Posted on Monday 28 April 2008
Soaring fuel costs have thrust the electric car industry into the limelight, with new offerings from Tesla, Fisker and Venturi all heating up the electric sports car market. Based around the lightweight chassis of a Lotus Super 7 and a 272hp Siemens electric motor, the new Evisol Thorr roadster should offer a driving experience a little more hardcore than the electric sports cars currently capturing public attention.
The Siemens electric motor has a continuous output of 91hp but peaks at 272hp with torque of 450Nm coming on from zero rpm. Power comes from a set of lithium polymer batteries, and all up the Evisol Thorr weighs in at just 755kg. Part of the reason for the car’s low weight is the absence of a gearbox, ABS power assisted brakes, power steering and virtually all sound proofing.
The company behind the Evisol Thorr is yet to reveal any performance numbers but claims the car has range of more than 200km on a single charge.
The rest of the car’s mechanical package is the same as you would find in any modern roadster, including a limited slip differential, a tubular frame chassis, adjustable double wishbone suspension both front and back and 15in aluminum wheels shod with Toyo tires.
Well it seems the electric car theme is taking on rather sporting shapes these days. Nice to see it integrated into a rather classic design! Good effort made here! Now if all these new companies can find a way to bring the costs down, (i.e. the batteries…I am sure it will take some time though), then you will really have a hit on your hands!
lithium polymer batteries are quite expensive so this is going to be an interesting little toy for some lucky people.
otherwise, quite interesting.
Electric-powered superlight sports car based on Lotus Super 7
Soaring fuel costs have thrust the electric car industry into the limelight, with new offerings from Tesla, Fisker and Venturi all heating up the electric sports car market. Based around the lightweight chassis of a Lotus Super 7 and a 272hp Siemens el…
I think electric cars are very cool but the range is just prohibitive to me. 124 mile range is next to useless for anything other than quick trips to the grocery store, which is clearly not the point of the car. For something like this, you’re going to want to attack some winding mountain roads to truly enjoy it. The problem is, I have to drive about 30 miles from home before I even get to the mountains outside Denver. Considering I would have to have enough left for the return trip, that equals 60 miles. So basically I’ve just used up half the range just getting there. That leavees me with a total of 60 more miles to play with, so I could forget trips up to Rocky Mountain National Park and the like. If you could recharge it in just a few minutes like you would refill a gasoline vehicle, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but of course you can’t, making it next to useless as an actual sports car to me, and probably 99% of sports car buyers out there. Cool novelty though.