Wind powered RORMaxx EV concept updated details and images

RORMaxx Formula AE

By Zack Newmark
January 8, 2009 4:34 PM
Filed Under: American, Artist Renderings, Concept Car, Design, Electric Vehicle, Technology

When we first told you about the RORMaxx Formula AE solar/wind hybrid racecar, it looked little more than the dream of idealistic high school students. Now, they have released computer renderings that make the alternative-energy racer look one step closer to reality.

Eighteen-year-olds Rory Handel and Maxx Bricklin believe their vehicle can use strategically placed wind turbines and solar panels as a means for powering the car. Energy would be stored in ultracapacitors to provide instantaneous boosts of power. They believe this would result in a 0-60mph time below four seconds. Top speed would reach 155 mph.

Vehicle range is expected to be 200 miles per charge, although that figure would likely fluctuate based on the amount of solar power being taken in. Charge time is thought to be less than 90 minutes, but the group claims development of a new battery could take a full charge as little as six minutes. While this sounds a bit farfetched, if realized it could easily be licensed to auto manufacturers. It is unclear if the vehicle will also be plug-in to facilitate faster charging.

No plans yet for even a limited production run. The project is meant to inspire future car developers more than anything. If produced, pricing estimates range anywhere from $80,000 to $150,000. RORRMaxx expects to deliver a Formula AE prototype by August.

Press Release (Click to expand)

Student venture RORMaxx Automotive utilizes ultracapacitors, solar panels, and airflow recovery to construct an alternative energy vehicle.

RORMaxx Automotive, a student venture out of Harvard-Westlake High School, is constructing a wind and electric powered vehicle. Eighteen-year-old high school seniors Rory Handel and Maxx Bricklin are developing the first student-built wind-assisted vehicle called Formula AE.

The ultracapacitors utilized in the vehicle will provide easily accessible power to the car at all times, avoiding the voltage drop problem in normal batteries. The ultracapacitors will address the high acceleration demands of a car, boosting the Formula AE car from zero to sixty miles per hour in less than 4 seconds. The vehicle will be limited by its gearing to a top speed around 155 miles per hour.

Formula AE will implement solar technology in the form of newly developed flexible thin-film photovoltaic cells. Laminated with a flexible flouropolymer, the cells will be protected from any damage and will be flexible enough to fit the aerodynamic form of the vehicle.

The battery of the car is projected to have a range greater than 200 miles per full charge, and should handle a full one-hour race without difficulty. The charge time of the battery is less than 1.5 hours, but a prototype battery currently in development could cut the charge time to just six minutes.

Finally, the vehicle will recover wind flow energy using intakes channeling air to a turbine fan. By constructing ducting to achieve an optimal wind speed, an appropriate generator Awill convert the airflow into usable energy for the car.

The Formula AE car is meant to be a technological showcase to inspire the automotive world to embrace these rarely thought of alternative sources of energy. Although there are currently no plans for commercial production, the car would likely have a projected retail between $80-150k (USD).

The Formula AE Prototype will be completed in August 2009.

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Comments

opelbauer

January 8, 2009 5:28 PM

It looks like a Maserati MC12.

great_supercars255

January 8, 2009 6:10 PM

not really, but it looks really sleek and cool

_M7_

January 8, 2009 6:45 PM

does it race on rain? JAJAJAJA

WildMaverick1200

January 8, 2009 7:32 PM

It looks hot. Hope they can build it.

radmeister

January 8, 2009 8:53 PM

Interesting, in theory you can a battery recharge in under 1hr with the proper control and temperature with a very pure signal. Now what else is interesting is how everyone thinks you are bound by charging the battery itself, it could be as easy as filling up your car with gas if people thought about it. The charging could be done in a massive unit at a station, and you drain the electrolyte, fill up with new 1. Take out your electrodes like a cartridge, and put new ones. Yours would go into the machine that sucked out your electrolyte and it would do the recharging there. There could be let's say 100 doses of electrolyte and 200 electrodes and people would just rotate. 5min max refil. "Your" battery would be recharging while you are off driving. Kind of same principle as propane for your bbq, you go to the station with your empty and walk out with a full one, you dont wait for them to fill yours up. They do that while you are bbqing and give it full to the next guy. I think something like this would be the future of the electric car. To sit there with your car plugged in waiting for it to recharge is retarded.

Iconic

January 8, 2009 11:37 PM

I think you're absolutely right, battery technology is advancing right now at such an incredible pace that it will take over Hydrogen. But the biggest benefactors of hydrogen are the companies that are relied upon to produce and deliver it to the consumer, which right now are the oil companies. When the need for a refueling station, gasoline or hydrogen, is unjustified, an entire industry will fall. It's my opinion that any government would rather back hydrogen technology even though it may not be the best. Business and economy will always take priority.

So you can expect there to be a huge battle brewing between the two technologies. I believe the technology is already there, but it needs a lot of guts from governments to bring it to the mainstream. Ultimately it comes down to being able to tax whatever fuel we use.

Your idea might the only way battery technology will come out on top.

eddie

January 8, 2009 9:50 PM

Again, we should be funding projects like this and not bailout companies that really do not have any future imagination or wide product lines to keep them afloat.

muellr

January 9, 2009 5:01 PM

why not do it the way that guy negre it propossing and use air as a means of propulsion, you cut out all the losses andhandling issues with batteries, way to go! http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4217016.html

now that technology in a sexy disguise and poeple will love it! now if we get around the lobbying of the battery/chemical industry then there might be a chance for it

tarig

January 10, 2009 3:00 PM

why dont they use the turbine to kill the drag Turbulence

Scorpion

February 5, 2009 6:06 PM

This was a pretty good read, although similar to my Implosive-EV idea that I published Apr 19, 2006 it sounds as though most know nothing about implosive energy technology.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/EV-1_Concept_Implosion/

It's really pretty simple; all you have to do is design a system that works like a turbo charger, e.g. in this case the air becomes the (explosive) exhaust cycle and rotates the wind-turbine and in the same manner as a turbo charger it also rotates a second (implosive) impeller on the same common shaft.

This twin explosive/implosive cycle alleviates drag caused by the turbine due to the implosive inrush of air additively adding torque to the common drive shaft of the wind-turbine, additionally an implosive (vortex) thrust develops and further alleviates drag on the entire structure by pulling the car into the void generated by the vortex action of the implosive impeller cycle.

See my DIT-2 wing technology for more details http://quantumgravitics.tripod.com/id12.html

Robert A. Patterson http://quantumgravitics.tripod.com

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