 |
AC Propulsion to Produce April 24, 1999
AC Propulsion unveiled the first production prototype tzero sports car at the EFV World Expo in Santa Monica, California, today. The tzero out-accelerates some of the fastest cars in the world, makes less noise then the most luxurious cars in the world, and emits zero emissions. Of course, the tzero is electric. The production prototype displayed at EFV Expo reveals some of the new features that will appear in production tzeros. Stainless steel replaces mild steel in the revised tubular space frame chassis, increasing strength, reducing weight, and eliminating corrosion. Revisions to suspension components improve handling and reduce weight. Brake upgrades also reduce weight. Other improvements will include better cabin ventilation and heating, more comfortable seats, and changes to reduce manufacturing cost. 'The tzero proved its performance potential early on", observed AC Propulsion vice president Alec Brooks, who heads the tzero production effort. "During the past year we have focused on developing the non-EV aspects of the tzero and now we have a package that's a great sports car by any standard. We're ready to go. We're aiming to start a low-volume production run, basically cars just like this one, by the end of this year or early 2000. Our new web site has a lot more information." The tzero uses the AC Propulsion drive system upgraded to increase performance. "Because the tzero is so light, we can tweak the drive system to increase torque and power without risking any durability loss", says Brooks. 'We get 220 horsepower on the dyno, but our batteries can reliably provide 'only' 200 horsepower that's 585 amps of battery current at 300 Volts so we've set our power rating at 200 horsepower. Still, with continuous electric torque, the tzero can out-accelerate virtually all other street cars at legal speeds. One of the car magazines recently clocked 0-60 mph acceleration at 4.68 seconds. AC Propulsion is a California corporation dedicated to creating electric vehicles that people want to drive. Founded in 1992, the company develops, manufactures, and licenses technology for high performance electric vehicle drive systems. AC Propulsion has patented several key technologies for electric vehicles, including Reductive charging. Reductive charging integrates a high-power battery charger into the vehicle's motor drive electronics, with very low incremental cost. Volkswagen AG has selected AC Propulsion and Reductive Charging for its electric vehicle development program.
|
|
©2006 AC Propulsion Inc., All rights reserved. |