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1091 horsepower.. Electric car! The Audi R-Zero Wet Dream

treehugger.com — Four in-wheel motors would give this car a top speed of 286 mph, 1091 horsepower, and 0-62 in 3 seconds.

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  • Gargot, on 10/12/2007, -15/+6Looks like the Lexus in I.Robot
  • Kaster, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Gorgeous
  • noseeme, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Who would name a car the "R-Zero Wet Dream"?

    :)
    • adit, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3a car lover..
    • weprin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16lol for a moment I actually thought that was really a part of the name.
  • fartingbob, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Yea i'll believe it when i see it on a racetrack out racing the Bugatti Veyron.
    • Hellsadvocate, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Hell, if it can even come near a bugatti, I'm sold, atleast I won't have to figure out how to make 2.5 million to get this car. Hopefully it's affordable when it comes out (even if the electric engine is tuned down)
    • zzmonki, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6"...when it comes out..."
      Sadly this concept is little more than a school project:
      "The R-Zero is an electric muscle car that came from the minds of three students at France’s International School of Design."
      The resemblence to the Veyron is striking, similar shape, layout, design themes, and - the conversation piece - greater than 1000hp.
    • caleb4mj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Oh no, they won't ever sell it to you.

      Big Oil and the autos have their motives:

      http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6923835633598627078&q=who+killed+electric+car

      They had the full 2 hour video on google the other day. I wonder where it went.

      In short, there were hundreds of GM EV1 electric cars made and leased out. When the lease expired GM confiscated all the vehicles and crushed them, even though the leasers were willing to pay $1.9 million to purchase their EV1s.

      Obviously someone doesn't want these things on the road for business reasons.
    • leonbev, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I thought that the big problem with the EV1 was that the batteries (among other custom replacement parts) needed to be replaced every few years, and GM's suppliers weren't willing to produce them in small quanities anymore.

      It was kinda a lose lose situation for GM... either force people to return their cars, and let folks keep them but not offer the necessary replacement parts. Either way, folks were going to bitch.
    • apeweek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4"...the batteries (among other custom replacement parts) needed to be replaced every few years, "

      No, they didn't. NIMH batteries are very long lived. Many of the Toyota RAV 4 EVs made at the same time as the EV1 are still on the road (Toyota didn't crush them.) These cars had NIMH batteries, too. Many of these cars now have over 100,000 miles on the original batteries, with no sign of failure.

      Saving enough spare parts to service such a small fleet of cars is trivial. Ask why Toyota and Ford didn't crush their EVs.
    • ZenMojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4What's even more interesting is that Los Angeles still has an electric infrastructure, so even though you get about 100-150 miles on a single charge, you can still recharge in about 1/3 of college and business campuses here, maybe more.
  • mwace, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Thank god eletric cars are starting to come on the market!

    If only there was a more economical model available =(
  • Litespeed, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7This one is real.

    Electric Mini: 0-60 in 4 Seconds: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/the_hybrid_mini.php
  • FLaw, on 10/12/2007, -9/+7Top speed of 286 mph eh?
    From the looks of it i dont see how this thing will be able to stay on the ground going faster then 180 mph...
    • archlich, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Maybe putting airfoils on cars will be worth something to keep traction... oh wait, America still has speed limits. They're still useless and tacky.
    • schrodiggity, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Flaw is right, that thing would do a backflip before it got to 280.

      (think speedboat wreck on asphalt)
  • ez12a, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1finally, no more wussy electric cars *cough* prius *cough*
  • tumult, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5man, that thing REALLY looks like the bugatti veyron. did the same designer do it?
    • Universal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Audi is owned by the Volkswagen Group, and so is Bugatti.

      The company (Volkswagen) owns seven brands, which are organized into two groups or branches.

      The Audi branch consists of

      * Audi (D)
      * Lamborghini (I)
      * SEAT (ES)

      The Volkswagen branch consists of

      * Volkswagen (D)
      * Bentley (GB)
      * Škoda (CZ)
      * Bugatti (F)
      * Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (D)
  • TheBritishGuy1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Too bad "the Man" killed the electric car :(
    • caleb4mj, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Y'know, I never really believed in "the man" until I saw the documentary, "Who killed the electric car?"

      I remember those EV1s at Frys back in the day, too.

      What can we do to rid ourself of this "the man"? I'm convinced they're evil.
  • sparrowkc, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Simmilar, and with a better chance of becoming real sooner: http://www.teslamotors.com
    • gokarter641, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Already is real. They've sold out their first 100 orders.
  • karn, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I wet myself
  • Backlash, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Ugly.
  • ChileanGoD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2*****.. I missed the F-Zero model.. :(

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-zero
  • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5For 4 and a half minutes.

    1061HP is 636,600KW.

    With a 50KWh battery (same as the Tesla, and the battery cost about $40K on its own), it would run for 4 minutes, 35 seconds before it ran out of power in the pack, assuming 100% inversion efficency.

    Still thrilled?
    • EvilPenguin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Actualy, its 791,187.564 watts

      http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=1061HP+to+watts&btnG=Search



    • EvilPenguin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Bah damn edit timer ran out.

      anyway,

      50 kilowatt hours = 180 000 000 joules
      http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=50+kWh+to+joules&btnG=Search

      180000000 / 791187 = 227.506266 seconds = 3.79 minutes
      http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&q=%28180000000%2F791187%29+seconds+in+minutes&btnG=Search

    • apeweek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"1061HP is 636,600KW."

      You're getting your kilowatts mixed up with watts.

      Divide by 1,000 please.
    • digggggggggg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Also, like gasoline cars, it shouldn't use power at full capacity throughout the driving time. Perhaps it will consume the full amount of wattage when accelerating hard, but at a constant speed, it shouldn't. That's like a car running at redline all the time, which doesn't make sense.

      Add in regenerative braking, and it should get reasonable running time.
    • HappyScrappy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Like a gas car, and any real world device, it takes power to just sustain speed. Otherwise I'd get infinite mpg on the expressway because I'm maintaining a speed.

      Regenerative braking isn't going to get you back all that much power, for starters, any time you decelerate faster than you accelerate, the extra has to go into the brakes, operating as a generator, a motor can't generate power any faster than it can take it acting as a motor.

      Look, here's the short version, 30KWh is about a gallon of gas worth of energy. So the car would have 1 & 2/3rds gallon of gas equivalent. The 1000HP Veyron got about 5mpg when flogged on Top Gear, so lets say this car is 3x as efficient. That means it will get 15mpg. With 1 & 2/3rds gallons of gas, that's 25 mile range when flogged. Add a bit more if you think regenerative braking is going to help.

      30 mile range is crap.

      And oh yeah, I forgot. The 50KWh worth of batteries? They'd weigh over 600lbs in LIon form.

      Needs work.
    • apeweek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"...any time you decelerate faster than you accelerate, the extra has to go into the brakes, operating as a generator, a motor can't generate power any faster than it can take it acting as a motor"

      False. Rather, this depends on the ability of the charging system and batteries to accept a fast charge. A workabound is to use a small bank of ultracapacitors to accept the quick charge.

      "...With 1 & 2/3rds gallons of gas, that's 25 mile range when flogged."

      Even my ancient (25-year-old) EV gets a 50 mile range from a 25kwh pack (half the size of this pack). Care to wager any money?


  • Lane, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2and expect your brand new $1,000.000.00 toy to have enough juice in the battery for nearly 30 minutes drive time!
    • dustyshadow, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2plus a $10,000/month electric bill and tons of coal burning to make that energy! YAY GO GREEN!
  • FelixdaaHack, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Nice find...now we just need a hydrogen economy/infrastructure...Arnold (i.e. California) GET OFF YOUR ASS!! and "DO ITTT"
  • leva, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Hydrogen is not the answer. I used to support it, until I had to write a paper and picked hydrogen power as my topic. You need to produce hydrogen somehow. That was like 6 years ago, so correct me if I'm way wrong.
    • osbjmg, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1You wrote a paper? Where was it published? You have all the answers? Please share!

      I hope this "paper" was a thesis, is it? If not, then get in line behind those who actually have written published works on the dilemma. It's VHS vs. Beta all over again. PC vs. MAC
  • kTuck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I admit I didn't read all the comments above, but I'm digging this because electric cars are finally getting some attention, beyond that of enviro-hippies. That said though, it's great if a car can do 0-60 in 3.X seconds, and if it has a crap load of power; but part of driving is hearing the engine, and feeling the powerband, and jamming the shifter through the gates. I don't know if I'll ever drive an electric car, because it just doesn't have the gasoline engine spunk.

    Just my .02
  • ZenMojo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Honda (of course, because no American company gives a damn) is getting close. A gravity-based hydrogen fuel cell for the car overcomes the problem with temperature. A home energy base uses natural gas to fuel the home and as the natural gas degrades it produces hydrogen without electrolysis or any other secondary process.

    Cheap, effective, and whoever developed it will be slandered or assassinated two months before it goes mainstream.
  • Infinitas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Audi isn't the first.
    Mitsubishi already have a electric car with the motors which are housed inside the wheel.
    They also raced it in some rally.
  • Aooogah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It may be able to go really friggin' fast but how far can it go? If a car gets a top speed of 250 mph but can only go 35 miles on one charge then it's useless.
    • Bosox958, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3at least you'll be able to go those 35 miles pretty damn fast
    • imikedaman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If you go fast enough, you can coast the last few miles.
  • Aque0us, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Am I the only that noticed the apparent official website for this vehicle is hosted at http://audirzero.free.fr/ ? This is definitely fake.
  • vw109, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Even if it was real, I would never buy an electric car, if it doesnt rumble and backfire then its not a car.
  • donald347, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Omg it's the batmobile!
  • wolrah, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It's only got 1/5 the horsepower, but I can drive my Thunderbird from Cleveland to Toledo at wide-open throttle on half a tank of gas and have plenty left to drive around town. I know this because I did it yesterday. Can this do the same? Can it even go that far at legal speeds?
  • weiran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You'd get to 60 and the battery would run out.
  • cryptocom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1sorry...ugly as sin. lots of power does not add up to a beautiful car. look at the prowler. it was a gorgeous car, but severely underpowered.
  • mindzero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Am I the only one noticing how this links to a blog linking to a blog linking to a blog etc.

    For me the trail ended here:
    http://www.seriouswheels.com/top-2006-Audi-R-Zero-Concept.htm
  •  

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