Team Velozzi shows Italian-inspired super EV for Automotive X-Prize
click above image to view more images of Team Velozzi's entry
We've told you before about the Automotive X-Prize, the contest challenge looking for producible vehicles that are designed with environmental friendliness in mind. The purpose of the contest is "to inspire the development of commercially viable, super efficient vehicles that move beyond the petroleum monoculture." Basically it's a race for "production viable vehicles" that get the equivalent of at least 100 mpg and meet some strict emissions requirements.
Split into a pair of classes, two races are planned for sometime in 2009 to evaluate all the entrants. The first class is the more practical group, requiring seating for at least four passengers and being driven by at least four wheels. The second category should be the fun one. While it requires accommodations for at least two people, there is no wheel requirement.
Category two has a new entrant. AutoblogGreen has just posted information and a gallery from Team Velozzi, an R&D group that develops alternative fuel vehicles. The vehicle design sketches they've put forth seem to be causing a bit of deja vu, however. The car looks more than a little like something out of Maranello. Well, imitation is said to be the greatest form of flattery. The car is said to use dual AC motors and lithium-ion batteries, the battery of choice these days in EV propulsion. Power is listed as running through a Weismann F1 gearbox, too. An F1-shifted electric supercar that looks like it should have a prancing horse on the hood doesn't seem to meet the "production viable" standard very well, but what do we know? If it performs half as well as it looks, we'll take two.
[Source: AutoblogGreen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shawn 3:03PM (4/11/2007)
Wow, this is a bad day for automotive design
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Racetrack-Owner 3:21PM (4/11/2007)
Wait, what do a bunch of renderings of a fake car exterior have to do with the actual X-Prize again? Oh yeah, nothing, right. Er, you're looking at my entry. Yes, THIS very post is, or rather WILL BE, powered by no less than ten DC motors all powered by a newfangled nanobattery that we plan to patent once it has been invented. We're going to use the transmission out of last year's Renault F1 car, and we project it will have a top speed of 700 miles per hour. Stay tuned for exciting 3D renderings of this post that proves our technology is viable.
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Stephen 4:14PM (4/11/2007)
These So-called "Exotic" Sports cars are looking more and more alike.
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TG 4:19PM (4/13/2007)
All Battery - All the time, all the way.
Some with 600 HP and just wait till the nano-cap batt comes out. . . 10 min charge.
Hybrid tech goes commercial
USA Today
April 12, 2007
--Hybrid cars and trucks, which use gas-electric technology, have become the poster children for energy savings in the automobile world. But industry has been paying attention, as well. Hybrids are quietly starting to show up in other transportation uses, from locomotives to construction equipment. Hybrid commercial vehicles are bigger versions of the same basic technology that's going into cars.
usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2007-04-11-hybrids-usat_N.htm
PG&E demonstrates Vehicle-to-Grid technology
Electric Light & Power
April 10, 2007
-- During the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Alternative Energy Solutions Summit, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) showcased the utility Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology demonstration. The demonstration marks a milestone in the development of technologies to make electric vehicles suppliers of electricity to homes and businesses.
uaelp.pennnet.com/display_article/289526/22/ARTCL/none/
none/PG&E-demonstrates-Vehicle-to-Grid-technology/
http://tinyurl.com/2w45ds
New PG&E plug-in car can feed power to home
Mercury News
April 9, 2007
--Imagine a car that powers your home during a blackout. Or one that produces so much extra energy, the utility company pays you. Stop imagining. PG&E, joining a growing number of advocates for plug-in hybrid cars, will showcase a converted Toyota Prius at an alternative energy gathering in Sunnyvale. The investor-owned utility, which appears to be the first in the United States to demonstrate a car that can power a home, says customers will be able to use plug-ins to cut greenhouse gas emissions as well as high home-energy bills.
http://origin.insidebayarea.com/ci_5627167
Prodding car makers to sell plug-in electric vehicles
Mercury News
April 9, 2007
--Automakers have expressed interest in producing plug-in hybrids but, so far, none has committed to a certain date. Some experts say consumers can prime the pump with *soft orders.* Here's an ad we'd like to see: *Car for sale. Late model PHEV. Zippy acceleration, 100 miles per gallon of gasoline, zero tailpipe emissions for typical daily operation. Matches the driving range of any car on the road today at half the operating cost. Fun to drive, helps secure our nation's energy supply, greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Batteries included.* = TG
http://origin.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_5625904
Muni ready to send hybrids into service
San Francisco Chronicle
April 9, 2007
--After years of hand-wringing and political heat, the San Francisco Municipal Railway is planning to put its first two hybrid buses into service by the end of the month. The city's public transit agency already has road-tested one of the buses, filling the vehicle with sandbags to simulate the weight of passengers to make sure it could handle the city's hilly terrain. = TG
sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/09/BAGNLP537F1.DTL
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Shawn B 9:53PM (4/21/2007)
What amazes me is all the negative comments when something new comes out. Designs are so extreme usually to inspire car builders and other car designers to get off their butts and take notice. The performance on most Ev's sucks so maybe the Velozzi will inspire some one to build a performance alternative fuel motor to match the design.
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evmultifuel 9:06PM (4/27/2007)
Finally someone has the right idea. Congratulation Velozzi!!!! This solution actually makes sense. What an amazing looking car. Put me down for two cars
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