Electric GreenGT design study fortells the future of LeMans
GreenGT Design Study - Click above for a high-res image gallery
This year's 24 Hours of LeMans is sure to be a race for the ages, but what about next year? Or the year after that? If GreenGT gets its act together in time for the 2011 event, the Switzerland-based firm could be the first to the grid with an electric race car.
Penned by French designer Thomas Clavet, the GreenGT design study seeks to revolutionize the face of motorsport with an FIA-certified EV comprised of a carbon fiber chassis and a fiberglass body. In theory, a pair of 100 kW water-cooled electric motors are mated to a proprietary gearbox, sending a prodigious amount of grunt to a set of magnesium OZ wheels shod in race-spec slicks. How prodigious? According to the GreenGT, the closed-cockpit racer will churn out between 350 and 450 hp and a pavement punishing 1,475 lb-ft of torque up to 100 mph, then reduced to 590 lb-ft to aid high-speed traction. According to the company, the 1,895-pound would reach 60 mph in under four seconds and on to a top speed of 171 mph. Power is supposedly funneled to a duo of lithium-ion batteries through a set of solar panels, and in addition to bringing two GreenGTs to LeMans in 2011, the firm plans to produce 22 road-going models within the next three years. Ambitious? Check. Plausible? We'll see.
Gallery: GreenGT Design Study
[Source: GreenGT via WCF]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
aj121489 8:05PM (5/15/2009)
Paint it black and you've got your next Batmobile
Reply
Taglane 8:09PM (5/15/2009)
Oh yes. Very sweet-looking.
Reply
nzo 9:35PM (5/15/2009)
A futuristic design that doesn't look like ass. Shocking!
XGM 12:32AM (5/16/2009)
Its really nice, seems like a mix of the Mazda Furai, GT by Citroen and a F1 car
tankd0g 7:24AM (5/16/2009)
It's plausible if they ease up on those numbers a bit. 1800 lbs., really? with a battery pack? The Tesla Roadster's battery weights 1000 lbs. on it's own, just to put things in perspective. Sounds like another pump and dump to me.
fusen 8:21PM (5/15/2009)
Ah of course, the solar panels which give it enough charge to use the cigarette lighter and the battery which would run out within half an hour at racing speeds. Seems very plausible...
Reply
nuggetsmcduggets 9:44PM (5/19/2009)
Yeah, maybe an enormous trailer filled with lithium batteries that somehow doesn't weigh anything, or affect the vehicle's aerodynamics - then it may be plausible.
pmalik 9:08PM (5/15/2009)
I was gonna say the same thing - unless they plan on towing an array of panels a la ISS, it ain't gonna happen. Art school people need to take some physics classes...
tankd0g 10:11PM (5/15/2009)
It's fun to make future concepts, because you can just ad the phrase "when battery technology improves", and you're totally ridiculous car that wouldn't even exist in the Star Trek universe suddenly becomes plausible! It's like a Heisenberg Compensator for greenies.
Bungle 10:14PM (5/15/2009)
It's definitely ambitious, but I don't see why it's so implausible.
The article doesn't specify where the solar panels are - I definitely can't spot them on the car - so it's certainly possible that the car is hooked up to an external array while sitting in the garage in prep for a race.
Also, if a pit crew can change out gallons of fuel and a set of tires in a matter of seconds, they can no doubt devise a hot-swappable battery pack that can be changed out by a pit crew.
What sounds outlandish to me is that an 1,895 lb. car with 1,475 lb-ft. takes almost 4 seconds to get to 60mph.
cj 11:32PM (5/15/2009)
@fusen ,
don't forget after 30 min, the overnight battery charging.
Azael 12:12AM (5/16/2009)
@Bungle
It is plausible that it takes about 4 seconds to reach sixty. The low weight would imply that the light car doesn't put much pressure on the tires thus reducing their overall grip than if the car were to be 500 pounds heavier. So there is probably a lot of wheel spin that can only be controlled by going as fast as the tires dictate. If they ever make a road going version that weighs maybe about 2,400 pounds, I am certain that it could hold its own against a Veyron.
abbas350 8:26PM (5/15/2009)
WELCOME to the WORLD of TOMORROW!!!
Reply
xpolarx 12:20AM (5/16/2009)
Leela: Shut up, Terry.
zamafir 8:31PM (5/15/2009)
lemans? what about F1, that'd be... oh... oh wait... nm... uber ridgid rules, no wild swings form conventional to alternative fuels, one class on the track, nm. Awesome, bring it to LeMans, freedom to innovate is why LeMans entertains me so.
Reply
Todd 9:20PM (5/15/2009)
Why are these people even trying this at Lemans? As Audi's TDIs have shown, winning the event does not mean having the fastest car, the quickest or the best handling (But those don't hurt.) What sets those TDIs from the rest of the pack is that they don't need to pit as often.
I doubt this thing could go five laps, all out, without pitting. This is going to be a DNF entry.
Reply
Mike 9:29PM (5/15/2009)
The end plates on that rear wing wouldn't do a thing to prevent aero spill off the wing. The result would be almost zero downforce. I don't think this thing has even the basics worked out. An electric car couldn't come close to competing in a 24 hour race. My estimate would be a minimum of 50 pit stops to swap out batteries.
Reply
macroceli 10:08PM (5/15/2009)
Very slick lookin!
Reply
jinsei888 10:31PM (5/15/2009)
this French designer took some influence on the Citroen GT side mirrors.
Reply
Hamhock 10:36PM (5/15/2009)
I hope they win.
Audi and now Peugeot have brought the pain with diesels; I hope these guys seriously rock out.
Reply