This actually came to my attentions a few minutes ago, and after a quick search, I didn't find any topic that directly talked about it.

The Raceabout we have in LFS right now kind of sucks to drive, which is why nobody uses it, but let it be known that it was the first RA. Then came the 2005 one, which I'd say is unlikely to come in LFS.

However, I somehow arrived on RA's website moments ago, and found out that they're planning the Electric Raceabout (ERA) for summer 2009 at the Progressive Automotive X-Prize Competition. It seems to only exist in sketches and models for now, but for the interested it's over here: http://www.raceabout.fi/era/

Now, this is probably a subject that has been discussed before, but why not introduce an electric sports car in LFS? With the Tesla, the upcoming ERA, and surely a few more that I don't know about, there's plenty to choose from, and they're all great.

If i got one of these, they first thing I'll do is rip the motor out and replace it with a real engine.

eletric cars only excites engineers imo.

the rear looks a LOT like the aston martin v8 vantage
interesting design though (but maybe the aero wont work because of the peaked roof)

Would suck in lfs, 12 hour pitstops

Lol thats true, or they should have extra batteries for the thing

on a little trailer...hmm, *moves towards improvement suggestions*

I like the RaceAbout we have in LFS, it's a terrible base which makes it even more challenging to create a setup that actually works. It could use slightly wider front tyres though

I would find an electric engine very interesting given how different they behave. That RA 'concept' looks ugly though, I'd rather have an electric version of the current RA :P

Quote from CasseBent :

Would suck in lfs, 12 hour pitstops

according to specs the latest generation of lithium batteries can be charged in just over a minute... if you can provide the necessary power

I can't, so...12 hour pitstops it is. Or solar panels all over the car

omg. it has a roof! and... its butt doesn't stick up in the air! and... it doesn't look like a bottom-feeding fish! :lovies3d:

well you dont need that much power really
if we take a standard f1 fuel load of ~80l and the number wiki quotes for the energy in that fuel (9.6kwh/l) with guesstimates of ~30% efficiency on the petrol car and 80% on the electric one that works out to around 14MW of power to charge the batteries in 1.2 mins at 50c
not that much really you wont even need particularly huge cables for that

Quote from CasseBent :

I can't, so...12 hour pitstops it is. Or solar panels all over the car

Replaceable batteries?

no, just 12 hour pitstops

Quote from Gil07 :

Replaceable batteries?

are you sure that replacing 500 aa batteries will speed thing up?

Plus, you have to turn the car over on it's roof and open the little battery cover.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4Cf89tawZX8

*cough* I don't gotta say anymore.

Quote from JJ72 :

eletric cars only excites engineers imo.

Wrong! I can't see the fascination personally. They're like normal cars, but silent (a bad thing), just as bad, if not worse, for the environment, generally slow and heavy, with a tiny range of about 12 feet, and take a couple of years to charge. And require you to leave cables from your front door to the car.

If you can afford to waste money on one, great. But if you're a bit wise, wait for a decent alternative to the IC engine before buying a replacement to the IC engine.

In the video he likens the power cables to a normal engine. But surely they are better likened to the fuel pipes? And it's confirmed why I hate all American TV shows.

Well, Tristan.. I recall there being a very popular New Zealand guy on Youtube that converted his car to EV, tracked his progress over 8 months.


http://youtube.com/user/cant7think7clearly

I've watched his videos, and I've also been doing research myself. It's not as bad as you make it out to be.

Quote from JJ72 :

If i got one of these, they first thing I'll do is rip the motor out and replace it with a real engine.

Ain't that easy. There are 4 motors, one for each wheel.

Quote from March Hare :

Ain't that easy. There are 4 motors, one for each wheel.

Sounds like an idea for the next Veyron.

Quote from Ca18Slider :

Well, Tristan.. I recall there being a very popular New Zealand guy on Youtube that converted his car to EV, tracked his progress over 8 months.


http://youtube.com/user/cant7think7clearly

I've watched his videos, and I've also been doing research myself. It's not as bad as you make it out to be.

Why isn't it that bad?

You burn fossil fuels to make electricity, which you send down cables to charge a battery filled with really nasty chemicals and heavy metals, to power a car that's excessively heavy so it can go about a third as far as a normal car, but is harder to top-up with energy. Must be a great technology...

And, to top it all off, people won't hear you coming, so pedestrian accidents will sky-rocket. Woo!

What is the difference for an ingame electric car? Don't you have the same when you drive the current raceabout and turn of your speakers?

Of course the transfer over to EV's will be slow, and it will have problems. But the whole point of them is to try and cut back on fossil fuel use. Of course, it was just like the original four-wheeler for farmers, I'll quote a Brit that it took the young generation of the world to think what if they had really big engines? The original EV motors were slow, and wasteful, I'll admit to that.

Ok, now! What would be the disadvantage of it, at least a test in LFS? Instant power, no lag when it comes to power. I'd say that would make some very interesting races between guys like you that are used to driving close and fast.

Quote from marzman :

What is the difference for an ingame electric car? Don't you have the same when you drive the current raceabout and turn of your speakers?

Electric engines can provide the same torque no matter what RPM you're at (to a certain limit I guess), so the acceleration behaviour would be quite different.