20 Horsepower from a Coke Can

Dean Sigler Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

DHX Electric Machines, Inc. has partnered with Deltawing Technologies, Inc. and signed an agreement granting DeltaWing worldwide rights to make, use and sell DHX electric motors and components specifically designed for automotive applications, according to greencarcongress.com. Deltawing is an outgrowth of Panoz Racing, a team often associated with Garage 56 at LeMans, a non-standard entrant allowed for its innovative approach to reaching high speeds.  Their latest efforts have turned to achieving the CAFE (in this case Corporate Average Fuel Economy) goals of the federal government for 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.  The swoopy car follows the look of Nissan’s Garage 56 entrant which raced (but not for long) in the 2014 Le Mans race.  It had topped 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph) on electric power alone, the first car ever to lap Le Mans on electric power only. Deltawing’s four-seat “economy car” looks a great deal like Nissan’s racer, and will use a DHX motor, compact and light …

June is a Happy Month for Electric Motorsports

Dean Sigler Diesel Powerplants, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

With only half the month gone and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb scheduled on its last week, June 2014 has seen records crumble at the Isle of Man TT and hybrid electrical technology dominate at the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The electric part of the classic road race on the tight little island between Britain and Northern Ireland saw new records for the 37 mile spin around the southern roadways – like the Le Man circuit, otherwise public roads usually dominated by farm vehicles and passenger cars. Ohio State University’s Buckeye Racing Team ran a modified Honda CBR1000RR frame with a motor by Roman Susnik, the Slovenian who also designed the motors used in the Pipistrel G2 self-launching motorglider.  They ran a respectable third place, a great accomplishment for a college team up against the might of the winning Honda Mugen.  John McGuinness rode that $4.3 million racer to set a lap record of …