kickingtyres

Capstone Turbine are débuting  their CMT-380 hybrid car at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week.  It uses their 30 Kw C30 Microturbine as a generator to recharge Lithium ioin batteries when they run out of power, and houses the whole lot in the not-unattractive GTM Supercar from FactoryFive, which is normally sold as a kit.  The combination of electric motor, batteries and turbine gives the car a total range of 500 miles (between battery and bio-diesel), and some pretty respectable performance figures to boot: 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, 150 mph top speed not to mention the incredibly low emissions.

Unfortunately, while the CMT-380 is an attractive package, Capstone have no plans to build it.   If they did, however, I think it would be a far more attractive proposition than a Tesla Roadster or a Toyota Prius.

Capstone CMT-380: http://www.capstoneturbine.com/news/story.asp?id=536
FactoryFive GTM kit: http://www.factoryfive.com/gtmhome.html

Japan gets battery swapping electric taxis • The Register.

Swappable batteries?  What did I tell you, it’s the first step towards the electric vehicle that we would drive.

Clean mean Manx machine for TTXGP – Isle of Man Today.

Last year’s MGP junior race winner Dan Kneen is to ride for the team fronted by software engineer and MGP rider Keith McKay from Ramsey. The bike is to be built by Phil Wall of Boal Engineering in Ramsey…

…The team is in the process of buying a Suzuki GSXR600 as a donor bike and the battery system, from a supplier in America, is due next month.

‘Technology in this area moves so fast there is an advantage in being late in the day. We can take advantage of developments that were not available six months ago,’ said Keith.

The team is starting with a Suzuki model which is already a race bike so it benefits from modifications such as upgraded brakes and Ohlins suspension and has a more modern chassis design…

…The FIM has added its support to the green TT event at its annual press conference in February. So far teams from America, the UK, India, Germany and Austria have confirmed they are entering.

KillaCycle electric-motorcycle sets new drag record

The KillaCyle has again caused record-keepers to reach for their erasers with a world beating run of 7.890 seconds for the quarter mile at the Bandimere Speedway in Colorado

It’s an amazing piece of engineering, and certainly makes the conceptof electric bikes somewhat more palatable to those who perceive electric power as somehow less fun, powerful or whatever.  However, while this machine is pushing back the boundaries of performance, I suspect it’s far removed from bringing effective electric power to two wheels in the practical world, where weight, chargetimes, handling and range are all important.