This is just a proof of technology vehicle. It only has a couple of inches of ground clearance, so it's only run on test tracks. The eight wheels is for, "lower to the ground" and more traction.

We will never ee anything like this on the road, but I sure hope we will see improved battery technology and out-runner wheel drive. The efficiency more than makes up for unsprung weight.

I watched a fairly long TV report o the science channel last night on it.

Name me a battery more efficent than a Lithium Ion. Name me an electric motor more efficent than a brushless external rotor motor. Add up it's total thrust. It would take a 2,000 hp ICE to do that.

This is a sort of "proof of concept" experimental vehical. There are no plans to build another.

A lot of good could come from the stuff installed on it.

We will have nuclear fission before someone figures out how to power a passenger car with a fuel cell.

Can anyone provide a link or reference to the fact that current prototype fuel cell vehicles cost hundreds of thousands or even a million dollars? I'd like to be able to point to that to remind people how far from commercialization the technology is, when we're always reading about new small scale test fleets of fuel cell powered cars.

So it will have eight driving wheels on the road and to lower it.

Nobody has any idea what fuel cell vehicles will ultimately cost. With no infrastructure in place for refueling, a million dollars seems cheap to me.

Best we all go *ONLY* to BioDiesel. The infrastructure exists today. I will never buy another car that isn't a Diesel and plan to grow and make my own fuel. Would prefer and all wheel drive with a turbocharged two-cycle Diesel hybrid.

Jesse: I think its because that they are trying to fit more torque onto the car and they want in-wheel motors. Also this is a test of concept of 8-wheel-deive.

So they end up wiht a 800nm torque and 480 kW super car.

I am pretty interested if they fit 2 in-wheel motor unit at the rear wheels in an ordinary car. Should be more feasible and i am pretty happy with a 120 kW and 200nm car. And it looks less alien too :)

A few things to point out.

1. Even prototype ICE vehicles cost several hundred thousand to a million dollars. Doesn't reflect whatsoever on "how far from commercialization the technology is." The costs in prototyping are mainly in the fact that they are all HAND BUILT, often using equally singularly built components. If a modern factory were outfitted to manufacture these vehicles, economies of scale would reduce their cost to a level comparable to most other production cars.

2. Performance statistics put the Eliica within spitting distance of the Maclaren F1... which currently retails for around $1 million (USD). The F1 is a PRODUCTION vehicle, not a prototype.. as costs vs performance goes, this prototype is incredible.

3. Viable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles could be manufactured and sold en-masse right now. The technology is available. There has been a functioning prototype running around Sweden for several years now. The reason you don't see them being manufactured by the Majors is NOT because of lack of technological capability. It is simply that because of a lack of a refueling network, the major automakers don't want to invest the billions needed to re-tool their assembly plants to shift technologies. They'd take huge losses for many years from the initial expense alone simply due to the detriment that fuel inconvenience would have on prospective purchasers.

4. Lastly, make no mistake about it.. the economic infrastructure of a good portion of the "civilized" world is anchored in the petrochemical industry. Any *serious* shift away from the ICE, at least in anything other than a seriously curtailed trickle, would cause MASSIVE economic destabilization. You won't hear about it, naturally, because the powers that be don't want to admit how fragile their "house of cards" economy is.. but it is truth nonetheless. Eventually we will move to this technology, but it won't occur until those in power are sufficiently positioned to reap the maximum amount of profit from it, regardless of the hardship such delay will impose upon the rest of us or the environment.

Today was a complete loss, but oh well. I don't care. So it goes. Nothing going on , but shrug. Not much on my mind these days. Such is life.
;)

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hiiiiii ..its rocking..electric car..d ELIICA..

will you answer 2 of my queries....
1)
can u plz tell me does d car shats r driven as well as controlled...i do mean that how does d controller of the system works wen d acceletor is pressed...
as much i knw dere is some potentiometer kindaa thing over dere bt will u plzz eloberate it???

2)
also will u plz tell how do we maintain d cooling mechanism in dis new car..as for d long drives we do hav d prblems even in our classical cars..so is it has been made efficient here in d ELIICA...?

plz reply fast...

;-)