Battery technology is improving all the time, but it's still not quite at the level where it can go a full race distance (let alone a full 24 hours) on a single charge. Formula E's solution is to swap cars in the middle of the race, but Panoz has a different idea.
Presented at Le Mans today is the Green4U Panoz Racing GT-EV – a racing prototype power exclusively by electricity, with no internal combustion engine as we've seen in electrified endurance racers to date.
Both companies were founded by Don Panoz, the same man who started the American Le Mans Series before it merged with Grand-Am to form today's United SportsCar Championship.
The product of their joint efforts, the GT-EV boasts between 400 and 450 kW of power – as much as 600 hp – in a package about as long as a Ferrari GTC4 Lusso, but a fair bit narrower, lower to the ground, and lighter. At 2,200-2,750 pounds, it's earmarked to tip the scales at little more than half the big Ferrari's weight – even with all those batteries in place.
The carbon-fiber chassis helps offset the weight of the batteries, much as the cockpit is offset to make room for them and keep everything slung low to cheat the wind. The active aerodynamics aim to help with that as well, with regenerative braking at each corner helping to keep the batteries topped up, and the pair of electric motors providing traction to all four wheels.
The battery packs are designed to be removed so they can be swapped out during pit stops, not unlike what Better Place had going, but out the side instead of from the bottom. Running the full distance of the race at La Sarthe, though, would require a lot of pit stops. More than once each hour, in fact, as the batteries are forecasted to last a good 100 miles or so under race conditions, and the round-the-clock race covers a good 3,000 miles.
“Our goal is to run our car in a race, perhaps even applying for a future Garage 56 slot, and apply what we learn to our Green4U EV vehicle designs." said Green4U CEO Jack Perkowski, referring to the spot reserved for experimental cars at Le Mans. Panoz previously fielded the Q9 GTR-1 Hybrid way back in 1998 (before the 56th spot was instituted) and filled it with the DeltaWing project, so we're looking forward to seeing how this one pans out.
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