Last year Vantage Power built an electric race car and drove it the full length of the Pan-American Highway in an endurance challenge. Now they are teaming up with Drayson Racing to develop high performance electric cars.
Drayson Racing is the racing team formed by Lord Drayson, they race in gas races and for the last couple years have been working on electric race cars.
They'll be focusing on high power long range EV development. The quip for a long time is you can have fast, or you can go for distance, but you can't do both at the same time. To do both at the same time would require an enormous battery pack.
Drayson Racing, Vantage Power & the RAC Future Car Challenge
Drayson Racing and Vantage Power team
up to tackle the RAC Future Car Challenge and develop ultra high
performance electric cars.
Enter first electric vehicle to drive the entire length of the Pan-American Highway in Brighton to London Challenge.
Form Technical Partnership to develop electric drivetrains with high performance and endurance.
Drayson Racing Technologies LLP, the leading green racing R&D
business, has teamed up with Vantage Power Ltd, the team behind the
world record breaking SRZero electric car that last year drove the
26,000km Pan-American Highway in 70 days as part of the Racing Green
Endurance project. Together, they will tackle the 60 mile RAC Future Car
Challenge Race from Brighton to London on November 5th 2011, and look
forward to a series of exciting events in the future.
Vantage Power Ltd and Drayson Racing Technologies LLP also announced
today the formation of an official technical partnership which aims to
combine Vantage Power’s experience in extreme endurance runs with
Drayson Racing’s know how in high performance motorsport, to develop
drive trains for electric vehicles with both high performance and long
range.
The SRZero will be driven in the RAC Future Car Challenge by the
co-founder of Drayson Racing, former Science Minister and Le Mans racing
driver Lord Paul Drayson, and the Head of Imperial College’s Energy
Futures Laboratory Prof Nigel Brandon.
Quotes:
Paul Drayson said:
“For electric cars to really take off we need to show that they can
offer the performance and range that consumers expect from modern cars.
Although 60 miles is a lot less than the 26,000 km that the Vantage
Power team achieved last year – and the 70 mph speed limit a bit less
than the 220 mph plus we target when racing, it will be fun driving the
car and competing in this exciting event. Participating in the RAC
Future Car Challenge is a great way to showcase the experience and
know how that Drayson Racing and Vantage Power bring in developing
electric cars that offer both high performance and long range.”
Alexander Schey, Managing Director of Vantage Power, said:
“After completing the Pan-American challenge with the SRZero, Vantage
Power is looking forward to the collaboration with Drayson Racing, and
building upon its extensive experience by applying it to the vanguard of
the high performance electric vehicle industry. The RAC Future Car
Challenge, though different to the style of driving both Vantage Power
and Drayson racing are used to, will demonstrate our desire to
participate in a range of events as well as our motivation to win
them!”
