Mitsubishi's electric Evo

[iGav]

A whopping 382lb ft at each wheel :D although a less impressive 67bhp at each wheel, but ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh you probably wouldn't notice. ;)

At last though, a proper electric car :D none of this Prius crap. :p

Rinky dink link (http://www.autocarmag.com/news_article.asp?na_id=216845)

The one thing I will suggest though, if Mitsubishi want to shed some weight, maybe they ought to start with those hideous graphics down the side of the thing, and paint it black too. ;)

[lopresmb]

yeah, but you gotta plug that sucka in though, that is really lame. We had an electric car back at college, and its no good, cause you can't recharge except one spot and it took forever, and electricity is expensive.

don't knock the prius too hard, getting 50 MPG and being able to fill up andwhere in the world just like any other car is pretty stinking cool

[mad jew]

Impressive car. I agree with lopresmb though, in that the Prius is equally as good, if not better despite having such giving performance. :)

[AlBDamned]

The one thing I will suggest though, if Mitsubishi want to shed some weight, maybe they ought to start with those hideous graphics down the side of the thing, and paint it black too. ;)

LOL and ditch the wing too. Looked cool on the V & VI but the current ones are too regular-looking to carry that on the back IMO.


lopresmb: The Prius is a great car technically, but why don't they make it a great car visually? Then it would really sell like the proverbial hot cake. I'm sure there's some 'image' reason they didn't make it look cooler, but to attract more buyers it needs to look nicer than another, grey, Japanese hatchback. Maybe lump that wing from the Evo on to it or something!

[joecool85]

The prius is a slow piece of crap that gets 50mpg in the city and worse highway. If you want a slow piece of crap that gets good mileage get a 5spd geo metro. 55mpg and about the same "performance" as a prius. And a heck of a lot cheaper. At least this evo has the power to make it move. Essentially it has over 250hp if you combine the wheels.

[Platform]

Really Impressive :D

[AlBDamned]

Is it right though to calculate something without an 'engine' as having BHP?

Shouldn't it be something like 1.21 Jiggawatts...???

[Lord Blackadder]

From a performance standpoint, the huge unsprung weight added by the motors must be bad...

[mad jew]

Is it right though to calculate something without an 'engine' as having BHP?

Shouldn't it be something like 1.21 Jiggawatts...???


Horsepower and ~watts actually measure the same thing (power) so I'm not sure I understand your question. Here in Australia, we abandoned BHP ages ago and focus solely on kilowatts now. :)

[AlBDamned]

Here in Australia, we abandoned BHP ages ago and focus solely on kilowatts now. :)

That sounds a good idea. It's weird trying to associate BHP with an 'electric' car. It sounds wrong. BHP sounds right for a combustion engine. Just an idiosyncrasy I guess.

So how does the BHP > KW translate. Whats a 600BHP Carrera GT come out as?

[mad jew]

1 kW = 1.34 BHP.

So the 600BHP Carrera GT is a little under 450kW. :)

[gwuMACaddict]

awesome idea, neat technology... but they need to do something about that paint job ;) :D

[AlBDamned]

1 kW = 1.34 BHP.

So the 600BHP Carrera GT is a little under 450kW. :)

Still sounds meaty enough. :)

[Mr. Anderson]

I like the move to AWD and the fact that their design makes things a little smaller.

It will only be a matter of time when individual motors at each wheel will be capable of 100HP or more - and then we'll start to see some better performance.

But the only problem with these things is the damn batteries......

D

[evoluzione]

finally!


i've been looking into alternative fuels for cars and have a problem with the increasingly popular hybrids. they're a good start, but still way way behind where we need to be right now. i've actually been thinking of buying a diesel and getting it to run on vegetable oil, completely legal here. and there's plenty of restaurants around where i can get used oil!


maybe i missed it in the link, but when is this going to be available, if at all???? i'd buy one, for sure, and i'd even buy a different mitsubishi on the strength of this, until the evo comes out.


i'm so excited about this, fantastic stuff!

[iGav]

I like the move to AWD and the fact that their design makes things a little smaller.

The part that I found interesting was Mitsubishi's quest to be able to independently control power and torque at eash wheel, this has this potential to make an almost perfect neutrally handling car, with no detectable signs of oversteer or understeer. :D

Imagine taking a bend at any speed in any conditions and BAM!!! the car responds... withouth even the slightest hint of instability or over/understeer. Fantastic. :D

[iGav]

and i'd even buy a different mitsubishi on the strength of this, until the evo comes out.

Especially if they look like this... :D

I think the operative word is... menacing. ;) :D

[mpw]

111mph top speed is more than enough to make electric cars 'acceptable' to the consumer but what about the two things they don't mention: Price & Range?
I've just posted my ideal min. spec. for an electric car across in the 250mpg thread (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=1691896#post1691896).

...A four seater
60mph top speed
0-60mph in 10secs.
90miles mile range (whether cruising or city stop/start driving)
Both top speed and range requirements must be achievable while driving at night with the headlights, heater/AC, windshield wipers and radio/CD player all in use.
Full charging from standard electrical outlets in 7hrs.
Faster charging from specialist outlets (in car parks/garages etc.)
Size, price and interior comfort to be comparable to present Ford Focus/VW Golf...


What would make you consider an electric car?

[mpw]

...It's weird trying to associate BHP with an 'electric' car. It sounds wrong. BHP sounds right for a combustion engine...

What wrong with using a horse as a unit of measurement?

OT:- Ever notice how many German cars are claimed to have 192bhp?

[iGav]

What would make you consider an electric car?

One that sounds like a V12... and goes like one too. ;)

I like the system that BMW are developing for their cars, electrical motors that are used in tandem with a conventional engines, a series of capacitors (I think) store electricity so that when you floor it, the electrical motors cut in delivery a SERIOUS torque increase slashing SERIOUS seconds off the acceleration times, they're recharged instantly and provide somewhere in the region of 10 seconds or so of additional 'boost'.

Imagine it in an M5. :D

[Abstract]

What wrong with using a horse as a unit of measurement?

OT:- Ever notice how many German cars are claimed to have 192bhp?

I can barely understand why they still use HP today in regular cars, let alone in electric cars. Everybody should start using Watts because its the international unit for power, not horses. Using HP today is very abstract for the large majority of people who have never rode on a horse before, or gotten close enough to one to pet it for over 20 seconds.

[iGav]

Using HP today is very abstract for the large majority of people who have never rode on a horse before

You don't need to have ridden on a horse to understand what HP is :p :p :p

[Lord Blackadder]

You don't need to have ridden on a horse to understand what HP is :p :p :p

I second that! :D

[mpw]

You don't need to have ridden on a horse to understand what HP is :p :p :p
Brown sauce? :confused:

[AlBDamned]

You don't need to have ridden on a horse to understand what HP is :p :p :p


And we all know than no matter how many horses you have, they will not be able to run at 88mph....

[zelmo]

Especially if they look like this... :D

I think the operative word is... menacing. ;) :D


drop...dead...sexy. What is that?

[mpw]

And we all know than no matter how many horses you have, they will not be able to run at 88mph....
Depends on gearing.
The bhp figure is the power the engine produces is it not? An engine with no gearbox or wheels isn't going to get 88mph either.
If you put a few horses in a big wheel in a chasis like a mouse’s wheel and then geared that to a set of wheels I bet you COULD get 88mph!

[iGav]

drop...dead...sexy. What is that?

That be Mitsubishi's new concept, the Sportback (http://www.autocarmag.com/News_Article.asp?NA_ID=216727). ;) :D

I reckon it'll be quite dandy at clearing a path in the fastlane with that snout. :eek: :D The previous gen shark-nose Galant was also very dandy at doing that too. :D

[zelmo]

That be Mitsubishi's new concept, the Sportback (http://www.autocarmag.com/News_Article.asp?NA_ID=216727). ;) :D

I reckon it'll be quite dandy at clearing a path in the fastlane with that snout. :eek: :D The previous gen shark-nose Galant was also very dandy at doing that too. :D

Sweet Jesus, but I'd hate to have to pay to replace that windshield/roof.

[Xtremehkr]

That is an impressive car, no doubt, it shows the future of hybrid vehicles. Hybridized vehicles are flexible when it comes to whether or not they focus on performance or simply reducing the amount of fuel used.

I've noticed that there has been some criticism of Honda and Lexus lately, the two examples I have seen in print lately anyway, concerning their decision to sell vehicles that use hybrid technology more for performance than simply efficiency.

Specifically, the hybrid Accord and Lexus 400h come to mind. Vehicles that use the hybrid technology more for performance than mileage gains. The criticism centers around the fact that the performance has increased while the mileage has remained the same. I'm not really seeing that there is a real problem here, in the long run. Hybrid technology is allowing a six cylinder engine to perform like an eight cylinder engine with the efficiency of a six cylinder engine. Which is still good. Eventually it means that vehicles that now use eight cylinder engines could be reduced to six cylinder hybrid engines that deliver the same performance as eight cylinder ones. Vehicles that use six cylinder engines could potentially be reduced to four cylinder hybridized engines. Maybe four cylinder engines could eventually be reduced with hybrid technology as well. The same, or increased performance, from an engine that retains the mileage of the smaller displacement.

There is a strange dichotomy in the automotive world. The extra cost of a Prius is questioned because the extra cost 'may' not cover the improvement in milage, despite the fact that improving mileage is a net gain for the marketplace in long run. And, the people who buy the ridiculously large vehicles are never questioned about the fact that they may rarely use the extra space, towing ability, or load ability offered by the vehicles that they are paying so much more to operate on a daily basis. It's like, the extra cost of me using a Suburban to grocery shop is justified simply by the fact that two or three times a year we tow a boat to the lake. Even if it would be cheaper to rent a vehicle for those occasions, and use a more adequate vehicle in the meantime.

Either way, the Prius and other Hybrids have been selling very well. The companies that don't take advantage of this technology are the ones who are missing out on being able to take advantage of a product that they don't have to heavily discount. I am just having having problems understanding all of the resistance to what is a promising technology.

[evoluzione]

There is a strange dichotomy in the automotive world....


very good point, personally i don't see what the fuss is about, if i was in the market for a car, i wouldn't care about spending a cuople of grand extra for something that has less impact on the environment, it's worth it to me to get the better efficiency, and it seems that thousands of others feel the same. even more so these days with gas hitting news highs (for the States)


anyway, iGAV, when can i get me one of them evo's???

[iGav]

anyway, iGAV, when can i get me one of them evo's???

sorry bud, I don't have a foggiest.

I was however reading about it in this weeks Auto Express, and it puts out 267bhp with acceleration comparable to the petrol version, so that hints at late 4's early 5's to 60 :eek: :D

And one suspects that the in gear torque thwack would be enormous too. :D as it wouldn't suffer the Evo's biggest achilles heel of having zero performance off boost. ;)

[jeffy.dee-lux]

so... umm... what do you think it would be like to have wheels on either side of the car spinning in opposite directions?

so increased unsprung weight kinda sucks for bumps and stuff, but it must save a lot of space to have such small motors. I wonder whats left in the engine bay, a huge battery pack i guess. i wonder if this means they didn't have to sacrifice trunk space or folding rear seats like in the accord hybrid.


personally, i feel electric vehicles are the way to go. we've already got an infrastructure for delivering electricity, while you can hardly say the same for hydrogen. It seems to me like the issues of storing enough electictricity for a decent range are about on par with issues of storing enough hydrogen. well, what do i know, but they both have issues anyways, right?

Plug in hybrids would be an easy way to make a gradual transition too. Gradually, the size of the engine would get smaller and we'd use less fuel as the power and range of the electric side would increase, untill we'd feel confident enough to head out in a car with no IC engine at all.