Category Archives: Transport
When it comes to building green sports cars, fast enough to burn the asphalt to smithereens, the Green GT guys sure know how to do it just right. Based in Switzerland, the group now came up with this 300kW Green GT racer, an evolution of the Le Mans prototype. Using two rear mounted electric motors, that develop a whole 300 kW (408 hp), roughly around 50% more than its ancestor, the Green GT reaches speeds of up to 180 mph. it also features a software controlled torque vectoring system allowing it to corner better.
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Remember the iAd by Nissan for iPhones to advertise the Leaf that showed up some time ago? Well guess what? Renault has been inspired by this particular piece of advertising, and we don’t blame them for picking up a few ideas from Nissan’s ad. Anyways, Renault will use an iAd for its little electric car, the Twizy. According to Renault, people using Apple iPhones are sure to know their technology and are at the forefront of technology, (we wouldn’t necessarily agree), and hopes that the new iAd connects to these users. This electric Tandem four-wheeler is a car straight out of the future which we won’t have to wait for too long. Scheduled to hit European streets latest by 2012, the Twizy is a car unlike any ever seen before.
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EVs as we know them today, are really expensive, and tend to burn huge holes in our pockets. This is probably why not a lot of people have turned to the car of the future yet, instead sitting behind the wheel of a bunch of gas guzzlers. General Electric have come across with a technology breakthrough, a bus using a dual-battery system that will help pull down the costs of larger electric vehicles. Using a lithium-ion pack with a sodium metal halide battery, the system is a whole 20 percent less expensive than a comparable single-battery setup. Part of a $13-million research project put on under the guidance of the Federal Transit Administration, the Northeast Advanced Vehicle Consortium and the National Fuel Cell Bus Program, this dual-battery bus will sure help bring a load of electric buses on the road in future.
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If you’re one of those hoping for the retro days to dawn again, with all those flashy clothes, discos and classic cars, here’s a little electric car that’ll make you smile. A single seater, the Miluira EV was developed by Takayanagi Co Ltd based in Japan and is currently on market shelves, having being introduced on the 1st of December. With 90% parts made in Japan, this one uses a 70Ah lead-acid storage battery which charges up with a 100V in 12 hours. With a35km charge, the Miluira delivers a top speed of 60kmph, not enough to drop a load of G force on your laps, but good enough to get you around.
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Planning to go chugging around New York harbor? Well, here’s a greener way to do it. Now, a trip to the Statue of Liberty will be greener than ever, with a new four-way hybrid ferry that will begin the rounds next April. With a capacity of 600 passengers, the ferry christened the Hornblower hybrid powers up using hydrogen, diesel, the sun and the wind. Together, these power sources generate as much as 1,400 horsepower, with the hydrogen fuel cells working most of the times, while the diesel engine kicks in only when absolutely required.
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The Pope-mobile goes green, and His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI will ride green in future. According to Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, who runs the Vatican City State, the Pope prefers a greener vehicle, electric, instead of a gas-guzzling one that’s been used since times immortal. Vatican itself has taken a green route with the installation of photovoltaic panels, way back in 2008 on the roof of the main auditorium. In 2009, the main cafeteria was given a solar powered cooling unit. SolarWorld, the firm that installed the solar panels, are busy with ideas for an electric Pope-mobile that can accelerate from 0-100 kph in three seconds, for security reasons.
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The electric car market is destined to swell up a lot more in the next five years, and BAIC, Chinese automakers, will be one of those playing a hand in it. After signing of a deal worth $200 million with General Motors, BAIC were granted access to the Saab 9-5 platform and the pre-2006 Saab 9-3. The 9-5 with some electric touches by BAIC, will churn out into a C71 EV concept, an electric sedan with battery swap options and a 93 mile range. The car will hit the assembly lines soon. Besides this, BAIC are busy drawing plans to have 30 C60 electric cars out, and release the C60FB, which uses the Saab 9-3 platform, the C301, based on the C30 model, and the M30 RB electric minivan.
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Audi have finally seen green and have developed a solar powered charging station for EVs. Now, electric cars no doubt are clean. They plug in to charge up and make sure they leave no greenhouse gasses spouting out of their tailpipes. But then again, they do indirectly have a hand to play when it comes to stamping carbon footprints, since the energy taken from the grid to charge up, isn’t always produced in an environment-friendly way. This simply means that EVs do at some time rely on fossil fuels for energy. Well, Audi decided to change things and have the sun power up EVs instead, by loading on a bunch of solar panels onto a charging station, to make sure it generates electricity in a clean way. Currently the automaker is busy propping up solar panels on the roof of its facilities, in the hope of turning its factories into power plants.
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The Chinese always make sure they develop all the sweet new things first. Well, they’ve done it again, this time with a fuel cell powered light rail locomotive. Now fuel cells haven’t had much to do with the rail before. Rail power started off with steam, coal and finally electricity. So a fuel cell powered locomotive is indeed a breakthrough. Developed jointly by China North Vehicle Yongji Electric Motor Company and the Southwest Jiaotong University, the train uses an advanced permanent-magnet motor and hydrogen fuel cells, keeping the synchronous motor and frequency converter alive. This allows for the train go operate silently, with increased fuel efficiency.
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A mean machine Volvo C70 just got green, finding an electric engine in its belly, placed there by Electroengine. The converted Volvo is now a lot more than an aggressive car, doing its bit to keep the gasses out of the atmosphere. With an all-wheel drive, the car’s speedometer needle reaches the 62mph mark in a meager six seconds. That’s quick enough to have your adrenaline rush up to some pretty appreciable levels. It also makes the car over a second and half quicker than the 2011 model with a turbo 2.5 liter, though carrying an additional weight load of 300 kg (661 lbs). Packed with 56 kWh lithium batteries that give a driving range of 200 miles, this converted Volvo C70 might just have the automaker think of turning the model into an all electric!
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When it comes to building green sports cars, fast enough to burn the asphalt to smithereens, the Green GT guys sure know how to do it just right. Based in Switzerland, the group now came up with this 300kW Green GT racer, an evolution of the Le Mans prototype. Using two rear mounted electric motors, that develop a whole 300 kW (408 hp), roughly around 50% more than its ancestor, the Green GT reaches speeds of up to 180 mph. it also features a software controlled torque vectoring system allowing it to corner better.
