Eliica – Eight Wheeled Electric Car Trying To Beat The Speed Record

A team of Japanese technicians from Keio University have built two electric cars trying to beat the speed record on such vehicles. Each of the cars with a bizarre design, has eight wheels and is powered by Lithium-Ion batteries. Each of the eight wheels is driven by a 80 hp electric motor.

The electric vehicle‘s top speed is around 400 km/h with an acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 4 seconds. The car is called Eliica (abbreviation of Lithium Ion Car), and it has an autonomy of about 350 kilometers on a single charge.

The car costs 320,000 dollars and if the team will recive a corporate sponsorship from the government, the Japanese car makers plan to produce 200 units for an estimated price of $255,000. We’re talking about $159 per wheel or $1,275 per vehicle. The Eliica idea has been kicking around 2003, but now Dr. Hiroshi Shimizu (the man behind the idea) and his students built a pair of Eliicas. One version is considered an “acceleration” model and the second a “speed” model.

You may also like to read about:

Porsche 911 Turbo Beaten by Eliica EV in Japanese Drag Race

MIT Students Building Electric Car That Charges in 10 Minutes

France to Make Net Improvements on Electric Car Infrastructure by 2015

Michelin Active Wheel: All-In-One Standard for Engine, Brake & Suspension

Toyota and Subaru to Sell Electric Cars

Small Japanese Company Selling Hand-Built, Home-Made Electric Cars

By Mike
on January 11th, 2009

Get E-mail Updates

Subscribe by RSS

Dr. Hiroshi Shimizu, Eight Wheels Electric Car, electric motor, electric vehicle, Eliica, Eliica electric car, environment, Keio University, Lithiu-Ion batteries, Lithium Ion Car

This entry was posted on January 11, 2009, 8:19 am and is filed under Electric Vehicles. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.