Electric Cars as fast as Ferarris

I dont know if this has been posted or not

Orginal Story

Imagine an electric car that produces hardly any noise, no air pollution, and is as fast as a Ferrari.

It might become a reality in the near future, thanks to a revolutionary new motor designed by an enterprising team in Wales.

If the IMP motor meets expectations, it could usher in a new age of rapid, clean, electric transport.

As well as high performance vehicles, there are plans for a battery-powered family car with a range of hundreds of miles.

Electric cars to date have been more reminiscent of milk floats than Formula One.

It is hard not to laugh when recalling Sir Clive Sinclair's C5 electric three-wheeler, which was supposed to be the ideal urban runabout, but proved a catastrophic flop.

However the new motor being developed by IMP Ltd, a Welsh engineering company based in Neath, really could put electric vehicles in the fast lane.

The motor is revolutionary in that it contains no bulky permanent magnets.

Instead it relies on transmitting electric pulses across up to seven rotors, arranged in different phases. These are "fired up" in turn, much like the pistons of an internal combustion engine.

There are no gears - the motor provides enough torque at one revolution per minute to put a vehicle into motion - and it spins at up to 2,500rpm.

"Size for size, we can provide 400% more torque than any type of motor currently available," says managing director John Bryant.

He is now hoping to team up with a sports car manufacturer, such as Lotus or TVR.

Theoretically an electric racing car driven by four of the motors - one for each wheel - could hold its own in Formula One.

"Electric vehicles still carry the stigma of the Sinclair," says Mr Bryant. "Forget it. This will outstrip a Ferrari."

At present, providing enough battery life is a problem. But battery technology is improving all the time, and Mr Bryant does not see it as a major obstacle.

If he finds the right automotive partner, a prototype electric car that would put a smile on Michael Schumacher's face could be ready within two years.

I tried to find some more info about IMP LTD and only came up with

IP Wales

NEATH based IMP Ltd is the latest Welsh SME to receive expert guidance and financial assistance from IP Wales.
From its premises in Crynant Business Park, IMP has been working on the development and optimisation of a high torque, low speed silent electric motor which was launched to great acclaim in Hanover in April this year.
IP Wales has given IMP help with taking out a patent for a new design of a 5-stage high torque electric motor. This will be extended to cover not only the UK but also mainland Europe, USA and Hong Kong.
IP Wales Field Officer, David Wooldridge said: “Like other IP rights, patents are territorial in nature. The cost of patent protection over a period can be substantial. Companies like IMP can therefore benefit from IP Wales support funding when they can use it to extend the coverage of their patent across a range of markets.”
IMP was formed to develop this new concept in motor design and is currently involved in producing a complete drive system for an established group of companies. These firms are manufacturing electric delivery vehicles suitable for home deliveries with large superstore companies.
In addition to the motor, IMP is producing a range of high torque gearless speed controlled motors to compete with current motor-gearbox technology.
The motor has no brushes, making it ideal for use in the petrochemical industry and other sectors where sparks present a hazard - meaning it has a huge functional advantage over competitors’ products.
The motor design offers several other important features, which include full torque from 0 rpm, and no gearbox is required. The motor also has 100 per cent speed control with the motor only taking power as and when required.
IMP realised that, with unique features like these, coupled with the company’s aim of marketing the product abroad, the innovation needed protecting.
To date, IMP has received significant interest from vehicle manufacturers including manufacturers of electric wheelchairs, bed hoists and prosthetic devices for artificial limbs, along with several strong enquiries from the aerospace sector.

Can anyone find a picture or more info on how this electric motor works?
Im dying for more info on this as this is ground breaking






[edit on 3-6-2005 by supafresh]

After reading both articles this is all wishes and hopes. They hope to produce this car, they claim they car, the whole articles all 'cans' and 'will'.

Can't find much about the company, maybe they're not very big and they're hoping this to be their 'big breakthrough'.

Screws it up, takes a shot, 3 points into the office bin.

How about an electric car that will roast a Porche 911 twin turbo, and will leave a Ferrari in the dust on the highway--and you can drive it today. Not some empty promise from a no-name company, the Eliica (short for Electric Lithium-Ion battery Car) is very real. I've seen it myself at the 'Miraikan' in Tokyo and it's awesome.

Here are the numbers:
HP: 800bhp
Platform: 4 axle, 2 wheel per; total of 8 wheels
0-60mph: 4 sec
0-100mph: 7 sec
Top Speed: 250mph est./ 225mph tested



www.autoexpress.co.uk...

Very Impressive.

250 MPH, that beats the current land speed record for a car.

I talked to an electrical engineer when I went to see this beast, and the truly amazing thing is the second generation Eliica is nearly complete. Top speed: est. 400 mph. I'm too lazy to see if there are any links for it in English, but if anyone is really interested, let me know and I'll translate the details for you.

[edit on 3-6-2005 by backtoreality]

400MPH?

Yeah I'm interested!

A previous electric car managed to reach 314 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats.



"to capitalize on the aerodynamic shape of a tumescent schlong."

For the cars that do 300 and 400 mph thats pretty amazing but can that be adopted down to the consumer level at a price point that is affordable and that can be introduced into current automotive designs without much modifcation?

Current battery technology is holding back most of these new engines as impressive as they are.

Supafresh:

Thanks for the economical perspective, but the point of these concept cars is to demonstrate that the technology exists to outperform the best supercars in the world today. One of the major problems for the electric car market is their lack of performance--which, despite the rising cost of fuel still is a major selling point for the auto industry. Much like in the 80s/very early 90s, this kind of technology needs to be tested and refined before it can be implemented. From a marketing perspective, changing the publics opinion on the performance ability of electric cars is just as important as gas milage to the consumer. Plus, you should check into current research and see what batteries are capable of as far as: charge times, range, weight and cost. You might be surprised.

Anyway, the title of your thread is "Electric cars as fast as Ferraris"; isn't that what we should be focusing on?

side note: the media hype has done wonders, but adjusted for inflation, the price of a gallon of gas in the US is the same as it was 10 years ago.

Originally posted by supafresh
For the cars that do 300 and 400 mph thats pretty amazing but can that be adopted down to the consumer level at a price point that is affordable and that can be introduced into current automotive designs without much modifcation?

Current battery technology is holding back most of these new engines as impressive as they are.

Why would a consumer need a car that travelled that fast?

if they can build these motor's into the weels I say we just get 4 of them and strap them on my 350z and let the motor idle to provide power when on highway speeds then when I romp on the gas I get my gas motor and the 4 electric motors power boost 8) and if the motors are off then it produces electricty 8)

There are a number of electric vehicles available for the consumer it is just that they aren't advertised much. The REVA is one of my favourites. It is from india and is going through marketing testing now in the US and the UK bought 500 of them under the name of Green Go, or Go Green or something.

There was an electric car on the discovery channel Canada built here that can beat a ferrari on the 1/4 mile.

Shame that the gas gaints own the white house or our children might have had a chance.

why does that car need 4 axles? do the batteries in it weigh that much?

Originally posted by shadarlocoth
if they can build these motor's into the weels I say we just get 4 of them and strap them on my 350z and let the motor idle to provide power when on highway speeds then when I romp on the gas I get my gas motor and the 4 electric motors power boost 8) and if the motors are off then it produces electricty 8)

I have a friend that already has a 700BHP 350z

Fraser

Hi, this is an interesting topic.
I am not sure about cars going that fast, but I saw a video in which it showed the owner of Aston martin, I actually forgot which company it was, i will try to look it up later, has an electric sports can that goes around 100mph. And with the new batter life increase, and cars like that we can go thousands of miles on one charge.

here is a link to the increased batter life article:
www.ecogeek.org...

I will look up the guy who as the electric sports cr later, g2g go for now

When electric cars first hit mainstream, the first big "hit piece" against them was that they were slow sluggish beasts.

But then a couple years back videos like the following started to come out, showing electric cars absolutely spanking all the traditional 'fast cars' such as ferraris, lambos, etc.

I accidentally replied to the wrong thread... Ooops


[edit on 18-6-2010 by aaa2500]

since when does 250 beat land speed record for a car i remember a few years back oldsmobile made a piston engined concept car that went nearly 400 miles per hour and set a record for piston engined cars. and doesn't the tesla roadster already do 150

hmm, very interesting indeed! Allthough there allready is an electric sportscar in production that can rival a modern ferrari from 0-60 mph.

The Tesla roadster from Tesla motors.

Here is a little something about the tesla roadster:

The stories and videos are very impressive But. You know every time there is innovation like this the Big Boys and the Governments always manage to squeeze out the ideas.

Someone will have to mass produce these cars to be able to make them cheap and affordable. Every time someone is close to signing a deal to mass produce something always happens and it falls through.

We had cars running on Hydrogen back in the 60's that if mass produced we could all be driving them today. Think about that.