Team hopes to build 200 eight-wheeled Eliica electric cars
By Laura June 
posted December 30th 2008 6:41AM
posted December 30th 2008 6:41AM
[Via AutoblogGreen]
posted December 30th 2008 6:41AM
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Was I the only one first read 'Team hopes to build two hundred and eight wheeled...car......' ?
It looks like a Citroen DS21 in the back. I like it. Gimme.
YEAH The first thing that I thought when I saw this pic was Citroen! My dad had that car when I was a kid. It had hydraulics to lower the body to reduce drag at autobahn speeds. (guess where we lived?) Shoot, I'd buy it and get my PMPDDY tag for the back. 250? The cops would NEVER catch me... lol!
Citroen never intended your Dads car to go Autobahn speeds. Im afraid all that hydraulics system was used for was dropping down to let the occupants enter/exit.
The system failed quite often, and perhaps you're remembering your Dad trying, to reach Autobahn speeds in a Citroen, when the hydraulics failed and the car bottomed out? Seems much more likely.
Who knew that Citroen would be so ahead of the times with the DS.
Needs more wheels.
What’s ugly as can be, has 8 wheels, and goes from zero to sixty miles per hour in 4.2 seconds with 0.8 G's of acceleration, and weighs in at over 5000 pounds?
It’s Eliica, the $260,000 electric-powered vehicle built by the Keio University in Tokyo. Eliica has been around for a while, but it’s state-of-the-art as it uses nothing but Li-Ion batteries for power and can achieve a top speed of 230mph with a range of 185 miles (obviously not at top speed). In 2004, the Eliica reached a speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) on Italy's Nardò High Speed Track. The team's goal is to exceed 400 km/h (250 mph), breaking the record set by today's street-legal gasoline-powered vehicles. (enzo, McF1) For a bit of flair, Eliica even sports gull wing doors.
Obviously a case of excess in every way, but it’s interesting to see what can be done with a little know-how and a lot of money.
As for the amount of wheels that people have seemed to fixate on... The Eliica is 22 feet long, intended to carry a driver and 3 occupants in EXTREME luxury, and EXTREME speed. The car has eight wheels enabling it to be closer to the ground for better traction.
Each of the wheels has a 60 kW (80 hp) electric motor, giving a 480 kW (640 hp) eight wheel drive which can tackle all kinds of road surfaces. The four front wheels steer. The electric motors mean that the Eliica can deliver a smooth acceleration free from gear shifts. Each wheel contains a disc brake and employs a regenerative brake system to recover energy.
I dig the bow to Citroen. It looks kind of dramatic and 60s SciFi retro, gull-wings and all. Like it.
looks like something from a dr. seuss book
I saw this on discovery, the 8 wheels are used because each wheel has its own motor. providing incredible speed and acceleration for an electric car.
Affordable AND attractive.
Cyber Formula des ga ?
CostCo should offer us "8 tires sales" from now on..
I don't get it. Like the auto industry isn't screwed enough. Shouldn't someone focus on a practical car?
Sure, it's cool to beat a record and get on the books. But why 200 record breaking cars? Wouldn't a more impressive title be:
"Team builds 1 electric car with top speed of 100MPH that costs $8000"
Thank you, I'll take 2.
I didn't buy one because it would only reach 230 mph, but now that it does 250, I absolutely need one.
At 250 mph is a windshield wiper really necessary?
I linked to this post on my blog here: http://www.alman.tk/
Yet *another* completely unaffordable electric car, making the entire point of an electric car moot (to save money).
man that looks like a roach on 8 wheels
ugly bug
lol
they had to be on drugs to design this thing and even more to show it to the world
sponsored by Yokohama
Good documentary about the Eliica (narrated by Troy McClure!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J95Lh3NnL4A&feature=related
It's f*cking awesome!
f*cking awesome indeed!
8 wheels? Too much unsprung weight.
Electric are not "engines"... They are MOTORS.
8 wheels/motors necessary for the given power level/acceleration/speed? Horsepuckey. TF dragsters put 8,000+ HP to the ground through only 2 wheels (extreme example). More realistic comparison: The Lightning GT has an estimated 700+ HP, put to the ground through only 4 wheels, and most assuredly better handling due to less overall mass.
It's an expensive toy, and nothing more.
Justice is supposed to be blind, not the truth.
Looks like the old Tatra 77 sedan from the 1930s... after a trip to Chernobyl. Appreciate the technology beneath, but the looks are... unsettling.
Are they re-making National Lampoons Vacation?
I'm another citroen lover who appreciates the aesthetic. The DS was the most advanced, coolest car ever. It could only have been designed by the French. Unfortunately, it was only manufactured by them as well. If the Germans or Japanese had built it, they might still be around.
A poorly written article to cover a poorly designed car. Honestly, this would get a D in any middle school english class. I hope you didn't quit your day job.
-C13
He's using verbs with the wrong nouns. Losing track of the subjects is bad! >:O
All I need are four wheels that can turn 90 degrees for easy parallel parking.
Its the Thrillermobile!
COOL! Would u IMAGINE THAT! 8 wheels on 1 car!It's luxurious!I wonder if there's a pink version of it :*
We need cars with tank treads.
Hmm, futurist Syd Mead, with his "Syd Mead Futurist Official Website 2007." as seen from a google search.... Something's wrong here...
From an aesthetics point of view, it has pretty sweet lines. I dig the old school Citroen/Saab style backend where you would swear the rear bumber was dragging the ground. My favorite part is the ghost peeking out the rear door window. Spooky!!
it's gonna be hella expensive on the toll road which counts axises...
The point of Dr. Hiroshi Shimizu and his team creating such a car was to prove that electric-powered cars can go just as fast as a gasoline-powered and what not.
Referring back to someone's post... 6 wheels in the back and 2 in the front wouldn't be as balanced considering most likely when trying to turn at high speeds, you would easily spin out.
and as previously stated - 8 wheels provides better handling and also that they mount an engine onto each of the wheels allowing for greater acceleration and what not.
It can do 230 mph... bollocks it can!
until there is video footage of it doing it as far as I am concerned it is a speculation that it "should be cabable of"
8 smaller wheels vs 4 larger/wider ones allows for greater traction, power with motor in hub, and its more aerodynamic due to reduced wheel height and tire width.
This is a great zero-emission car (chargeing with renewable energy of course). See these nice movies:
http://www.stichtingmilieunet.nl/andersbekekenblog/?p=6119
I believe there are many more issues to be solved before starting to commercialize the electric car..not so soon..