Filed under: EV/Plug-in, USA, Racing
All-electric race car to be unveiled at Performance Racing Industry show
We were wondering when someone would consider taking advantage of the potential for massive torque and wicked acceleration that a modern electric drivetrain can offer and build some race cars that could also boast some environmental credentials. We wonder no more. West Race Cars and KleenSpeed Technologies Inc. have teamed up and will unveil the first all-electric production race car at the Performance Racing Industry trade show this week. Yeah, we've told you about some other folks with electric racer plans in New Zealand and the UK but this is happening here in America and it isn't just a "one-off." According to West CEO Eric Vassian, "We are planning on an initial production run of five West WX10-T electric race cars for 2009, and have already sold the first one."
The new racer should look similar to West's gas-powered WX-10 (above) and be capable of hitting 150 mph. With the help of regenerative braking, the battery is said to be capable of duking it out for 45 minutes, though it is designed to be quickly swapped out so the car can compete in endurance racing events. The International Motorsports Association (IMSA) is also involved with the development of the WX10-T, giving the project some heavy duty bona fides and a good shot at success. Now all they need are some enviromentally-minded racecar drivers. [Source: West Race Cars]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mmstowes 12:38PM (12/10/2008)
Out of curiosity, does anyone know of any places where I could find information regarding road racing associations that encourage high performance eco-friendly or electric vehicles? I've tried Google, but all I could find were either in Europe or Japan. About all I could find for the US was ALMS, whom I've spoken with already. If anybody could point me in the right direction or if ABG knows of anything, that'd be really awesome. It's nice to see stories like this one, but it'd be even nicer to know what venue is currently accepting or in transition to accept vehicles like this.
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Merritt Johnson 12:59PM (12/10/2008)
The Redline Time Attack series (http://www.redlinetimeattack.com/) has started hybrid and electric classes starting with the 2009 season.
mmstowes 2:34PM (12/10/2008)
Awesome, thank you very much. I've been desperately looking for a venue as I've been itching for some racing, but hopefully more people will come out and support things like this.
Jonathann 5:55PM (3/24/2009)
Try NEDRA http://www.nedra.com/
why not the LS2LS7? 12:39PM (12/10/2008)
Regenerative braking doesn't do much on race cars. When you brake on a race car, you apply full brakes, and the engine cannot provide enough braking, so the real brakes take over.
I'll have to pull out my spreadsheet, but 45 minutes seems over optimistic.
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Eletruk 8:19PM (12/10/2008)
Regenerative braking can generate a lot more force than you experience with a Prius, they limit the regeneration to about 10%. Many amusement park rides are now using magnetic braking instead of friction braking because for one thing it's simple, no moving parts, and even better, no rubbing parts. If the batteries could handle the higher amount of current generated by higher regeneration, you could easily stop the car without any brakes. Probably the racer will incorporate hypercapactors to absorb the energy that way exceeds the maximum charge rate of any type of battery, be they Lithium, or Lead Acid.
Carney 3:24PM (12/10/2008)
Actually, IndyCars, CHAMP, Formulat ONE, etc, even midget cars, all have used alcohol fuel exclusively for many years.
And arguably, methanol and ethanol are MORE environmentally friendly than giant lead acid batteries that suck power from a heavily coal burning electric grid.
Ethanol is 100% renewable, and methanol can be made from any organic matter, including sewage and urban trash, and is the cleanest possible practical fuel that can be made from coal.
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