The Eliica (or the Electric Lithium-Ion Car) is a

battery electric vehicle A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that exclusively uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, wi ...

prototype or

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

first shown in 2004 and designed by a team at

Keio University , mottoeng = The pen is mightier than the sword , type = Private research coeducational higher education institution , established = 1858 , founder = Yukichi Fukuzawa , endow ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu. The car runs on a

lithium-ion battery A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also s ...

and can accelerate from 0– in four seconds (faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo at the time). In 2004, the Eliica reached a speed of on Italy's Nardò High Speed Track. The team's goal is to exceed , breaking the record set by today's street-legal

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...

-powered vehicles. Shimizu's new project is called "SIM-Drive" (シムドライブ), with wheel hub motors.

KAZ

The Eliica is a refinement of the earlier KAZ (Keio Advanced Zero-emission vehicle), a limousine-sized 8-wheel 8-person electric vehicle prototype of 2003 that also set speed records.

Design details

The Eliica weighs and seats the driver and three passengers. The body was tested in a

wind tunnel Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...

. The front doors open forward and the rear doors open upward like gull wings. The car's platform contains 4 tracks of 80 batteries, which make up one third of the vehicle's cost. They currently require about 10 hours of recharging at 100 volts from empty to full charge, and can be easily charged off a residential power grid. The car has eight

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

s to improve traction, and they are smaller than normal passenger vehicles, so it can be lower to the ground for better aerodynamics and stability. Each of the wheels has a

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate forc ...

, giving a 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 of about 0.8 ''g''. Each wheel contains a disc brake and employs a

regenerative brake Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism that slows down a moving vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form that can be either used immediately or stored until needed. In this mechanism, the electric traction ...

system to recover energy. There are currently (as of 2005) two versions of the Eliica: a ''Speed model'' and an ''Acceleration model''. The Speed model is made to challenge gasoline-based records and has a top speed of with a range of . The Acceleration model is made for the street and has a top speed of with a range of . The estimated cost of development was in excess of . Once the team receives corporate sponsorship, they plan to produce at least 200 units. As of early 2007, the projected price was (about ). On December 19, 2005, then-

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 200 ...

tested this vehicle in a 10-minute ride to the

Japanese Parliament The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

. In 2006, the car was tested by Shintaro Ishihara, the governor of Tokyo, as well as by Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan.

, appeared in 1929 in San Francisco; rebuild 1927 Marmon'' Limousine * I.D.E.A KAZ ''2001 luxury limousine concept; Each of the KAZ’s 8 wheels is powered by its own electric motor, 6 of which are involved in steering.'' DIY * 8-wheeled 1977 Cadillac Eldorado (chassis number 6L47S7Q306322) ''built from 1980s-1999, V8 engine, four front wheels are for steering'' * 8-wheeled Corvette ''finished in 2010 *8 Wheel 1989 Isuzu Pickup - Triple Play ''built from 2005-08 by Steve Francis of Montgomery, Texas; V8 engine, zero ground clearance'' Truckin Magazin
"If Godzilla Built An Isuzu"
May 01, 2008 ''there is also a 10 Wheel 1991 Isuzu Pickup from 2005''

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20121120025750/http://www.eliica.com/English Concept cars Electric land speed record cars Electric concept cars Automobiles with gull-wing doors Vehicles with wheel motors Eight-wheeled vehicles

KAZ

Design details

See also

Other 8-wheelers

References

External links