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Prius owners watch out. That mild-mannered SUV in your rear-view mirror might not look anything special, but it’s not only gunning for you at the traffic lights but in the economy stakes too! Back in 2006 Lotus Engineering did their technical thing with the Aluminium Performance Crossover concept at the Geneva motor-show, a V6 petrol-powered demonstrator intended to show off their skills at making a lightweight but strong body structure and chassis. Now ZAP have partnered up with them and decided to throw out the V6 lump, replacing it with four in-wheel electric motors.
If you’re thinking that means “city runabout”, you’d be wrong. Potentially charged in just 10 minutes, the ZAP-X will have a 350 mile range on a single “tank” of electrons and develop the equivalent of 644bhp, making its 155mph top-speed sound all too feasible. Four-wheel drive should hopefully keep that fancy body stuck to the road, too.
Price is still tbc, but the prototype ZAP-X will be on show at the North American Dealers’ Exhibition annual meeting for them to kick the tyres.
Zap, Lotus team up on electric crossover SUV [Jalopnik]
Wow. sign me up!
Would love to see this in America at a reasonable price and with great gas efficiency.
If these specs are correct then Zap has addressed the two key problems of electric vehicles; range and charge time.
If this ends up with a nice interior design and turns out to be reliable they certainly will do well in the market, even outside of the Hollywood crowd.
The other motor manufactures will not like it. With only 4/5 moving parts their after sales service income stream will be out of the window. What’s the betting one of the big five will buy it up and kill it???!!!
What are the tail pipes for?
The tailpipes are for venting exhaust from the v6 engine. You’re looking at a picture of the original Lotus APX concept car which the ZAP-X is based upon.
None of the electric car’s issues of range and recharge time has been solved until
the car’s are affordable to the general public. For all the effect this $120,000 car will have on the environment, it may as well be the Moon rover. People jsut don’t understand what the automakers do - you can’t replace ICEs with electrics until they are economically viable. This one isn’t. I suspect the battery pack alone cost upwards of $40,000.
The car’s price is suppossed to be around 60k……so, it is nearly mainstream…especially when considering the money you will save from 4 bucks a gallon gas prices. Shoot in 15 years, you will probably save 30k in gas, so it sounds like a reasonable price to me.
I agree. I think all these hyper news is just to make the big 5 notice and hence a bigger paycheck to shut up or buy out. On the otherhand, if this car get on the market. I would be the first customer to order even if it cost 100K.
What I’d seriously think about doing is getting a cheaper city car for my around town driving and starting a little car club to jointly own one or two of them for longer trips along the same lines as a flying club.
It’s an interesting idea. There are actually a couple of schemes in London at the moment where for a monthly fee they supply you with an electric city car during the week and then there’s a catalogue of vintage/unusual/exotica to play with at the weekends.
“None of the electric car’s issues of range and recharge time has been solved until the car’s are affordable to the general public. For all the effect this $120,000 car will have on the environment, it may as well be the Moon rover. People jsut don’t understand what the automakers do - you can’t replace ICEs with electrics until they are economically viable. This one isn’t. I suspect the battery pack alone cost upwards of $40,000.”
If these stats are or became factual in the short term (1-2 years) then the car would be worth every penny at $120,000 or even $150,000. Has anyone even bothered to do the math on the suggested life of the battery at 9,000 cycles and “Potentially charged in just 10 minutes, the ZAP-X will have a 350 mile range on a single “tank” of electrons”. 9,000 * 350? anyone? That is 3,150,000 miles. Yeah 3.15 Million miles whereas one of the other famed electric cars “Tesla” is struggling to get a 200 mile range and 100,000 - 250,000 mile battery life (depending if you include the degraded life of the battery). I hope I am wrong but this Zap-x seems like extreme over hype. Oh yeah, and a charge time of 10 minutes? How do they plan on transmitting that quantity of electricity in 10 minutes? The charger unit would be rediculous?
Don’t get me wrong I am not against electric cars of motorcycles. I strongly look forward to owning one in the near future. But a company suggesting 3.15 million mile battery life is just rediculous.
to get off topic does anybody else realize that those alternative fuels being advertised aren’t really going to help the environment all that much if at all. Think about the conservation of energy then think about the supply chain and process of extracting ethanol from plants or hydrogen from water. It doesn’t make sense to me unless the hydrogen gets extracted using hydro, wind, solar or any other seriously renewable resource.
“Potentially charged in just 10 minutes, the ZAP-X will have a 350 mile range on a single “tank” of electrons”. 9,000 * 350? anyone? That is 3,150,000 miles. Yeah 3.15 Million miles whereas one of the other famed electric cars “Tesla” is struggling to get a 200 mile range and 100,000 - 250,000 mile battery life (depending if you include the degraded life of the battery). I hope I am wrong but this Zap-x seems like extreme over hype. Oh yeah, and a charge time of 10 minutes?”
Matt, I agree. This sounds too good to be true. I hope it’s all true. How the heck could a battery last that long? This would mean their battery was up to 12.6 times better than Tesla’s battery, assuming the Tesla lasted 250,000kms. It’s range is 57% better, has a 25 Mile per hour higher top speed, and can charge in 10 minutes.
Their current truck has a 25 mile range…
Kent Beuchert is a fake working for the oil / gas lobby and has posted on hundreds of websites through dummy email accounts. He has been posting for six years on this topic - ridiculous if you think about it. He has made up locations in McLean, VA and Tampa, FL and goes under the guise of a computer analyst. Please forward any information you may have on him as I am writing a story. Regards - David Lassiter
Just for clarification, there is nothing in any of the articles to say that it charges from empty in 10 minutes.. I’d assume this is merely a top-up.
GregB
Oh, another thing…
Regarding the extra range over the Tesla, that could be due to extra batteries, and/or the photo-voltaic glass.. So not hard to imagine the “why”.
Speculation - gotta love it! :-)
GregB
Kent Beuchert wrote:
“None of the electric car’s issues of range and recharge time has been solved until the car’s are affordable to the general public. For all the effect this $120,000 car will have on the environment, it may as well be the Moon rover. People jsut don’t understand what the automakers do - you can’t replace ICEs with electrics until they are economically viable. This one isn’t. I suspect the battery pack alone cost upwards of $40,000.”
Did Kent Beuchert have any comments about the viability of LCD monitors & TVs when they were new? Hello? My 20-inch monitor cost just 10% of the price that was being charged eight years ago for the same thing (no adjustment for inflation, either). My monitor also performs better than the originals. For that matter, I remember seeing my first CD player in 1983. It was a single-CD tabletop model costing $1,000.00, weighing about ten pounds. Ridiculed as “impractical” by the usual late-adopters. Today, I can buy a portable CD player for less than $25.00. Weighs something like 11 ounces. More features, too. And how about cellular phones?
That same applies to the auto industry. Items introduced to the luxury car market are always given the same treatment. Air conditioning originally raised the cost of luxury cars by 50%, because it was new. Similar history for power windows, seats, steering, brakes, CD player, air bags, anti-lock brakes, disc brakes, automatic transmission, fuel injection…
My 2006 Scion XB has all these features once described as “impractical” and “too expensive to make any difference.” I paid less than $16,000 for the car, tax included. So, all these impractical features have been made mainstream and economical. Love it.
Now, add high-performance batteries to the list of standard features on your entry-level vehicle. The electric motor has one moving part, and is highly efficient. No need for the conventional transmission. You’ve long ago traded-in your fossil fuel vehicle (FFV?) for a better-performing, economical EV. Fewer repairs. Fun to drive. Hassle-free. You even “fill ‘er up” from home.
Established industry has a lot to lose. We have much to gain. If we need to wait several years for EVs to become cheap, let’s get started now.
My questions are these:
Aren’t they having problems with cooling the batteries?
Do the batteries lose charge gradually or suddenly over the 350 mile range?
Has anyone seen this car actually in motion, rather than sitting on a stand at an exhibition?
Four in-wheel motors. That raises some interesting questions.
First, the bonus: If that has the power it indicates. That makes for a nice truck design where you need to pull something, like that new Yaght you’ve bought ;)
Now the questions:
What does that do to the maintenance aspects? If one motor goes, has it been designed so the rest continue to work with no additional strain, just a loss in a bit of power and 3-wheel drive instead of 4?
What happens when you go in for the regular rotate-tires maintenance?
Is it a standard wheel size so you can get tires from whatever manufacturer? Probably, this question probably isn’t a concern but in-wheel engines are definitely a change from the norm. For example, the name alone conjures an image of a not-so-standard wheel so you can expect to initially not be able to select from multiple vendors. I wouldn’t expect your standard Boss Model 226 wheel to work even though the tire and bolt specs could match.
If this car meets its promise of annouced performance, then the electrical cars have made it.
A DC motor per wheel is an idea that was once explored by the IREQ, Hydro-Quebec research center near Montreal. This allows anything to happen there like ESP, ABS, etc. With the proper tech there, these cars can be very good even on ice.
Lets see the specs:
- 570 km of range
- 10 minutes of rescharge
- 5 s to go from 0 to 100 km/h
Of course, the question is will we need a special charging station in order to acheive those 10 minutes or is any AC outler going to do the job. You see, if this car delivers than we can expect this system to be installed on any rest area in any country and then after 2 hours of drving, you go for your expresso while connecting your car.
This is a real sports car with acceleration figures as good as a Porsche Carrera, that is what you get with electrical motors: a lot of acceleration and torque. You can surely get a real punch.
We just need the factory to go to mass production so we can a reasonnable price one day or else could they do a simpler sedan for every family ? I would like to see a contender against the SVE Cleanove only sold in France.
If this car is as good as it seems, then we have ni reasons to stick to the petrol driven cars, especially when you spend most of your time in cities. It might be the first true greenhouse gas fighter and its is about time we go for it.
I believe the battery being used is made in China by “Advanced Battery Technologies” (abat.ob on NASDAQ) they are using a PLI battery that has solved that problem.
Electric cars are coming!
i wish one day we will have H20 cars that uses water and garbage (food left overs and etc) :)
For all that are looking for answers about the recharge time. It would be 4 to 6 hours at home and the 10 min apply to a special recharging station which will only take it to 95%. I have done a littke research about this car and according to some articales it will go for around 60K. There is another company (Phoniex) working on the same concept, longer disttance quicker charge. Their’s is a truck or SUV which will go for even less. The only plus to Zap X over Phoniex is Zap has the ability to be upgraded to a 7 passanger. Look up Zap world and there is a video clip as well as a brocher that can be looked at about the features.
Whats the point in showing pictures of a petrol car ?
That doesn’t prove anything.
The press release would have more credibility if they produced technical data.
I want you…
@Ewdi
Yea, that would be a wonderful and environment safe invention.
I remember about 5-7 years ago when they released that they were going to be building these.
I would say it´s around a 250 000 mile lifespan for the battery. Or around 20 years. I believe they calculated the whole thing a bit odd, perhaps they took
900 000 miles as an average annual drive per year or something, you tell me… :)
Still, electric cars are here to stay, no question about it.
Nothing can tell us they can´t match up with gasoline cars any longer.
By the way, you would need a 380 V, 250 kW charger to charge a car for 10 minutes. They´ve already tried it with the Phoenix Motorcar and it works fine, although you need a lot of electronjuice to quickcharge it. But hey, if you have a 570 kilometer range perhpas you don´t have to quickcharge that often. I believe most of the charging would be made at home.
This is a concept car. Its overblown hype. This car will NEVER come onto the market …without a gasoline engine
It’s hard not to be skeptical about electric vehicles because people are concerned with their range and charging time. Ultimately we need to invest and look into electric vehicles! Gas prices have been at an all time high this month and if this continues I don’t know how I am going to survive especially as a full time student in college. I had the opportunity to drive this interesting car by ZAP, which was a ZAP Xebra and I loved it. I drive to school and work and back, running errands, almost 4 times a day. It’s hard to do all this with my car even though it’s a four cylinder it takes $45 to fill it up! Trust me that a lot especially for someone who is working part time. But I believe if a car like the ZAP-X SUV came to the market and succeeded, people would be eating their words. But everything takes time to perfect, but at least ZAP is trying with their trucks and Xebra Sedans. Honestly if I had about $10,000 I would get one.
This is a concept vehicle that is using tech. that has been used in a concept vehicle several years ago. From March 2001. The KAZ EV - Meet the world’s first 8 passenger EV capable of a top speed of 186 mph and a range of nearly 200 miles. http://evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=155
Quick charge time may only be useful for day use fleet vehicles. Considering the fact that electric utilities have excess power during the night and are considering a dual rate to encourage night time use, the best time to charge for the majority is at night when we could potentially be paying maybe 4 cents a KW. I just throw out that price because where I live, we currently pay 5 cents. A lot cheaper than many of you are paying on your day rate. I really wish I had an electric car to take advantage of those rates.
To Dee,
“This is a concept car. Its overblown hype. This car will NEVER come onto the market …without a gasoline engine”
I don’t see why not…after all ZAP has already introduced other very successful EVs into the market. Besides, this technology is available now. Please don’t be so pessimistic.
This EV uses LiPo (Lithium Polymer) batteries along with brushless in wheel motors. The recharge time is very realistic and the car will come with a charging unit with cooling system and computer management so it can mash all that jiuce in there that quick. I have LiPo Batteries in my power tools and a remote control car and they charge this quik with the same type of system. LiPo’s are also biodegradeable and have no toxic emissions or chemicles that harm humans or the enviroment we live in! This type of systen generates a ton of heat hence the battery and charger cooling system, however the batteries them selves are not affected by the heat, other components would catch fire if not properly cooled. Dischargeing does not generate heat. Only charging. LiPo batteries are as close to a “slow release capacitor” as you can get. They provide maximum power to the very end and drop off to “0″ within seconds. Like running out of gas. when it’s gone it’s gone! This car will charge at home or any where in 10-15 minutes. (I would pack a 100′ extension cord to “borrow” some juice from any outside outlet I could find until new laws are passed…lol) But wait…..Now think…How green is this car? It’s carbon footprint may be just as bad as a gas one…why? Where is your electritity made? A coal plant? If so then youre still not helping. More electricty=more coal burning=more green house gasses. Now if you live in a state that uses Nuclear or Hydro-Electric, Wind or Solar like Washington does(Nuke& Hodro) then youre truly green! Just remember your carbon footprint and where any power you use, may come from in how you choose to be green. I’m buying this car all day long(I live in WA) And Yes LiPo batt’s last that long. 3.5mil miles is realistic and yes the batteries will cost around 2/3 the vehicles price or $40,000 US. But hey, at $60k and and a $27k Federal “Green” subsidy and Tax incentives this car will cost about $30,000 which makes this the best vehicke on the road, period! This 7 passenger , 644Hp, 100% torqe from 0, grocery getter slash Freeway Bullie will be aty the top of the food chain bar none! Here’s the brochure. http://www.zapworld.com/files/zap-docs/zap-apx.pdf
To answer the question about the wheel tire package. The hub motors operate independantly in unison. If one goes the others pick up the slack. And thats a huge ‘IF”… this type of DC electric motor has over 100 years of “real world”proven use to be worry free. You can put what ever wheel tire combo you like, just like any other car you drive. To adress the question and comparison to the Tesla roadster. It goes like this… there is NO comparison at all. The Tesla is a niche car using old tech packaged in a Hi-tech wrapper. Their batteries are the honest equivelant of 6000, 8cell Lithium Ion (LiOn)Lap Top or cell phone batteries linked together. A grade schooler could do that for the science fair and run the whole school for a minute or so! Whoopee! The marvel is not the car but the power supply. Lithium Ion Polymer (LiPo) batteries are the answer to this problem. If the Tesla used this power source, then it too would probably achieve 350-400 mile status. It is my feeling we’ll see this car in mid 2010. Aah…that just happens to be when the Benz is paid off, and by then I’ll gladly jump ship and be a full time devotee of my EV. and at the puney cost of about 1c a mile or $3.50 to juice her up, just add leather and wood trim and I’m in!
Oh and one last thing…LiPo batteries are like nothing any of you are used to. What ever you do know about normal batteries, I mean all of them, Alkaline, NiMh, LiOn,etc…rechargable or not doesn’t matter. Nothing you know applies to this type of battery. LiPo’s are to Alkaline’s, what Didital is to analogue. If you understand how a capicitor works then you can start there as your knoweledge base. You do not need Gigawat generators and Massive King Kong Voltage to force feed this type of battery. If you did, it would explode, litterally! I Know, I’ve done it before. Of course, not using the micro chiped, liquid cooled charger supplied. Think of this battery as an electric sponge. This battery will charge in 10 minutes or less to 100% and completely discharge to 1%. The charger will then take over and computer manage the rest of the discharge to 0% then begin the recharge cycle anew. This ensures that 2 things happen. No battery memory like only charging to 75% and telling you it’s 100% like your cell phone does after a few years use. And it extends and conditions the battery for maximum life like 9000 charges. This car will plug in to your wall with a standard 120v outlet and in car charging system. So…….yes this EV will most likely have a heat pump like your house. It will serve at least 2 purposes. One, heating and cooling the interior, and two, managing the heat dissipation from the charging cycle while plugged in. I hope all of my
practical user based knowledge is helpful to the Nay sayers out there who just don’t understand what they’re talking about when they say this is ‘Hyped Up” marketing to get attention. It is not, and all you doubters should go back to school and read before you Blog!
If this battery is as good as it sounds I want one in my house
To see more about these batteries, take a trip to your local RC Hobby store. LiPo batteries are the latest craze because of their power and output ratios. Unfortunately they’re rather expensive. Almost 2x’s as much because of the charging system and materiels used. Even so…they’re rediclously awsome to say the least. If a Tesla roadster had this type of battery system it’d do 170-190 mph and not even break a sweat..No joke! Unfortunately they use a central drive motor geared to the rear wheels. Thats still old hat compared to “in-wheel” brushless motors. The best part is theres no power curve. It’s all 100% ft.lbs. of torque from “0″ on up! That means you’d bald your new Yokohama’s in a day! Thank god and my wallet for a computer assisted agresive take off, management system…lol. The console should have a button that reads “JATO” for the speed freaks and folks who wanna un-kink their spines via massive longitudinal “G’s” at take off!