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Diesel has dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the last three years, but could the future of the endurance race be electric?
Racing outfit GreenGT thinks so. The Swiss firm has unveiled this design study that, they say, previews an all-electric Le Mans entrant in 2011.
Based around a carbon fire chassis and fibreglass body, the GreenGT car is powered by a pair of electric motors putting some 450bhp and, more significantly, a simply monstrous 1,475lb ft of torque to the rear wheels.
In a car weighing just 860kg, that's good for a 0-60mph time of around four seconds - the problem, we suspect, will be getting all that torque down onto the track effectively - and a top speed of around 170mph.
Batteries will be the big issue, though. Powerpacks that can store enough energy to supply that sheer amount of power for dozens of laps simply don't exist at the moment - at least, none that weigh less than several tonnes. The answer, surely, is replacing battery packs at pitstops, but nonetheless, we're still a long way off.
But GreenGT is convinced that the technology will develop within the next couple of years. It promises to have a pair of electric cars at Le Mans in 2011, followed by a curiously precise 22 road-going models within three years.
We'll see. We'll see...
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Blayney commented on this article
at 02:19 pm on 18 May 2009
That torque gets cut down at higher speeds to aid traction. Also it has solar panels to help recharge the batteries. Of course, that's only during the day ;)
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Mikeado commented on this article
at 02:21 pm on 18 May 2009
That is very awesome. And completely unrealistic. The hydrogen-powered LM car I designed for my DT coursework is about as likely to appear in 2011 as this. And at least mine does 260mph. Supposedly. And howcome they've copied the mirrors from the GTbyCITROEN?
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AshHorne commented on this article
at 02:26 pm on 18 May 2009
Hang on, doesn't it take HOURS to recharge batteries? It takes 3 hours just to recharge my bloody laptop for example. Either the bodywork is made of the world's best solar panels, or they're looking at one hell of a pitstop each race...
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Cobra_13 commented on this article
at 03:55 pm on 18 May 2009
What if they stored multiple, charged batteries in the pits and then made some ingenious battery-swapping system? That could keep them in business. And, they could have battery tech that the public isn't aware of yet... but I'm no conspiracy theorist so I'll leave it to the true lot of 'em.
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Viper_des commented on this article
at 04:02 pm on 18 May 2009
Wouldn't changing the batteries like changing the engine? No way. Another bunch of threehuggers that obviously are full of sh*t. The thought of standing at the Hunaudiéres and a car passes that makes a "brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" sound makes me want to vomit all over the place.
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