Peugeot unveils hybrid racing car for Le Mans
Peugeot has unveiled the Peugeot 9X8 hypercar. The French automaker plans to enter the hybrid race car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the WEC World Endurance Championship from 2022.
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Toyota presents hybrid racecar for WEC
Toyota Gazoo Racing has unveiled the race car it will enter in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year. In line with the new hypercar regulations, the GR010 Hybrid features an all-wheel drive powertrain with system power capped at 500 kW.
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FIA announces multiple electric racing divisions
The FIA World Motor Sport Council has announced decisions on the future of various racing series. The trend – particularly in rallying – is increasingly towards electric drives.
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Alonso starting for Toyota in Le Mans
Fernando Alonso will not only be racing as a Formula 1 driver this year, but will also be starting in the endurance racing series WEC. He will be driving for Toyota in the hybrid class LMP1 and is set to race in almost all races for Toyota, including the season highlight in Le Mans.
Read moreNextEV, Chevy Bolt, Finland, Smart ED, Tesla, WEC.
NextEV unveils 1.000 kW racer: Curtain call for the Nio EP9, the Chinese company’s long awaited electric supercar. Four electric 250 kW motors catapulted the EV around the Nürburgring at a top speed of 313 kph, topping lap times set by the Porsche 918. The first units built by hand have already been sold. A small series production is set to kick off in China soon.
autocar.co.uk, carthrottle.com, electricautosport.com
First Chevy Bolt arrive at dealerships: Next week, the Chevy Bolt will arrive at dealerships in California and Oregon. However – many other U.S. states may have to wait another six months, as GM will roll out its EV step by step. But why so hesitant? GM says, they want to do it right and have had good experiences with the delayed availability of its second generation Chevy Volt.
insideevs.com (First Bolts), insideevs.com (delayed availability)
Finland to introduce subsidies? Helsinki seems to want push green cars and ponders a 100m euro incentive scheme. The goal is to have 250,000 EVs on the road by 2030, while the initial 25,000 buyers could benefit from 4,000 euros in subsidies. More details will be announced Thursday.
yle.fi
A city car, but not for all: Fun to drive, great turning radius, “zippy on steroids” – that’s how Autocar and Autoblog describe the new all-electric Smart Fortwo. Still, it is obvious to them that this EV only fits a particular lifestyle and with a realistic range of 75 miles, a charger should never be too far out of reach.
autocar.co.uk, autoblog.com
Trying out the Model S: Tesla kicked off its scheme “Drive to Believe” to convince western European buyers of its all-electric sedan. The EV maker will trade a Model S for a person’s car for one week. But there are only 25 spots – and the challenge ends December 31st.
teslarati.com tesla.com (application)
Hybrid Audi says goodbye with a win: The carmaker secured a one-two win at its last World Endurance Championship in Bahrain. Porsche secured the driver’s title, after the number two Porsche team of Neel Jani, Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb managed to place sixth in the championship.
motorsport.com, autosport.com, youtube.com (highlights)
Siemens, Primove, FEV, Le Mans, WEC
1bn euros for disruption: Siemens set up an incubator for start-ups and plans to invest 1 billion euros over the next five years. The unit called next47 aims to foster disruptive technologies with one of the first projects being a cooperation with Airbus to electrify aviation (we reported). Employees as well as founders, external start-ups and established companies are invited to tap into the new segment.
eu-startups.com, siemens.com
Charging while driving: A 10 ton truck was charged wirelessly while driving with up to 70 kph in a test conducted by Bombardier Primove. Four charging segments with a total length of 20 metres provided up to 200 kW inductively and on demand. Primove technology is already in use in public transport systems around the world but trucks and ultimately electric cars are the next step.
elektroauto-news.net (in German)
German EV R&D in China: FEV has opened its Beijing Vehicle and Powertrain Development Center in the Chinese capital. At the facility, electric drives, batteries, and fuel cells will be developed and tested for both Chinese as well as international clients.
automotiveworld.com
FCVs to enter Le Mans and WEC: FIA and Le Mans organiser ACO are working on a new set of rules that would allow hydrogen powered racers in the 24h and WEC competition. Also, a new hybrid LMP1 sub-class allowing for more retrieved energy has been confirmed for 2018 alongside a third KERS.
autosport.com, e-racingmag.com
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Tesla, supercapacitors, WEC, shock absorbers.
Tesla gets hacked: Security company Lookout says it was able to manipulate and even stop a Tesla Model S from a distance, while the vehicle was in motion. The experts point out six security flaws of the Tesla system, which they will present at today’s Defcon conference in Las Vegas. Tesla reacted quickly and already issued a patch.
wired.com, greencarreports.com
Supercapacitor development: Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new capacitor dielectric material that will help increase electric energy storage capacity, making supercapcitors rival certain batteries. The new supercapacitors can also be used for electric vehicles.
greenoptimistic.com, news.gatech.edu
New rules for hybrids: FIA and organiser of the World Endurance Championship ACO agreed to reduce the performance of LMP1 hybrid racers. Porsche, Toyota and Nissan will have to make do with less energy per round, while Audi’s diesel-hybrids will get a boost.
sportscar365.com
Recuperating suspension: A professor at the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech has proposed a new way for cars to recuperate energy. He says that the car’s shock absorbers could provide between 100 and 400 watt of energy.
vtnews.vt.edu
WEC racecars and drivers, Apple iCar design contest.
Reading tip: The WEC Season is about to start and Sofiane Kennouche has listed every LMP1 car with details and even includes the drivers. Ready – set – go!
evo.co.uk
Click tip: Website Freelancer.com recently hosted an online design contest, asking what an Apple iCar might look like. The entries were plenty (193) and pretty fancy.
freelancer.com (winner) via macrumors.com
Nissan, BMW, Saab, Toyota Mirai, Honda Grace, WEC.
More range for Nissan EVs? Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn somewhat unwillingly confirmed on Japanese television that the company could soon present an affordable battery, allowing EVs to travel at least 250 miles (400 kilometers). Nissan’s chief spokesman Jeff Kuhlman even said that Nissan will “very soon take the issue of range off of the table” with a “comparable range to today’s petrol vehicles”.
dailykanban.com, hybridcars.com
BMW to roll out more PHEVs: The carmaker announces that it will offer plug-in hybrid versions of all its main models due to tighter emissions regulations. The plans include the X5 sport-utility vehicle as well as the 3-Series sedan (we reported) and other “core-brand” models.
bloomberg.com, electric-vehiclenews.com, evfleetworld.co.uk
Is Saab back in the game? The Chinese Saab owner National Electric Vehicle Sweden says it has found an Asian carmaker that will purchase a majority stake in NEVS. The investment group also said it is in talks with another Asian manufacturer on a joint venture to develop new vehicles, but didn’t identify either company. In August it was reported that NEVS had sat down with Mahindra.
saabsunited.com, bloomberg.com, businessweek.com
Handmade Toyota: The fuel cell model Mirai will be built in Toyota’s advanced Motomachi plant in Japan, also because a lot needs to be done by hand instead of highly automated machinery. That explains why the carmaker plans on producing only 700 units in the first year.
autonews.com, transportevolved.com, motorauthority.com
Sales of Honda’s Grace hybrid sedan kicked off in Japan. The Grace features Honda’s Sport Hybrid i-DCD one-motor hybrid system that allows drivers to start the car in EV mode, increasing fuel savings. Pricing starts at 1,950,000 yen (16,436 USD) and Honda hopes to sell 3,000 units per month in Japan.
greencarcongress.com
Dramatic WEC finale: Porsche’s Neel Jani took the top spot in the World Endurance Championship finale in Brazil in the Porsche 919 Hybrid, while teammate Mark Webber was involved in a dramatic accident, but had a lucky escape. Toyota took home the WEC manufacturers’ title.
autosport.com, autoweek.com
