As Tesla prepares to miss another deadline release its electric sports car to its customers, there's a chance competitors may get there first. Or at least do it better. We've already reported Danish designer Henrik Fisker's ambitions. The Telegraph reveals that another upstart start-up is aiming at Tesla's target market. The UK's Lightning will be powered by four wheel-mounted electric motors hooked-up to Nano Titanate batteries. According to their maker, the Lightning's power pack won't explode or catch fire, charges to 90 percent of capacity in 10 minutes, doesn't mind extreme temperatures ("think mobile phone left in freezing car") and lasts 15 years. All that and a Kevlar and fiberglass body sexy enough to give the great Dane wood. The Lightning will cost £150k. We find that fact strangely reassuring, as well as MD Chris Dell's refreshing realism about his progeny's prospects. "I'm quite confident that Lightning will have a car running by the end of the year and that it's likely to do pretty much what is claimed. Whether anything like it will ever be affordable while there's oil on the planet is another matter. If nothing else, it might make people realise there are alternatives and, if they really want to walk as green as they talk, governments need to start encouraging them. The political challenges might prove tougher than the technology."
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Mitsubishi has done excellent work with the “an engine on every wheel” direction — with proper control of each engine you would have traction close to that between a fly’s legs and the ceiling it lands on.
These solutions don’t have to cost GBP 150K of course, and Mitsu will try to drag itself out of the doldrums it finds itself in by proving that point in the years ahead.
The more players in this game the better — nice to see a viable alternate battery technology.
I think it would be unfair if TTAC did not give Fisker the same full-court skepticism that they’ve given Tesla and the Chevy Volt. The technology does seem nice and promising, but it’s not here yet. The development of wheel-mounted motors does seem nice and promising, but it’s not here yet.
Bob Lutz has made lofty promises with the Volt and it doesn’t look ready for prime time. Martin Eberhard made lofty promises with the Tesla Roadster and it’s not ready for prime time. Is there any reason why we should give Henrik Fisker the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this experimental (to say the least) technology when the other two companies have enough trouble working with existing technologies?
quasimondo :
I think it would be unfair if TTAC did not give Fisker the same full-court skepticism that they’ve given Tesla and the Chevy Volt.
Ahem. Please see today’s post on Mr. Fisker.
Did anybody else notice this car looks almost exactly like the Jaguar F-Type concept from the late 90s?
@thetopdog
Yeah me too, also reminds me of the XK180 which was basically the same design. Hey at least theres one company that can build Jags that look like Jags, even if its not Jaguar.
On topic though, I think this is great and the more competition the better. Think about the automobile at the turn of the last century, and how small company’s run by a few entrepreneurs changed the world.
It looks like a TVR. In other words, it looks like a kit car or one of those RC car shells.
“four wheel-mounted electric motors hooked-up to Nano Titanate batteries”
I’ll believe it when I see it. There is no way that car will reach the market before the Tesla.
Hydro Quebec invented the motor in a wheel concept 10 years ago – doesn’t work well when encrusted in salt. Recharge in ten minutes means a connecting cable about two inches in diameter and an electromagnetic field that will decompose every PC within 100 yards. Another Brooklyn Bridge on a string sale.
Guys these batteries exist. They are called Nano-Safe batteries. They are put in the Phoenix motor car companies vehicles. Somebody has finally took the time to develop battery technology, the Tesla basically runs on laptop batteries which get really hot and liable to explode. You can drive a nail into the Nano-safe stuff. Really cool tech, people should stop whining about it and find a way to get these cars on the road now.