Photos: Electric car poised to tear up the desert
It's 32 feet long, it's yellow and it's fast. And promoters are hoping it will top a speed record.
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Developers of the 32-foot long ABB E-motion are hoping it can beat the land speed record for electric cars. The auto, which is powered by technology from ABB, a Switzerland-based electrical engineering company, is trying to best the current record of 245 mph. To do so, the ABB E-motion will have to travel at 252 mph in two runs, each of which must be at least 0.622 miles long.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Frank Griffith works with the car's drive control before a test run Wednesday in Nevada. The car has no mechanical gears. Its acceleration is controlled by two variable speed ABB drives that regulate two 50-horsepower electric motors. The team had been hoping to go for the record on Thursday, but windy conditions and mechanical problems forced a delay until Friday.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Driver Mark Newby sits in the ABB E-motion's cockpit.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Colin Fallows, designer of the ABB E-motion, stands with the car.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
The ABB E-motion relies on four packs of 52 lead acid batteries. A "regenerative standard inverter" converts the 600V DC power generated by the batteries into AC power that's then used by the car's motors.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
These 24-volt DC fans help keep the ABB E-Motion's motors operating below the maximum temperature of 356 degrees Fahrenheit.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
The ABB drives allow for powerful and continuous acceleration, according to ABB.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
In this photo from 2004, the team prepares for a test run for the U.K. media.
Credit: ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Designer Colin Fallows and driver Mark Newby with the ABB E-motion in Tunisia, in 2004. The team had traveled there with the hopes of breaking the speed record on the Tunisian salt flats, but weather conditions forced them to cancel the attempt.
Credit: John Fisher/ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Colin Fallow, who is, yes, from the United Kingdom, unfurls his country's flag in Tunisia.
Credit: John Fisher/ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
The ABB E-motion team is touting the car's performance during test runs as impressive.
Credit: John Fisher/ABB
Electric car poised to tear up the desert
Driver Mark Newby sits in the car's cockpit.
Credit: ABB
