MIT tackles challenge of electric car that recharges in ten minutes flat

Sometimes in science, it helps to set the bar high. That seems to be the attitude of the MIT Electric Vehicle Team (EVT). By their reckoning, one of the biggest impediments to the average driver adopting an electric vehicle is recharge times. So, having converted a Porsche 914 to electric, their next project is to produce a prototype family car that will achieve 0-60mph in under nine seconds, have a range of 200 miles, and fully recharge in under 11 minutes.

Dubbed the elEVen, this latest project is an attempt to build an electric car that meets the expectations of mainstream drivers, including a “refill” time comparable to that at a gas pump. Using the mid-size Ford CD3 platform – common to the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, and Lincoln MKZ – EVT plans to strip the vehicle down and rebuild it to their own specifications.

The engine will be replaced with a 250-horsepower, 180kW AC induction motor, donated by SatCon and originally designed for use in a 16.5-ton electric transit bus. Given the sedan will only weigh about 2 tons, it should easily achieve their acceleration goal and, better, manage a top speed of about 100mph.

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Tags: ac induction motor, acceleration, electric car, electric transit, electric vehicle team, ford fusion, horsepower, Innovation, porsche 914, recharge times, transit bus

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 10:43 am and is filed under 5 Years Out, Automotive, Cutting-edge Research, Project Energy, gizmag. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.