Electric Mini: 0-60 in 4 Seconds: It Has Motors In Its Wheels

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by zeeman, Jun 11, 2008.

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  1. zeeman

    zeeman Member

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    Electric Mini: 0-60 in 4 Seconds: It Has Motors In Its Wheels : TreeHugger

    A British engineering firm has put together a high-performance hybrid version of BMW's Mini Cooper. The PML Mini QED has a top speed of 150 mph, a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds. The car uses a small gasoline engine with four 160 horsepower electric motors — one on each wheel. The car has been designed to run for four hours of combined urban/extra urban driving, powered only by a battery and bank of ultra capacitors. The QED supports an all-electric range of 200-250 miles and has a total range of about 932 miles (1,500 km). For longer journeys at higher speeds, a small conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) is used to re-charge the battery. In this hybrid mode, fuel economies of up to 80mpg can be achieved.

    Explains Martin Boughtwood, PML’s MD: “Until now, most electric vehicles have been little more than souped-up milk floats, limited by range and speed, with compromised performance. For those with a green conscience who also value an enhanced motoring experience, there is still something missing.
    “Working in partnership with our customer, Synergy Innovations, we set out to demonstrate what our electric wheel technology is capable of. We simply took a standard BMW Mini One, discarded the engine, the disc brakes, the wheels, and the gearbox. These components were replaced by four of our electric wheels, a lithium polymer battery, a large ultra capacitor, a very small ICE with generator (so small it almost fits alongside the spare wheel), an energy management system and a sexy in-car display module.â€
    The benefits of PML in-wheel drive technology are;
    * It is adaptable to other vehicle chassis
    * It eliminates the need for gearing and mechanical drive train
    * It allows more space inside the car
    The vehicle has three driver-selectable modes of operation:
    * Eco mode for town/city frequent start-stop driving;
    * Normal mode for daily commuting and ICE- equivalent operation, and
    * Sport mode for super car performance.
    Other notable features include:
    * No (mechanical) brakes means returned energy!
    All braking is performed by the wheel motors acting as very efficient electrical generators which return almost all of the energy back to the battery system. The beauty of this dual-circuit, ultra safe system is that your green conscience can be quite content even when accelerating hard, since you are assured of collecting most of the expended energy when it is time to slow down rapidly.
    ABS as standard – even when accelerating
    Because the wheels are high performance motors, ABS comes as a standard function built into each wheel’s software. Now anti-skid can also be applied to acceleration since the motor can smoothly control torque delivery to/from the road in both cases. Flooring the brake or accelerator hard merely results in controlled maximum torque, giving the shortest possible stopping or acceleration time.
    Clever wheels
    The technology eliminates the need for crude differential gears to share power between left and right sides. The wheels are in constant communication with each other deciding 1000 times each second how much torque share is optimum for the current driving conditions. Should one wheel detect a slippery surface and take appropriate anti-skid actions, the other wheels are aware of this instantly and adopt an appropriate compensating strategy to keep the vehicle as stable as possible.
    640 brake horsepower – for life!
    Each wheel develops 160bhp - 640bhp in total. The original Mini One develops less than 100bhp with an engine that weighs nearly double the weight of the four electric wheels! Apart from wheel bearings there are no wearing parts in the electric wheels; this means the horsepower stays for the life of the vehicle - and beyond.
    As the battery level reduces, the rear mounted ICE/generator starts to automatically top up the battery. So when you arrive at your destination you can simply park the vehicle knowing that when you return the battery will be replenished. Alternatively you can take advantage of lower cost mains electricity and plug in to recharge. So you never need to worry about battery capacity or how to recharge. During operation, as the battery level falls the generator cuts in, enabling an average speed of 60 – 70mph to be sustained with no further battery depletion.
     
    #1 zeeman, Jun 11, 2008
  2. CAPTAIN_JAMES

    CAPTAIN_JAMES New Member

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    Sweet - some idea of the projected price would have been nice. :peep:
     
    #2 CAPTAIN_JAMES, Jun 11, 2008
  3. jammin012

    jammin012 The man behind The Man

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    Now this is whaty I'm talking about. "Sports Car" with mega MPG.
     
    #3 jammin012, Jun 11, 2008
  4. jackal454

    jackal454 New Member

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    Love it, hopefully we will see more mass produced cars like this. If the price was reasonable I would waaaaay rather have this, Maybe even a convertible! :car:
     
    #4 jackal454, Jun 11, 2008
  5. apriusfan

    apriusfan New Member

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    You don't want to know. Gas would have to go north of $10.00/gallon before this car was economical.
     
    #5 apriusfan, Jun 11, 2008
  6. Rakimb17

    Rakimb17 Junior Member

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    Is this a one of a kind? How much did they spend? 100K?
    I'd love to see that thing doing burnouts at a drag strip.
     
    #6 Rakimb17, Jun 11, 2008
  7. GeekEV

    GeekEV Member

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    I'll take two, they're small.
     
    #7 GeekEV, Jun 12, 2008
  8. PriuStorm

    PriuStorm Senior Member

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    Sign me up!
     
    #8 PriuStorm, Jun 12, 2008
  9. KandyRedCoi

    KandyRedCoi S is for Super!

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    hmmmm how much??? if the price is right...then where do i sign up...kinna puts the aptera in perspective...
     
    #9 KandyRedCoi, Jun 12, 2008
  10. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    "Apart from wheel bearings there are no wearing parts in the electric wheels." No friction from a diff. or trans! No energy wasted in moving the mass of a steel drivetrain!

    "The vehicle has three driver-selectable modes of operation: Eco, Normal, Sport" SUPERB!

    Using the same concept as the Volvo prototype:
    "All braking is performed by the wheel motors acting as very efficient electrical generators which return almost all of the energy back to the battery system."

    "The beauty of this dual-circuit, ultra safe system is that your green conscience can be quite content even when accelerating hard, since you are assured of collecting most of the expended energy when it is time to slow down rapidly." SWEET !!!!!!!!!!

    "It is adaptable to other vehicle chassis" -Awesome! Can customers just start bringing in their cars, then?

    "Sales of the whole lineup (of Mini) have risen 36 percent so far this year." - 6 Cars Built for $4 Gas - FlowChart (usnews.com)
     
    #10 Rybold, Jun 12, 2008
  11. Essayons

    Essayons Essayons

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    I like this concept. It looks like they are an automotive supplier for major OEMs. They built the Mini in 2006 and are now working with Volvo. I love the in wheel motors, the best way to go for BEVs. Now all they have to do is remove the ICE and fuel components and we are ready.

    Link: Electric car motors, electric vehicle motors, 12 volt dc motors
     
    #11 Essayons, Jun 12, 2008
  12. greylar

    greylar New Member

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    I heard about this car a few months ago about this. At the time they were having problems making it street legal since there was not a friction breaking system. I thought it was ironic because when hydraulic breaks were invented they were required to have a cable break as backup (i.e. parking break).

    I want one but guess I will have to settle for a Telsa hehe.

    G
     
    #12 greylar, Jun 12, 2008
  13. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    That article appeared in August 2006. The car has not appeared on the market because it was a stunt. It doesn't make sense to put this drivetrain (pretty much the same as that announced for the Volt) into a body so non-aerodynamic as a Mini.
     
    #13 richard schumacher, Jun 12, 2008
  14. rxcrider

    rxcrider Junior Member

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    I'm curious about the handling quirks... that is a lot of power combined with a lot of unsprung weight.
     
    #14 rxcrider, Jun 12, 2008
  15. PriusSport

    PriusSport senior member

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    Battery power will change the whole concept of race cars. Faster and quieter. And no shifting.
     
    #15 PriusSport, Jun 12, 2008
  16. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Did you read the write-up? Full 4WD and traction control accelerating and braking.

    I was wondering how it comes to a complete stop and how you keep it from rolling away because it has no brakes? I see they use wooden blocks but I doubt that complies with vehicle standards.
     
    #16 patsparks, Jun 12, 2008
  17. urs70

    urs70 New Member

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    I have read about this car way before Volt was ever announced. I was hoping someone would bring this to the market but doesn't seem to be happening. But for the current cost of batteries, I don't see anything intrinsically expensive with this technology. Why can't one of the big autos bring a version of this with may be a 40 all-electric mile range to limit battery cost. The no.s make volt look unimpressive, or for that matter even a gen 3 prius.
     
    #17 urs70, Jun 12, 2008
  18. KandyRedCoi

    KandyRedCoi S is for Super!

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    if this particular car goes into production expect mini sales to skyrocket

    is the only issue their having about the parking brake or emergency brake???
     
    #18 KandyRedCoi, Jun 12, 2008
  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    After witnesing (over the past 5 years) dozens of, "look what we're doing" ... "someday" PR stunts, one's eyes tend to glaze over. Look for a promise date ~ then move on. At least wait for PR from companies that are actually doing something . . . or actually in the game.
     
    #19 hill, Jun 12, 2008
  20. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    it was, is and always will be a prototype. it is not practical for daily use under any circumstance.

    multiple power sources... and who in their right mind would drive a mini over 100 mph... not wise, practical, desired or needed.
     
    #20 DaveinOlyWA, Jun 12, 2008
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