Only a few days ago Top Speed brought you the first rumors on an electric vehicle version for the SLS AMG supercar. Well now its official, the German automaker has announced that the company is developing an exciting super sports car with a zero-emission high-tech power train.
The SLS AMG EV will feature four electric motors that make a combined peak output of 392 kW and a maximum torque of 880 Nm, that is 525 HP and 650 lb-ft of thrust. The four electric motors are positioned near the wheels as opposed to inside of them, this substantially reduces the unsprung mass compared to wheel-hub motors, allowing the SLS EV to handle just as well as the internal combustion kind.
The electric version will be able to sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in around 4.0 seconds, putting it on the same level as the SLS AMG super car powered by a hand built 6.2 Liter V8 developing 571 HP.
Press release after the jump.
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Mercedes Benz originally announced that they were going to have a production ready EV version of the SLS AMG super car by 2015. However it looks like things are happening ahead of schedule, rumors are saying that we may see an electrified SLS as early as this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The SLS eDrive, as it is being called, will be offered with the same lightweight aluminum chassis as the standard SLS’s heavily modified RWD platform. In order to go green the front suspension had to be redesigned and the dampeners now lay horizontally as opposed to the standard car’s upright double wishbone suspension in order to free up space for the pair of 133 HP electric motors that will make the SLS a four wheel drive.
The eDrive will develop a total of 532 HP from the four spinning electromagnets, although that is not as much power as the standard car’s 571 HP, it will still accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in under 4.0 seconds. You won’t get too far from home with the eDrive’s approximate 100 mile range, but that is a small price to pay for driving a zero emissions super car.
Hyundai is jumping on the plug-in hybrid bandwagon and it’s going after the Toyota Prius and the Chevrolet Volt.
It’s on.
If Hyundai does push through with it, its plug-in car, which it expects to roll out by late 2012, is set to give the Prius and the Volt a run for its electricity. According to Hyundai’s research & development president, Yang Woong-Chul, the new plug-in hybrid will be based on a concept car it introduced at the Seoul Motor Show last April : the Blue-Will.
Releasing plug-in hybrids is fast becoming a trend these days with most automakers racing to create their own version lest they get left behind by their contemporaries. Toyota, one of the first companies to release a hybrid car, has said that they plan to release 30,000 plug-in hybrids in 2012. Likewise, the Chevrolet Volt, which will be released at the later stages of 2010, is widely expected to be the car that will jumpstart General Motors’ reinvention.
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The plug-in hybrid revolution has begun.
Toyota Motors Corp., one of the foremost authorities on hybrid technology is planning on producing about 20,000 to 30,000 plug-in hybrid in 2012.
We all know that if there’s a manufacturer that can make this claim and back it up, it’s Toyota. After all, their very own hybrid car, the Prius, was the first hybrid vehicle to appeal to the mainstream audience.
Plug-in cars are different from the standard hybrids because they can be charged at home through an electric socket, although by running on electricity, these cars come with batteries that can be heavy on the wallets, and that’s not even counting the electric consumption bills you’ll have to come face-to-face with every month.
Nevertheless, the future for these cars remains promising, especially considering that the world’s supply of oil won’t last forever.
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We mentioned a while back about the growing number of cars making its way into China. But apparently, cars aren’t the only ones infiltrating the world’s most populated country.
So are car factories.
We recently got word that General Motors, in an effort to build their brand on overseas markets – especially in China and Asia – will begin making the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car in China starting in 2011.
Now it seems that tapping into the largest market in the world is a sound strategy for GM, especially after going through its worst crisis in company history. The Detroit-based manufacturer is expected to use its China facility to continue building on its revolutionary technology in a wide variety of vehicles, which includes the Volt and a host of other cars the company is trying to introduce to the vast Asian market. Unlike their dismal showing in the US, GM is hopeful that the Chinese market – the biggest in the world by a mile – will take a liking to the Volt and the slew of other vehicles they’re planning to produce in the country. As it stands, all Volts built in China are to be sold there but the company is expected to open its doors to other Asian markets as well.
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Chevrolet revealed the Volt Electric Vehicle as a concept back at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The first pre-production Volts have already rolled off the assembly line. Most of these vehicles will be used for the testing purposes and in order to validate the vehicle’s production quality and design efficiency. These pre-production models will also be used to develop the final software and controls for the new vehicle, including the way that the driver interacts with the new EV. Like all test vehicles, some will have short lives, as they’ll be crash tested after the GM engineers have run every test possible on them. Everything from endurance testing, to battery and drive train interface examinations, the design team will even go so far as to test the windshield wipers and the doors ability to be opened and slammed over and over again.
Approximately 80 of the extended-range electric vehicles will be produced over the next year or so, putting General Motors ahead of their pre-production deadlines for the electrifying automobile. The American automaker hopes to start producing road going Chevrolet Volts for retail sales by the end of Fall 2010.
The all-electric automobile manufacturer Tesla Motors has a reason to celebrate today; because they have just delivered their 500th unit, a Twilight Blue Roadster to the New Jersey native, Martin Tuchman. The zero-emission vehicle comes with a few added bonuses in the Garden State. The green vehicles are exempt from sales tax and luxury taxes in New Jersey. Even when Martin is flying solo, he can use the HOV lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike. Not to mention the $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit that is available to all Tesla owners.
“My Roadster drives like a dream…it’s amazing” said Martin Tuchman, owner of chassis number 500. As a demonstration of faith in the alternatively powered automobile, he plans on using the EV as a daily driver.
As part of their boutique sales strategy, Tesla will be setting up shop in large urban environments like Chicago, London, Seattle, Miami, Washington, Monaco and Munich. Tesla Motors is also planning to expand their line up with a full sized four door model “S” and a more spacious 2+2 to go up against the flat sixes from Stuttgart, but until the battery powered sports car maker brings out their 911 competitor, they will just have to keep on pumping out environmentally friendly Roadsters.
Press release after the jump.
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The all electric car company Tesla Motors is doing all right for themselves; the Southern California based operation has already begun to open their boutique style dealerships in order to sell their current Roadster sports car, and upcoming Model S sedan. Unfortunately the automaker is not moving as many products as they would like, and they think the current lack of space in the open air roadster is a turn off to new car buyers.
However, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk this will be solved in 2012 when his company will unveil their latest creation, an electric competitor for the Porsche 911. Based on the Model S platform, the future Tesla will be a 2+2, offering 10% more room for rear seat passengers and 50% more trunk space than the current 911. The Carrera competitor will also come with all wheel drive.
But one must consider, what affect the added weight of passengers and cargo will have on the E.V. Will it be enough to make the weight conscious battery powered sports car feel heavy and will the additional current it takes to move more mass take a toll on the vehicle’s fuel economy? We will just have to wait and see what the Tesla engineers can come up with.
A few days ago we reported that Audi would be bringing an electric powered R8 to the Frankfurt Motor Show. However it is our sad news to announce that according to representatives from the German automaker, the speculations have been denied and there will be no battery operated mid engine super car in the Audi booth at Frankfurt in September. This is a little disconcerting, and considering that Audi has already cancelled a TDI V12 version of the R8 due to structural reasons, this is another let down at an attempt to create a high performance environmentally friendly super car. The reluctance to alternative fuel sources is very unlike the company’s “Vorsprung durch Technik,” Advancement through Technology, slogan would suggest.
However the R8 Spyder is still coming, but another disappointment is that the next generation luxury limousine, the Audi A8s unveiling has been delayed until the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. So for now, upstarts like Tesla and Fisker can relax, a major manufacturer is no longer out to build a better green super car.
The German automaker Volkswagen is currently preparing an all-electric concept to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The concept electric vehicle will be intended as a direct competitor for the Opel Ampera. According to inside sources, Volkswagen is coming along well, and the development of the electric drive train is already at an advanced stage.
The all-new all-electric V dub will be the next addition to the automakers eco-friendly line-up consisting of the Golf Twin Drive, the TDI Hybrid and Up! city car. The technological innovations that are being used to make the future concept will be most definitely find their way into production models in the near future.
Now that the open air alternatively fueled Bluesport roadster has been put on hold until further notice, it looks like VW is concentrating on making their proven seller, the Golf, a much greener option for new car buyers.
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