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Lightning GT, Other New Electric Vehicles Debut at British Motor Show
25 July 2008
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| The Lightning GT reveal at the British Motor Show. Click to enlarge. |
A number of new electric vehicles are making their debut at the British International Motor Show (23 July-3 August) in London, ranging from the high-performance UK-designed and built Lightning GT sports car to low-speed imports from China.
The Lightning GT (earlier post) uses a 35 kWh battery pack with 30 Altairnano large-format NanoSafe batteries and four 120 kW Hi-Pa Drive in-wheel motors from PML Flightlink Ltd. The car features full traction control and regenerative braking on all four wheels independently. The Lightening will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds when fully developed, and has a top speed of 130 mph.
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| The Quiet Car 2. |
Quiet Car Company is showing a battery-electric conversion of the Chinese Hafei Lobo five-door hatchback, an small car designed by Italian styling house Pininfarina. The Quiet Car 2 has a lithium-ion battery pack and offers a range of around 65 miles on a full, 5-hour charge. Top speed is 50 mph.
The conversion displaces the engine with the battery pack, and uses a rear-mounted electric motor to drive the rear wheels. Much of the electric drivetrain equipment is fitted under the rear seats. QCC is taking orders for the £12,995 (US$25,900) car, but deliveries won’t start until October or November.
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| The NICE Ze-O. |
The NICE (No Internal Combustion Engine) Car Company brought three debuts and two concepts to the London show. The company premiered a Chinese-made five-door hatchback EV, the Ze-O. Built in China but styled in Italy by Bertone, the Ze-O MPV is a version of the Changhe Ideal, a car introduced in China in 2006.
Initial versions of the Ze-O will use an 18 kWh AGM sealed lead acid battery pack, with a lithium-ion option offering longer range to come. The £13,995 (US$27,900) vehicle has a 65 mile range in typical city driving with a top speed of 50 mph.
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| The MyCar. |
NICE’s MyCar two-seat electric city car is built in Hong Kong, and uses a 8.5 kWh lead gel deep cycle battery pack to deliver a 40-mile range with a top speed of 40 mph. The vehicle is priced from £8,995 (US$18,000) and goes on sale this fall.
The new version of the Mega City, on sale now, sells from £11,499 (US$22,900) and uses a 10.5 kWh AGM lead acid pack to deliver a range of up to 60 miles (40 miles in typical city driving) with a top speed of 40 mph.
NICE also showed a concept electric conversion of the Fiat 500 (earlier post). The Micro-Vett electric 500 uses a 22 kWh lithium-polymer pack from Kokam to deliver a range of 70 miles with a top speed of 60 mph. NICE also showed a new version of the Micro-Vett electric Fiat Doblò, with a lithium-ion pack enabling a range of 95 miles and a top speed of 75 mph.
(A hat-tip to Thomas!)
July 25, 2008 in Electric (Battery) | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack (0)
Comments
Posted by: drivin98 | July 25, 2008 at 12:45 PM
This is the kind of announcement that generates excitement. People can have a sporty ride, be eco friendly and get free from oil. Now if they can make it affordable, they might just have a winner.
Posted by: sjc | July 25, 2008 at 07:09 PM
I have submitted your article to http://www.autocar-live.com which is a social site where users can submit car/auto articles and vote for already submitted articles. Register and vote for the article to appear on the frontpage at http://www.autocar-live.com/upcoming.php
Posted by: AutoCar-Live | July 25, 2008 at 10:50 PM
That lightning is beautiful, though I don't like the blue wheel motors. Body colored or black or chrome or anything else would be better. Good luck to the rest of these cars as well, but it's projects like the Lightning, the Fisker, and the Tesla that give me hope because they inspire engineers to follow that line of thinking.
Posted by: Elliot | July 26, 2008 at 02:15 AM
NICE going China.
... but one little question / suggestion ... 50 km/h is a fine city commuter, but won't get you on the highway. Are you guys working on a 120km/h capable car with a 100-- 200 km range? If not, please begin.
Posted by: John Taylor | July 26, 2008 at 02:59 AM
I'm glad the limited mileage issue hasn't dissuaded makers from pressing ahead and producing electric cars. We all want to see greater distance between charges, and quicker charges or battery swaps. But somebody needed to get the ball rolling.
Once it's rolling - which it now is - engineers and developers will know they are working on something that's alive, not just on concept vehicles for shows. There is now a commercial incentive involved. Game on!
Posted by: Stan Wellaway | July 26, 2008 at 05:41 AM
I am curious about the profiles. Many families have two cars, can one be an EV with 100 mile range? Would people with one car be willing to rent or use transit if they need to go further? I know GM had the statistic about 40 miles, but if EVs are going to make it in a big way we need to know more than that.
Posted by: sjc | July 27, 2008 at 11:17 PM
I have to agree with the others. I need highway speeds and at least 100 miles a day and it looks close..
FIngers crossed 2010
Posted by: BobT | July 28, 2008 at 04:13 AM
The key is at what price and how many will sell. If you sell 1000 a year because it costs $100k, then not much good is done. If you can price it below $30k, but you still can only sell 10k units per year because people want the utility of filling with liquid fuel any where, then you can not do much good. I think that it would be better to have an accurate handle on really how many would buy at what price with what features and specifications. There was lot of interest in the Volt, but we will see how many will actually buy them if and when it comes out.
Posted by: sjc | July 28, 2008 at 09:08 AM
>There was lot of interest in the Volt
The Volt was to be under 30K.
Not they are talking maybe 40K..
That will hurt the numbers for sure
That will give GM an excuse and Toyota cant
build enough Prius's at ~25K.
Posted by: Bobt | July 28, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Gm does not need an excuse. As the above post show, even the eco-nuts don't want these little clap-traps. GM can overcome any opposition at will. They long ago kidnapped all the best engineers. They were able to build a car that was 20 years ahead of it's time; what the upgraded golf carts above can only aspire to. The EV1 was better than anythink the best minds can make today and they did it in the 1990s. I am sure of this - I saw it in a movie.
Posted by: | July 29, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Oops. Of course the movie had credits.
Posted by: ToppaTom | July 29, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Please, is it possible you send technical and commercial information about battery pack with Altairnano large-format NanoSafe batteries for Electrical Veicule?
Posted by: Carlos Mendes Nunes | August 05, 2008 at 02:49 PM
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Video here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tucl0gri7r0