Shelby Super Cars revises incredible claims, still incredible
In an effort to maintain a modicum of credibility after suffering from what they now say was a "premature release" of inaccurate information, Shelby Super Cars (SSC) has published a revised version of its recent communiqué regarding their electric vehicle program. The unbelievable claim of being able to recharge their Ultimate Aero EV in ten minutes from an ordinary 110V outlet has now been amended to "...SSC's "Charge on the Run™" onboard charging system allows for 10 minute full battery recharges on a 220V service." That's much better. Still not imaginable, but much better.
SSC is aware of the misgivings out there and will attempt to transform that doubt into a huge publicity opportunity with a demonstration of their All-Electric Scalable Powertrain (AESP) technology at one of America's superspeedways following the official debut of the car. Company owner Jerod Shelby and some "notable" drivers will complete high-speed laps punctuated by 10 minute battery-recharging pitstops. If they successfully pull this off, we look forward to eating some of the most delicious humble pie ever known to man. Hit the jump to read all the reformulated claims and future green car plans.
[Source: Shelby Super Cars via EVcast]
PRESS RELEASE:
SSC ANNOUNCES ELECTRIC POWERTRAIN AND ULTIMATE AERO EV SPECIFICATIONS.
WEST RICHLAND, WA (01/22/09) ‐ Shelby SuperCars (SSC) released today the details of its revolutionary All‐Electric Scalable Powertrain, the AESP. SSC will incorporate its AESP into the current Ultimate Aero to create the Ultimate Aero EV. Being the "World's Fastest Production Car," SSC decided the Ultimate Aero to be the perfect high visibility outlet to demonstrate the capabilities of its new Green powertrain. Directly following the debut of the Ultimate Aero EV, SSC will conduct a live media event to showcase the capabilities of its revolutionary Green powertrain.
SSC will display its AESP in the Ultimate Aero EV in order to prove that electric‐powered vehicles will not only match but also provide more linear power (electric motors have 100% torque at 0 RPM) and overall performance than internal combustion cars. The Ultimate Aero EV utilizes a twin motor AESP producing an astounding 1000 hp and 800 lb‐ft of torque enabling it to rocket to 60 mph in a mere 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 208 mph. Not only does the Ultimate Aero EV have a range of 150‐200 miles on a single charge, but SSC's "Charge on the Run™" onboard charging system allows for 10 minute full battery recharges on a 220V service. SSC's 3‐speed automatic transmission transfers the Ultimate Aero EV's power to its wheels and achieves electronically controlled shift times of .24 s. The entire AESP is liquid cooled allowing it to run for extended periods of time at peak performance with no overheating issues.
SSC's Green division, SSC Green, Inc., will provide packaged solutions of its AESP to a wide variety of applications ranging from 200 horsepower for economy and midsize cars, to 500 horsepower for light trucks and SUVs, and up to 1200 horsepower for delivery trucks, heavy‐duty equipment, buses and military vehicles.
SSC expects to roll out its first full‐scale, pre‐production Ultimate Aero EV in second quarter 2009. Ultimate Aero EV deliveries will start as early as fourth quarter 2009. SSC will pursue the title of "World's Fastest Production Electric Car" and conduct a marketing campaign consisting of international motor shows, magazine articles, TV appearances and live media events. Most importantly, SSC will conduct a live media event at one of America's superspeedways to prove its claims. During this event SSC founder and lead designer, Jerod Shelby, and notable guests will drive laps at high speed pitting only to demonstrate the quick recharge times. SSC asks any interested media to send a request to AeroEVMedia@sscautos.com.
* * * * * * * * *
SSC, Inc. (SSC) is an American auto manufacturer founded by Jerod Shelby and based in West Richland, Washington. Mr. Shelby also founded Shelby SuperCars, LLC, an affiliate company of SSC, Inc., in 1998 to design and develop high‐performance supercars. In 2009, the Ultimate Aero EV (Electric Vehicle) will be the first to showcase Green technologies developed by SSC Green Inc., a wholly‐owned subsidiary of SSC, Inc.
For more information, please visit www.shelbysupercars.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jharlan 11:56AM (1/25/2009)
Wow! Looks like a Tesla killer to me!! (If they aren't already dead!!) They have my attention, not that I would ever be in a position to afford this toy. I'll bet this 1000 HP version is pretty pricey. Did they say 0-60 in 2.5 seconds? WHIPLASH! It looks like it's a must have for rock stars, MLB, NBA players, and members of the Saudi Royal Family.
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gorr 12:35PM (1/25/2009)
Probably they invented a system that master electricity flow in the car so they use electricity more efficiently without too much loss in heat and they can capture more efficiently regenerative electricity in deceleration. All it take is somebody that listen himself and don't give a damn about the opinion of madscientists.
The car to move forward just need kinetic energy and the only lost is in heat in the battery like tesla, think, volt, imiev, byd,etc. They maybe use hydrogen in their mechanic somewhere but maybe not.. They are scarce on technical explanation maybe for business patents reasons.
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Matt 12:36PM (1/25/2009)
I'm thinking it may be possible... Especially considering the speed at which some cell phones get back to 90% charge. Maybe they have some of that sweet capacitor tech.
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gorr 12:40PM (1/25/2009)
Im interrested to buy. I said since 4 years that im on the market for a 200-300 h.p rear wheels drive aluminium sport car. With this technology it should amount to 12 000-20 000$ approx in less then a year, please.
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Chris M 3:42PM (1/25/2009)
The projected price was $75,000 and it is supposed to be a high end car, so the price is unlikely to drop much. There is no way the price will ever get close to $20,000, except maybe as a 20 old used car, and even then, the collectible value is likely to be more than that.
DT 1:05PM (1/25/2009)
I hope they demonstrate is CQ3 as promised in this article. If they miss that projection and keep pushing it out then they will start loosing interested parties.
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Mike!!ekiM 1:37PM (1/25/2009)
There no mention of the nano-tech battery in this release. Did someone's hands get slapped. Anyway, if this pans out it should be clear the V8 IS DEAD. Only a fool would buy a Gas Engine with this tech coming out.
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jharlan 2:53PM (1/25/2009)
Nobody is skeptical? I guess Shelby has too good a track record to have much doubt. Wow again! If they can pull this of in the timetable announced they have trumped th whole industry!
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Chris M 9:40PM (1/28/2009)
Please note that this "Shelby" is not affiliated in any way with the Carroll Shelby of "Cobra" fame.
harlanx6 10:25PM (1/28/2009)
Thanks Chris M. Why is no one skeptical about this do you suppose?
jon 3:05PM (1/25/2009)
doing the math, if it takes about 20 HP (or 14.9 kW) to maintain 60 mph and 2.5 hours to go 150 miles at that speed, then we're talking about ~37kWh of charge. to cram that through a wire at 220V in 10 minutes will require 1000 amps of current. taking into account inefficiencies and the fact that you have to actually speed up and slow down sometimes, i'd say double that number in practice, giving 2000A @ 220V for a full charge in 10 minutes.
for reference, most houses in the US have a 150-250A 220V line coming in to power the entire house.
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Chris M 3:13PM (1/25/2009)
Hmm, assuming a 220 volt 100 amp outlet, that would be 22Kw of power available. In 10 minutes (1/6 of an hour), that outlet could deliver about 3.66Kwh of energy. Assuming 85% charger and battery efficiency, that would leave about 3.11Kwh available to drive the car. If the efficiency is similar to the Tesla Roadster at 0.24Kwh per mile, that would give a range of almost 13 miles, enough to run a few laps around the track.
Sounds about right. 10 minute charge, 13 mile range!
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w0mprat 5:25AM (4/27/2009)
Revised claims yes, but still BS!
Do the maths: 10 minutes on a 220V outlet at full current draw gives you 2.89 seconds of driving time at 1000hp!
I'm sorry no use defending them but they have a serious lack of technical competence in their marketing department. They definitely have a lack of managerial competence for not firing the dimwit who put out this press release. I have to question many things about this and SSC's other claims, there's detrimental errors that are so unlikely to be made by a performance car firm that it's fair to question their honesty and engineering standards.
10 minutes on a 220v outlet gives you 0.4 kilowatt hours. Oh if you have a 3200kVA circuit breaker you could get 0.6kwh. So at 746kw (1000hp) thats drained instantly. Driving at normal speed you'd probably have 60 seconds of driving.
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Zeph 6:29PM (1/25/2009)
These are the guys that broke the Veyron's top speed record for a production viehicle, so I would think they know what they're doing, as they've already passed some massive technical milestones.
And, call me a conspiracy theorist because I am, people need to realise there is indeed technological supression, not only through the intentional apropriation and shelving of patents but also through mafioso type illegal mechanisms. Our current state of technological use is corporate inspired and a shadow of what nature would allow us. To think otherwise is to be nieve and to buy into capitalist mass market propaganda.
This is another project I am watching closely, if anything to see if it will vanish if they do indeed pull it off.
So bring it Shelby.
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Posterboy 9:43PM (1/25/2009)
Every time I hear about this car, an uncontrolled thought pops into my brain... the car should be named the Shelby Villian. Curse you Simpons! 8*P
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meme 12:50AM (1/26/2009)
" i'd say double that number in practice, giving 2000A"
And what justification do you give for doubling the number? Even very high power li-ion chargers are generally about 90% efficient.
FYI, Level 3 charging goes up to ~250kW. I believe AeroVironment makes them that big. And in case you feel like doing the calculations for how fat of a cable you'd need, don't; one, this isn't steady-state for a cable, but a short (10 minute) burst, and second, it's almost certainly active cooled.
220V is still a bit low, but it is achievable. Hearing numbers thrown around like 250kW only sound impossible until you realize that even a small industrial facility typically has feed-ins that have to deal with that kind of current *nonstop*.
"for reference, most houses in the US have a 150-250A"
Extremely high powered chargers use their own battery banks. It's not a sudden surge from the grid. And they're not typically intended for home installation anyway.
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jon 1:32AM (1/26/2009)
i say double it because (a) it's not just about inefficiencies in the charger, it's the whole system from charging jack to wheels, and (b) the 37kWh figure i came up with is a *bare minimum* amount of charge to meet the stated specs under conservative driving conditions, whereas this is supposed to be a performance car.
thanks for the insights on high power charging. sounds like that part, at least, can be done. i guess now it's just a question of whether the batteries can do it.
Brett 1:57AM (1/26/2009)
"Extremely high powered chargers use their own battery banks. It's not a sudden surge from the grid. And they're not typically intended for home installation anyway."
The press release specifically says they are using an *onboard* charging system which connects to a 220V service. That wording seems to imply that it IS a sudden surge from the grid. If they're depending on a battery bank sitting on the ground, their wording is misleading.
why not the LS2LS7? 2:01AM (1/26/2009)
Most houses in they country have 100A or 200A service. Anything over 200A is EXTREMELY rare. Well under 1% of houses.
why not the LS2LS7? 2:03AM (1/26/2009)
AC to DC conversion is rarely 90% efficient. Voltage conversion (with a good switcher) is only about 92% efficient.
This is flat out not achievable. Even at 200A, you can only get 7KW of power in 10 minutes, and that isn't even as much power as the Volt holds.
These guys are lying again, there's no question.