All-electric car breaks through eight-minute barrier in test
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An all-electric car has broken the eight-minute barrier for a single lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife test circuit in Germany.
Toyota Motorsport GmbH’s (TMG’s) time of seven minutes 47.79 seconds markedly lowers the previous all-electric record set by the Peugeot EX1 earlier in the year (9:01min) and places it in the company of some prestige combustion engine performance models.
TMG speculates that the powertrain could form the basis of future single-make electric motorsport series and the company will begin commercial sales of this technology in 2012.
‘Electric motorsport brings very different issues compared to traditional motorsport,’ project leader Alastair Moffitt told The Engineer.
‘Our initial testing showed that battery and motor cooling was a major performance factor and we could make some adjustments that optimised the power output while still keeping the components within a safe operating range.’
The TMG EV P001 is based on a modified Radical chassis that uses two electric motors to achieve a top speed of 260km/h (160mph) with 800Nm of torque.
‘We learned a lot in terms of how items such as the motor-control unit and battery-management systems need to be set up for flat-out driving. Changing the tolerances or safety margins in the powertrain software was a very useful way to optimise performance and deliver better lap time,’ Moffitt said.
The EV P001’s time is still some way from the petrol Radical whose chassis it based on — which holds the Nürburgring production record at 6:48min. But rather than aiming for new records Moffitt said his team will focus on developing a race series.
‘Clearly our lap record achievement shows that TMG’s electric powertrain has both performance and durability, which we believe makes it ideal for an all-electric championship,’ he added.
An all electric car has broken the 8 minute barrier for a single lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife test circuit in Germany. Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG)’s time of 7 minutes 47.79 seconds markedly lowers the previous all-electric record set by the Peugeot EX1 earlier in the year (9:01) and places it in the company of some prestige combustion engine performance models.
Readers' comments (8)
Stephen Mosley | 31 Aug 2011 1:49 pm
You know - this is very similar to something being vigorously debated on another, very recent, missive from the august offices of The Engineer.
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Nick Smith | 2 Sep 2011 12:46 pm
Is it just me or did you end up screaming "Change gear man, CHANGE GEAR!!" Impressive none the less!
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Frank O'Brien | 2 Sep 2011 4:14 pm
Great demonstration, can't wait to take it on the M11 to Cambridge. Think it needs a bit more comfort, otherwise fantastic!
(will the battery last that long?)
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Bruce MacKender | 3 Sep 2011 7:31 am
So....... What I really want to know is, "how fast were the 2nd and 3rd laps"? The video and time was impressive, but when can we see a 25~50 lap race, ( with out an extended intermission )? :-)
Great video, thanks for sharing..... Bruce
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Anonymous | 5 Sep 2011 6:53 am
Watching the World Superbikes race at Nürburgring put this in perspective. The track is 5.17 Km long and even though it was the worst weather I've ever seen a bike race conducted in, the bikes were getting round in 2.16 minutes. What's the average speed of this electric car? The bikes were only averaging 90mph!
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Chris Wood | 5 Sep 2011 11:11 am
@ Anonymous - I think you are getting confused, the GPs are now held on the south circuit which is 5.17km long, the Nordschliefe however is over 20km long, type in Nurburgring into google images and you will find the iconic shape which is the whole track, at the bottom there is a separate track which is the GP one. There is a passage to get from one to another but its not used regularly.
7.47 is a very impressive time for the 'Ring, it equates roughly to a Corvette ZR1 or a 911 GT3 I believe.
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Gordoun FLint | 6 Sep 2011 2:51 am
Thank you Chris, I have checked out the track length and indeed the distance covered by the Electric car was in excess of 20Km which makes it very respectable.
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Matt Whyndham | 7 Sep 2011 3:23 pm
emergent property : a casual observer can now appreciate much better what the tyres are doing, thanks to the relative quiet
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