AC Propulsion tzero - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The tzero is a hand-made electric sports car

Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...

that was produced in limited numbers by the U.S. company AC Propulsion

AC Propulsion

AC Propulsion is a San Dimas, California, USA company founded in 1992 by Alan Cocconi that specialises in alternating current-based drivetrain systems for electric vehicles. Tom Gage is currently the company's CEO. The company produces goods such as electric vehicle drive systems and their top of...

. The tzero is based on the Piontek Sportech kit car

Kit car

A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...

, which consists of a fiberglass body built over a reinforced steel space frame

Space frame

A space frame or space structure is a truss-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports...

with double wishbone independent suspension

Double wishbone suspension

In automobiles, a double wishbone suspension is an independent suspension design using two wishbone-shaped arms to locate the wheel. Each wishbone or arm has two mounting points to the chassis and one joint at the knuckle. The shock absorber and coil spring mount to the wishbones to control...

and rack and pinion steering. AC Propulsion added the AC-150 drivetrain, a single-speed electric system with an overall gear ratio of 9:1. Launched in January 1997, only three prototypes were built and plans for commercial production were dropped in mid-2003. The name comes from t₀

TZero

TZero may refer to:* AC Propulsion tzero, automobile* T Zero, a collection of stories by Italo Calvino* t0, a symbol used in mathematics referring to the starting point or the beginning of time within a system...

, the mathematical symbol for a starting point in time.

The original version of the roadster runs on 28 Optima Yellow Top Lead Acid batteries

Lead-acid battery

Lead–acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite having a very low energy-to-weight ratio and a low energy-to-volume ratio, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a relatively large...

which produce 150 kW

kw or KW may refer to:* Kuwait, ISO 3166-1 country code** .kw, the country code top level domain for Kuwait* Kilowatt* Self-ionization of water Kw* Cornish language's ISO 639 code* Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada...

(200 horsepower) and 177 lbs·ft (240 N·m) of torque

Torque

Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

at 336 volt

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

s (this 28 * 12 V battery-equivalent) which rockets the 1040 kg car from 0 to 60 mph in 4.07 seconds. The single gear ratio limits the car's maximum speed to 90 miles per hour (144.8 km/h) at 12,000 rpm, although it is said that early prototypes fitted with multiple gear ratios could hit 155 miles per hour (249.4 km/h). Even with the single ratio, lead-acid models are capable of completing a quarter mile (400 m) drag race in 13.24 seconds. The expected range per charge of the tzero with the lead-acid batteries is 80 to 100 mi (128.7 to 160.9 km) as a result of consuming only 180 watt hours per mile (895 J/km) (DC) on the highway and due to regenerative braking. Within a single hour, the car can be charged from 0-95%. The base price of this version was to have been USD $80,000.

A second prototype was built in August 2003, powered by 6,800 lightweight lithium-ion

Lithium ion battery

A lithium-ion battery is a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging. Chemistry, performance, cost, and safety characteristics vary across LIB types...

cells, similar to those that make up the battery pack

Battery pack

A battery pack is a set of any number of identical batteries or individual battery cells. They may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage, capacity, or power density...

s of laptop computers, giving it a 300 miles (482.8 km) range. Lighter than the original version by 700 pounds (317.5 kg), the 2003 edition goes from 0-60 mph in 3.6 seconds. The single gear ratio limits the car's maximum speed to just over 140 miles per hour (225.3 km/h) at 13,000 rpm with proper gearing, though it has never been tested at greater than 105 miles per hour (169 km/h). The base price of the car was USD $220,000.

Because the car recharges its batteries when the throttle

Throttle

A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...

is released — slowing sharply as energy is recaptured — it can be driven hard using only the accelerator pedal. Also, if the car detects a turn with more than half a g-force (5 m/s²), it eases the rear-wheel regenerative braking to prevent slides.

AC Propulsion also produced a portable internal combustion powered generator mounted on a trailer known as the Long Ranger that could be towed behind the car and feed power to the batteries during travel. The trailer used a 500 cc Kawasaki engine with a 9.5 U.S. gallon (40 liter) fuel tank and achieved 30 to 35 mpg over at least 20,000 highway miles. It is rated at 20 kW DC output and can maintain 60 to 80 mph. Video footage of the backtracking feature, which allows drivers to easily back a trailer through a set of slalom cones.

Due to high production costs, however, AC Propulsion ceased to produce the tzero. Only three still exist, one of which is owned by the company itself and the other two privately. The drivetrain was also used in the Wrightspeed X1

Wrightspeed X1

The Wrightspeed X1 is a one-off Ariel Atom heavily modified to use an all-electric powertrain. The Atom was chosen for its light weight and efficient design. The electric motor and inverter are sourced from AC Propulsion, makers of the TZero concept car, while the batteries are low weight, high...

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External links