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| If the Immortus ever get made, will it stay ahead of Immortan Joe? |
FIRST there was the Stella Lux, a car designed
by a group of Dutch students to be powered by the sun, which Wheels dubbed the most important automotive
development this century.
Now there is the Immortus, a car that aims to
take the somewhat rough and ready effort by the students from the Eindhoven
University of Technology a step further with bespoke luxury in a solar powered, two-seater sports car.
It is built in the same country as gave us that other great solar powered device -- the windy drier, but will it be as popular. More to the point, will the Melbourne-based electric vehicle
technology startup EVX, ever get to built their the Immortus as part of the new outfit’s vision “to
make self-powering cars the future of transportation”?
CEO Barry Nguyen states on the EVX website that
the Immortus was inspired by post-apocalyptic movies and designed to exhibit a
toughness that no other car has.
“The ability to run on the power of the sun and
store the energy for later use make it a car of practically infinite endurance.
As long as the sun shines, the Immortus lives,” said EVX.
For now, however, the team of 11 workers, lead by
a former physiotherapist, a design engineer and intellectual-property lawyer,
aims to sell “limited numbers” of their bespoke solar-powered passenger sports
cars as well as affordable aftermarket automotive products to convert petrol
cars into plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Looking good, on paper
The solar-powered sports car has a power to
weight ratio of 40 kW to 250 kg, with space for two people and their hand
luggage. Fully laden, it can take its five-metre-long body from 0-100 km/h in
less than seven seconds, which should be good to outrun most zombies. But that
is not all. “The advanced aerodynamics and chassis design allow it to feel and
drive like a truly nimble and balanced sports car.”
It has a combined battery and solar range of
over 550 km at an average of 85 km/h and a top speed of over 150 km/h
EVX says that depending on the conditions, the
Immortus can run on an unlimited range on solar alone at over 60 km/h.
The devil in the detail
What EVX does not say is how the Immortus’s
batteries will remain immortal in a world where Charlize Theron lookalikes roam
in figure-hugging leather. (We all get to choose our own post-apocalyptic
futures, okay?)
As Toyota has now repeatedly stated as part of
its campaign to explain the company’s about-turn on developing electric cars,
batteries will, for the next decade at least, remain the Achilles heel in the
evees, giving their owners shorter and shorter ranges.
But who knows, in the next Mad Max sequel, Immortan Joe may turn out
as a gangster made good, and choose to drive around in the Immortus, rather than
that methanol-smoking skorokoro in
the current movie.
Its post-apocalyptic vision aside, EVX does have
more realistic goods to sell, developed while designing the technology platform
for the Immortus. These include:
• a hybrid retro-fit kit concept that enables
current petrol cars, light trucks and fleet vehicles to be converted from petrol
powered to plug-in hybrid. In addition, the motor makes the car go faster and
turns it into a four-wheel drive;
• a lightweight, air-cooled battery box with
multi-industry applications; and
• regenerative shock-absorber technology that
recharges batteries from absorbing the bumps on the road with multi-industry
applications.
“The hybrid retro-fit kit concept has recently
attracted interest from a prominent Melbourne-based OEM auto parts
manufacturer. This is a promising sign for EVX, which is poised to disrupt the
$34 billion aftermarket parts and $9 trillion global auto industries. We look
forward to exhibiting at the Sema trade show to develop new global partnerships,
seek further customer feedback and attract presales for our breakthrough
products,” said Nguyen.
He adds that
the company is looking for investors. He said the global custom car and
specialty equipment market is estimated to be worth $33 billion, and demand for
electric cars globally “is experiencing fast growth, hitting 740 000 vehicles
sold in 2014”. Depending on spec, the Immortus will sell for over
R4,7 million.
