Toho Tenax’s prepreg helps to cut 1.1MW Tajima Rimac electric racer’s weight
22 June 2015
Teijin Limited announced that carbon fiber sheet pre-impregnated with matrix resin, or prepreg, made by Toho Tenax Co., Ltd., the core company of the Teijin Group’s carbon fibers and composites business, is used in the lightweight body of a new 1.1 MW electric racecar operated by Team APEV with Monster Sport. The Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One—driven by Tajima CEO Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima—will race in the Electric Modified Division in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb from June 22 to 28.
The racer, developed by Rimac Automobili in collaboration with Monster Sport and Team APEV, is based on an aluminum space frame covered with the carbon fiber composite body panels. A 57 kWh Rimac battery pack powers four Rimac permanent magnet synchronous motors, delivering combined maximum output of 1,100 kW (1,475 hp) and 1,500 N·m (1,106 lb-ft) of torque.
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With a curb weight of 1,500 kg (3,307 lbs), the racer accelerates from 0-100 km/h in a blistering 2.2 seconds, with 200 km/h (124 mph) coming in 5.4 seconds from a standstill. Top speed is 270 km/h (168 mph).
| On a dyno in Akrapovič last week, the Rimac Tajima E-Runner Concept_One delivered 1 MW of power—1,341 hp. |
The power output is more than twice that Mr. Tajima had in his 2014 car when he broke his own Pikes Peak record, stopping the clock at 9:43,90.
There are no gearboxes or differentials on this car. The power of each independent motor is transferred to each wheel by an innovative chain drive system developed specifically for this project, which saves weight and space.
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Embracing the Rimac Automobili technology, the Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One features an adapted racing version of the Rimac All Wheel Torque Vectoring system, first implemented in the Rimac Concept_One.
The Rimac AWTV controls the torque of each motor 100 times a second. The system can vary the torque on each wheel depending on the steering angle, speed, longitudinal and lateral forces, yaw-rates and number of other variables. The ECU calculate the optimum torque distribution on a millisecond-level using sensor data. This enables the vehicle to take full advantage of the tires, squeezing the maximum out of their potential and giving the driver the desired vehicle dynamics at any given moment.
The racing team is a joint project of the Association for the Promotion of Electric Vehicles and Tajima Motor Corporation Co., Ltd. The electric racecar is called the 2015 Tajima Rimac E-Runner Concept_One.
The vehicle was built in cooperation between Tajima Motor Corporation, SIM-Drive and Rimac Automobili (Croatia). The tire supplier—Giti Tire (Singapore)—is providing dedicated tires tuned and developed for the high power output of 1.1MW.
Toho Tenax collaborated with Tajima Motor in using its prepreg to help improve the racecar’s safety, design flexibility and weight reduction.
Teijin Group has been accelerating its carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) business, particularly in response to the fast-growing demand for lightweight automotive bodies. Going forward, Teijin intends to become Japan’s leading provider of CFRP composites for automotive applications.
What a fearsome device. 1500 N.M of torque, even pushing 1500 Kg, must feel like driving a grown-up Scalextrix Slot-car. The future of Motor racing, without a doubt. I have to wonder about the wisdom of letting the Boss be the driver, though. It does rather sound too much like Nepotism. I hope he doesn't go off the edge somewhere up that mountain. I would also like more details of how they've arranged this chain-drive system to each wheel, and still managed steering at the front.All the means of doing that which I can imagine, suggest some unsprung-weight penalties compared to an actual wheel-motor.Torque vectoring benefits, arising from using one motor per wheel, certainly point the way for future high performance machines.
Posted by: Peterww | 22 June 2015 at 04:01 AM
Very impressive. Hopefully some new world records can be made at the 2015 Pikes Peak race.
I guess the boss wants to drive because he thinks he can do it and he probably also pays most of the costs. It is probably more of an enthusiast hobby than a real business.
Posted by: Account Deleted | 22 June 2015 at 05:32 AM