Do battery powered sports cars work and are they reliable?

[2on2u]

Why yes, and they can make a Porshe or a Ferrari look like they are standing still. Can you say virtually UNLIMITED torque and a mystical power to weight ratio?

&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLBBDF1165E617880A

[Electric Monk]

1. Sure, but the downside is distance per charge and recharging times.

[2on2u]

2. What's your recharge time Monk.... I'm hoping you saw the Prieto battery tech, if not

you can see what they have done here.

www.Prietobattery.com

[1-Old-Man]

3. Basically no, the weight of the batteries kills handling.

There is also this difference between electric cars and liquid fuel based cars. As you burn up you fuel in the electric car the motor's output decreases, not exactly what you want with a "sports car". With a liquid fuel car the power remains the same until the very moment the engine dies and of course weight decreases (and performance improves) as the fuel load diminishes.

Sorry, sure the torque is monster and instant, but then you get the same thing from steam power, and it didn't survive either.

[2on2u]

4. The newer lithium batteries have a pretty flat discharge curve if you can call it a curve....

and this was from 2009, a lot has changed since then.

http://johndayautomotivelectronics.com/?p=517


Charging a Li-Ion battery to 100% state-of-charge (SOC), or discharging to 0% SOC will degrade its long term capacity. As a result, Li-Ion operation SOC is usually limited to a smaller range, such as 30% to 70%. This reduces the useful battery capacity to only 40% of the fully specified capacity. To fully exploit the usable range of the battery, the battery system must very accurately monitor each cell voltage (which corresponds directly to the SOC). This is because Li-Ion cells have a relatively flat discharge curve (see Figure 1). For example, a 1% change in the SOC may be indicated by only a few millivolts of change in cell voltage.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. Here's an all-electric auto-motorbike hybrid that goes on sale next year

The C-1 is basically an all-electric enclosed motorcycle. It offers the handling, lightness, and economy of an electric motorbike with the steering wheel, comfort, protection, dashboard, reverse gear, and foot pedals of a car. The rear passenger, however, has to extend their legs around the driver's seat. The C-1 has a range of up to 200 miles on a charge, a top speed of 120mph, and supposedly does 0 to 60 in 6 seconds. It's due to go on sale in 2013 at the price of $16,000. It has a revolutionary new technology of powerful gyros that keep it upright on two wheels even when stopped at a red light or when struck by another vehicle. It's almost impossible to put it down on the ground.

http://litmotors.com/c-1-motorcycle-car-seeks-traction-as-commuting-alternative/

[2on2u]

6. Yer not fooling me, that blue exhaust is a dead giveaway, this thing runs on smurfjuice. n/t

[Glassunion]

18. Lol +1000

[B Calm]

11. What keeps it from falling over at red lights?

[IDemo]

14. Digitally controlled gyroscopes

It's almost similar to the Segway concept, but using inputs to the gyros instead of the drive wheels. Try spinning a bike wheel up to a good speed and twisting it back and forth; it will deflect up or down 90 degrees down-turn from the input torque. If you imagine looking down at the vehicle, with a flywheel spinning clockwise, the system would tilt the gyro forward to cause a rightward lean and back for a leftward lean.

[backscatter712]

23. Just from watching the video - the gyro system actually would work pretty well.

With a powerful enough gyro, the cycle/car will be able to stay standing, even if it gets in a low-to-moderate speed t-bone collision.

It looks like it also comes with retractable kickstands to keep it upright when the gyros are shut down (presumably when the bike's turned off.)

[IDemo]

12. I spent some time thinking about this concept around 1980

Using a horizontal gyro configuration, you could also include an anti-dive or even a wheely function. An airbrushed picture was as far as I ever got with it (I think I like mine better).

[clffrdjk]

13. So when it runs out of juice or something goes wrong

It just falls over?
Does it have a kick stand or does it always draw power for the gyros? If so what is the standby time?
How long do I have to wait for the gyros to spool up before I can safely move the vehicle?
Other than those I might be interested. There is just nothing on the market for a reasonable price and this might fit the bill but if a dead battery means a new door panel and paint job that is just dumb.

[IDemo]

16. I'd be very surprised if they didn't include multiple redundant fail-safes

Just as the Segway did. Just don't let GWB near one.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

22. Landing gear (small side wheels that come down) when the charge gets low

might be a solution, at least to keep the vehicle upright when it runs out of power so it can be pushed out of traffic to be recharged. There are probably a lot of kinks that need to be worked on, far more even than for a new line of cars. That's why I wouldn't buy one until customers can see how they perform over time. And the current lack of charging stations is another drawback. But given the exploding population around the world on its highways and city streets, I think these kinds of micro vehicles, especially for drivers who commute alone, are going to become a necessity.

[IDemo]

25. No question they will have landing gear

Just as these do:

[clffrdjk]

15. Looked at the site I see $20k no thanks

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

17. According to the developper, $20,000 is for the first few units and the price will fall to $16,000

which will be the standard price. Is $4,000 that big a difference if it's something you like? I mean there isn't really a way to determine a standard worth for something unique like this.

[clffrdjk]

19. $4000 currently yes

That is enough to push me out of the market. Even at $16k it is at the top edge of what I could maybe afford. Such is the life of the student. The savings in fuel would be great but I have to consider that the cost of any replacement parts will be far greater due the rarity and electronic nature of most parts.

[tridim]

7. I want one. That looks like soooo much fun!

[Selatius]

8. I wonder how the Tesla Roadster would've done against those gas driven cars in that test. nt

[2on2u]

10. Tesla roadster 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds, Ferrari? .... here's a few, the rest at the link...

http://www.zeroto60times.com/Ferrari-0-60-mph-Times.html

Ferrari 599 0 to 60 mph and Quarter Mile Times

2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 0-60 mph 3.3 Quarter mile 11.1

2009 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 0-60 mph 3.2 Quarter mile 11.1

2011 Ferrari 599 GTO 0-60 mph 3.1 Quarter Mile 10.9

2011 Ferrari 599XX 0-60 mph 2.9 Quarter Mile 10.7

2013 Ferrari 599 0-60 mph To Be Released

Ferrari California 0 to 60 mph and Quarter Mile Times

2011 Ferrari California 0-60 mph 4.0

2013 Ferrari California 0-60 mph 3.6 Quarter Mile 12.0



Ferrari FF 0 to 60 mph and Quarter Mile Times

2012 Ferrari FF 0-60 mph 3.4 Quarter Mile 11.4

[HopeHoops]

9. Somebody posted one of an electric Fiat (custom) that blew off muscle cars.

I don't have the link, but the video was impressive. They even had to put a kill fuse in the place of the emergency brake handle because there was no fucking WAY the brakes could slow it down if the circuit got stuck on "on".

On Edit: I don't consider Fiats to be sports cars, but in a drag race that electric thingie did amazing things.

[kentauros]

24. The "White Zombie" is a 1972 Datsun 1200

Maybe this was the video you saw (and I likely supplied)

117 mph in 10.4 seconds!

short documentary

More proof that an electric car doesn't have to be made with "sleek styling" to blow the doors off of supercars

[HopeHoops]

26. Yeah, that's the one. I was mistaken. The image I had in my mind looked like a Fiat.

[backscatter712]

20. Electric cars actually have some advantages over cars with internal combustion engines.

Electric motors have a huge amount of torque for their weight, which means that if you goose the accelerator, your electric car's gonna take off like a rocket! Electric motors also provide lots of torque over a wiiiiiiide range of RPMs, from zero to very high speeds, so electric cars don't need transmissions - there's a big weight-saver.

Of course, there's the disadvantages - battery technology is still the bottleneck, and range suffers, especially if you're punching the throttle and hot-rodding the car, though recent years have seen enough advances to make electric cars viable. The batteries are still quite heavy, though the Tesla S mitigates that by putting them in a pan under the floor - still heavy, but the battery case adds to the rigidity of the car's frame, moves the center of gravity low, so the car actually performs decently well.

[EOTE]

21. That's a rather silly comparo. Especially as the V8 powered Atom trounces those other cars too.

The fact that it weighs less than a ton has a lot to do with that. I'd imagine the forced induction four cylinder Atoms could keep up with this as well.