Tesla Motors to Build 4 second 0-60 Pure Electric Powered Sports Car
#78
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Originally Posted by BaronVonBigmeat
Yeah, that's a good point about having low-power chargers everywhere. Still, people are lazy and stupid and they will hear stories about how Joe Dumbass went to the mall but forgot to plug in his car and he was stuck for a couple hours and (etc), so they buy a hybrid instead of an electric.
Originally Posted by BaronVonBigmeat
Then again on the other hand...if the price/performance of the new batteries improves as expected, you'll probably see a lot of battery cars around $10k with 10 year warranties. Combine that with gas savings and I think a lot of people would handle the small adjustment in lifestyle necessary to make them work. Especially if you can go to your electric car dealer and rent a generator trailer for your once-a-year road trip.
Also, think multi-car fleets. I have 3 registered vehicles for my two-parent, three-kid family. If a $10k, 10 year warranty electric car was available I'd swap one into my fleet in a hot minute. My wife and I make several 'driver-only' errands so even a two-seater would work. At $3/gallon it's not too hard for a cheap electric car to pay for itself (however, the Tesla is *not* cheap - yet).
#79
Batteries . . batteries . . . . as I understand it all batteries are no more than controlled chemical reactions. The charging process is just a reversal of that and has a certain inefficiency . .thus heat . . thus a limit to how fast it can be charged.
Some smart guys at MIT just announced the development of a new type of capacitor. They use carbon nano-tubes to vastly increase the interior surface area and thus the capacity of the capacitor. They surmise that they will be able to thriple the charge capacity of a LI-Ion battery and since these are capacitors and not a chemical system . . . charging is related only to the amperage that can be shoved over the wires. This means a charging time measured in minutes . . . not hours . . . with a sufficiently robust system.
Electrics are just around the corner.
Some smart guys at MIT just announced the development of a new type of capacitor. They use carbon nano-tubes to vastly increase the interior surface area and thus the capacity of the capacitor. They surmise that they will be able to thriple the charge capacity of a LI-Ion battery and since these are capacitors and not a chemical system . . . charging is related only to the amperage that can be shoved over the wires. This means a charging time measured in minutes . . . not hours . . . with a sufficiently robust system.
Electrics are just around the corner.
#80
Originally Posted by MadRonin
Sorry, off-topic...
Baron, that is an awesome sig. Did you make that?![Big Grin](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
Baron, that is an awesome sig. Did you make that?
![Big Grin](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
Back on topic...I hadn't even noticed this on A123's website, last time I checked they were selling bare cells to qualified manufacturers, now they are selling battery packs for R/C cars!
Now this is pretty exciting to me, personally. I remember thinking when I heard of some of these new batteries "holy crap that would be awesome in an R/C car". Hell, I can remember running my RC-10, a real serious car (not a Walmart toy), back in the early 90's. The batteries were 1200~1400 mAh for a stick. You could get 1800 mAh but they were special and only ran once a day.
Then they came out with...I think 2400 mAh packs, I was into gassers by then though. More recently I've seen 3600 LiPo's but they are delicate and fussy and capable of exploding. But now A123 has a 4600 mAh pack, and it's sturdy as hell. So let's see...if I remember correctly....
1200~1400 mAh = 10 minutes runtime, max. My packs were worn-out junk though.
therefore I would imagine...
4600 = around 40 minutes runtime. Little capacity loss over time, no voltage trailoff as you run down, and their supplied charger takes 15 minutes.
http://www.a123racing.com/html/hypersonicturbo.html
They aren't cheap, but I wouldn't expect them to be at a very early production stage like this. They are charging high prices because...well, they can. They'll come down as other competitors jump in.
Originally Posted by axsym911
Batteries . . batteries . . . . as I understand it all batteries are no more than controlled chemical reactions. The charging process is just a reversal of that and has a certain inefficiency . .thus heat . . thus a limit to how fast it can be charged.
Some smart guys at MIT just announced the development of a new type of capacitor. They use carbon nano-tubes to vastly increase the interior surface area and thus the capacity of the capacitor. They surmise that they will be able to thriple the charge capacity of a LI-Ion battery and since these are capacitors and not a chemical system . . . charging is related only to the amperage that can be shoved over the wires. This means a charging time measured in minutes . . . not hours . . . with a sufficiently robust system.
Electrics are just around the corner.
Some smart guys at MIT just announced the development of a new type of capacitor. They use carbon nano-tubes to vastly increase the interior surface area and thus the capacity of the capacitor. They surmise that they will be able to thriple the charge capacity of a LI-Ion battery and since these are capacitors and not a chemical system . . . charging is related only to the amperage that can be shoved over the wires. This means a charging time measured in minutes . . . not hours . . . with a sufficiently robust system.
Electrics are just around the corner.
Source:
http://www.feelgoodcars.com/media/im...tar_EEStor.pdf
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006...ood_cars_.html
Last edited by BaronVonBigmeat; 07-27-2006 at 06:23 PM.
#82
Heh, it's a bit too late for that. Besides, they be fighting against the entire electronics industry. Also, the military has a hardon for dramatically better batteries, that's a major logistical problem for our troops apparently.
Speaking of which...let's say the EEStor is all it's cracked up to be. Does this mean we could see the first practical laser rifles? They would probably pack enough punch for a tank at least, if not a hand-held M16 replacement.
Speaking of which...let's say the EEStor is all it's cracked up to be. Does this mean we could see the first practical laser rifles? They would probably pack enough punch for a tank at least, if not a hand-held M16 replacement.
#83
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Originally Posted by globi
^ I guess you should really ask why we have fuel stations in the first place. It's because most houses are not connected to a gasoline pipeline. But every house is connected to the electric power net.
No gasoline fuel station will have an electric outlet as long as one can provide parking spots with electric outlets. I don't see a reason why not have parking meters with electric outlets. People can charge the car while there in a store shopping or watching a movie or eating a pizza or sleeping or working or fishing or skiing or dancing or jogging or...
The question is how many times do people drive longer than 4 hours at the time? Once a year? (This is really the only time when charging time really matters.)
Besides the US is not the world. In Europe pretty much every house comes with a 380V electric outlet.
No gasoline fuel station will have an electric outlet as long as one can provide parking spots with electric outlets. I don't see a reason why not have parking meters with electric outlets. People can charge the car while there in a store shopping or watching a movie or eating a pizza or sleeping or working or fishing or skiing or dancing or jogging or...
The question is how many times do people drive longer than 4 hours at the time? Once a year? (This is really the only time when charging time really matters.)
Besides the US is not the world. In Europe pretty much every house comes with a 380V electric outlet.
#84
Originally Posted by robrecht
Don't get me wrong, I'd love for this to work out, but in some parts of the country the electrical grid seems overloaded as it is and in need of serious improvement just for current levels of use. Not that it can't be done, but it may be a serious undertaking.
Unfortunately, for now, the car and the solar charging system are too expensive for the average person. My hope is that enough people buy the Tesla and some of the other EV cars on the market or coming out so that eventually we all can have a car like the Roadster. The technology is here and even better stuff is just around the corner.
From a technology standpoint, these are very exciting times we live in. Too bad most everything else sucks.
![Big Grin](https://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif)
#85
Actually, solar cells will be getting cheaper/better in the near future, too. Google for Konarka and Nanosolar. They "print" the cells on big flexible sheets of plastic, which can also be painted different patterns--like shingles for homeowners, camoflage for the military (solar tents!), etc. Probably it won't be long before you can buy a house and check off an option box that says "solar roof", and roll the cost into your mortgage.
#86
Originally Posted by robrecht
Don't get me wrong, I'd love for this to work out, but in some parts of the country the electrical grid seems overloaded as it is and in need of serious improvement just for current levels of use. Not that it can't be done, but it may be a serious undertaking.
At the end its a countries choice, whether it wants to be dependent on oil producing countries in the middle east by for instance giving tax credits to SUV buyers or whether it wants to strengthen its own economy by introducing measures as mentioned above or by giving tax credits to electrically operated, Ethanol or Biodiesel operated cars.
I believe homeowners in the US don't have a lobby to the extent electric powerplant and grid operators have, so I guess things in the US probably won't change to the benefit of the American people.
#88
i pwn therefore i am
CNN has picked up on the EEStor rumors. The 5 minute power recharge stat really worries me. That's a whole lot of current just flowing around and I wouldn't want to be at the end of an accidental discharge. Anyways, here's the link:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/tech...biz2/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2006/09/15/tech...biz2/index.htm
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Idiot (Forgetfullness) Proofing
Originally Posted by BaronVonBigmeat
...Still, people are lazy and stupid and they will hear stories about how Joe Dumbass went to the mall but forgot to plug in his car and he was stuck for a couple hours and (etc), so they buy a hybrid instead of an electric...
Btw, I work for an electric utility and know that off hours inefficiencies are a major concern because any excess capacity is basically lost revenues. They even pump water at night back up to reservoirs so there will be enough "gravity" during the daylight hours for adequate generation. Think nuclear generation that is 100% output 24/7 and the huge incentives to distribute otherwise unused energy to thirsty plug-in vehicles during off hours.
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I see that some of you missed the most important information, such as torque and hp (it's 248hp peak). In addition, no one has mentioned the 13,500 rpm redline! Unfortunately judging from the video clips available on the internet, its almost silent. It does have the ability to make a quiet turbine wind-up noise at acceleration from a dead stop though, whiiiiiiirrr.... but real quiet and subdued, and apparently fades into silence as it climbs into higher rpms. Not sure what component causes that noise, but it is the same thing with the Wrightspeed X1.
Would feel wrong shifting without a clutch.
In addition Tesla is working with solar power panel companies... I guess they'll use that nice, large, flat trunk for a solar panel?
Where did someone get the info that the Lotus was an aluminum chassis, whereas the Tesla is a carbon fiber chassis? The Tesla website states the chassis is, "bonded extruded aluminum with 4-wheel wishbone suspension." I believe the body panels are carbon fiber, etc. when they talk about "carbon fiber" in the videos.
There are 350 sold already. Fully loaded is $100,000. I guess people can stop complaining about the Lotus Elise interior, there's now something twice as expensive with the same interior.
Some will never be able to enjoy electric cars as much, always feeling they are missing out on some of the noise and rumble. Lastly, imagine what would happen if everyone on the street today had a 3 or 4 second vehicle? What would happen in the parking lots?
Sources:
-youtube
-wikipedia
![](http://www.teslamotors.com/display_data/torquegraph_v2.gif)
Would feel wrong shifting without a clutch.
In addition Tesla is working with solar power panel companies... I guess they'll use that nice, large, flat trunk for a solar panel?
Where did someone get the info that the Lotus was an aluminum chassis, whereas the Tesla is a carbon fiber chassis? The Tesla website states the chassis is, "bonded extruded aluminum with 4-wheel wishbone suspension." I believe the body panels are carbon fiber, etc. when they talk about "carbon fiber" in the videos.
There are 350 sold already. Fully loaded is $100,000. I guess people can stop complaining about the Lotus Elise interior, there's now something twice as expensive with the same interior.
Some will never be able to enjoy electric cars as much, always feeling they are missing out on some of the noise and rumble. Lastly, imagine what would happen if everyone on the street today had a 3 or 4 second vehicle? What would happen in the parking lots?
Sources:
-youtube
-wikipedia
Last edited by User24; 04-02-2007 at 01:42 AM.
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