Considering those cars have been produced in extremely limited supply and cost much more than the traditional equivalent (I haven't even heard of an electrical Ariel Atom), I doubt anyone would race them.
Especially as the whole point of them is to promote the 'Green' image, which racing clearly is the opposite of.
Racing in itself doesn't necessarily have to be "anti-Green". The only reason I see that racing has taken that stand is because of the gas companies that sponsor many if not all racing events.
Also, I'm not really that savvy when it comes to racing tech engines. However, I quote "electric cars needed fewer expensive repairs and would hence not make the car companies as much money over the long term as gasoline-powered cars". If I have taken this out of context then let me know.
The only reason why I thought that racers were against battery powered cars is because of it's limited range. But as the an engineer pointed out about a specific car (the EV1) "Limited range (60-70 miles) and reliability in the first EV-1s to ship, but better (110 - 160 miles) later. Lithium ion batteries, the same technology available in laptops, would have allowed the EV-1 to be upgraded to a range of 300 miles per charge."
"It cost more because it's a fairly new and small-scale technology. Things become cheap when you make a lot of them because then you can buy the raw materials in bulk and set up assembly lines, etc. When you're making a small number of a product, you can't buy as large quantities of the raw materials, so they cost more, so they end product costs more.
However, in July a highway speed EV is coming out at a cost of just $20k - less than any hybrid costs.
As electric cars become more popular, their costs will come down" (good job oil companies for keeping them in limited supply). It's not because electric car technology is so "out there" and unreasonable like hydrogen technology that it's so expensive. It's much more complicated than that and since electric car technology has proven that it can be really fast I dont know why it would cost way more to have an electric car race team considering that combustion engine racecars are special made or modified anyway
Maybe I'm just ignorant, but emotional appeal of petrol race cars? There's two things I can think of when i hear this:
1. refueling wont play a factor anymore.
2. the crashes wont have fire anymore.
Ok let me address this:
1. First off F1 has the possibility of banning refueling. So even with petrol cars this might be a possibility. Second, batteries cant last the whole race. 300 miles is probably the limit. Thus it is possible to switch batteries when coming to a pit stop. This adds more drama to the pit stop since instead of just pouring fuel, the pit crew has to quickly and correctly replace the battery in the socket without damaging the battery itself or the port/socket. This makes it more prone to human error.
Also battery power is more unpredictable than fuel. This makes it more interesting.
2. I've NEVER wanted to see a fire in a crash or a pit crew error. I have the attitude that racing is about racing and not about horrible crashes or incidents. Sure it may be fun to see a few extreme crashes here and there. But crashes should never be apart of what makes racing exciting or worth watching.
Fire makes it worse. Each time I see fire I always worry about the drivers and i never get a kick out of it. The elimination of fire in the racing circuit is a giant plus for me.
This may be not what you are referring to and if not please correct me (i just got up )
Also, electric cars has the possibility of being MUCH faster than the petrol cars. Much lighter, better technology (i mean come on the combustion engine is a dinosaur). They just needed to be designed right. If electric sports cars are taken seriously, they may well be one of the fastest cars on the planet. As a result, make a very fast/entertaining GT or touring car series.
Electric cars also require much less equipment and complications than the combustion engine. So in fact it would be cheaper to have an electric car team in an electric car GT series than it would be with the petrol engine car team in a regular GT series
errrr.........fire breathing is not to be taken literally.........(it is a popular phrase no?)
smell of petrol....sound of combustion.....exhaust notes....back fires.....and simply the different character of each engine note is what I am talking about. surely you being a stock car fan must know about the appeal of undiluted raw power?
it's the thing that gets people to the race tracks instead of just watching it on tele.
electric cars no matter how they market it won't do, imo. green cars are for daily communting, leave the fuel for the racers.
@Lizardfolk:
Watch Steve McQueen's LeMans with a proper soundsystem and attempt to tell me that internal combustion engines do not make the nicest sound ever produced by mankind.
Lizard, it will probably happen someday as people are quite competitive so its only a matter of time. There probably have already been a few events that have just not been media frenzy enough to be heard everywhere. Also your remark about crashes not having fires is not really true- batteries explode and electricity can easily create fires... I mean, it might be less likely than fuel spilling out and igniting but it certainly will 'never' happen.
Ya true, the thing is i admit that it would (or might) be a loss for motorsport fans, but I'm not passionately against an electric car racing series and I'm trying to point out that there's really not much reason why anyone should be. After all the sound doesn't make the series just like people who watch NASCAR doesn't watch it because of the sound that NASCAR stock cars make.
This is true. Although I would imagine that many people come to the race track also to see the race live and first hand
electric cars no matter how they market it won't do, imo. green cars are for daily communting, leave the fuel for the racers.[/quote]
We'll agree to disagree I can't convince you that the combustion engine makes an undesirable sound. But you cannot convince me that the electric car sounds like rubbish. I love the quiet (compared to combustion that is) hiss that the high powered electric sports cars make.
I actually doubt that it'll happen soon or even in my lifetime. After all, most marketable electric cars have already been put out of production for obscure reasons (EV1, Ford Th!nk, etc). As long as gas companies still have a stake in the motorsports business I seriously doubt it'll happen
Thing is, I really dont understand the resistance to the electric car. It's not too expensive to produce, it's not too slow, and it's not an unreasonable technology (unlike hydrogen fuel). Is the "spirit" of an combustion engine really that important?
Yes, it's odd for a stock car fan to say this, but if electric cars can be as fast or faster than the combustion engine car and provide better racing then wouldn't that be worth more than just the "spirit" of purely hearing the combustion engine? If i was a racing fan, I would come to the racetrack anyway regardless of whether or not the car makes a loud sound. I would be there for the racing,for the drama on and off track, for seeing the cars flex their muscles and for watching the race first hand. That in itself to me is much more important than the sound of an combustion engine. Yes, I do like the sound of an combustion engine. I actually love the might roar that permeates the entire race track. But I'd gladly trade the might roar for the graceful hiss if the electric car can provide better drama and racing.
I actually assumed that this is the sentiment of a real race fan but I guess I was wrong
I wish whoever owns rights to this film would produce new DVD (and BD) version, with completely remastered audio. I'm usually agaist any retouching (á la what George Lucas does) but the original sound is disappointing, especially in the onboard sequences. So in this context a bit odd to recommend it regarding aural experience. Imho of course.
I'm a big supporter of electric cars but having seen the Le Mans diesel Audi live I have to say that Motorsport definitely needs to find a way to keep them petrol engines even when some day they are no longer accepted in general automotive transport.
League would still be interesting though. And wth hasn't Top Gear done any stuff on this?
When a modern [gasoline] car breaks down, it's usually because a heater fan, the alternator, or some other electrical gizmo has died, leaving the ultra-reliable gasoline engine to be stuck in a dead car. Not the engines fault.
So you really think an all-electric car will be better? I think we'll return to 1970s levels of reliability, at least for a few years.
When it comes to an electric car it is a lot easier to fix as well as maintain. So ya, you may be right but this is almost always the case with any new technology. I mean look at Steve Job's first GUI. That software crashed every 5 minutes and cant load anything more powerful than pong....
A few years of instability is nothing to be afraid of. In fact the simplicity of an electric car doesn't give it much of a potential to break down as much as the 1970's combustion engine.
Well, I'm not exactly asking for a complete make over of the motorsports world. But I am sure that we should have at least 1 electric car GT series and 1 electric car touring car series (and maybe a tri-car T-Rex Silence series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNAktLeDhbE). To say we shouldn't have a single electric car series is quite extreme.
I have the feeling that in todays day and age, with what people are used to, that unreliability at that kind of level would not be tolerated by the masses. No-one would buy and unreliable "green" alternative when there is a distinct possibilty that they won't make it to work in the morning...
Never going to happen, you know why? Spectators need a spectacle... Now a car roaring by so loud that your ears start to bleed and the whole grandstand is shaking is a spectacle... Some cars whizzing by quieter than the wind will never give the crowds a sense of speed and consequently danger, rendering it as exciting as the daily commute...
)