Renault wants to prove that electric cars don’t have to be boring at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The automaker’s range of four electric concepts revealed today provide a preview of what we can expect from the French car builder to release starting in 2011.
The Fluence Z.E. Concept is a four-door electric sedan that can travel up to 160 kilometers on a single charge. Renault has incorporated a few interesting charging methods including a 20 minute recharge and the very fast 3 minute quick charge options that will allow you to travel from 4 to 8 hours depending on the power outlet’s voltage.
Fluence ZE Concept is powered exclusively by an electric motor located near the front axle that is powered by a lithium-ion battery positioned between the rear seats and the trunk. The concept rides on 21 inch wheels and the interior features video screens and a triple-zone climate control while LED lights on both the front and rear of the vehicle add to the concept’s Atmosphere Blue body color.
The French automaker Citroen has just unveiled the Revolte concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Revolte is a compact city car that combines the upmost luxury with a touch of fashionable fun. The Revolte concept is not very big in size, measuring in at 3.68 meters long, 1.73 meters wide and 1.35 meters tall and features a three seater cabin design.
The Revolte is powered by a rechargeable hybrid drivetrain that consists if a small displacement conventional combustion engine combined with an electric motor, with a battery supplying the electric motor with juice and both power plants able to drive the wheels. The French concept has no CO2 emission and also features a practical and quiet ride with a high level of driving comfort.
The Revolte is all about extreme colors and interesting materials, like: woven black leather, thick crimson velvet and gleaming aluminum. Inside of the Revolte you won’t find the conventional materials like the traditional wood offerings and ordinary colors. The cabin incorporates a very contemporary meridian sofa whose flowing lines cover the entire rear area of the concept as well as the space that is typically reserved for the front seat passenger. In this case, the passenger sitting in the third seat can stretch his or her legs and enjoy the sensations offered by the cosy, luxurious ambiance.
If earlier today Audi showed us the Spider version of the R8 V10 version, now is time to see how an electric R8 would work. The new E-tron concept is powered by a purely electric drive system made up of four motors – two at the front and two more at the rear axle. The total output of this electric drive system is 313 HP and 3,319.03 lb-ft of torque, meaning that the car can sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 4.8 seconds, and from 60 to 120 km/h (37.28 – 74.56 mph) in 4.1. Who ever said that electric can’t be fun?
Even if it is based on the R8 super car, the E-tron concept features an unique and distinctive design, like a trapezoidal single-frame grille, two large air intakes, special headlamps that adjust the light depending on weather conditions and a large 19 inch wheel and tire combination. The concept has a weight of only 3,527.40 lb, with 58% of the weight pressing down of the rear axle.
The E-Tron’s top speed is limited to 124.27 MPH, as the amount of energy required by the electric motors increases disproportionately to speed. The range in the NECD combined cycle is approximately 154 miles. This impressive value is made possible by the integrated concept: technology specially configured for the electric drive system combined with state-of-the-art battery technology. The battery block has a total energy content of roughly 53 kilowatt hours, with the usable portion thereof restricted to 42.4 kWh in the interest of service life. In order to keep such high tech equipment from over heating, Audi uses liquid cooling for the batteries.
Volkswagen has just unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show the electric version of the now famous Up! Concept. The new Volkswagen E-Up! concept is believed to make it to production by 2020.
The E-Up! concept is powered by an electric motor with a peak power output of 60 kW supplied by by a lithium ion battery. Fully charged the batteries offer the E-Up! a range of 130 kilometers. The motor of the front-wheel drive car, which is mounted up front and develops a maximum torque of 155 lb-ft from rest. The driver activates forward or reverse gear via a rotary knob in the center console. The fact that the E-Up! will also quite clearly offer driving enjoyment is demonstrated by a look at the car’s classic 0 to 60 MPH sprint of 11.3 seconds. The E-Up! develops even greater responsiveness in the intermediate sprint from 0 to 50 km/h in city driving: 3.5 seconds.
According to Volkswagen the E-Up! concept is the Beetle for the 21st Century: headlights with their facet-like lenses – cut like diamond, the fog lights configured as C-shaped, chrome-trimmed elements in the headlight housings, a circular pattern in the bumper.
The Frankfurt Motor Show has given the creative French automaker Peugeot the opportunity to unveil the innovative BB1 concept - a "full electric vehicle that reinvents the automobile in every way: architecture, style, interior design, drive, connectivity – while all the time respecting the environment."
Despite its rather small appearance, the BB1 is only 2.5 meters long, it can accommodate up to 4 passengers. The driver takes control of the BB! in a new more upright driving position, made possible through the absence of floor pedals. The rear passengers are then seated in tandem behind the driver. On the right-hand side, front and rear passengers adopt a similar position.
The BB1 is powered by an electric motor placed inside the rear wheels, designed in association with Michelin the unit delivers 20 HP and accelerates the BB1 from 0 to 30 KPH in 2.8 seconds, and from 30-60 KPH in 4. The power needed to turn the electric motor is provided by a lithium-ion battery pack that gives the passenger car an autonomy of 120 km.
Thanks to its electric propulsion, the BB1 is an environmentally friendly vehicle emitting no loud noises outside the vehicle as well as zero emissions. The lack of pollutant emissions is due to the fact that it consumes no fossil fuels at all. However this eco-responsibility isn’t limited to just wasting gas, the BB1 is so efficient that at a standstill, the passenger compartment is continuously ventilated thanks to the solar panels placed on the roof of the vehicle.
At first glance, those four objects on the photo seem to look like new-age mobile phones, and while we can’t fault you for thinking that way – they do look like mobiles from a distance – those are actually four concept vehicles Renault is planning to unveil at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Say what?
Of course, the bird’s eye view of the cars doesn’t really help in deciphering what they really are, but take our word for it, those are Renault’s new electric concepts.
It’s an odd way to show images of the car really because it leaves room for a lot of speculation as to what these cars really look like. But maybe that’s exactly what Renault is aiming for.
Looks like a Mitsubishi i-MiEV, but in fact is a Peugeot iOn set to go on sale by the end of 2010. Is a new "zero-emission" city car that will make its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The new Peugeot iOn is a four doors and four seats model, with a length of 3.48 m and a turning circle of 4.50 m. The car develops 64 bhp and a torque of 180 Nm and can hit a top speed of 130 km/h.
The lithium-ion car batteries are rechargeable in six hours using a conventional 220 V socket and have an autonomy of 130 km.
The German automaker Audi is making a move before the Frankfurt Motor Show with a series of viral videos and the website Electricity Untamed. The site is not much more than a counter that will zero out on September 15th and a series of facts that come in and out of view. Informing you that lightning is 5 times hotter than the sun and that 1 bolt creates 1 billion volts of electricity and can cook 30000 microwave dinners. However the most tantalizing of those factoids is that electricity travels at over 670 Million MPH, especially because the automaker has denied that the electrified R8 would make it to the show.
The only thing that we have to go on, aside from the electricity theme, is that the new car should look something like an R8 or even a TT depending on how you squint at the rendering below. If Audi is planning on brining a battery powered sports car to Frankfurt, they may have to share the stage at their 100th Anniversary at their home show with that pesky electric SLS super car from AMG. We are sure that if the German automaker did decide to prepare something special for their home show shouldn’t disappoint, as the last of those quotes stated, a shock you can feel delivers 250 volts of electricity, so if the jolt that sent the kid in the video clear across his living room, the electric Audi should be packing quite a punch as well.
The German automaker Mercedes Benz will unveil the pre-production version BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS Electric Car at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The E-Cell is an electric vehicle that according to the manufacturer can travel ut to 100 kilometers on electricity alone.
The BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS is powered by a 18 kWh lithium-ion battery that is recharged by a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 67 hp. The battery is connected to an electric motor that produces 100 kw. The concept sprints from 0 to 60 MPH in just 11 seconds and can hit a top speed of 93 MPH.
During rapid charging with a charging capacity of 20 kW, the high-performance, 18 kWh lithium-ion battery of the BlueZERO E-CELL PLUS can store enough power within around 30 minutes for a 50 kilometre cruising range. The complete electric range of 100 kilometres requires a charging time of somewhat more than an hour. Charging time with a standard charge cycle at a conventional household outlet with 3.3 kW is approximately 6 hours.
Electric cars like the Chevy Volt may not have to worry about the mounting fuel prices all over the world, but is it presumptuous to believe that they should worry about the weather, especially when it rains?
It is after all general knowledge that water and electricity don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. So if you’re one of those people that won’t buy an electric car because of this ‘fear’, you can now rest easy.
The guys at GM-Volt, together with the Volt’s lead engineer Lance Turner – the same man who was one of the key figures behind Mitsubishi’s EV1 project - took the Volt out for a quick test to ensure that the car’s battery pack won’t short-circuit when it gets doused with water.
What they did was they placed the Volt inside a container and filled it up with seawater up until the water touched the batteries. The batteries, it turned out, were wrapped in a specially-constructed seal, which paid close attention to the high voltage lines between the battery pack and the inverter.
It’s a must-see video, especially for those who are looking to purchase a Chevy Volt down the road. At the very least, it should alleviate some of your fears.
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