97 km/h in under 4 s, something that can be credited to its two electric engines, which drive the rear wheels in an independent way.

The number 414 is due to the power of the car, 414 ps/306 kW, since each engine has been limited (yes, that's right) to produce only 207 ps/153 kW each. Torque is 400 Nm, 200 Nm in each engine.

Since range is what electric car detractor more fiercely attack, the Evora 414E Hybrid can run up to 483 km with the help of its range extender, a 1.2-litre three cylinder engine designed by Lotus specifically to generate electric energy. Able to generate 48 ps/35 kW, it weighs only 85 kg, in accordance with the low weight philosophy from Lotus.

Since this is a plug-in car, the Lithium Polymer batteries can make the car run up to 56 km, more than enough for most people to go from work back home, and home to work, on a day-to-day basis. No word on how long they take to recharge, but surely no more than 8 hours, or a good night of sleep.

Lotus treats the car as a concept, one of its biggest attractions for Geneva, but the British carmaker can surely come up with a production version of this beauty very soon. That's the advantage of a small and agile structure.

Source: Lotus

Nissan unveils the LEAF, its first mass-production electric vehicle

Nissan has released this weekend the first pictures and information on the new LEAF, its first mass-produced all-electric car. The Japanese company expects to start selling the car by the end of 2010 in Japan, USA and Europe.



With a recharging time of 8 hours in a regular 200V outlet, LEAF is able to reach a top speed of 140 km/h. Nissan does not inform how long it takes for the car to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, but it should not be very long, once it presents a 280 Nm engine, able to generate 80 kW (109 bhp). A single full charge provides a range of 160 km. A fast charger provides 70% of the charge in 30 minutes.

LEAF is 4.45 m long, 1.77 m wide, 1.55 m tall and bears a wheelbase of 2.70 m, what makes it a very roomy hatchback, able to carry up to five people. Although it is very similar to Tiida/Latio, LEAF is built over a dedicated platform, according to Nissan.

The Japanese automaker does not say how much the car will cost, it only gives us a hint on that: it will be the same price of a well-equipped C-segment vehicle. In other words, expect its price to be around US$ 20,000.











Source: Nissan

Riversimple Urban Car plans to turn cars into a service, such as telephones

The week before the last one we brought you information on a car that promises to join things that, nowadays, seem to be completely opposite to each other: fuel cell cars and low cost, as well as personal transportation and mobility. The first two are apparently opposed to each other because current fuel cell cars are very expensive and only have been leased to few people. One example of these cars is Honda FCX Clarity. The other two conflict because people buy cars that can normally carry up to five people, but only the driver rides it in a regular basis. This behavior fills the streets completely with cars and threatens personal mobility. The car that seems to have solved these matters is called Riversimple Urban Car. And it will manage to do that with a simple formula: turning mobility into a service, such as light, water and telephones.



Although it has been revealed on June 16, we only managed to obtain its pictures now, hence the delay. RUC (Riversimple Urban Car) will manage to be cheap, even powered by a fuel cell, using a smal unit, able to produce 6 kW. That will certainly cust cost. Performance is assured by very efficient regenerative brakes (they recover 50% of the energy spent in braking, while other systems manage to recover only 10%) and ultracapacitors. The car will be able to reach a top speed of 80 km/h, will be able to go from 0 to 56 km/h in 5.5 s, will have a 320 km range (if not longer) and an estimated fuel economy equivalent to 106.2 km/l of petrol. But using hydrogen as fuel and producing only water as a by-product.

As for the other part of the mission (assuring personal mobility with low, if any, environment impacts), the car will not be owned by its driver: it will be rented, or leased, if you prefer the correct term for it. The cars are expected to last for at least 20 years and may have different leasing contracts. One of them could last three years with a 200 pounds installment every month (about US$ 330), but, as well as mobile phones, prices and conditions may vary.

According to declarations from Hugo Spowers, head of the project, that price would include maintenance, insurance and all the fuel needed by the car. In other words, hydrogen. When you refuel your RUC, the bill will go to Riversimple. That will make the company look for fuel efficiency improvements throughout all the car lifetime cycle.

The idea is revolutionary, but this revolution should scare no one, since it comes for the benefit of everybody. First of all, it assures the same individual freedom of choice a car offers. After all, RUC is a car, or, to be more precise, a two-seater built mostly of composite materials, what will make it extremely light (about 350 kg). Secondly, by being light and carrying only two people, it has minimal environment impacts (fuel cells produce electricity and water, nothing else). If hydrogen is generated by renewable sources, environment impacts tend to be close to zero.

Still according to Spowers, five prototypes will be built at the end of next year for tests. Then, by the end of 2011, 50 cars will be built and placed in the hands of regular customers in British cities, what should become effective by 2012. There are no words, so far, on what will happen after that, but we are trying to clarify this matter as soon as possible.

Besides all these ideas, the car will also be developed as an open source vehicle, like some softwares such as Linux. According to Riversimple, this will help the idea spread to many parts of the globe without the structure a regular carmaker would need.












Source: Riversimple

Riversimple Urban Car promises to be the first fuel cell vehicle available for everyone

Have this date on your agenda: June 16. This is when a major breakthrough in human personal mobility aims to take place. Still refered to as "Riversimple Urban Car" (we'll call it RUC), the vehicle that will be presented in the United Kingdom next Tueday (a week from now) promises to be available to anyone willing to have a fuel cell car. For a lot of reasons.



The first one is the fact it will be a two-seater built mostly of composite materials, what will make it extremely light (about 350 kg). The second one it that the car is not intended to be sold, but to be leased, what would save natural resources, once these cars are aimed to be used for a long time. The third one is that it will not be expensive, once it uses a small fuel cell.

RUC will be powered by a 6 kW fuel cell, regenerative brakes and ultracapacitors. The car will be able to reach a top speed of 80 km/h, will be able to go from 0 to 56 km/h in 5.5 s, will have a 320 km range (if not longer) and an estimated fuel economy equivalent to 106.2 km/l of petrol. But using hydrogen and producing water as a by-product.

Besides all these ideas, the car will also be developed as an open source vehicle, like some softwares such as Linux. According to Riversimple, the company behind the car, this will help it spread to many parts of the globe without the structure a regular carmaker would need. Let's wait for more information on June 16.

Source: Riversimple via Autocar

Mitsubishi follows Subaru and presents its electric vehicle, i-MiEV

Subaru has announced it will start selling the electric car Plug-In Stella EV to customers by July 2009. Mitsubishi has seized the World Environment Day, last Friday, to present another electric vehicle to customers, the i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle). In fact, this presentation is only useful for Japanese authorities and corporations, once the car will only be delivered to regular consumers by April 2010. Even considering this, the new i-MiEV may be worth waiting for: it goes farther than Stella (160 km, against 90 km of range from the Subaru), it is roomier (2.55 m of wheelbase) and it is cheaper (4,380,000 yens, against 4,725,000 yens, or a little more than US$ 44,300 against US$ 50,000). Some may also say it is better looking than Stella, and we will be obliged to agree.



The same subsidy that Stella owner candidates will be eligible to receive can also be applied to i-MiEV. In other words, the car can cost 1,390,000 yens less, or about US$ 14,000. In other words, when i-MiEV starts to be sold, in 2010, it may cost around US$ 30,000.

The i-MiEV is based on one of the most fantastic kei cars available in Japan, the Mitsubishi i. Although it is only 3.40 m long, 1.48 m wide and 1.60 m tall, it has an amazing wheelbase of 2.55 m, 5 cm longer than Honda Jazz/Fit, for example. The original vehicle manages to have such a roomy interior due to its engine, which is placed just ahead of the rear axle. Mitsubishi calls it a rear midship engine. This is what Volkswagen was planning to do with the future Lupo, known as the up! concept, but the German company apparently gave up on this idea. Too bad...

The i-MiEV follows the same sort of engine arrangement. It uses a single shift gearbox due to the amazing torque electric engines have in any condition. It is 200 kg heavier than a regular i (1,100 kg, against 900 kg), what has surely made it present a worse performance. Speaking of it, Mitsubishi does not refer to top speed or acceleration figures. Engine specs are almost equal to Subaru Plug-In Stella EV: 47 kW (64 bhp) from 3,000 rpm to 6,000 rpm and 180 Nm from 0 to 2,000 rpm.

Charging times vary according to the source of energy output. In case you only have a 110V outlet, it will take you 14 hours to fully charge the battery. In a 220V outlet, full charges take 7 hours, what would allow someone to get home, plug the car and use it again the next morning. Anyway, Mitsubishi will also offer quick-charge stations throughout Japan in order to allow at least 80% of charge in around 30 minutes.

Inside the car, the gearbox selector will have three positions, besides the regular R, N and P: D, for driving with full power, Eco, which saves energy and B, for maximum regenerative brake bias. The displays will present to the driver the necessary data in order to avoid surprises (or being out of energy away from home): power consumption, energy recovery, battery residual charge indicator and a range indicator which calculates how far can the driver go the way he has been driving for the last few kilometres.

Mitsubishi will produce the same car for Peugeot and Citroën in order to become the French carmakers first electric car, as it already does with Peugeot 4007 and Citroën C-Crosse, both badge engineered versions of Mitsubishi Outlander.























Source: Mitsubishi

Subaru will start selling the Plug-In Stella EV in Japan next July

Although Volkswagen and other big carmakers say electric cars will not be feasible until some years from now, Subaru has taken a step ahead and will start to offer to Japanese customers an electric car. Called Plug-In Stella EV, the car is based on the Stella, already for sale in Japan, and will cost 4,725,000 yen (something around US$ 50,000). Subaru expects to sell 170 units up to March 2010.



The price, as it often happens with electric cars, will have a subsidy of 1,380,000 yen (a little more than US$ 14,000) and may reach a final price of 3,345,000 yen (almost US$ 35,000).

The new Subaru Plug-In Stella EV is 3.40 m long, 1.48 m wide and 1.66 m high. Although it seems tiny, it weighs 1,010 kg. This is due to the weight of lithium-ion batteries. Top speed is 100 km/h, with a range of 90 km. The batteries can have 80% of their charges in 15 minutes with a quick charging system. In regular use, it takes the batteries 8 hours to recharge in a 110V outlet and 5 hours on a 220V outlet. The electric engine generates 47 kW (64 bhp) and 170 Nm.

Source: Subaru

Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster repeats Bertha Benz's historic journey

Cars have always had to prove they were a good choice. If it weren't for Bertha Benz, married to Carl Benz, they might not even have existed. Mrs. Benz, in 1888, took her two sons with her in the first long journey on an automobile, the Patent Motor Car, invented by Carl Benz in 1886 and considered to be the first car of the world. The trip was from Mannheim to Pforzheim, a distance of more than 106 km. We can consider that to be the first steps of the automobile. Now, in order to pay homage to that historic trip, Mercedes-Benz has put its F-CELL Roadster to repeat the same journey. And there are lots of similarities.



Just like combustion engines at that time, the fuel cells that power the F-CELL Roadster are trying to prove efficient, affordable and safe to customers and to the automobile industry as well.

Berthe did not have petrol stations to refuel her Patent Motor Car at the time. She had to buy Ligroin, the name petrol received back in 1888, in drugstores. The first one was in Wiesloch, and that drugstore, Stadt Apotheke, is still running, proud to be called the first gas station of the world. Fuel cells also need hydrogen refilling stations, something that tends to be more complicated than dealing with petrol.

Patent Motor Car was controlled by a stick, just as F-CELL Roadster. The difference is that there are no mechanical links between the stick and the wheels of the car in F-CELL Roadster. Drive-by-wire technologies, already used in airplanes, have to prove safe on automobiles, too.

The F-CELL Roadster has been created by more than 150 trainees from Daimler AG and is able to reach a top speed of 25 km/h, possibly because it would not brake in a safe way with these narrow bicycle wheels. It may not be fast, but it can go far away, more specifically 350 km, powered solely by its fuel cells, able to produce 1.2 kW.











Source: Daimler AG