Are future race cars electric?
(photo: Peugeot)
Answer to that question has to be Yes, Electric will be the dominant racing cars of the future.
KERS was just step one and now Formula E Championship series has been created by FIA to start in 2013. Spec is as follows:
- Fully electric
- Single seater
- Minimum weight 780kg
- Running time between charges around 15 minutes at F3 speeds.
Several demonstrator cars have been built by Fondtech, Formulec and yes, you guessed it, Toyota and now holder of the EV record at the Nurburgring. After Toyota F1 endeavors ended, they continued with EV car development.
Apparently the biggest problem is the noise it makes or better, lack of it. But this actually might be an advantage: How about a temporary race track in the center of New York since there is no pollution, low noise etc? But, racers are racers and need noise so companies are building systems to mimic petrol car noises…
Other problems are the price, high voltage and cooling of the batteries is difficult. Biggest obstacle I see is the cost, it will be very expensive to build one off cars. But this opens a door for new entrants; I can see companies like Bosch competing in the series.
One interesting techology is called "Dynamic Charging", where batteries can be charged wirelessly. At the it has been demonstrated to work up to 31mph. Nissan is apparently taking this soon into production.
Resources:
- Dynamic Charging by Drayson Racing Technologies
Future of racing is bright … and electric.