In a very bold move Nissan Jidosha Kabushiki-gaisha has made history by unveiling their first zero emissions vehicle intended for mass production. In an attempt to skip the gas/electric hybrid craze and jump directly into plug in electric vehicles, it might appear that Carlos Gohsen is set on taking over the world like a James Bond villain with the long awaited lithium ion beattery technology. This past Sunday the Japanese automaker unveiled the Nissan Leaf, a five door electric vehicle with a 100+ Mile range at their home base in Yokohama. The Leaf features a sharp, upright V-shaped body with a pair of slanted LED headlights that were designed to cleverly split and redirect airflow away from the door mirrors, thus reducing wind, noise and drag.
Those top secret batteries that we were talking about are made up of laminated lithium ion cells that are capable of delivering over 90 kW of power and weigh only 440 pounds. The battery pack sends it stored energy to the Leaf’s front mounted electric drive motor that only outputs 80 of those kilowatts for a maximum output of 107 HP. The interesting thing about an electric motor is that they make their peak torque at 0 RPM, we know this sounds crazy, but unlike the internal combustion engine, the amount of energy an electric motor can do is based upon how it was made and it delivers that power at one constant amount. That is a healthy 208 lb-ft of torque. The instantaneous power should provide off the line acceleration comparable to the Infiniti G35 sports car.
Of course the question with any purely electric vehicle is how long will it take to charge? Nissan claims that the Leaf will take 8 hours for a full charge from a 200 V source; so a high capacity 220 V outlet is recommended, otherwise it will take twice as long for a full charge from a standard 110 V AC outlet. There is an impressive 50 kW AC fast-charge capability. This allows for an 80% charge of the lithium ion batteries meaning you can go up to 80 miles with only a 30 minute charge, or if you are really in a hurry, you can get an additional 31 miles after being plugged in for only 10 minutes. Although the hardware necessary is a little too expensive for in home use, leave that up to your local municipality. The disadvantage of having to run with all that electronic gear onboard is the excess weight, however because it can be mounted low in the chassis it should make for a decent handling package.
Ever wondered what goes on behind the production of a car – and an electric one at that? Thanks to Chevrolet, you can now take an exclusive look at how the Chevrolet Volt is created from inception to roll out. Through a series of videos the company released, those who have always wondered how an electric car can come to be only needs to watch these videos to find out.
This particular video – the second episode in a series of videos – talks about how the bodywork of the Volt is created. From assembling the metal sheets of the body parts, the factory moves to welding these parts together until it can be taken to the next step where all the exterior parts like doors, hoods and trunks can be added. When the engineers finish that part, the body work is now ready for the next step, which is painting it in the right colorways.
While we may have already described the entirety – or at least close to it – of the video, we think that it’s still worth a good watch.
First it was Mercedes Benz who announced that they would be producing an electric version for the SLS AMG super car. Despite earlier reports, it is now time for the competition to make their move: Audi has announced that the R8 Eperformance electric sports car will make a Frankfurt debut. However we won’t see the production version in showrooms until 2015.
Unlike its gas burning brothers the electrified R8 will not be powered by either an exotic V8 or a high revving V10. Instead it will be a large electric motor and quite a bit of batteries, as the ePerformance name suggests.
Just like the power train, the exterior design will also be different than the standard R8, for example the signature side blades and huge air inlets will be reduced or completely eliminated as they are unnecessary for an electric vehicle, the front grille will disappear as well. However it’s the deep air intakes in the front bumper underneath the while LED headlamps that will set this particular R8 apart from the standard model. Audi will also bring the long waited R8 Roadster to the Frankfurt Motor Show.
After reporting that the Japanese automaker Toyota is planning to build a hybrid version of the Yaris compact city car yesterday, today it is time to move our attention to something even more environmentally conscious, the even smaller Toyota iQ. That is because Toyota plans to produce their first production EV when the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) variant of the iQ for 2010.
According to iQ’s chief engineer, Hiroki Nakajima, the all-electric iQ will feature in-wheel motors: "In every wheel we had to be able to fit an electric motor." It will also be the first Toyota mass-production model to use lithium ion batteries and will take about 8 hours to fully charge. “Our target is for customers to be able to charge it completely during the night,” and will have a range of 93 miles, more than enough for commuting or around town driving.
In an attempt to dispel the new car buying public’s belief that small means low cost, Nakajima said: “We wanted to position the iQ as premium,” so the BEV version will receive distinct bodywork from the standard iQ and "will get a much better interior” according to the chief engineer. Toyota is a company known for building a well built reliable product so perhaps they can convert a few electric skeptics as well.
Revealed earlier this year at the Detroit Auto Show, the Dodge Circuit EV has been finally confirmed for production. Lou Rhodes, Chrysler’s ENVI division president has stated that the automaker’s first all-electric vehicle will be launched next year. The electrified sports car will compete with mdoels like the Tesla Roadster, but at a lower cost.
The car’s chassis will be assembled in Europe by the engineers at Lotus and then shipped back to U.S. for the electric drivetrain to be installed. The car has already undergone significant testing. After the Circuit EV is launched, Chrysler will add a lineup of electric sedans, SUVs and crossover models to their range of vehicles.
The Circuit EV is powered by a completely electric ENVI drivetrain that delivers a maximum output of 268 HP. That much power allows the Circuit EV concept to go from 0 to 60 MPH in less than 5 seconds, while top speed goes up to 120 MPH.
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.
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.
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.
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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