As some of you may be aware, the European Commision has approached F1 and are wanting a totally Electric support race to further technology and to promote electric cars to the public, to aid a faster switch over period from petrol.
EU Seeks Buzz from Electric Cars
Now a company has started designing and building a prototype
http://www.fondtechf-rev.com/
Now personally I'm really excited about this. Electric is the future and it offers the potential for much fast acceleration than petrol. as the technology is so "new" and lets be honest woefully inadequate(battery, energy recovery) there should be plenty of real development which has sorely been missing from F1 for a fair time.
However due to the height of the car, it looks fugly. Also with so many companies pushing electric cars, I can see a lot of interest for it.
http://www.formulec.org/en/projet_presentation.html
20-25mins run time depending on track
0-60 in 3 seconds
150mph top speed
EU Seeks Buzz from Electric Cars
The European Commission has asked Formula One’s governing body to set up a racing championship series for electric cars, as a way of increasing public awareness and excitement about new-technology vehicles.
Jean Todt, president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, told the Financial Times that the governing body was working with commissioners to create new electric car, go-kart and single-seater racing categories, raising the prospect of an F1-style electric car championship on Grand Prix circuits.
Mr Todt has set up an electric-car commission unit within the FIA, headed by Burkhard Goeschel, a former BMW director.
“We want as soon as possible to have new categories with new energy,” said Mr Todt, who added that a first season for electric car racing could come as early as 2013 and would be as global as the FIA could make it.
“As much as we can do it all over the world, we will do it,” he said.
The idea has been discussed by Mr Todt and Antonio Tajani, the European Union’s industry commissioner, who is pushing EU member countries to increase public adoption of electric cars.
“One of the priorities of my mandate is to give a concrete start to the ultimate conversion of the European car industry,” Mr Tajani, who discussed the idea of an Electric Grand Prix with Mr Todt during a visit to Paris in December said.
Mr Tajani said he hoped the event would use F1’s media muscle to stir consumers’ interest in electric vehicles.
Nissan, General Motors [GM 22.07 -0.96 (-4.17%) ] and PSA Peugeot Citroën have launched battery-powered models in the US, Japan and Europe.
More electric and plug-in hybrid cars are on their way from other groups, including Renault, Daimler and BMW but carmakers and policymakers say they will need big consumer subsidies and public investments in recharging infrastructure if they are to gain mass-market acceptance.
Mr Tajani in April published a road map for clean cars that, among a series of measures intended to help speed electric vehicles on to European roads, called for common electric chargers.
The EU has also made loans of more than €6 billion ($9.6 billion) to the industry via the European Investment Bank’s green car initiative.
Mr Tajani has warned about the dangers of losing ground to China, the US and other competitors that are revving up their plans to capture what could be an industry of the future.
The project fits into Mr Todt’s strategy for getting the teams of F1 and other motorsport series to embrace hybrid and electronic technology, and to use the global reach of F1 to foster better public understanding of issues such as green energy and road safety.
But he is meeting resistance from Bernie Ecclestone, F1’s commercial supremo, over his plan to introduce small-capacity turbocharged hybrid engines from the 2013 F1 season.
“The racing community are only interested in how to improve performance because they want to win,” Mr Todt said in a FT interview.
“If you speak to the boards of manufacturers they feel a strong interest to implement the technologies, which are not so obvious for the sporting community because it costs money and research and it doesn’t improve performance, and I understand that.”
Now a company has started designing and building a prototype
http://www.fondtechf-rev.com/
Formula REV is renowned motorsport aerodynamicist Jean-Claude Migeot and his engineering company FondTech’s vision of a future Racing Electric Vehicle (F-REV) championship.
Once completed early next year, FondTech’s initial F-REV concept – E-11 – will break new ground as the world’s first single-seater racing car conceived, designed, built and developed from the ground up to be wholly powered by electricity.
Utilising expertise gleaned from its four decades of Formula 1 and motorsport experience, FondTech and subsidiary Aerolab have spent the past three years researching the requirements of such a series, as well as developing the E-11. This is a result of the growing appetite within the industry and amongst the public to see motorsport embrace clean technology whilst maintaining current levels of performance, in this case a Formula 3 single-seater.
F-REV includes a number of radical ideas not widely embraced in single-seater racing before: an open championship unhindered by performance-curbing regulations which drives innovation through technological advance. E-11 is a first attempt at harnessing these properties.
In the spirit of competition FondTech has shared its findings with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) who the company hopes will incorporate a similar vision into its own future all-electric series. Indeed, with the world governing body recently inviting tenders for such a championship, it is clear that this concept is gathering pace.
Features:
•** *Split-level, custom design, carbon fibre chassis from front to rear axle: energy storage systems and powertrains housed in the lower part and driver’s survival cell in the upper one.
•** *Front and rear removable crash structures.
•** *Conventional push rod front and rear suspension layouts.
•** *Lithium-ion battery cells installed in three identical packs, easily removable from below.
•** *Four identical motors and reduction gears to driving shaft allowing 4WD and 4WRegeneration (final ratio adjustable).
•** *Four identical wheels echo E-11’s road car counterparts.
•** *Low drag and high efficiency aerodynamics with partially covered wheels, venturi-shaped sidepods, rear central diffuser and adjustable front and rear wings.
•** *Water cooled motors and inverters. Air cooled battery packs.
•** *Total weight, including driver, 800kg.
Performance:
•** *Max power in/out at the shafts: 300kW (limited to ~170kW max output)
•** *0 to 100km/h: 3.2secs
•** *Top speed: 260km/h
•** *Range: 50km (at racing speed – approximately 20min)
Timescale:
•** *February 2009
Initial ideas and discussions
Early computer simulations begin
•** *August 2009
Technical regulations drafted
Initial contact with the FIA
Car concept design ends
•** *September 2009
Aero development (CFD) begins
•** *December 2009
Power plant specified
•** *May 2010
Project E-11 commences
•** *July 2010
Battery cycles bench tested
•** *September 2010
E-11 specifications frozen
Suppliers identified
•** *March 2011
Mechanical design finalised
•** *June 2011
Motor and gearbox bench tested
Wind tunnel model tested (60% scale)
•** *July 2011
Detail design and chassis manufacturing begins
•** *January 2012** *** *** *
Car ready to begin testing
•** *July 2012** *** *** *** *
First public demonstrations
Now personally I'm really excited about this. Electric is the future and it offers the potential for much fast acceleration than petrol. as the technology is so "new" and lets be honest woefully inadequate(battery, energy recovery) there should be plenty of real development which has sorely been missing from F1 for a fair time.
However due to the height of the car, it looks fugly. Also with so many companies pushing electric cars, I can see a lot of interest for it.
http://www.formulec.org/en/projet_presentation.html
The Vision
Motor racing has always been the laboratory for and showcase of the most innovative technologies.
Formulec intends to become the sporting development platform for car makers and energy industrialists who seek to increase the performance of electrical vehicles.
With its partners and under the technical management of its engineering specialist SEGULA Matra Technologies, the automotive branch of SEGULA Technologies, Formulec has imagined and designed this first high-performance, fully electric single-seater, the EF01.
Since its first test run on 15th September 2010, the EF01 has proved to be a top-performer with very high potential.
This single-seater combines speed and efficiency with respect for the environment and sustainable development. In so doing, it foreshadows motor racing of tomorrow.
From 2011, as openers on numerous circuits throughout the world, the EF01 will make a promotional tour, sometimes in duels with combustion single-seaters in dramatic challenges.
A Formulec world series, of 10 events per year exclusively for the EF01, will be launched the following year, in 2012, and continue in 2013. This will enable drivers to measure themselves at the wheel of the EF01 throughout the world.
Soon a world championship will be organized for industrialists and car makers who have developed an electric single-seater.
These single-seaters must conform to the rules which will be based on all the technical and sporting lessons learned from the Formulec monotype world series.
The EF01 represents the combination of the best electric single-seater technologies.
It brings together performance and efficiency with respect for the environment and sustainable development.
It equals the performance of its prestigious cousin, the Formula 3, and its combustion engine.
20-25mins run time depending on track
0-60 in 3 seconds
150mph top speed
Last edited:
