news and events

It has been announced that Ricardo, in collaboration with its partners in the Low Carbon Vehicle Technology Project (LCVTP), is developing a new electric vehicle (EV) technology platform to demonstrate technologies capable of delivering acceptable performance across all vehicle market segments.

To date, most EV products and research demonstrators have focused upon urban city car segment applications in which vehicle power requirements and recharging needs have been addressed. But unlike city car applications, larger C/D segment electric vehicles still present fundemental engineering challenges when it comes to cost, range anxiety and real-world duty. At the same time, these larger vehicles, says Ricardo, represent a potentially more attractive target than city cars for reducing carbon dioxide emissions due to their typically higher fossil fuel consumption in conventional powertrain form.

Electric motorcycles are the holy grail of green vehicles. Motorcyclists are natural risk takers who enjoy the elements. What could be more attractive than a motorcycle offering full torque from the start, with no gears, that slips through the countryside in near silence?

MotoCzysz’s E1PC electric motorcycle won last year’s Isle of Man race for zero-emissions bikes and the North American round of the electric-bike world championship at Laguna Seca, on California’s Monterey Peninsula.

Lotus decided to show the Evora with two mockups of the first generation PM150DX, and a dual rotor EVO motor AFM240.

Interestingly, they decided to replace the lid with one with fins - it looks cool, but doesn't do much for the drive...