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Mission Motors unveils Mission R electric racing superbike

December 20, 2010 at 12:12 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Bikes, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

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Another electric superbike has come about, and this one is set to compete in the TTXGP racing series in 2011. San Francisco-based Mission Motors has introduced what it tags as an entirely new race-ready design, called the Mission R. At the heart of it all is a liquid-cooled three-phase AC induction motor offering 14.4 kWh and 141 hp, housed in a package smaller than that in a current 600cc petrol equivalent.

Built by the EV powertrain technology arm of Mission Motors, in this case MissionEVT, the unit offers 156 Nm of torque at the crank from 0 to 6,400 rpm, and performance specs include a top speed of over 260 kph in a single gear. A MissionEVT 100kW motor controller offers customisable regenerative braking maps as well as throttle maps, allowing the user to tune the bike to his preference.

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Meanwhile, the Mission R’s chassis features an entirely new design for integrating and balancing the weight and volume of a large EV battery pack into a motorbike, and the chassis is wrapped in a new and aerodynamic industrial design by Tim Prentice of Motonium, with a small frontal-area and aggressive ergonomics.

All vehicle and ride data is accessible via WiFi or 3G connections, and MotoGP-spec components from Öhlins, Brembo, and Marchesini round out this built-for-racing package.

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Electric superbike set to go racing against petrol racebikes

December 10, 2010 at 11:07 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Bikes, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

swigz ebike

Next month will see the start of a rather intriguing two-wheeled battle, that of electric versus gasoline, as the world’s most powerful electric superbike goes head to head against conventional gasoline-powered race bikes in a professionally organised road race in the US.

The Swigz Racing bike will compete against the likes of racing superbikes such as the Ducati 1198 and KTM RC8 at the Auto Club Speedway in California in January, though it will make its track debut later this month in a private test.

By February next year, the 194 hp and 400 Nm electric superbike – which features a bespoke KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) among the host of tech on board – should become the most powerful road racing motorcycle of any kind being actively campaigned.

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Excluded from the FIM and TTXGP Championships for electric motorcycles, which set a new 250kg maximum weight limit for 2011 (the bike weighs 266 kg), Swigz Racing’s owner Chip Yates, who is also the bike’s rider, said the decision was made to take the platform forward in the competitive environment of gasoline bike racing.

With a power to weight ratio that is slightly better than 600cc bikes, the machine will begin the 2011 season by competing in the WERA Pirelli Sportsman Heavyweight Twins Superbike class, where its power to weight ratio puts it in the middle of the field, though a more than 20% increase to its current 194 hp has been planned after the first race.

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Mitsubishi showcases electric vehicle concepts at KLIMS

December 7, 2010 at 12:29 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 KL International Motor Show, Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Mitsubishi


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After bringing you live coverage from the world’s top motor shows this year – Detroit, Geneva, Paris and more recently Thailand – browsing through our own motor show felt rather strange. No running around halls in chase of world debuts (Proton and Perodua are neighbours) and with so little fresh metal to gawk at, KLIMS 2010 is a long way from being an “International” show. The Europeans, except for Naza handled Peugeot and Maserati, didn’t bother, and occupied floor space has declined from the last show in 2006.

That said, it’s still the best we’ve got and the show has to go on. Fortunately, some brands took the effort to bring in concept cars to make the entrance fee more worthwhile. Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia outdid its peers by bringing in two concepts showcasing its EV technology. Both the Concept PX-MiEV (from Tokyo 2009) and i-MiEV Sport Air (Geneva 2009) preview not just emissions free motoring, but show that future green motoring need not be boring.


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The crossover features S-AWC (Super All Wheel Control) that controls torque and braking at each wheel for optimum traction. S-AWC incorporates the electronically-controlled E-AYC (Electric-powered Active Yaw Control) which uses a differential motor to control rear wheel torque split. S-AWC also exercises integrated control over the ASC, ABS and E-4WD systems. Sounds a lot like Evo trickery, doesn’t it? Paul has a comprehensive post on the Concept PX-MiEV here.


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The tiny Sport Air uses a more powerful version of the i-MiEV’s permanent magnet synchronous electric motor – 60 kW/230 Nm versus 47 kW/180 Nm. Weight, distribution and centre of gravity was the focus for this concept – the floor pan location of the Li-ion batteries, EV components that are put as low as possible, a plastic roof and aluminium rear suspension were among the measures. The result is 50:50 weight distribution.

Check them out at PWTC’s Tun Razak Hall 4.

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The UTM/Proton-developed EV Saga breaks cover

December 1, 2010 at 9:15 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Proton

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Ahead of the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show’s opening, Proton and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia today previewed the EV Saga plug-in electric vehicle, a collaborative effort that took 11 months to develop.

In case you’re wondering whether this is the same Saga EV Concept as seen more than a year ago, well, it’s not, even if you can’t run away from some of the EV-based fundamentals and the similar name – the current car also bears the Green Propulsion Concept sub-moniker the earlier version did.

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The project had a core team of 20 people, 10 each from Proton and UTM, with the UTM team made up of lecturers, postgrad student and technicians from the university’s Power Electronics and Drives Research Group (PEDG) of the Energy Research Alliance, led by associate professor Dr Nik Rumzi Nik Idris.

Effectively, Proton laid the foundations with a base Saga, sans standard drivetrain and powertrain, and specified – as well as purchased – the EV-based materials that were used on the car, with UTM primarily responsible for incorporating everything into developing the final product. The modification work was done at the FKE lab in Skudai, Johor and at Proton’s Research Dept lab in Shah Alam.

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Specifications-wise, the EV Saga fields an Azure Dynamics AC24LS 5.5 kW 4-pole, three-phase air-cooled AC electric motor (and corresponding DMOC445 digital motor controller) that can spin up to a maximum of 11,000 rpm, and which offers 47 kW (63 hp) of peak power and 92 Nm of max torque, working with a single-gear transmission and a 15 kWh, 50Ah lithium-ion battery.

The battery consists of 8 separate modules, and each module is made up of 40 cells (in a four-in-parallel, 10-in-series configuration), and together the assembly weighs in at 240 kg, though unlike the 12 module battery in the earlier Saga EV incarnation, it doesn’t completely eat up the boot space of the car (they sit quite comfortably in the spare wheel well area). Incidentally, weight-wise, the EV Saga tips the scales at just 150 kg more than a standard Saga, with the battery being the hefty lad.

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The battery gets its cooling via fan ventilation, which gets its juice from the three-panel solar photovoltaic system sitting on the roof of the car. Each panel is able to provide 5 watts, making 15 in total, just enough to get things going for the battery, but not enough to ventilate the cabin – the incorporation of a larger panel assembly is being planned.

Off a normal 240V point, the battery takes seven to eight hours to charge fully, though it can be fast charged if the need arises. Performance-wise, the EV Saga has a top speed of 125 kph and offers a 160 km range (in NEDC cycle mode), with a 0-100 kph time of 14.5 seconds.

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The gearshift in the prototype had a rather strange selector pattern arrangement (D, B, P, N, S, E, R), which turned out to be Drive, (regenerative) Braking, Park, Neutral, Sport, Eco and Reverse. Well, the Sport (full power) and Eco (the term is descriptive enough, no?) functions had to go somewhere, I suppose. A switch marked Regen Brake (with either Dry or Slippery mode, toggled) next to the shifter is essentially an adjustment switch for the level of regeneration being placed back into the system.

There are some points to note about the performance figures above, as I found out from talking to the UTM boffins – the top speed is that read from bench testing, and though the range under the NEDC cycle is rated at 160 km, testing under real world conditions (with traffic, as well as irregular stop-start and speed cycles) hasn’t ascertained what a realistic – and repeatable – operational range might be. So far, on-road testing has been primarily carried out within UTM’s grounds. And though the car has an air-conditioner, the latter hasn’t been factored in too.

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Final numbers notwithstanding, the effort is a sterling one from those involved in the EV’s development. As with all things new, the learning curve has been steep; the project has had its odd hiccup and expected difficulties while in transition from start to final product (the nastiest bit would be an incident during DC to DC testing, with an oversight effectively frying half the battery assembly’s modules). Still, there has certainly been much learnt, and learnt very well, so kudos are in order – take a bow, gentlemen.

A mention of another highlight in the EV Saga, which revolves around the lights. The car features the use of LED head and tail lamps, which isn’t exactly novel, but what is happens to be the system that drives things along – a specially-designed digital optics driver made by Penang-based company Digitron Research Laboratory.

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The system, which took two years to design, offers tunable and efficiently distributed light intensity and throw (up to 20 metres), with items such as phase and time shift as well as line vectoring all tailorable, depending on application.

Beneficially, in the EV Saga, the two headlamps use up only 12 watts of consumption, the tail lamp cluster 10 watts, and the interior lighting a further eight watts, making for a grand total of 30. Which follows the green stance of things to a T. Its developer says the real benefits of the system will be in the area of commercial lighting, which is definitely a very bright thought.

Gallery after the jump.
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DRIVEN! Proton’s Range Extender Electric Exora Prototype

November 25, 2010 at 7:12 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Test Drive Reviews

Here’s something unexpected. We’ve not only got up close and personal with Proton’s prototype Exora EV, we’ve driven it already! And this wasn’t at a Proton event, but at the iGREET (Information on Green Technology) seminar series on green technology organised by Cyberview Sdn Bhd, the landowner of Cyberjaya. Proton was invited to this sixth and last iGREET session to talk about its foray into the electric vehicle scene.

As most know by now, Proton will roll out green cars in the near future that are often dubbed as “hybrid cars” by the media. In actual fact, the cars coming our way aren’t hybrids in the mould of the Prius or Civic Hybrid, but electric cars powered solely by batteries.

Proton’s Green Project Team is working with UK-based Fraser-Nash Research, Lotus, Imperial College London and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on a Range Extender Electric Vehicle or REEV – Proton is currently testing the REEV Exora with and without the range extender function, because it’s just a matter of switching the engine on or off.

Some of you might wonder what a range extender is? One of the main drawbacks of an EV is the limited range, and the RE engine takes care of this by providing the battery with juice when it runs dry. So you can reach your destination safely before plugging the car in. The Chevrolet Volt also uses such a system, where its ICE engine doesn’t power the wheels. The experimental RE in the Exora EV prototype is a 400 cc rotary engine with 50 hp. The mass production model most probably won’t come with a rotary, but the target is minimum 50 hp.

There are two electric motors powering this Exora – one for each front wheel. Each makes 35 kW to make 70 kW in total, while torque is rated at 220 Nm combined, available from rest. Proton has decided on the use of lithium polymer batteries, which is more advanced than the lithium ion variety, which is already better than the NiMH packs used in today’s hybrids. Targeted charging time from 10% to full is 6-8 hours while fast charging takes 30 minutes. Proton is aiming for 140 km/h top speed and 140 km range on the Saga body, so we’ll presume that the figures will be slightly less for the Exora.

A charging infrastructure is obviously needed, but at least EV drivers won’t be stranded due to the range extender engine. The REEV Exora is heading to production as early as next year, although nothing is confirmed at this point, which is why we don’t have a detailed technical analysis.

What we have however, is driving impressions of the REEV Exora. We drove the exact same car that won the “Best Range Extender EV” award at the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Future Car Challenge in England earlier this month. Read it and view the pics after the jump!
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The CARe 500 EV – get one with or without batteries!

November 22, 2010 at 11:28 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

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German energy supply company mk-group Holding has come out with the CARe 500, an electric car based on the Fiat 500, and with this one, you can choose to buy it with or without batteries.

Erm, that’s right. Fully-loaded, a CARe 500 goes for 36,900 euros, with various subsidies reducing this amount. Buy one without the batteries and the cost begins from 23,900 euros. Of course you’ll need batteries for the needed juice to get the car going, and these you can “rent” for 150 euros per month; the cost includes a flat-rate fee for electricity.

“The advantage of purchasing the car without batteries is that, for 150 euros per month, you will always have fully functional batteries at your disposal, you don’t have to actually purchase the most expensive part of an electric car and fuel is included at a flat rate,” says mk-group Holding’s CEO Richard Kristek.

Manufactured by Swedish company EVadapt, the CARe 500 is a series production vehicle with a fully electric drive, and offers a range of 120 km and a maximum speed of 120 kph. It recharges in six to eight hours using a normal 230V power socket, and a service network of approximately 650 branches ensure the mobility of these electric cars.

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Honda Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius battery replacement costs revealed!

November 22, 2010 at 2:59 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Toyota

The Star has a very interesting report which came out yesterday. It answers some of the questions that many motorists thinking of taking the leap to hybrid ownership will be asking, based on interviewing spokespersons from both Toyota and Honda, the only two companies which are selling hybrid cars in Malaysia that benefit from the new zero percent import and excise duty. Porsche also sells the Cayenne Hybrid here but because of its engine size, it doesn’t get any exemptions.

I would only take the battery prices information seriously as everything else are just claims that the cars have no issues.

  • The Toyota Prius battery costs RM11,500.
  • The Honda Civic Hybrid battery costs RM12,000 but there is a 15% discount for customers who buy from authorized dealers.
  • Prius warranty is 3 years or 100,000km which covers battery too.
  • Civic Hybrid warranty for battery is 3 years or 100,000km.
  • UMW Toyota claims there have not been a single battery replacement due to wear and tear in the US, where all generations of Prius have been on sale since 2000.
  • Priuses used as taxis in the US have clocked 400,000km without any hybrid component failure.
  • A Prius taxi that clocked 550,000km in Australia needed battery replacement due to a low voltage reading.
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Kia Optima Hybrid introduced – market entry in early 2011

November 19, 2010 at 5:17 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Kia

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Yet another joins the hybrid ranks, and this one is from Korean automaker Kia. The company introduced its new Kia Optima Hybrid Sedan at the 2010 LA Auto Show, and the vehicle is slated to make its US market debut early next year.

It’s equipped with a parallel hybrid system, where a 2.4 litre Theta II Atkinson cycle petrol engine is mated to a small electric motor and drives the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission, without the traditional torque converter.

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The car’s 30kW Interior Permanent Magnet (IPM) synchronous electric motor – described by Kia engineers as a Transmission-Mounted-Electric-Drive (TMED) – sits within the car’s extended transmission casing between the petrol engine and the automatic gearbox, and is the world’s first oil-cooled system.

A special clutch is fitted between the engine and motor, enabling the petrol engine to be de-coupled from the powertrain so that Optima can be operated in zero-emissions, full-electric drive mode from standstill up to 100 kph. Such is the configuration that a high-capacity electric motor and generator isn’t required, thus saving weight and cost.

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When setting off, the Optima Hybrid operates in Electric Mode, and as the vehicle speed rises, the 8.5 kW Hybrid Starter motor/Generator (HSG) starts the petrol engine and the clutch is closed, allowing the engine to take over the task of propelling the car. The electric motor switches into hybrid operation and serves as both a secondary engine (during full acceleration and hill-climbing) and a generator to recharge the battery pack as necessary.

The motor offers 30 kW (40 hp) and 205 Nm of torque from 0 to 1400 rpm in electric mode, and the combined hybrid powertrain of electric motor and engine puts out 154 kW (206 hp) and 265 Nm. Performance specs include a 0-100 kph time of 9.2 seconds, a top speed of 195 kph and a combined fuel economy of 6.2 litres per 100km, which is a significant improvement over a bog standard Optima.

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Battery-wise, the car employs a 34 kW lithium polymer battery array developed in partnership with LG Chem. Compared with nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium polymer batteries weigh 20-30% less, occupy 40% less volume, are 10% more efficient and can hold their charge 25% longer than NiMh units.

So reliable is the battery pack, which weighs in at just 43.6 kg, that a replacement isn’t needed for at least 10 years/250,000 km, says the company.

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The Optima Hybrid gets a few tweaks to help it along, aerodynamically speaking – the car is lowered by 5mm and new features include an active air flap in the front grille, smooth underfloor panels, low-drag wheels and low rolling resistance tyres, all helping to reduce the drag coefficient to 0.26Cd.

Gallery after the jump.
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Infiniti M35h’s Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians (VSP) system

November 19, 2010 at 3:04 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Infiniti, International News

Infiniti claims its new M35h set to go on sale in 6 months time is the world’s first production hybrid to feature an audible pedestrian warning system called the Approaching Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians (VSP) system.

As the M35h uses a hybrid drivetrain that consists of a 306 PS 3.5 litre V6 mated to a 68 PS electric motor that can run on the electric motor alone especially at low town driving speeds, the detectability of the car to visually impaired pedestrians is a cause for concern.

The VSP system is computer controlled and links an in-car sound synthesiser with a speaker built in to the front bumper. It works from a standstill up to 30km/h upon which it cuts off, and cuts back in at 25km/h as the vehicle slows down. The M35h can travel on electric-only mode at speeds of up to 80km/h but according to Infiniti, road noise past 30km/h was deemed sufficient for VSP to remain off.

A range of high-low sounds at different volume levels ranging from 2.5kHz at the high end to a low of 600Hz was chosen after an extensive research programme to find the most effective, but least intrusive, noise. It was also designed to be audible to all age groups. We wish we could hear how it sounds like on the Infiniti M35h but you can find an example of VSP working on the Nissan LEAF above.

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Wheego LiFe set to join the growing ranks of EVs in the US

November 19, 2010 at 2:38 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

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It really is a case of having a lot of faith – American electric vehicle maker Wheego Electric Cars will be launching sales of its ultra-compact LiFe EV across the US in mid-December, even though it hasn’t yet gotten the Environmental Protection Agency certification that’s needed to do so. At the LA show, the company said it is confident it’ll obtain the necessary formality in time.

The two-seater LiFe (and doesn’t that shape remind you of a particular two-seater?), which derives its name from a play on the symbols of lithium and iron, is driven by an electric motor powered by a 115V lithium-ion battery, and with 60 hp on tap gets to a top speed of 112 kph.

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The US-engineered LiFe, utilising a body made in China, can be charged from a standard 120V or 240V outlet, as well as a J1772 standard charging station, the last which are being installed in public locations throughout the US. It comes equipped with driver and passenger airbags and ABS brakes and in six colours.

Wheego added in LA that it has plans to introduce a five-passenger car in late next year, as well as a compact pickup based on that vehicle sometime in early 2012.

Gallery after the jump.
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