Tag Archives: electric car

Model S

Official Photo of Tesla Model S

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Tesla Model S

Last August, I posted about the rumors swirling that the Tesla Model S would look the Aston Martin Rapide concept. Then in October, a “rendered speculation” was created that led many to believe the car might look otherwise. But the rendering seemed to deviate from what Tesla spokesmen claimed would be a large four-door hatchback sedan. Also I found it doubtful that the company would build a car with an obvious Asian sportscar influence in the design.

But the Model S peaking out from under the tarp in Tesla’s official teaser photo very much resembles the Aston Martin Rapide.  Right down to the fender side vents.  Obviously, the Model S will look slightly different when it finally unveiled.  But until then, this is probably the best estimate of what the 4-door electric sedan will look like:
Aston Martin Rapide

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White Zombie: Worlds Fastest Street Legal Electric Car

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John Whalen’s 1972 Datsun 1200 is powered by 60 lead-acid batteries in his trunk and back seat. In a quarter mile, he can hit speeds of 107 miles per hour in less than 12 seconds. In this OPB special you see Whalen and his “White Zombie” whip up on muscle cars at the dragstrip. Towards the end you see him set world records after he is loaned A123 Systems lithium ion batteries, increasing horsepower and lightening the car by 700 pounds.

Tesla Roadster

Inside the Tesla Roadster Sport

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Tesla Roadster Sport
Tesla recently announced its Roadster Sport edition. To be succinct, the Sport powers from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds (.2 seconds faster than the base model), has a sweet HEMI muscle car like orange and black paint job, Yokohama performance tires, custom suspension, and blacked out rims.

So how do you get more juice out of an electric motor? You can’t add performance headers and intakes or any fun widgets like turbo and superchargers. So Tesla hand wound the wires that wrap around the stator to create more power. The stator is the stationary part of an electric generator or electric motor. The non-stationary part on an electric motor is the rotor. Here is a picture of a traditional rotor (left) and stator (right):
Stator and Rotor

Electromagnet

The stator is an electromagnet (see left), meaning when an electric current passes through it, the rotor is magnetically attracted to spin in a certain direction.  So if you hand spin the wires into the stator, you can pack more wires in, allowing more electrical current to pulse through each segment.  The more powerful current sequentially magnetizes each segment  and spins the attracted rotor faster.  Also, I’m not an electrical engineer so you can correct me in the comments section.

The Tesla Roadster is powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor, producing a maximum net power of 248 hp (185kW). The Sport Model, with its higher density, hand wound stator produces a maximum of 288 hp (215 kW). Both motors are designed for rotational speeds of up to 14,000rpm, and the regular motor delivers an efficiency of typically 90%, or 80% at peak power.  Couple this with Tesla’s new Powertrain 1.5, and you have one of the meanest electric machines ever produced.

Tesla Roadster Sport

Sources: Wikepedia: Stator, Tesla Motors, Jalopnik

Press Release:

Tesla Motors introduces Roadster Sport

SAN CARLOS, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Tesla Motors Inc. began taking orders today for the Roadster Sport, a high-performance sports car based on the world’s leading all-electric, zero-emission vehicle.

The Roadster Sport does 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, compared with 3.9 seconds for the standard Roadster. It comes with a hand-wound stator and increased winding density for lower resistance and higher peak torque. In addition to Yokohama’s Ultra High Performance tires, the Roadster Sport has improved suspension with adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars that will be tuned to the driver’s preference.

The Roadster Sport starts at $128,500 in the United States and €112,000 (excluding VAT) in Europe. Deliveries begin in late June.

“This car can beat nearly anything in its price class – yet it is twice as efficient as compact hybrid sedans,” said Michael van der Sande, Tesla’s senior vice president of global sales, service and marketing. “If you refuse to compromise on performance or the environment, the Roadster Sport is your only option.”

The Roadster Sport is the first derivative of Tesla’s proprietary, patented powertrain. San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla plans to begin producing the all-electric, zero-emssion Model S five-passenger sedan in 2011.

Tesla has delivered more than 150 Roadsters to customers, and about 1,100 people are on the waiting list. Customers who haven’t taken delivery may upgrade to the Roadster Sport.

“The Roadster Sport embodies Tesla’s spirit of continuous improvement,” said CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk. “The Roadster has been a great success, but no one at this company remains satisfied with the status quo.

Tango

Video of a Tango Frolicking in Snow

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In case anyone had any doubts about how electric cars performed in extreme conditions, this is a new video of a Tango plowing through the snow.

After hearing about coworkers and friends not being able to get their cars started in the recent extreme cold, it got me thinking about how electric cars perform in these conditions.  There is a prevalent misconception that electric cars don’t work well in the cold; so let’s have a look at what is necessary for an internal combustion vehicle to operate in below freezing temperatures:

* build engine blocks with frost plugs;
* install block heaters to keep the engine warm enough to start (using as much electricity just to start the engine as an electric car might use to completely recharge);
* use different formulations of gasoline and diesel fuel for cold weather;
* use gas-line anti-freeze to prevent gas-line freeze-up;
* use radiator thermostats to help the engine warm up faster (but leaving the passenger cabin cold until the engine has warmed up);
* use auxiliary (electric) heaters in the passenger cabin until engine heat is available;
* let the engine run for 10 to 30 minutes before starting out on a trip to let the engine and passenger cabin warm up;
* change to less viscous winter grade motor oils (e.g. 5W30);
* install winter grill (radiator) covers;
* use glycol or alcohol based engine coolants (anti-freeze), which have to be tested as part of that winter tune-up [Source]
For good measure, below is another example from Electri-History of how these vehicles operate in cold weather:

In early 1897, Electric Carriage and Wagon opened its first charging station on 39th street in Manhattan. Soon, electric taxi’s were shuttling patrons across the city. In early 1898, during a particularly severe snowstorm, the 14 electric taxis continued to operate when horse drawn carriages, trolleys, and buses failed. Newspapers spread the word of the marvelous new contraptions.

And today’s electric cars are not like your traditional car in which your battery is more or less exposed to weather extremes. Now, electric cars have battery packs that are usually in an insulated compartment; in extreme conditions, only the outside of the batteries is effected.

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14 US Companies Form Alliance to Create Super Battery

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This post appeared in AutoBlogGreen on December 20, 2008:

A Voltron for lithium batteries? 14 companies, Argonne National Lab join forces

Posted Dec 20th 2008 at 3:03PM by Sebastian Blanco
Perhaps a flock-like approach to building lithium batteries for vehicles is what it’ll take. A new alliance has been formed between the Argonne National Laboratory and 14 US companies to try and “perfect” li-ion batteries for cars, the lab announced this week. The alliance, called The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture, will ask for between $1 and $2 billion from the US government over five years to help with the task. Much has been made of the way that America is losing the advanced battery race to Asian countries, and an Argonne spokesman said that, “A small, fragmented (U.S.) battery industry will not long survive in the face of determined Asian competition.”

The companies involved in the alliance include:

  • Johnson Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions
  • 3M Co
  • ActaCell
  • All Cell Technologies
  • Altair Nanotechnologies Inc
  • Eagle Picher Industries Inc
  • EnerSys
  • Envia Systems
  • FMC Corp
  • MicroSun Technologies
  • Mobius Power
  • SiLyte
  • Superior Graphite
  • Townsend Advanced Energy