A team of Japanese technicians from Keio University have built two electric cars trying to beat the speed record on such vehicles. Each of the cars with a bizarre design, has eight wheels and is powered by Lithium-Ion batteries. Each of the eight wheels is driven by a 80 hp electric motor.
The electric vehicle‘s top speed is around 400 km/h with an acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in 4 seconds. The car is called Eliica (abbreviation of Lithium Ion Car), and it has an autonomy of about 350 kilometers on a single charge.
The car costs 320,000 dollars and if the team will recive a corporate sponsorship from the government, the Japanese car makers plan to produce 200 units for an estimated price of $255,000. We’re talking about $159 per wheel or $1,275 per vehicle. The Eliica idea has been kicking around 2003, but now Dr. Hiroshi Shimizu (the man behind the idea) and his students built a pair of Eliicas. One version is considered an “acceleration” model and the second a “speed” model.
