Geneva '08: Th!nk announces the Ox, a new 5-seat electric car
click the Th!nk Ox for a high res gallery
Th!nk, the Norwegian purveyor of electric cars that used to be owned be owned by Ford, has used the occassion of the Geneva Motor Show to show off their new vehicle platform concept. The Ox is a five-seat monocab design that has a space frame structure that can be used for a variety of different body styles. Besides the four-door body Th!nk is also showing a two-door coupe body. The space frame provides the crash structure and mounting locations for battery packs in the floor. The system is designed to be adaptable to different regions and applications so it can be equipped with either sodium batteries or lithium ion.
The 60kW electric motor should be able to accelerate the 3,300lb Ox to 62mph in about 8.5 seconds. Th!nk is claiming that with lithium batteries the Ox will have a range of about 120miles on the US06 driving cycle. The US06 is the new, more aggressive schedule that was added to the EPA fuel efficiency testing routine for 2008. If the Ox can actually achieve that range on US06 it should do at least as well in the real world (see our interview with GM's Pete Savagian for more discussion on driving test cycles including US06). So far we don't have any information from Th!nk on when we will actually see the Ox or something similar on the road or how much it will cost. Th!nk's press conference is tomorrow so we may get an update then.
Gallery: Th!nk Ox
[Source: Th!nk, thanks to Sindre and Kristoffer for the tips]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mark 9:09PM (3/04/2008)
If this car is put into production, Please THINK, Please..Bring this car to Canada, oh I'm begging you...
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Nathaniel Sears 9:35PM (3/04/2008)
Its an amazing looking car and 120 miles would be perfect. I want one. (hopefully it will be below 35k)
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A.Brien 10:18PM (3/04/2008)
Finnally this car seem up to specs. When will it be on sale at wal mart?
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jake 11:32PM (3/04/2008)
Between this and the Miev the EV market is starting to look good. Wonder if there is enough interest in the US to warranty shipping this here.
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Chris M 11:38PM (3/04/2008)
Much nicer looking than their earlier models, great performance too. If priced reasonably should sell well.
I have to question why they took a picture of it on a golf course - do they really want to remind people of golf carts? (grin)
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armmat 11:48PM (3/04/2008)
Damn...nice car...but 3300lbs????? That's abit heavy...more than a freaking VW GTI!!
Come on Think! You can do better than that.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 1:39AM (3/05/2008)
Sodium battery?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium-sulfur_battery
Doesn't sound likely.
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Chris M 2:35AM (3/05/2008)
Um, no, the alternative battery would be sodium nickle chloride, also known as the Zebra battery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebra_battery#Zebra_battery
The Zebra also operates at an elevated temperature, but not as hot as the sodium sulfur cells.
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infix 3:17AM (3/05/2008)
I only need 2 seats and room for a couple of sacks of groceries. 60 mile range. 60MPH top speed (if it takes 12 seconds to get up to 60, so be it). Under $20K. In the USA. Please.
I don't need a car that seats 5 and weighs 3300lbs. (and I'm guessing it'll cost over $30K)
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why not the LS2/LS7? 3:44AM (3/05/2008)
Chris M:
Your link says 270-350C, mine said 300-350C. Same difference. This doesn't warrant an "um, no".
Makes no difference really. This car will be used with batteries that take two days to heat up and four days to cool down? This doesn't make any sense.
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rgseidl 6:44AM (3/05/2008)
"Ox" is a rather unfortunate name for a car, isn't it?
@ why not the LS2/LS7 -
Zebra batteries are well insulated and kept at operating temperature at all times via continuous internal trickle discharge. In Scandinavian winters, Li-ion simply doesn't cut it. Note that outdoor electric outlets for block heaters are common there, these can also be used to recharge EVs.
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rgseidl 6:46AM (3/05/2008)
EV fans may also want to check out the Smera, a new leaning 1+1 seater from France:
http://jalopnik.com/363973/lumeneo-smera-80-mph-ev-gets-geneva-started-down-path-of-weird
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Aimless 7:03AM (3/05/2008)
The Ox looks good (for a clay model). I sure hope to see it soon on the road in western Europe.
Using the engine oil from a range extender, might be a good way to heat up that NaNiCl battery on cold starts. But sodium just doesn't feel very practical or safe for mobile uses. And it's up to twice as heavy as LiFePO4.
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Laban 3:17AM (3/06/2008)
@rgseidl:
And what would be the problem with heating up the Li-ion battery the same way when it's really cold ?
Using eletricity from the grid if plugged in, from the battery when not. Must be much cheaper since it doesn't need to be heated up to 270 C.
Or am i missing something ?
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Throwback 8:15AM (3/05/2008)
Whatever they do, they have to change the name.
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David Wright 10:09AM (3/05/2008)
No sooner do Th!nk annonce this car, than General Electric announce today that they are taking a substantial stake in the company and will be promoting both this model and its little sibling, and using A123 batteries
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David Wright 10:12AM (3/05/2008)
Here is a link to that GE news story -- http://www.rttnews.com/sp/breakingnews.asp?date=03/05/2008&item=82&vid=0
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KarenRei 2:28PM (3/05/2008)
Ugly car, but the stats look nice. However, I'm a bit concerned about cost, and here's why. 3,300lbs is a lot of weight. You don't move that kind of weight and still get the ~85Wh/kg that the Aptera gets for its 120 mi range. It's almost certainly going to need at least 20kWh of batteries, possibly as much as 30kWh. When it comes to li-ion, that can currently be summed up in one word: pricey.
If 3,300lbs is the weight of it with Zebra batteries, yes, switching to li-ion will lower the weight some, but not *that* much. Zebras are 90Wh/kg, after all, and automotive li-ions aren't as energy dense as laptop li-ions. You may get, perhaps, 120Wh/kg with them.
I really don't see the point of EVs with Zebra or NiMH batteries. They lose too much energy -- Zebras in maintaining the batteries under charge and keeping them hot, NiMH in waste heat during charge/discharge conditions and in power leakage. If you're wasting half your energy in your batteries, what's the point? You lose the efficiency gains that are the main purpose of electric vehicles.
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virgil 6:22PM (3/05/2008)
@Jerry Z
Xebra is an NEV (top speed of 25 or 35 depending on state)
Obvio is not available
Everythign else ZAP does is vaporware.
Exciting my @ss!
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mike 6:28PM (3/05/2008)
This is great news, in "American":
0-62: 8.5 secs
Top Speed: 80 mph.
Pretty much meets the needs of 99% of the driving public, except for the wacko's at Motor Trend and Motor Week.
Actually, If they could preserve the top speed, I like to see the acceleration drop to 12 seconds, and increase the efficiency, which would increase the INVESTMENT payback period.
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