VIDEO: Electric race car development program revealed!
KleenSpeed Technologies, one of the companies behind the WX10-T all-electric race car has opened up their website to the public to reveal some of what went on behind the scenes as they prepared their prototype, code-named Angelina, for its unveiling. Included on the site are pictures of everything from the electric drivetrain being integrated into the chassis to shots of their new digs, appropriately located at the Ames Research Center in California. One thing we couldn't help but notice behind the drivers seat was the AC Propulsion-emblazoned controller box which is also found in the MINI E.
The company has also released some videos of "Angelina" moving under her own power. They include a short clip of the car taking advantage of a runaway near Kleenspeed headquarters, as well as some onboard camera footage shot at Reno-Fernley raceway in Nevada. That footage reveals how scary fast the WX10-T can be. Even without its bodywork and with lots of extra potential left in both car and driver, they came within five seconds of the track record set by the gas-powered version of this car. According to company officials, with the temperature "in the 100's", Angelina's computer registered a top speed of 136 mph during these trials. Perhaps we'll get a better idea of the car's true capabilities when it explores Sebring near the end of January. Hit the jump for video extravaganza.
[Source: KleenSpeed Technologies]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
slick7rudy 12:50PM (12/29/2008)
kinda slow for a racecar
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Joce03 7:07PM (12/28/2008)
We are seeing more and electric cars from small companies or independent individuals. Ruf, the Porsche tuning company is working on an electric 911! And yet Ford, Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, Mercedes, BMW, Chevrolet, et al., have yet to make a production ready electric car. People are making these in their garages, so what is stopping the big auto makers from doing the same? They have the budget to develop the cars, the technology is there (has been for a while), and people would buy a reasonably priced car that you never have to fill with gas.... at least I would.
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Nick 8:03PM (12/28/2008)
I was thinking the same. I think the reason is that big companies are also big bureaucracies...their decisions are researched, analyzed by marketing folks who them make reports to the budget folks and so on before work is started. Electric cars are just starting to be made, and the big companies being conservative, they want to wait and see how their competitors are doing. Small companies don't have to deal with bone head structures like that.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:36AM (12/29/2008)
Because they only go 30-40 miles. This is not considered a viable product by the auto manufacturers. The EV1 showed them to be correct.
Joce03 4:43AM (12/29/2008)
To "why not":
The Tesla does 224 miles per charge or 360km (thats off their website). Thats a lot of driving. Besides, the majority of our population lives within urban centers where the distance traveled each day is relatively small. Those people could drive a car that has a range of 50-100 miles. I commute about 90 km (round trip) each day... I'd drive an electric car that has a 160 km range if it meant I never had to buy gasoline again!
Like anything else, you have to start somewhere. And, as time goes on, battery technology will improve and range will increase and cost will drop. But even at the current level of battery technology, electric cars would be a viable alternative for a lot of people.
Stan Wellaway 3:56AM (12/29/2008)
Almost every major manufacturer now has a programme involving electric cars. In 2010-12 we can expect to see several of them coming to market.
Battery swap stations - where an EV drives in, drops the underslung battery pack, hydraulically uplifts a freshly charged one, and drives out, will overcome the distance issue, and will take no longer than filling a tank with gas. This sin't going to happen untill we see some standardisation of battery pack design of course, but that will surely come. (Incidentally, this idea of EVs going only 40 miles is a US thing. In Europe we are heading for 100-150miles and we already have that with vans and trucks from Smith http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com and Modec http://wwwModecZEV.com
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Stan Wellaway 12:19PM (12/29/2008)
Sorry, that last link was incomplete. It should have been http://www.ModecZEV.com
Incidentally, in the UK we have a league programme in which scools compete with each other in racing electric cars which they build themselves, garnering sponsorship from component suppliers and others. Though the economic downturn looks like knocking it back in scale in 2009. See http://www.greenpower.co.uk
Nick 11:29PM (1/04/2009)
The why not is mostly that when you are huge and have 90% of your investments on creating gas engines, it's hard to switch on a dime. Smaller companies are more innovative and nimble because they have close to no overhead and can invest almost 100% into the tooling they need for their new technology.
We are witnessing a paradigm shift in not only technology, but how we do business. We might be witnessing the end of big corporation that have lost touch with their clients... and probably reality.
Nick,
Electricnick.com
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Joe Harder 1:04PM (2/19/2009)
The environmental impact of a plug-in car (not hybrid) depends on how you assume power for battery charging is made. There is a study somewhere that shows a net negative impact if coal-fired power is assumed. The Kleen Racing folks say they will use solar panels mounted on their transporter for recharging.
Also, the batteries for a car like a Tesla are extremely expensive. I race radio controlled cars with similar batteries (Lithium Polymer). A 1/8 scale off-road race car with 10 - 20 minutes of run time will use 1 or 2 $400 batteries.
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lazybones 11:32PM (7/22/2009)
"There is a study somewhere that shows a net negative impact if coal-fired power is assumed"
Who did the study, Shell or BP??
Even if you assume coal fired power ONLY, a 100KW natually aspirated ICE will generate more CO2 emissions than a similar car with an electric motor. Especially if you consider that you'd only need about 70Kw Motor to out perform a 100Kw ICE.
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