Full speed EV due out this summer :-)
 

For those of you who haven't met me, I work at The Electric Vehicle Store in Minnesota. I got a message this morning that one of our suppliers of NEV's will be rolling out a full speed car next summer. Crash testing should finish up next month. I think the car is supposed to do over 50 miles per charge and be at least as fast as a Smart. I am not disclosing the manufacturer as the email was private and the company has not announced the car yet.

I drove one of their validation prototypes on the freeway. Its a good little car IMO.

~Jimbo

And here I've been saving my pennies for the new Myers Motors Duo, I think it still might be my first pick as it's an American made EV, claiming a cost of $25,000 equipped with a 30 mile lithium pack or $30,000 with the 100 mile pack.
Any idea on price, seating or anything else on that new EV you drove?
Also what are the hours of the place you work? I have a short list of places to go around Minneapolis and wouldn't mind stopping in to see what that place is like.

The car is a cute two seater hatchback. It has AC drive, air-con, power windows, and one of those remote locking doo-dads. The company is aiming to sell at or lower than $30k.

It sounds like it might be more expensive than the duo on a price-per-mile-range basis, but this car has 4 wheels and therefore will be legally required to have dual airbags.

As Americans don't give a flying $%#& about energy unless the price jumps, business is slow and we are primarily open by appointment. I'd love to give you the royal tour anytime. When will you be in town? (come tomorrow and you can catch the MN EAA (EV club) meeting!). Anybody who is interested, PM me and I'll give you my cell number.

~Jimbo
Mechanic for EVS

I received more info on the car:

Engine/motor/model: Electric – AC 50
Type: AC Brushless
Kilowatts: 45
Nominal horsepower: 20
Peak horsepower: 60
Torque: 95 ft. lbs. (possibly 115 ft. lbs. if controller goes to 650 amps)
Maximum RPM: 8,500 at 65 mph programmable
Battery pack power: 28 kw

The document claims a "real world driving range of 100 miles" but doesn't cite a test cycle, so I'd venture to guess 60 miles of range.

~Jimbo

is that a lithium or lead acid battery?

28 kWh of pack has to be lithium. That would weigh over 1 ton in lead.

The specs look great! Keep us updated.

28 kWh pack to 80% DOD is 22.4 kWh of usable energy. 100 miles means 224 Wh per mile which is pretty low, but doable. It is AC, so regen helps there. You likely won't see 100 miles at highway speeds though.

Right you are Daox. Its Lithium-iron. And its not ThunderSky (YAY! WOO! HAPPYDANCE!)

Interesting side note, if the pack is regularly discharged 80%, it will last 1000 cycles. At 70% discharge, it is supposed to last 1500 cycles.

The prototype I drove was equipped with an AC41 motor and a 96 volt, 16 Kw Gel-cell lead acid pack. It was adequate for the highway. I am unsure of the range because I was just a wee bit excited and drove the car like a mad man. On the upside, I passed a Santa Fe in an electric car :D
I figure the PbA car would have gone 10 miles on a charge at highway speeds. The city range is 30-40 miles. However the PbA pack is 12 volts lower than the LiFe pack in addition to being half the capacity. I would imagine that the PbA car was limited to +/- 50% discharge, or 8 Kwh usable. Due to the small motor, the car pulled a metric F%&$ ton of current. The Solectria cars had an AC24 motor running at a MUCH higher voltage.

If I drive the car today, I'll try to get some watthour figures.

~Jimbo

It sounds similar to the Th!nk City? Which is starting production next year in Indiana, with EnerDel batteries that are also made in Indiana. They say that some units made in Finland will be sold in this country later this year... ~125 mile range, 70mph, price ~$22K (IIRC), 2+2 seating, made recycled materials.

Interesting. The common quote (usually assumed ThunderSky) is 2000 cycles @ 80% dod, 3000 @ 70% dod.



Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but motor size shouldn't have anything to do with current. You pull 50A @ 100V and you get 6.7hp minus efficiency losses. A warmer motor will probably have increased resistance (and a smaller motor will heat faster), but it shouldn't make a huge difference.

Well, its out, and its the Wheego Whip LiFe

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