Top prize is 5.5 tons of nickels!
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That’s a lot of nickels:
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Battery swapping is legal. Power train doesn’t count towards the budget. I wonder if we’ll see large dollar value sponsorship. I like the idea but it seems to go against everything else Lemons.
We saw this is 2009; the Green Energy Initiative poured buckets of money into wind, solar,and Lithium power, with no consideration for economic viability.
I think a fuel cell car, with stator drive wheels, would be a very competitive entry. But, all those nickels wouldn’t begin to pay for it.
I like how the reward for an engineering challenge is an engineering challenge. I think the only way to make this work is sponsorship, but being a nonprofit entity might provide an advantage. They could write off at least some portion of what support they provide, yes?
This could be interesting…and ridiculously expensive.
A specially modified ev for fast batt pack swap and a highly efficient regen system.
Cap bank added to batt pack for fast charge / discharge.
Infrastructure / logistics would include a semi truck full of batt packs and self contained generating system capable of charging multiple batt packs to stay ahead of what’s used out on the track.
A typical ev is going to have some interesting cooling requirements under sustained racing conditions.
Anybody want to tackle writing up a proposal to any of the ev manufacturers?
Google Formula E.
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Such beasts already exist, albeit without pack hot-swapping.
In the realm of Lemons reality I imagine that so long as you could…
- recharge packs faster than the car discharges them
- manage a reasonably compact charging apparatus
- devise a robust swapping arrangement
… then 3 packs would suffice. Cooling likely isn’t a problem since conventional automobile radiators routinely remove markedly more heat than the entirety of a BEV will create.
Not sure if this is really a serious proposal or they are just trolling EVs, long duration high performance driving is exactly what an electric vehicle is worst at.
Interesting to note that model S was engineered with ability to quick swap battery packs, but that plan was abandoned. A Model 3 performance (which is not capable of quick battery swaps) could keep up with winning pace, but only for ~30 minutes at a time, 25+ battery swaps is not practical
Only lemons would make me question if a dump truck of nickels, delivered to your shop, was a real prize. Anyone else would be trolling.
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I’m curious if they can actually attract the kind of money competitive performance would require. We are talking about a top prize that’s almost as big a problem as the challenge for what is essentially an open class. $500 spending limit on the chassis, but open drivetrain and fuel storage? It’s bonkers, but that’s what I like about it.
Building an EV that will run continuously for 24 hours for $500??
I sent in a message to linear labs see if we can get a motor.
My buddy owns it and they make the best electric motors in the world from what I can tell.
Pair it with enough Tesla totaled car battery packs and I think this is doable.
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Alirght guys, we put a model 3 powertrain into an 80s corolla chassis, add some cooling and a tofu delivery driver livery. Get one of those trailer sized diesel generators and a supercharger, figure out how to swap batteries and we’re easy thousand-aires…
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Unlimited powertrain and safety budget. Chassis limit is $500.
Is there such a thing as winning this game?? is it speed or finishing or being the worst piece of junk that could find it’s way to the track??
The rules don’t appear to say that the driver needs to be actually inside vehicle, just that they fit and can remove themselves safely from the vehicle if needed. So a drone car with remote pilot and an empty but safe seat might well be inside the rules. Autonomous would be nice, but the rules say there has to be a driver, so drone would work.
Any and all of the above, really. There are A, B, and C classes. A cars have a shot at winning the weekend. B cars are likely to finish. C are unlikely to finish. C has the highest payout at $600. Electric is a new and separate class.
Sounds like a hell of a lot of work for a feature of dubious value on track.
How about a 202 mph electric car?
Now need battery life, a seat and a small enough driver to meet rules, and we’re off to the races. lol.