Comments on: Second-fastest sports car runs on batteries

Entrepreneur sees sports car prototype as fulfilling the need for speed and environmental responsibility, too.
Photos: Speedy and sporty
Video: A spin in Wrightspeed X1

[bishop375]

It's the Ariel Atom?!

So this is essentially a battery-powered Ariel Atom.

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned it!

[coolz321]

It's the Ariel Atom?!

Thats exactly what I said when I saw it. Wikipedia says that it is an Ariel Atom that is just modified to use an all-electic powertrain.

[skippytbk]

Ariel Atom mod?

are they the same people who made the Ariel Atom? The pictures on the site doesn't show the "A" logo on the seat nor on the nose of the car. Or did they just buy an Ariel and changed it to electric, took out the logo and called it their own?

[michael kanellos]

the chassis is from ariel

The chassis is from Ariel but the drive train and engine of course are not, so overlap between the two is limited. (the engine after all is a big deal. If it were a gas car, we wouldn't be writing about it.). Drive train comes from AC propulsion/.

Saunders from Ariel will design the final frame. The commercial version will look similar but different. Possibly carbon fiber.

[Hoser McMoose]

Modified and rebadged Atom

"Ariel" is actually the name of the company that makes the Atom car. They are based out of England. This car is being sold by a different company, so it's pretty clear that they are just pulling the Honda motor out of the Atom and putting an electric drivetrain in and then slapping their logo on it.

Does make for a nice performance comparison of electric (X1) vs. ICE (Atom) though. Going with the numbers in this article vs. the Ariel Atom 2 with a 300bhp supercharged engine, you get the following:

The X1 does 0-60mph in 3 seconds, the Atom does it in 2.9 seconds.

0-100-0mph for the X1 is 11.2 sec., for the Atom it is 10.9 sec.

Fuel consumption strongly favors the X1, at about 70-90mpg equivilent (the "170mpg" number listed ignores the 50%+ loses to generate the electricity in the first place) vs. about 20-25mpg Atom (I couldn't find reliable numbers for the supercharged model, but the naturally aspirated one comes in at 9.5L/100K, or around 30mpg).

Trip length strongly favors the Atom, at about 500km (320 miles) per 60L (16 gallon) tank of gas vs. only 160km (100 miles) for a full charge of the Atom.

Of course, all these numbers are kind of moot, because really these are not "cars" in the normal sense of the word, but track-day cars. You take them to the racetrack and run some crazy laps with them on the weekend. The problem being that with the X1 you can only run about 5 laps before you need to stop and recharge.

[disco-legend-zeke]

Racing Teams Ready? American TV viewers are.

first, leaving the chassis design to a name manufacturer just plain makes sense. What precious brainpower an electric startup can spend, should be spent on motor, battery, and control chip design.

The third one, control chip, is the complete key to adding range without adding weight/cost. Once a chip is designed, the manufacturing costs become insignificant. The real magic of any electric transportation is re-using the energy that is otherwise wasted as heat during the braking process. The japanese have been feeding passenger train braking energy back into the power grid for decades. When Phelpes Dodge lifts a couple hundred tons of rock off the side of a mountain, it pumps the energy of lowering it into the grid.

A modern electric car, including the EV-1, and most hybrids, achieves range by recovering braking energy. This is not a trivial task, the energy absorption to stop a car is equal to the energy that was used to accellerate it, but is generally applied much faster. People love small G-forces, its a reason American drivers are not getting the mileage they should from their hybrids, they stop faster than the batteries can accept the charge.

The answer, as i stated earlier is great chip design. Adding supercapacitors, with their high current capacities, into the mix will help too.

100 miles per charge is just fine for a lot of people. If the jobsite has charging facilities, the range is further than most commutes.

But the consumer does not care about that... They want to know who is winning the ECAR cup this season. Which Manufacturer? Which driver? Fast charge at pit stops? battery swap...

Hey, this is gonna get really fun, real soon.

and a few years from now new car choices will be just a matter of selecting the right range. An all-electric for around town/commuting, and a heat engine or fuel cell for road trips.

letting the rich consumers and race fans pay for all that great design talent is a good way to buy the brains needed, the publicity is almost a freebie.

[mjtimber]

Lithium

I am always confused by the "lithium battery is toxic" argument. Lithium batteries are NOT toxic. Especially when compared to the lead acid battery in a standard car. In fact, the standard 18650 lithium battery can be disposed of in a landfill, though recycling is much better. Ingredients: Cobalt/Lithium Oxide, Graphite, and the electrolyte. Cobalt isn't the best, but is still considered landfill safe.