citação:Originalmente colocada por world car fans
British, Racing and Very Green
The Lotus Exige 265E – the most powerful road version of the Lotus Exige ever – and it runs on environmentally friendly Bio Fuel!
Lotus Engineering, the engineering consultancy division of Group Lotus Plc has developed a bio-ethanol E85 version of the Lotus Exige.
The research vehicle is a true Lotus (it weighs just 930 kg unladen) and is called the Lotus Exige 265E. 265 indicates the approximate horsepower and is consistent with the naming strategy of other one-off and limited run Lotus variants such as the Lotus Sport Exige 240R; the E indicates the environmentally favourable bio-ethanol E85 fuel (85% ethanol alcohol and 15% petrol / gasoline) that powers this extremely high performing sportscar.
Key to this performance is a slightly modified version of the 2ZZ VVTL-i supercharged and intercooled high revving 4-cylinder engine from the standard Lotus Exige S. This now gives an estimated set of performance figures that would thrash the majority of “Super-Unleaded” performance cars: 0-60 mph in 3.88 seconds, 0-100 mph in 9.2 seconds and a top speed of 158 mph! In fact, the Lotus Exige 265E is probably the world’s quickest road-legal E85 bio-ethanol car.
Why Bio-Ethanol?
Different bio-fuels were considered for this research project, bio-methanol, bio-ethanol and biobutanol. E85 bio-ethanol was the finally chosen as the fuel as its characteristics allowed the engineering project team to enhance the engine performance. The fact that this vehicle uses a pressure charged engine provided even more opportunity to exploit the performance characteristics of a high-octane fuel. Ethanol has a high octane rating, which allows an optimum timing for engine ignition and has a fast flame speed in the cylinder, so the fuel burns faster, increasing the efficiency of the engine.
The Benefits of Bio-Ethanol
The beauty of ethanol is its ability to produce more power in the engine than with conventional petrol / gasoline fuel. The Lotus Exige 265E now produces 264 hp (197 kW, 268 PS) at 8000 rpm, and 184 lbft (249 Nm) of torque (at 5500 rpm), up by 46 hp (34 kW, 47 PS) or 21 % and 25 lbft (34 Nm) or 16% over the standard petrol / gasoline Exige S. With the total weight of approximately 930 kg (unladen), the power to weight is approximately 283 hp / tonne (211 kW / tonne, 287 PS / tonne).
Ethanol has less stored energy per unit volume than gasoline so the fuel economy is less, however as E85 ethanol is 85% sourced from renewable bio matter, there is a net reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2)
Geraint Castleton-White (o conde white castel?), Head of Powertrain for Lotus Engineering explains the rationale behind the Lotus Exige 265E technical demonstrator: “We wanted to prove the point that green sportscars can also be very high performing sportscars. The fact that we have produced a research version of the Exige that is more powerful than the standard road car is a testament to the benefits of going green. We are also pleased that this vehicle demonstrates our engineering capabilities, our understanding of flex fuel vehicles and our knowledge of emerging fuel technologies. It also promotes bio-ethanol as a fuel of choice for the enthusiastic driver as well as the environmentally conscious driver.
The final sign-off test drive was completed just 5 weeks after the project was instigated and has resulted in a demonstration vehicle that not only excites the driver but also is at the forefront of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Looking to the Future:
The next phase for the vehicle is to upgrade the calibration to a flex fuel spec to allow use with initially gasoline, followed by the possibility of a multi fuel flex calibration to use fuels such as bio-methanol and bio-butanol in addition to the conventional gasoline / petrol and bio-ethanol.
The Lotus Exige 265E is purely a research vehicle for Lotus Engineering and Lotus does not intend to put the car into production or sel aftermarket kits for Lotus Cars.
The Lotus philosophy is all about performance through light weight. The Exige 265E is built to the lightest specification possible without resorting to expensive and rare materials normally found in the rarefied environment of Formula One or Aerospace Industries where weight reduction is often considered more important than cost. The performance improvements of using bio ethanol have been made through increasing the power of the engine without increasing the weight of the engine and therefore the overall weight of the car.
The Engine
The heart of the Exige 265E is a Roots-type supercharger (with a sealed-for-life internal mechanism meaning that it does not require the use of the engine’s oil) and air to air intercooler attached to the tried and tested 4-cylinder, 1.8 litre 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine. Using a development of the supercharger and intercooler package from the Exige S, the Exige 265R has peak power of 264 hp (197 kW, 268 PS) at 8000 rpm, 184 lbft (249 Nm) of torque (at 5500 rpm) up by 46 hp (34 kW, 47 PS) or 21 % and 25 lbft (34 Nm) or 16% over the standard gasoline Exige S. Maximum engine speed is 8000 rpm (8500 rpm transient for up to 2 seconds).
A “Stage One” sports exhaust exits from the centre of the undertray.
The 2ZZ VVTL-i engine has two cam profiles – a high speed cam and a low speed cam. The seamless switch point between these two cams is completely variable depending upon driving conditions and engine load, and the driver will not know which cam is being used at any point. This gives the Lotus Exige 265E a smooth and linear surge of power from idle speeds all the way to the maximum 8500 rpm.
The Lotus Exige 265E is probably the world’s quickest road-legal E85 bio-ethanol car. Not only is the engine important to the performance but also so is the aerodynamic package, which creates 41.2 kg (90.64 lbs) of downforce - 19.3 kg (42.46 lbs) at the front and 21.9 kg (48.18 lbs) at the rear - at 160 km/h (100 mph). This downforce ratio between front (47%) and rear (53%) is balanced and remains constant at the speeds of which the Exige 265E is capable.
This class leading aerodynamic package is provided through the contribution of the following components:
*
Completely flat underside of the car – provided by the elegantly simple, strong yet light weight extruded and bonded aluminium tub
*
Anodised rear diffuser which helps promote the “Venturi effect” underneath the car
*
Deep front splitter, which sits just 108 mm (4.3 inches) from the ground (giving just enough ramp angle clearance) whilst still maintaining the aerodynamic properties and, ofcourse, the aggressive stance.
*
Fixed rear wing that is set at the optimum 11.5 degree angle for the best compromise between downforce and drag.
The Legendary Chassis and Body
To further differentiate the Lotus Exige 265E from its production cousins, two bold stripes (in yellow to symbolise the bio-ethanol fuel and green to demonstrate the environmental considerations of the vehicle).
British, Racing and Very Green
The Lotus Exige 265E – the most powerful road version of the Lotus Exige ever – and it runs on environmentally friendly Bio Fuel!
Lotus Engineering, the engineering consultancy division of Group Lotus Plc has developed a bio-ethanol E85 version of the Lotus Exige.
The research vehicle is a true Lotus (it weighs just 930 kg unladen) and is called the Lotus Exige 265E. 265 indicates the approximate horsepower and is consistent with the naming strategy of other one-off and limited run Lotus variants such as the Lotus Sport Exige 240R; the E indicates the environmentally favourable bio-ethanol E85 fuel (85% ethanol alcohol and 15% petrol / gasoline) that powers this extremely high performing sportscar.
Key to this performance is a slightly modified version of the 2ZZ VVTL-i supercharged and intercooled high revving 4-cylinder engine from the standard Lotus Exige S. This now gives an estimated set of performance figures that would thrash the majority of “Super-Unleaded” performance cars: 0-60 mph in 3.88 seconds, 0-100 mph in 9.2 seconds and a top speed of 158 mph! In fact, the Lotus Exige 265E is probably the world’s quickest road-legal E85 bio-ethanol car.
Why Bio-Ethanol?
Different bio-fuels were considered for this research project, bio-methanol, bio-ethanol and biobutanol. E85 bio-ethanol was the finally chosen as the fuel as its characteristics allowed the engineering project team to enhance the engine performance. The fact that this vehicle uses a pressure charged engine provided even more opportunity to exploit the performance characteristics of a high-octane fuel. Ethanol has a high octane rating, which allows an optimum timing for engine ignition and has a fast flame speed in the cylinder, so the fuel burns faster, increasing the efficiency of the engine.
The Benefits of Bio-Ethanol
The beauty of ethanol is its ability to produce more power in the engine than with conventional petrol / gasoline fuel. The Lotus Exige 265E now produces 264 hp (197 kW, 268 PS) at 8000 rpm, and 184 lbft (249 Nm) of torque (at 5500 rpm), up by 46 hp (34 kW, 47 PS) or 21 % and 25 lbft (34 Nm) or 16% over the standard petrol / gasoline Exige S. With the total weight of approximately 930 kg (unladen), the power to weight is approximately 283 hp / tonne (211 kW / tonne, 287 PS / tonne).
Ethanol has less stored energy per unit volume than gasoline so the fuel economy is less, however as E85 ethanol is 85% sourced from renewable bio matter, there is a net reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2)
Geraint Castleton-White (o conde white castel?), Head of Powertrain for Lotus Engineering explains the rationale behind the Lotus Exige 265E technical demonstrator: “We wanted to prove the point that green sportscars can also be very high performing sportscars. The fact that we have produced a research version of the Exige that is more powerful than the standard road car is a testament to the benefits of going green. We are also pleased that this vehicle demonstrates our engineering capabilities, our understanding of flex fuel vehicles and our knowledge of emerging fuel technologies. It also promotes bio-ethanol as a fuel of choice for the enthusiastic driver as well as the environmentally conscious driver.
The final sign-off test drive was completed just 5 weeks after the project was instigated and has resulted in a demonstration vehicle that not only excites the driver but also is at the forefront of environmentally friendly vehicles.
Looking to the Future:
The next phase for the vehicle is to upgrade the calibration to a flex fuel spec to allow use with initially gasoline, followed by the possibility of a multi fuel flex calibration to use fuels such as bio-methanol and bio-butanol in addition to the conventional gasoline / petrol and bio-ethanol.
The Lotus Exige 265E is purely a research vehicle for Lotus Engineering and Lotus does not intend to put the car into production or sel aftermarket kits for Lotus Cars.
The Lotus philosophy is all about performance through light weight. The Exige 265E is built to the lightest specification possible without resorting to expensive and rare materials normally found in the rarefied environment of Formula One or Aerospace Industries where weight reduction is often considered more important than cost. The performance improvements of using bio ethanol have been made through increasing the power of the engine without increasing the weight of the engine and therefore the overall weight of the car.
The Engine
The heart of the Exige 265E is a Roots-type supercharger (with a sealed-for-life internal mechanism meaning that it does not require the use of the engine’s oil) and air to air intercooler attached to the tried and tested 4-cylinder, 1.8 litre 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i engine. Using a development of the supercharger and intercooler package from the Exige S, the Exige 265R has peak power of 264 hp (197 kW, 268 PS) at 8000 rpm, 184 lbft (249 Nm) of torque (at 5500 rpm) up by 46 hp (34 kW, 47 PS) or 21 % and 25 lbft (34 Nm) or 16% over the standard gasoline Exige S. Maximum engine speed is 8000 rpm (8500 rpm transient for up to 2 seconds).
A “Stage One” sports exhaust exits from the centre of the undertray.
The 2ZZ VVTL-i engine has two cam profiles – a high speed cam and a low speed cam. The seamless switch point between these two cams is completely variable depending upon driving conditions and engine load, and the driver will not know which cam is being used at any point. This gives the Lotus Exige 265E a smooth and linear surge of power from idle speeds all the way to the maximum 8500 rpm.
The Lotus Exige 265E is probably the world’s quickest road-legal E85 bio-ethanol car. Not only is the engine important to the performance but also so is the aerodynamic package, which creates 41.2 kg (90.64 lbs) of downforce - 19.3 kg (42.46 lbs) at the front and 21.9 kg (48.18 lbs) at the rear - at 160 km/h (100 mph). This downforce ratio between front (47%) and rear (53%) is balanced and remains constant at the speeds of which the Exige 265E is capable.
This class leading aerodynamic package is provided through the contribution of the following components:
*
Completely flat underside of the car – provided by the elegantly simple, strong yet light weight extruded and bonded aluminium tub
*
Anodised rear diffuser which helps promote the “Venturi effect” underneath the car
*
Deep front splitter, which sits just 108 mm (4.3 inches) from the ground (giving just enough ramp angle clearance) whilst still maintaining the aerodynamic properties and, ofcourse, the aggressive stance.
*
Fixed rear wing that is set at the optimum 11.5 degree angle for the best compromise between downforce and drag.
The Legendary Chassis and Body
To further differentiate the Lotus Exige 265E from its production cousins, two bold stripes (in yellow to symbolise the bio-ethanol fuel and green to demonstrate the environmental considerations of the vehicle).
Comentário