Electric Mini: 0-60 in 4 Seconds

[ShootMyMonkey]

I don't know how bhp and kW at the wheel correspond exactly, but the motors listed there seem to have way lower power than what is mentioned in the linked article. And you would need to have huge wheels to reach 150 mph with 900 rpm

Well, since the motors are at the wheels, there's basically no loss, and 1 hp = ~0.746 kW, and 1 Nm = ~0.749 ft-lbs. I believe these things are rated at about 561 ft-lbs each, which is not all that surprising for an electric motor, and that's pretty much why it can accelerate off the line like it was nothing

The 160 bhp (640 total) is probably the peak power figure for those motors, which suggests that the continuous power rating is probably more like 30 hp or even less.

BTW, where did it say anything about 150 mph AT 900 rpm? The only mention of 900 rpm I see is some post on that site about some other electric motor of relatively close specs from the same company that he compares against (to try and guess the weight, it seems) -- made a guess of around 20 Kg a piece.

I did a few basic calculations which more or less said that at 500 rpm on the standard tires for the Mini, you'll make around 35 mph. While they clearly seem to have gone larger than stock, I doubt it would make more than a 5-10% difference. So either these motors are designed to go up to much higher rpms than anything else they'd previously offered (~2150 rpm needed to go 150 mph), or there is actually some gearing.

 

[Xmas]

BTW, where did it say anything about 150 mph AT 900 rpm? The only mention of 900 rpm I see is some post on that site about some other electric motor of relatively close specs from the same company that he compares against (to try and guess the weight, it seems) -- made a guess of around 20 Kg a piece.

I was referring to the page linked by Russ, where their highest powered motor is rated at 14.4kW and 900rpm. The lower models aren't that much higher. And I really can't imagine there to be any gearing. So yes, the ones they were using for the Mini are probably not listed on their website.

 

[NRP]

This one is fully electric, pretty ugly, and very expensive. But it looks like it might be fun to drive.

 

[Sxotty]

This one is fully electric, pretty ugly, and very expensive. But it looks like it might be fun to drive.

From their website

And as for handling, who would think a car this narrow could compete? All the people we beat at the autocross!

ARG! Why will they not actually give any useful information? Anyway I think the Cooper is much cooler looking at least, though the relevance of either is questionable. The 150mile range of the tango is terrible as are the charging requirements.

 

[Frank]

I was referring to the page linked by Russ, where their highest powered motor is rated at 14.4kW and 900rpm. The lower models aren't that much higher. And I really can't imagine there to be any gearing. So yes, the ones they were using for the Mini are probably not listed on their website.

The maximum effective RPM for an electric motor can be really high (~50,000 RPM or more), and they would mostly need to change the electronics to make that happen (within bounds). So, 1000 RPM more or less doesn't matter very much to the mechanics of the motor.