Detroit Electric returns after an absence of over 70 years

The company that hasn't build a car for over 70 years now promises to bring a new limited edition electric two-seat sports car that will be the first of several high-performance electric vehicles. And since the company's name is Detroit Electric it makes sense that the headquarter will be in Detroit's iconic Fisher Building with production taking place in Michigan, USA.

The presentation will take place next month in Detroit while the global public reveal will happen at the Shanghai Motor Show on 20 April, with production starting on August 2013. The factory in Michigan has an annual production capacity of 2500 sports cars and will hire 180 new workers.

In Shanghai Detroit Electric will also announce "a major partnership with a global carmaker". Both Don Graunstadt (Detroit Electric CEO North American Operations) and Albert Lam (Detroit Electric Chairman and CEO Holdings Ltd) have worked in Lotus therefore it is quite likely they will join Proton (current owners of Lotus) and use their platforms to build their own cars.

Find out more in early April when Detroit Electric reveals a little more information.

 

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Electric Volkswagen up! gains an "e" before the name. e-up!

Even though sales of electric cars are smaller than was predicted, car companies continue to present fully electric models. This time it was Volkswagen that brought to the Annual Press and Investors Conference in Wolfsburg their first fully electric production vehicle, the five-door e-up!.

For such a small electric car it has some very interesting specifications. The 18.7kWh battery is more than enough to give this vehicle a range of 150km (93 miles), more than enough to travel within the city, and it can be charged up to 80% in just 30 minutes. The car weighs just 1185kg (22607lb) with the lithium-ion battery.

The electric motor has a peak power of 60kW (82hp) while the continuous power is rated at 40kW (55hp). The maximum torque is of 210Nm from almost 0rpm. The car won't be able to pass the 135km/h (84mph) and will accelerate from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in a respectable time of 14 seconds.

The public presentation will take place at the Frankfurt Motor Show, to be held from September 10, 2013 to September 22, 2013, with orders starting right after that.

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Volar-E revealed in a video. Not bad. [Video]

A few days ago i wrote here that today the Spanish born company Applus IDIADA would introduce their new concept car, the Volar-E, and they did that at the Circuit de Catalunya during the F1 Test Days. This is an all-electric supercar, well prototype for now, that was created in less than 4 months, since they were chosen by the European Commission in last September to create by high performance sports car.

At that time i also gave you some values related to the power and torque, and it seems they are wrong. The electric supercar has four electric motors on each wheel that together produce 1073hp (800kW) and 1000Nm (737lb/ft), and will take only 15 to 20 minutes to fully charge the 10 module 38kW/h battery.

It only need 3.4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h (62mph), while it takes 6.5 seconds to reach 200km/h and 12.1 seconds to reach its top speed of 300km/h. When slowing down the regenerative braking system takes over and helps charge the battery for a greater range.

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2013 Volar-E. Another electric "supercar" will be revealed this Friday.

One day the world will be saturated with supercars but today is not that day. Here you have another so called supercar created by the Spanish engineering company Applus+Idiad, who was choosed by the European Comission last year to an electric supercar, with the help of their main partner, the Croatian company Rimac.

The Volar-E prototype was created in just three months, and in that time they made a lightweight carbon fiber bodywork, a tubular chrome-molybdenum chassis and the batteries.

The car will feature a four-wheel drive system, thanks to the four electric motors in each wheel, and will use 10 modules from the Rimac's battery system with total voltage of 640V and 38kWh of energy generating 800hp (596 kW) and 1500Nm (1106lb/ft) of torque.

But this is a car that won't be at Geneva, it have its premiere this Friday at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Source: allcarindex

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2014 Cadillac ELR electrifies the luxury market

Cadillac introduced the 2014 ELR at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and according to Bob Ferguson, Cadillac global vice president, "is an unprecedented combination of luxury, advanced engineering and progressive design in a coupe that is both sporty and environmentally friendly,”.

The good looking luxury coupe is the first of its segment to use the Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) technology, that provides a full driving range of over 480km (300 miles). This system combines an electric motor with a range extender generator.

The battery can be completely recharged in about 4.5 hours using a 240V outlet and is a T-shaped, 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack located in the middle of the coupe, between the front and rear wheels. It has 1.6m long (5.5ft) and weighs 198kg (435lb). When only using the battery the range drops to 56km or 35miles.

With the help of the range-extending 1.4liter gasoline-powered electric generator, which has 207hp (154kW), the electric motor is able to produce 400Nm, so we can expect a good 0 to 100km time. It will be manufactured at General Motors’ Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant.

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Audi A6 e-tron Sportback Plug-in Hybrid Concept

AutoBild Render

At the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2013, the Audi A6 e-tron Sportback will be revealed to the world, showing a new design that eliminates the use of the traditional single grille, used in all the current models of the German brand.

 

Will have the 2 liter petrol engine that will be used in S3 and an electric motor, connected to the rear wheels, producing a total of 400hp. Capable of accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in less than 5 seconds, will have a limited top speed of 250km/h and a consumption of 2.5litres every 100km. A full battery charge will power the car, in pure electric mode, between 75 to 100km. That is really good considering the car weighs almost 2 tons.

Besides the new front, the car will have a length of approximately five meters (197 inches) with a long wheelbase and short overhangs, and a sloping roof line which is reminiscent of the Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake. Sales should start in 2017 with a €70.000 price tag in Germany.

Source: motorvision

 

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Audi A2 canceled [Video]

It seems that Audi is not very interested in electric cars and decided not to continue with the development of the A2, which had production scheduled to start in 2015. This comes after the development of the R8 was also canceled, meaning that Audi gave up trying to produce an electric vehicle.

Yet they say "lessons learnt from the new A2 project" will be included in future projects., we just have to wait and see what projects. But in the end this means that BMW will not have a direct competitor for the i3.

The now canceled A2 would have a "sandwich" style floor where the lithium-ion battery would be stored, and would be able to provide a range of approximately 200km (125miles) after a four-hour recharge. An electric motor with 114hp would drive the front wheels.

But that is not truly unexpected, the market for pure electric vehicles is much smaller than expected, meaning that fewer companies are focusing on this type of vehicle. The Nissan Leaf and GM Volt / Ampera are not selling what they had expected, Renault is afraid that the same happens with Zoe, and Toyota with the Rav4 and iQ. The future does not look good for electric cars.

Source: autocar

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Audi’s Diesel-Electric R20 Supercar

Seems Audi is not happy with R8 and want a new supercar to sit above it, and to do so they will build a street-legal Le Mans racer based on the R18, with a diesel engine and an electric motor.

 

The appearance of the car will be shaped based on the Le Mans race car, including the trademark full-length tailfin, a downsized single frame grille, stacked LED headlights, ventilated front and rear wings, an adjustable rear spoiler, and a relatively narrow canopy-style cockpit accessed through gullwing doors, so it will have a long, wide, and low look like a racing car.

The diesel engine is said to be a twin-turbo V6 producing 550hp, while the two electric motors connected to each of the front wheels will help with 150hp adding torque vectoring, zero-emissions capability, ultimate traction, an on-demand boost effect, and an improved torque curve reaching 1000Nm.

Of course there are no acceleration, top speed, or consumption figures available for now, but we expect the vehicle to do 0 to 100km/h (62mph) in around 3.0 seconds and a top speed of more than 320km/h (200mph).

The hybrid technology allows for staggered brake energy recuperation, high-speed coasting, and a broader start-stop application. Supposedly the car will be shown to the public in 2015 and will begin to be delivered to its buyers in 2017, ready to tackle the Porsche 918 Spyder, the Lamborghini Aventador, McLaren P1 and the Ferrari F70 (codenamed F150).

Source: automobilemag

 

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The first electric monster truck. The Bigfoot! [Video]

Who said electric vehicles are small and weak? Here you have the world's first all-electric monster truck, the Bigfoot #20.

 

Odyssey Battery and the famous Ford monster truck team Bigfoot joined forces to create this vehicle that for now will only be displayed at trade shows and won't compete anytime soon.

To create this beast Odyssey provided 36 batteries, each weighing a little over 17kg (38 pounds) will give around 540 amps and a maximum of 1200 amps for up to 5 seconds, but will only last about 400 cycles. The batteries are connected to an engine with 355ps (261kW) and weigh in total 624kg (1375 pounds).

 

In the end it is really weird to not hear the noise of the V8 or V10 engines in a full stadium. For more you can visit the Odyssey and the Bigfoot 4x4 websites

Source: Iepieleaks and AOL Autos

 

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The Smart E-Bike. Will take you everywhere, easily [Video]

Imagine living in a city full of hills and you love riding your bicycle but don't want to get to work or school all sweaty and smelling bad because, well, it isn't good. But don't fear, the future is here!

To help solve those problems Smart created this bicycle with a 250W electric engine mounted on the rear axle that is able to achieve 25km/h (close to 16mph) but the engine only works when you want it, so you can ride it like a normal bicycle.

It uses a lithium ion battery with a range of 100km that can be removed for charging or can be charged when the driver uses the brakes.

Another inovation is the USB port that is fitted in the handlebar to connect your smartphone and charge it when you pedal.

The Pedelec system multiplies the force applied by the rider, eliminating the effort it would be done on a climb with a normal bike.

It is expensive and at the price of almost €3000 or $3900 you could buy an electric scooter but the style is unmistakable and you don't need a license or insurance. The e-Bike weighs 26kg.

Source: VeiculosElectricosPT

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BMW i3 Coupe Concept revealed, will also be at the L.A. Motor Show

BMW will take advantage of the Los Angeles Motor Show to introduce the 2-door version of the electric vehicle, i3. The car looks more "production ready", with the headlamps and taillights of a normal size.

The interior of this concept has the normal "clean" design, offering a sleek look, normal in BMWs concept cars. The model uses sustainable materials like wool, leather, eucalyptus wood and aluminium. It also includes a 6.5 inch screen where the speedometer and tachometer are displayed together with more information about the car and a 8 inch media screen.

The electric engine has 170hp and 250Nm (184lb/ft) and powers the rear wheels. The batteries are situated under the floor. To help move the car and be efficient the car has 155/60 R20 tires in the front and the back has 175/55 R20.

Source: MotorMais

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Chevrolet Spark EV will electrify your world

Chevrolet is getting ready to release the Spark EV, a fully electric vehicle that will have his premiere at the Los Angeles Motor Show, starting November 28. It will be the first car in the world with a triphasic charging system.

Together with the the Spark EV, Chevrolet will also introduce the next generation of the MyLink infotainment system that will first arrive in the Chevrolet Impala.

Power and range haven't been confirmed by GM but rumors point to 134 metric hp (132bhp), 524Nm (394lb/ft) of torque and a 0 to 100km/h (0 to 62mph) time under 8 seconds. It has a 20kWh battery placed under the back seats, made by A123, with a warranty of 8 years or 160.000km (100.000miles).

Source: VeículosEléctricosPT

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