The makers of the Ariel Atom now bring us a completely unique EV. Meet the crazy Ariel Hipercar.
The well-known quote by Colin Chapman is not only framed on the wall at Lotus. There are other sports car manufacturers who have made this statement their motto. In fact, there are brands that actually implement the Lotus philosophy much better than Lotus itself. Ariel is a prime example of this. The Ariel Atom really wasn’t an ounce too much.
Ariel Atom
It’s been 22 years since the Ariel Atom saw the light of day, but the car is still being built. Over the years, Ariel has hung all kinds of different engines in it. It started with a modest 1.8 liter Rover block with 140 hp, but the Atom also comes with a 500 hp V8. Madness.
Electric
A V8 is just not so of this time. Electric, that’s the future. Now that does not fit at all with a brand that has weight as number one, but Ariel also goes electric.
HIPERCAR
They do that in their own way. The first electric Ariel is the HIPERCAR, which is very extreme in both appearance and specifications. By the way, the name is not a typo, but an abbreviation for ‘High Performance Carbon Reduction’.
carbon
So there’s still a lot of emphasis on low weight, even though the latest Ariel is an EV. The Hipercar therefore uses an aluminum chassis, aluminum subframes and a body that consists entirely of carbon. Unlike the Atom, this Ariel does have a body.
Weight
Unfortunately Ariel doesn’t mention the weight in the press release yet, but Ariel’s boss has it opposite coach about a weight of “less than 1,500 kg.” Compared to an Atom, the Hipercar is very heavy, but compared to other EVs it is a featherweight. In comparison, the Rimac Nevera weighs more than 2 tons.
Assets
The extra kilos compared to an Atom are more than offset by power. The version with four electric motors is good for no less than 1,196 hp and 1,800 Nm of torque. For those who find that a bit too much of a good thing, there is also a RWD version with two electric motors. That keeps it at a ‘modest’ 598 hp and 900 Nm.
Performance
With such figures it is inevitable that the Ariel Hipercar is retarded fast. And yes, 0-60 mph (96.6 km/h) should be done in 2.09 seconds. There’s even more to it, with full torque vectoring. This should allow a time of less than 2 seconds, according to Ariel. We tend to believe them.
range extender
The observant readers may have noticed that the Ariel Hipercar seems to have an exhaust. What should an EV with an exhaust do? Well, the Ariel Hipercar has another surprise on board: a gas turbine. The drive of the car is fully electric, but this turbine acts as a range extender. This is so effective that the battery never runs out. So you can drive this EV without charging.
Hydrogen
Ariel is cheating a bit with this, because the turbine engine just runs on gasoline. However, the long-term plan of the British is to run it on hydrogen. The turbine is optional by the way. Without a range extender, the Hipercar has a range of about 240 km, thanks to a 62 kWh battery. For obvious reasons, Ariel has used a not-too-large battery pack.
Production version
With this car, Ariel throws the ‘Simplify, then add lightness’ philosophy overboard, but let’s be honest: they have created something unique again. It will be a while before you can buy one. The car is still a prototype. The production version of the Ariel Hipercar is expected to hit the market in a year or two.
This article Ariel Hipercar: lightweight EV that never needs charging! appeared first on Autoblog.nl.
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