RE: F3-Pace Electric Racer Breaks Cover
Wednesday 6th October 2010
This is the Formulec EF01. It's an electric single-seater with near-F3 performance - and it might just be the future of mid-level single-seat formulae.
F3-Pace Electric Racer Breaks Cover
Formulec EF01 points the way towards electric racing
The EF01 is capable of reaching 155mph flat-out and hitting 62mph from rest in 3.0secs. To help it do so is a pair of Siemens electric motors (similar to those planned for the new Exagon GT road car) and a two-speed gearbox.
Its lithium ion batteries give it enough charge for a 20-25 minute race.
The EF01 has been developed over past two-and-half years, with aerodynamic help from the likes of Mercedes GP. It has already been tested at Magny Cours and the Le Mans Bugatti circuit, and Formulec hopes to start racing in 2012.
Should the formula prove successful, the series could be opened up to other constructors as early as 2013.
Looks great. Sounds, um, not so great.
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Formulec - Premiers tours de roues
Uploaded by formulec. - Dramatic race and crash videos.
Discussion
MrTappets said:
Forgive my inexperience with electric motoring, but do electric cars simply get slower and slower as the charge runs out, until they grind to a halt, or do they somehow conserve their charge and then cut out suddenly?
I used to race electric RC cars when I was younger. The battery technology progressed a massive amount over the 10 years I had an interest, Li-Poly looks to be the next big thing. Wonder if it'll end up in road-going vehicles? I love the torque from electric vehicles, way in excess of anything a diesel can manage from no rpm whatsoever. Anyway I can remember spending a fortune on a cell that would give full power for about 20 minutes then just stop without any reduction in performance. And now that the US has found a massive amount of Li in Afgaisbekistan the price should start to come down. Que discussion about EV charging infrastructure...it usually comes along in about...5...4...3...2...1Edited by SR06 on Wednesday 6th October 13:05
SR06 said:
MrTappets said:
Forgive my inexperience with electric motoring, but do electric cars simply get slower and slower as the charge runs out, until they grind to a halt, or do they somehow conserve their charge and then cut out suddenly?
I used to race electric RC cars when I was younger. The battery technology progressed a massive amount over the 10 years I had an interest, Li-Poly looks to be the next big thing. Wonder if it'll end up in road-going vehicles? I love the torque from electric vehicles, way in excess of anything a diesel can manage from no rpm whatsoever. Anyway I can remember spending a fortune on a cell that would give full power for about 20 minutes then just stop without any reduction in performance. And not that the US has found a massive amount of Li in Afgaisbekistan the price should start to come down. Que discussion about EV charging infrastructure...it usually comes along in about...5...4...3...2...1MrTappets said:
Forgive my inexperience with electric motoring, but do electric cars simply get slower and slower as the charge runs out, until they grind to a halt, or do they somehow conserve their charge and then cut out suddenly?
My knowledge is limited to hobby electrics, but I assume it's analogous to automotive technology...Broadly speaking it's the latter- regulators will output the required electrical current regardless of the available battery voltage (i.e. drawing low current at high voltage and vice versa), down to a minimum battery voltage level at which point it would cut out (hopefully after a sufficient amount of warning).
The whole system should have been designed around the worst case to perform the same under all conditions, so I wouldn't think there would be an overcurrent issue at low battery voltage- that's the only technical reason the car might not accelerate as quickly. However, it's possible they'd downgrade performance at low battery voltage to maximise available range, and/or to make it obvious that you do actually need to recharge.
Mark Wibble said:
MrTappets said:
Forgive my inexperience with electric motoring, but do electric cars simply get slower and slower as the charge runs out, until they grind to a halt, or do they somehow conserve their charge and then cut out suddenly?
My knowledge is limited to hobby electrics, but I assume it's analogous to automotive technology...Broadly speaking it's the latter- regulators will output the required electrical current regardless of the available battery voltage (i.e. drawing low current at high voltage and vice versa), down to a minimum battery voltage level at which point it would cut out (hopefully after a sufficient amount of warning).
The whole system should have been designed around the worst case to perform the same under all conditions, so I wouldn't think there would be an overcurrent issue at low battery voltage- that's the only technical reason the car might not accelerate as quickly. However, it's possible they'd downgrade performance at low battery voltage to maximise available range, and/or to make it obvious that you do actually need to recharge.
Emeye said:
Might as well just race on an xbox or scalextrixc! A good percentage of the appeal of motor racing is the noise and smell!
This. One of the things i most enjoy at a motorsport event is the sound and smell of the cars. With these it takes a large chunk of the appeal away for me 
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