Australia is looking to rebuild its car-making capacity using its abundance of key minerals to encourage major electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers to set up operations Downunder. The federal government last year released its Future Fuels Strategy, identifying opportunities for the country’s reserves of the minerals, rare earths and base metals needed for EV and battery … [Read more...] about Aussie looks to build cars again by enticing EV manufacturers
All-electric expansion: 600kW and 8000Nm from one car alone
First, there’s Citroen offshoot DS Automobiles borrowing from its Formula E race car programme to build a battery-electric (BEV) prototype delivering 600kW and a mind-boggling 8000Nm. Yep, that’s eight thousand newton metres. Then Swedish hypercar company Koenigsegg comes out with what it claims is the most power-dense electric motor ever built. It weighs just 28kg and … [Read more...] about All-electric expansion: 600kW and 8000Nm from one car alone
BEV cooling: Lexus uses one method, its parent Toyota another
In the past couple of years the number of battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) available worldwide has increased upwards of 40 per cent, to around 370. And more are on the way, many from start-ups that have had little to do with the automotive industry until now … Automotive engineers the world over agree: the use of liquids is the … [Read more...] about BEV cooling: Lexus uses one method, its parent Toyota another
Ford files patent in the US for touchy/feely manual gearshift
Looks like Ford may be working on a touchy/feely way to save the manual transmission, if only for niche petrol-powered sports cars like the Mustang or petrol-electric hybrids. A patent application filed by the company with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in December 2018 is for a “manual transmission with electric clutch.” The USPTO late last year gave the … [Read more...] about Ford files patent in the US for touchy/feely manual gearshift
New stretched version of 110 Land Rover is not the longest example
Patent drawings filed in the United States of a stretched-body version of the current Land Rover Defender 110 have been doing the rounds of the internet. The longer vehicle has been tagged by media as the new Land Rover Defender 130, after the original 130 which first appeared in the 1980s as a crew-cab and became a target for special purpose conversions. But the 130 is … [Read more...] about New stretched version of 110 Land Rover is not the longest example