Eliica
Encyclopedia
Battery electric vehicle
A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...
prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
or concept car
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
first shown in 2004 and designed by a team at Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu. The 5.1 m (16.7 ft) car runs on a lithium-ion battery and can accelerate from 0–100 km/h (62.1 mph) in four seconds (faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo at the time). In 2004, the Eliica reached a speed of 370 km/h (229.9 mph) on Italy's Nardò High Speed Track
Nardò Ring
The Nardò Ring, is a high speed test track located near the town of Nardò, Italy, in the southern region of Apulia, in the province of Lecce....
. The team's goal is to exceed 400 km/h (248.5 mph), breaking the record set by today's street-legal gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
-powered vehicles.
Shimizu's new project is called "SIM-Drive" (シムドライブ), with wheel hub motor
Wheel hub motor
The wheel hub motor is an electric motor that is incorporated into a hub of a wheel and drives it directly.-Uses in current and future vehicles:...
s.
KAZ
The Eliica is a refinement of the earlier KAZ (Keio Advanced Zero-emission vehicle), a 6.7 m (22 ft) limousine-sized 8-wheel 8-person electric vehicle prototype of 2003 that also set speed records.Design details
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
. The front doors open forward and the rear doors open upward like wings. The car's platform contains 4 tracks of 80 batteries, which make up one third of the vehicle's cost. They currently require about 10 hours of recharging at 100 volts from empty to full charge, and can be easily charged off a residential power grid.
The car has eight wheels
Wheel
A wheel is a device that allows heavy objects to be moved easily through rotating on an axle through its center, facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines. Common examples found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle,...
enabling it to be closer to the ground for better traction. Each of the wheels has a 60 kW electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
, giving a 480 kW eight wheel drive which can tackle all kinds of road surfaces. The four front wheels steer. The electric motors mean that the Eliica can deliver a smooth acceleration free from gear shifts of about 0.8 g
G-force
The g-force associated with an object is its acceleration relative to free-fall. This acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of non-gravitational forces acting on an object free to move. The accelerations that are not produced by gravity are termed proper accelerations, and...
. Each wheel contains a disc brake
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
and employs a regenerative brake
Regenerative brake
A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object down by converting its kinetic energy into another form, which can be either used immediately or stored until needed...
system to recover energy.
There are currently (as of 2005) two versions of the Eliica: a Speed model and an Acceleration model. The Speed model is made to challenge gasoline-based
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
records and has a top speed of 370 km/h (229.9 mph) with a range of 200 km (124.3 mi). The Acceleration model is made for the street and has a top speed of 190 km/h (118.1 mph) with a range of 320 km (198.8 mi).
The estimated cost of development was in excess of . Once the team receives corporate sponsorship, they plan to produce at least 200 units. As of early 2007, the projected price was ¥30,000,000 JPY
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
(about ).
On December 19, 2005, then-Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi
is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics when his term in parliament ended.Widely seen as a maverick leader of the Liberal Democratic Party , he became known as an economic reformer, focusing on Japan's government debt and the...
tested this vehicle in a 10-minute ride to the Japanese Parliament. In 2006, the car was tested by Shintaro Ishihara
Shintaro Ishihara
is a Japanese author, actor, politician and the governor of Tokyo since 1999.- Early life and artistic career :Shintarō was born in Suma-ku, Kobe. His father Kiyoshi was an employee, later a general manager, of a shipping company. Shintarō grew up in Zushi...
, the governor of Tokyo, as well as by Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan
is the eldest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, which makes him the heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan.-Early life and education:...
.
See also
- Electric vehicleElectric vehicleAn electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
- Battery electric vehicleBattery electric vehicleA battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...
- Toyota FCHVToyota FCHVThe Toyota FCHV is a current hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicle development programme, which had a limited commercial launch in the USA and Japan in 2002....
- Honda EV PlusHonda EV PlusThe Honda EV Plus was the first battery electric vehicle from a major automaker with non-lead acid batteries. Roughly 340 EV Plus models were produced and released. The EV Plus was taken out of production in 1999 when Honda announced the release of its first hybrid electric vehicle, the Honda Insight...
Land speed record electric vehicles
- La Jamais ContenteLa Jamais ContenteLa Jamais Contente was the first vehicle to go over . It was an electric vehicle with a light alloy torpedo shaped bodywork and with Fulmen batteries. The high position of the driver and the exposed chassis underneath spoiled much of the aerodynamics...
- Buckeye BulletBuckeye BulletThe Buckeye Bullet is the name of a series of student-built, alternative-fuel race cars created by The Ohio State University students led by Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni at the Center for Automotive Research...
External links
- Official site
- Keio University
(An article referencing Dr. Shimizu's EV calculations.)