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Delta Motorsport is the only
all-British company and the only European contender in a competition to
find the most environmentally friendly car on the planet. The Automotive
X-PRIZE competition has a $10m prize
fund courtesy of American car insurance company, Progressive Insurance,
and consequently the criteria for successful vehicles are tough.
Electric cars, such as the E-4 Coupe entered by Delta Motorsport, must
be capable of 200 miles between charges and there will be tests of
braking distances and usability. Crucially, the winning vehicle should
be ready to be mass produced.
Delta Motorsport, based on the
Silverstone Circuit Technology Park in Northamptonshire, has
considerable experience in high technology engineering, motorsport and
clean technology projects. It was founded in 2005 by Simon Dowson and
Nick Carpenter – each of whom brought extensive automotive and
motorsport design and engineering knowledge to the business.
Dowson says: "We became involved with
the design of environmentally friendly vehicles because they share many
of the engineering challenges associated with motorsport – maximum
efficiency, light weight, good aerodynamics and so on. We worked with
Oxford University on a lightweight, highly efficient electric motor and
have completed several road haulage aerodynamic programmes to improve
fuel efficiency."
With the E-4 Coupe, Delta Motorsport
has applied innovative thinking to the design and manufacture of a zero
emission four-seater road car. Unlike most other electric vehicles, the
performance of the E-4 Coupe matches that of conventional cars. It
accelerates from zero to 60mph in under five seconds (comparable to a
Porsche 911 Turbo) and has a maximum speed well in excess of 100mph.
The first example will be
completed in April and has been made possible by support from the East
Midlands Development Agency with a grant for research and development of
£235,000. When Delta Motorsport was invited to a reception at 10 Downing
Street as one of 100 companies embracing the low carbon economy, Prime
Minister, Gordon Brown, said: "Our transition
to a low carbon economy will be a key driver of our future economic
prosperity. Delta Motorsport is at the forefront of this transformation.
Their innovation and expertise demonstrates why the UK is one of best
places in the world for low carbon business."
As an indication of how tough the
X-Prize competition is, none of the new generation of energy-efficient
cars from major car manufacturers – such as the Ford Escape, Renault ZE
or Nissan Leaf – will meet the criteria. This may explain why none of
the original 41 teams and businesses entered are multi-nationals.
Nick Carpenter says: "Although there
are some advantages in being part of a big company, there are many
substantial disadvantages and large businesses just don't have the
flexibility to get on and complete a project in a short timescale."
Indeed, Delta Motorsport will take the
E-4 Coupe from CAD screen to production in just 3 months. The design
judging rounds of the X-prize competition have taken place and the Delta
Motorsport E-4 Coupe is one of the 28 entries which will take part in
the safety inspections and dynamic evaluations at Michigan International
Speedway at the end of April.
Further X-prize events will follow
through the summer with entries being eliminated at each stage. The
winners will be announced in September on the lawn of The White House,
Washington D.C
The car will be unveiled to the UK
media in May. |
