22/05/08

Electric Raceabout: an electric sports car from Finland

Designed by the Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia and based on the Audi R8

Fotogallery In the land of the Thousand Lakes, where the environment is nearly unpolluted, a futuristic-conceived eco-friendly jewel is being born. It is a new electric car designed by a group of researchers from Helsinki Polytechnic in cooperation with the Institute of Design, Lahti Polytechnic.

Called Raceabout, a hardly appealing name, the car, though, looks innovative; it is a prototype which aims at combining sports features with zero-emission technology. Based on the Audi R8’s aluminium chassis (ASF) and fitted with a carbon fibre body, it weighs 1,250 kg. The powertrain consists of 4 in-wheel electric motors, capable of driving the car to the top speed of over 200 km/h and ensuring a 300 km range. At the moment the team of engineers and technicians working on its development is striving hard to enhance the performance of the li-ion batteries the car is equipped with (the total weight ranges between 350 and 570 kg).

Scheduled to be introduced by the summer of 2009, the ERA will, then, be ready to take part in the Progressive Automotive X-Prize Competition being held in America, an event which awards the most innovative and energy-efficient car. From the information available on the official website, it is bound to become a leader in the automotive market, though its production will be quite limited.