Rinspeed looks to be giving themselves plenty of leeway time to get their next concept up and ready. The next major auto show is the Detroit Auto Show in January 2012, but the company has decided to skip that one and prepare their new Dock+Go for the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.
The Dock+Go is based on the ides of docking "backpacks on wheels." The concept uses a single-axle pack that can serve a variety of purposes depending on the requirements of the day, but can also be left at home if it is not truly needed. The best part is that it can be attached to any electric city car.
The specific vehicle being sent to Geneva will be for demonstration purposes only and will use an electric Smart Fortwo as its base. With the addition of a wide variety of "packs," the car was transformed into a pizza delivery car; it even uses an integrated heated box. That being said, the pack can be used for any occasion including camping, golfing, skiing, going to the beach, or as a party pack.
The Dock+Go will be equipped with an "energy pack" with a combustion engine or range extender, packed with batteries or powered by a fuel cell that provides the decisive added range to reach farther destinations. This allows the concept to have a range of more than 120 km, but Rinspeed hasn’t revealed the official numbers just yet.
UPDATE 02/20/12: The Rinspeed Dock+Go, about as novel a concept as we’ve ever seen, was recently subjected to the proverbial photo shoot, adding even more photos - and a new video - to its photo gallery. Check them out in the gallery below!
At the beginning of 2011, Nissan unveiled the Leaf Nismo RC concept, offering up an "extreme" version for their electric car. Now, the company has taken it back a notch by presenting a new Nismo Concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show - right next to the Juke Nismo - that strips the racing qualities, but moves forward with the Nismo package.
The new Nissan Leaf Nismo Concept features an extreme body kit, including a front aero bumper, a rear under protector, rear diffuser, extended side sills, and 18-inch alloy wheels. The front bumper incorporates LED lighting which is arranged transversely to accentuate a sense of motion. Unfortunately, that’s where the modifications end, which isn’t unusual for an electric vehicle. The Nissan Leaf Nismo is still powered by front mounted electric drive motor that only outputs 80 of those kilowatts for a maximum output of 107 HP.
"Nissan LEAF has shown that zero emission mobility is no longer a dream but a reality. The Nismo Concept not only proves the hidden potential of Nissan LEAF but also adds even more excitement and energy to LEAF, delivering a guilt-free yet exhilarating driving experience that can be enjoyed by every car enthusiast," said Hideaki Watanabe, Corporate Vice President, Nissan Motor Company and head of the company’s electric vehicle business unit.
The Varley Electric Vehicles evR450 announced a few days ago is no longer the only electric supercar from Australia. Ian Denner has announced a new electric roadster that sounds very promising. Called Arcspeed Electric Roadster, this particular car started its life back in 2006 when it was intend to be produced in limited number, but as a gasoline-power car.
Back then Denner dropped the idea and later on he came with the idea of transforming the roadster into an electric one. The Roadster uses in fact the same powertrain as the evR450: two electric motors, each with 210 HP and 385 lb-ft of torque for a total output of 420 HP and 770 lb-ft of torque. The electric motors will take their power from a battery pack that consists of 500 individual lithium-ion phosphate batteries mounted in the cockpit floor. Also, just like with the evR450 the Roadster will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds.
Denner hopes to put the car into limited production series and to price it less than $100,000.
It’s been a while since we’ve been able to grab any photos of the new BMW i3, but after months and months of waiting, our spy photographers have been able to snag a few pictures of BMW’s newest i3 prototype. This newest prototype was recently spotted on the back of a truck in the south of Germany, revealing more details on the development of the future electric car.
This i3 prototype has its headlights in the correct position and reveals that the placement and angle of the roof line and C-Pillar mirror that of the i3 concept. Another interesting observation can be made of the electric car’s doors. The doors, like the doors of the Mini Clubman, are suicide doors, meaning that the front door needs to be opened in order to let the back seat passenger out.
The 2013 BMW i3 will be powered by a powerful 170 HP electric motor that will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in under 8 seconds and up to a top speed of 93 mph. The car will have an autonomy between 80 and 100 miles in mixed driving, making it the perfect vehicle for those everyday short trips.
A while ago, Mercedes AMG announced that they would only focus on producing high performance sports cars, completely leaving hybrids and electrics out of the equation because they did not go with their lineup. Apparently, the company has reconsidered their little statement. During a recent interview with Autoblog, Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management at Mercedes-Benz AMG said that the company is now taking under consideration an "electrified" future.
The first model for this greener future will be the SLS AMG E-Cell, which the AMG Division is still working on. Källenius couldn’t confirm the official specs, range, or curb weight because those numbers are still to be determined, but he did say that the sports car’s lithium-ion battery packs will not weigh down the vehicle and that its performance will be "exceptional." Orders will begin in the middle of 2012 and the first deliveries will be made in 2013.
The SLS AMG e-Cell, however, will only be the beginning of AMG’s future technologies. Mercedes performance division is also working on both electric drivetrains and the implementation of some sort of a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), but Källenius did not offer any details on the models expected to carry this future technology.
This year’s Tokyo Motor Show has become a gathering for futuristic city car concepts that promote efficiency and sustainability. With that thought in mind, it was hardly a surprise to see Honda throwing their hat into the mix with the introduction of the Micro Commuter Concept.
Essentially, the Micro Commuter Concept is tiny three-seater (1+2) electric city car that promotes ease of mobility in a world that’s fast becoming denser and denser. The Micro Commuter Concept comes with some futuristic features that defy today’s expectations, including customizable exterior panels that allow owners to insert graphic sheet on their car. There’s also an interior display where occupants can use for communication. Moreover, the concept also relies on the same driving mechanics as another Tokyo-bound Honda attendee, the AC-X Concept: the dual-joystick controller.
As for the power train, the Micro Commuter Concept is powered by a 16.7 kW electric motor that produces 22 horsepower and is fueled by a 3.3 kWh lithium-ion battery. These numbers translate to a 0-60 km sprint time of 7.4 seconds with a pedestrian top speed of 37 mph and a range of 37 miles. Anytime the battery is low, charging of the Micro Commuter Concept will only take an hour and can be done on a 200V outlet.
Nissan’s fascination with electric car concepts cannot be understated. And now, the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show will host the eighth such concept from the Japanese automaker called the Pivo3.
You’ll probably recall that name from two previous incarnations - the original Pivo unveiled in 2005 and the Pivo2 which made an appearance in 2007 - but this time around, the Pivo3 highlights the latest in Nissan’s on-going passion and dedication to zero emission driving. The only difference between the Pivo3 and its two predecessors is that, according to Nissan, the Pivo3 is a more "realistic" preview of what their future electric car could potentially be.
Details on the concept’s powertrain remain a mystery, although we did get a good look at what the car looks like. The most noticeable thin about the Pivo3 is that it’s ridiculously small - length is less than 10 feet - and has a 1+2 seating configuration similar to, of all cars, the McLaren F1.
The Pivo3 also features side-view monitors, a camera-based Around View Monitor, and a new automated parking system that Nissan is calling “Automated Valet Parking,” which, as the name suggests, allows the Pivo3 to park by itself.
The Nissan Pivo3 Concept will make its debut at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. We’ll have more details about this new compact concept when information becomes available.
The whole world is going electric or hybrid, at least they plan to when all the kinks have been worked out, so it shouldn’t be at all surprising that the automakers of the world have hit the ground running with new technology. Even Australia is getting in on the action, and a small company by the name of Varley Electric is getting its turn. This automaker has just unveiled their evR450 - the first Australian electric supercar - at the 3rd annual Australian Electric Vehicle Conference.
The evR450 is powered by two locally sourced Ultramotive electric motors, each with 210 HP and 385 lb-ft of torque for a total output of 420 HP and 770 lb-ft of torque. This setup will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds, while top speed will be limited to 124 mph.
The electric motors will take their power from lithium-ion batteries that will ensure an autonomy range of 93 miles, but this can be extended to 186 miles with a range-extension package.
The new evR450 will go on sale in January 2012 and will be priced at around $210K.
Typically, a vehicle is previewed by a concept, honored as a production model, and then, if suitable, powered up as a race car. KleenSpeed Technologies is throwing that formula out the window to show just what their new technology can do out on the track. Their logic is that, if their technology can make it out on the track, then it can easily prove itself out on the streets. So, the company poised to develop innovative and advanced technologies and intellectual properties to revolutionize the EV industry built their new EV-X11 Electric Race Car prototype.
The EV-X11 is based on the chassis of the state-of-the-art West Race Cars American LeMans IMSA Lite L2 sports racer modified by KleenSpeed and fitted with a proprietary KleenSpeed EV System including a power controller, charging system, battery packs, and ancillary components. The car delivers up to 200 HP and can hit an impressive top speed of 160 mph. Moreover, it has already made a name for itself by setting a new lap record for an electric car at California’s Laguna Seca race track: 1:38.858.
With electric cars becoming a very important part of the automotive industry and rumors that FIA is taking the launch of a new Formula E category for zero-emission electric race cars under consideration, KleenSpeed may just have the upperhand for this round. They’ve even gone as far as setting up a very specific and lofty goal for their electric racer: establishing new EV lap records at many major race venues and EV race series in the US and Europe in the coming year.
Hit the jump for the KleenSpeed EV-X11 specifications.
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When Audi unveiled the Urban Concept at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, we honestly believed it was a huge waste of time because there was no chance Audi would ever actually put it into production. Turns out, we were absolutely wrong.
Audi has just announced that the Urban Concept will indeed go into production and that it will be limited to only 999 units. Sales will begin in 2013 at a starting price of £8,800 or about $14,000 at the current exchange rates.
The production version will feature two electric motors powered by a lithium ion battery and a single-speed transmission. The model will be built using carbon-fiber reinforced plastic and will weigh only 1,058 lbs. This will help the car sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds and hit a top speed of 60 mph. It is also expected to see an average range of 30 miles.
This will, by far, be the strangest production Audi produced as of now.
