SIM-LEI aero EV achieves 84Wh/km @ 100kph - 207 miles on a ~24kWh pack! Cd is 0.19

[roflwaffle]

I think the best was the EV1 at ~150Wh/mile at 60mph or something, although I imagine that if they used this powertrain in the EV1 they could do better than ~135Wh/mile.

[wakinyantanka]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

This is a great achievement:


(click on image for link)

It would be great to see it from a few other angles.

I sure hope my CarBEN EV is this good (or better?)!

I usually try to find the positive in everything but holy cow.
I'm sorry but that is just awful. I think they would have to give them away.

[3dplane]

I think that's actually 77 Wh/km not mile. Still 115Wh/mile for a 4 seater is almost incredible. My golf cart won't get that!

[NeilBlanchard]

Right, my later post has this corrected. I'll edit the first post...

I agree that some of the "graphics" of the design are odd, but the overall aerodynamic shape is pretty good. The protruding headlights are possibly there to help deflect the flow around the side mirrors? If this efficiency can be verified/duplicated then who cares what it looks like? I'm sure the looks can be improved, and I'm sure that many of our expectations on how a car "should" look will also change.

[JasonG]

Originally Posted by euromodder

Let's see ...
Crude, but you get the idea.

Nice rear end..... I mean the car's.

I'd drive that.

Your attachment didn't carry over. I like the cleaned up version.

The way they started the rear taper before / at the wheels is a nice touch.

I agree that the door handle bumps need to go. Flush handles would look better and give the same results.

[NeilBlanchard]

We now know more about the SIM-LEI:

A New Venture SIM-Drive SIM-LEI | greencardesign.com

Cd is 0.19 and the pack is 24.9kWh and the range is 305km at a constant 100kmh. So it is about 50% better than the Leaf.

[Cd]

Aerodynamics can be beautiful.

Example : the 1992 Oldsmobile Aerotech





Are they even trying at all ?

It's as if the design studies were funded by Exxon.

[NeilBlanchard]

I take your point, but the Oldsmobile isn't very practical. I think the SIM-LEI could be "beautiful" if a talented designer (like Jason Hill?) could clean up the "graphics" of the skin; as opposed to changing the shape.

Having said that, the bulging headlights could be eliminated, if they used video mirrors:

And the bulges for the door safety beams are silly -- they should make the door surface flush with these.

[MetroMPG]

YouTube video of this amazing car:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPwphfWTZ6w

[MetroMPG]

Learned something very clever from the video about that odd "bump" along the belt line...

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Aerodynamically, the one odd thing is that ridge on the beltline / door handles?

Originally Posted by JasonG

I agree that the door handle bumps need to go. Flush handles would look better and give the same results.

That ridge comprises the doors' strength member for crash protection, and it permitted them to get better aerodynamic results than a more conventional design:

By mounting the "crash bars" externally (literally thinking outside the box!), they were able to make the rest of the doors thinner by an equivalent amount, which permits reduced frontal area, and increased body taper toward the rear.

The door thickness was reduced by 50 mm each by making the crash protection bar external.

Unconventional and smart! Ugly, perhaps. But let's remember we're pretty much just trained monkeys when it comes to thinking about what looks "nice" on cars.

I'm 100% in favour of functional designs that challenge our preconceived notions.