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Tesla
EV record: Tesla Roadster travels 313 miles on a single charge
21:58 October 28, 2009 PDT
The Tesla Roadster has set a new distance record for a production electric vehicle by traveling 313 miles (501km) on a single charge. The milestone took place during the 2009 Global Green Challenge in Australia where eco-friendly vehicles have been battling it out over a formidable 1800 mile course. The distance achieved is well above the 244 mile range Tesla quotes in its specs... and on top of that, the electric sportscar reportedly had 3 miles worth of charge left in its batteries when it finished the record breaking run. Read More
Wildcharge review - is wireless power worth it?
By Paul Lester
20:29 October 25, 2009 PDT
It seems strange to think that in today’s age of ever advancing technology, it’s been over 100 years since Nikola Tesla began developing theories for wireless power, and though researchers at MIT have picked up the baton in recent times, we’re still waiting for an efficient, mass-market way to abolish reams of unsightly cables from our homes. The Powermat, demonstrated at CES 2009, is one product that threatens to kick-start this revolution. Another early mover in the market is WildCharge and we've been testing one of these devices to find out first hand what all the fuss is about. Read More
Test drive: the all-electric Tesla Roadster
11:55 October 5, 2009 PDT
While the big news recently from Tesla has been its Model S vehicle, U.S. government loans to the company, and a plan for using the Model S platform for several new products including a minivan, crossover vehicle, and a utility van, we decided it was worth a closer look at the Tesla vehicle that you can buy now. Dave Weinstein climbs aboard the Roadster for a test drive. Read More
Video: Eric Giler demonstrates wireless electricity at TEDGlobal 2009
By Loz Blain
23:21 August 30, 2009 PDT
It's fascinating to think that while Edison and Tesla battled over the ascendancy of AC versus DC, most of the world didn't think this electricity thing was going to take off - I mean, who was going to spend trillions of dollars rolling out great coils of copper wire to bring this thing to the masses? Nikola Tesla was thinking along the same lines, and the Serbian genius's mysterious Wardenclyffe Tower was to be an experiment in beaming electricity wirelessly across the world, eliminating the need for a wired power grid altogether. But wireless electricity has been enjoying a cautious revival in the past decade - mainly at short distance and for reasonably trivial applications like charging cell phones and other battery-powered equipment. And as Eric Giler's great ten-minute demonstration at this year's TEDGlobal shows, wireless power seems very close to breaking through into the mainstream market. Read More
The world's best sports car show
By Gizmag Team
20:19 August 20, 2009 PDT
Imagine a sports car show held not in an exhibition center, but at the safest racetrack in the world, so the cars can be appreciated in their natural surroundings, without speed limits. The first “International GT & Supercar Show” will be held at Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France on September 26 and 27. Exhibitors include Ferrari, Gumpert, Koenigsegg, Ad Tramontana, Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, F&M, Morgan, Audi Wiesmann, Spyker, Mosler, Pagani, Porsche, Saleen, TVR, Yes, Venturi, Alfa Romeo Zagato, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Castagna Milano, Maserati, Lotus, Lightning and Tesla. Read More
Electric Car Grand Prix announced
By Mike Hanlon
05:56 June 8, 2009 PDT
TTXGP, the world’s first clean emission eGrandPrix has announced plans for a return to the Isle of Man in August 2010. In a development on the TTXGP 2009 event to be run later this week, plans for 2010 include an extended motorcycle race with two laps including pit-stops and hot-swappable batteries and plans to include a class for electric cars. It is an enormous irony that the first electric car race is looming at exactly the same time as the myopic Formula One circus hurtles towards self destruction with talk of strikes, alternative series and erratic governance. Read More
Tesla delivers 500th Roadster EV
By David Greig
21:09 June 3, 2009 PDT
Tesla Motors has delivered its 500th Roadster to New Jersey Philanthropist Martin Tuchman. The fledgling electric car company - 10 percent of which was acquired by Daimler last month - also has 1000 reservations for its Model S electric sedan and plans to roll into Europe this year, opening showrooms in London, Monaco and Munich, as well as Seattle, Miami, Washington, Chicago and a second New York store in the Chelsea Art District. Read More
New GPU-based SuperServer delivers 12X more computing power
By Mike Hanlon
03:35 June 1, 2009 PDT
NVIDIA and Supermicro today announced the immediate availability of a new class of server that combines massively parallel NVIDIA Tesla GPUs with multi-core CPUs in a single 1U rack-mount server. This unique configuration delivers 12 times the performance of a traditional quad-core CPU-based 1U server. Supermicro will be demonstrating the NVIDIA Tesla-based SuperServer 6016T-GF-TM2 at Computex 2009 in Taiwan this week. Read More
Daimler buys 10 percent stake in Tesla
02:19 May 22, 2009 PDT
Daimler AG has announced the acquisition of almost 10 percent of fledgling Californian EV producer Tesla. The deal, which should help Tesla meet its planned 2011 launch date for the Model S sedan, is the latest news in an ongoing relationship between Tesla and the German automotive giant which also includes a previously announced agreement to supply lithium-ion battery packs in the first 1,000 units of Daimler’s electric smart car. Read More
Chrysler chooses A123 batteries for Electric Vehicles
By Paul Evans
22:04 April 19, 2009 PDT
Chrysler this week announced it will use batteries from A123 Systems in its range of Electric Vehicles, the first of which should be a Tesla Roadster competitor - the Dodge Circuit. A123 and Chrysler have been working together over the last three years to develop a modular battery system based on prismatic cells using the same lithium iron nano-phosphate chemistry that has already gained a huge reputation following the world records set by Killacycle. Read More
World's top 5 fastest street legal electric cars
By Paul Evans
02:40 April 10, 2009 PDT
Cars like the million dollar Porsche Carrera GT and Ferrari Enzo are rightly considered supercars with their lightweight carbon fiber construction and 650 hp (477 kw) thoroughbred mid mounted engines making them capable of 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. The amazing thing is that electric vehicles like the 250 hp (183 kw) Tesla Roadster, which produce 100% instant torque from zero rpm, can accelerate to 60 mph in the exact same time, and at costs as low as $0.02 per mile. Paul Evans takes a look at the leading lights of this new breed of speed demon - the top 5 fastest Electric Vehicles in the world. Read More
Closer look: the Tesla Model S
By Paul Evans
01:31 April 3, 2009 PDT
There is much excitement and publicity surrounding the launch of the long awaited all electric sedan from Tesla Motors and more details have emerged since the Tesla Model S was unveiled. The specs that have officially been announced are not yet substantial enough for a full technical review at this stage, but we do know that the EV sedan has a top speed of 130 mph, is capable of 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, charges in 45 minutes and has a 160 mile (256 km) range with the standard battery option. According to the company's website we can expect to see an AWD option somewhere in the future and although it's not not officially stated, according to reporters at the the unveiling who were able to question Tesla engineers the Model S will be rear wheel drive (RWD) in its standard configuration. Gizmag's Paul Evans takes a closer look at what we know, and what questions remain unanswered. Read More
Tesla Model S unveiled!
17:12 March 26, 2009 PDT
Tesla has just pulled the wraps off its eagerly awaited EV sedan - the Model S - and on first impressions, it doesn't disappoint. Gizmag's Dave Weinstein has brought us these first pics from the coal-face. Read More
Smart fortwo BRABUS electric drive
By Paul Evans
17:48 March 4, 2009 PST
Following on from the cosmetically customized version of the Tesla Roadster which debuted at the Essen Motor Show 2008, German tuning house BRABUS has seen the writing on the wall and launched a second electric car, this time based on a Smart fortwo. Drowned in matt green throughout the exterior and interior, the car comes with the same style monoblock light-alloy wheels and the (somewhat gimmicky) LED Daytime running lights as used on the Tesla, as well as some real technical innovation in the drive train. Read More
Ultimate Aero EV: 1000 horsepower electric supercar
By Paul Evans
03:18 January 28, 2009 PST
January 28, 2009 In the latest installment from the company that announced only four months ago that it is working on a new breed of EV super car “featuring a revolutionary power source allowing for the possibility of several years between charging”, we now have the just-as-fantastic prospect of the world's first roadgoing 1000 bhp battery electric vehicle. Shelby Sports Cars says it expects to roll out its first full-scale, pre-production Ultimate Aero EV in Q2 2009 so we won’t have long to see if this ambitious claim can become reality. Read More
P1-E electric car with a McLaren F1 beating 0-60 in 2.9 sec
By Paul Evans
23:09 January 27, 2009 PST
From the country with more cottage industry sports car manufactures per capita than anywhere else in the world, the British are at it again. No sooner has the much publicized British Lightning GT - an all electric Aston Martin look-a-like with four wheel motors - vanished from sight following wheel motor manufactures PML flight link being put into administration another previously unknown British sports car hopeful has announced an all electric sports car. Former McLaren employee Jim Dowle whose company JJAD first released details about his P1 sports car in February 2008 has now announced the P1-E. The P1 was originally conceived as a 200hp 870 kg petrol powered challenger to the Lotus Exige but Dowle has obviously seen the writing on the wall and the P1 has now been reincarnated as an All Wheel Drive battery electric sports car. Read More
Mitsubishi i MiEV SPORT AIR Concept with transparent removable roof
By Mike Hanlon
14:42 January 26, 2009 PST
Mitsubishi has just announced i MiEV SPORT AIR concept, which will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The i MiEV SPORT was announced at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show (announcement/show report/gallery), weighing 970kg with 107 kW (143.5 bhp) and a whopping 680 Nm of torque – compare that with the 2009 Tesla’s 185 kW, 375 nm and 1238 kg. Now a brief cryptic press release indicates that the new i MiEV SPORT AIR will be a "proper sports car", inferring the i MiEV SPORT was not. So we’re expecting some pretty special performance to match the stunning good looks and the transparent removable top. Read More
Mercedes Benz BlueZERO EV on show in Detroit
By Paul Evans
04:13 January 21, 2009 PST
We first encountered the Mercedes-Benz BlueZERO concept vehicle platform when it was announced in December and recently we had chance to take a closer look at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Read More
Tesla to make battery packs for SMART EV
By Paul Evans
22:12 January 15, 2009 PST
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, announced Tuesday in Detroit that Tesla is producing the battery pack for Daimler AG's Smart EV. The companies, which have been partnering on electric powertrain technology for almost a year and a half, will produce 1,000 vehicles in 2009 and 2010, and Musk said the deal could grow into the "tens of thousands" of Smart EVs after that. Daimler already has an existing relationship with German tier one automotive supplier Continential who will supply a 25kg lithium-ion battery pack, with cells from Johnson Controls-Saft, to be used in the new Mercedes S400 BlueHYBRID hybrid-electric car available from the middle of 2009. Read More
Porsche 911 EV unveiled by German tuner RUF
By Paul Evans
17:20 December 10, 2008 PST
German Porsche tuner Ruf has produced the world’s first professionally built electric 911, the eRUF. The prototype replaces the flat six engine with a brushless three-phase motor powered by lithium-ion batteries. Although not as quick as a petrol-engined 911, Ruf’s engineers say the eRUF is still good for a 0-60mph time of under 7.0sec and has a top speed of 160mph. More importantly it’s claimed to have a maximum range of nearly 200 miles. Read More
BRABUS customized Tesla Roadster gets space-age soundtrack
19:59 November 13, 2008 PST
The era of the electric car is dawning and BRABUS isn't about to be left behind. Often gracing these pages with its high-performance adaptations of Mercedes Benz and other vehicles, the German tuning specialist has announced the formation of a new Zero Emission division which, as its first order of business, has produced a customization program for the Tesla Roadster EV that sets out to "define a potential limited edition as well as an individual tuning program for the Tesla driver". For the pilot concept, the electric engine and drive-train remain untouched but almost everything else gets a dose of cosmetic surgery - new matte white paintwork, new wheels, splashes of carbon fiber bodywork and yes, a sound-generator that not only simulates the noise of a V8 or racecar engine, but also gives drivers the option of cruising to truly 21st century sounds dubbed ‘Beam’ and ‘Warp’. Read More
Solar Power Satellites could broadcast energy to Earth
By Kyle Sherer
15:03 October 29, 2008 PDT
Dusting off an old renewable energy proposal, president of the National Space Society Ben Bova recently published an article in The Washington Post calling for the next president of the United States to commission a US$1 billion solar power satellite from NASA before the end of their second term. The satellite would harness energy directly from the sun and broadcast it back to a receiver on Earth using microwave frequencies. Read More
GM takes wraps off Chevrolet Volt production model
20:09 September 16, 2008 PDT
General Motors has officially unveiled the production version of the Chevrolet Volt. We first encountered this electric-vehicle as a concept in early 2007 and following a first glimpse last month, we now have a much clearer picture of the what it will look like when it hits showrooms in the US in 2011. The four-seater represents a clever compromise by GM engineers in balancing fully-electric, zero local emissions driving with the need for greater range. The Volt has a full-time electric drive and can cover 40 miles on purely electric power, which is ample for the day to day driving most of us do, but when the battery runs low, a gasoline/E85-powered engine generator kicks-in to maintain power supply and extend the range by "several hundred miles" according to GM. Read More
Tesla to build new all-electric car in California
20:08 July 2, 2008 PDT
Tesla Motors will build the follow up vehicle to the Tesla Roadster in California. The plan to manufacture the 4-door, 5-passenger sedan was announced earlier this week by Ze’ev Drori, CEO of Tesla Motors, and California Governor Schwarzenegger Read More
Fully electric, 130+mph Tesla Roadster goes into production
By Loz Blain
20:49 March 17, 2008 PDT
March 18, 2008 A very significant milestone in zero-emissions motoring has just occurred as Tesla Motors announced yesterday that its groundbreaking electric sportscar has commenced regular production. The 130mph Tesla Roadster is the first production electric car to boast genuine sports performance coupled with a 210+ mile range between battery charges, which make it both exciting and viable for the vast majority of driving purposes. The fact that it's utterly gorgeous, with hints of the Lotus Elise, doesn't hurt either. All of the 2008 models scheduled for production have already been snapped up for just under US$100,000 each - and reservations are now being taken on the 2009 model. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
