Last week, at the 89th annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, the Yokohama-sponsored electric race car has set a new EV record. The eco-friendly race car powered by an AC Propulsion electric drive system broke its own record established in 2010.
The new EV record made by Japan’s Ikuo Hanawa is 12:20:084, almost one minute less than the previous one.
The vehicle, developed by Summit Motorsports, uses Sanyo lithium ion batteries and fuel-efficient Yokohama BluEarth tyres. The electric motor is capable of delivering 268 horsepower (200KW) and 258 lb ft of torque from zero to 5000 rpm.
It is a high performance version of the AC Propulsion AC-150 motor found in the BMW MINI E. The technology is called “tzero,” and according to the company it can be used from cars to city buses.
The reason why this electric car could the race at maximum power is because it is equipped with an efficient cooling system for the induction motor, created by the ACP engineers.
