Tesla has some SERIOUS competition

[apex2305]

Wow, I hope this isn't a repost, but damn, ssc has come up with one hell of a car................

Shelby SuperCars (SSC) released today the details of its revolutionary All-Electric Scalable Powertrain, the AESP. SSC will incorporate its AESP into thecurrent Ultimate Aero to create the Ultimate Aero EV. Being the "World's Fastest Production Car," SSC decided the Ultimate Aero to be the perfect high visibility outlet to demonstrate the capabilities of its new Green powertrain. Directly following the debut of the Ultimate Aero EV, SSC will conduct a live media event to showcase the capabilities of its revolutionary Green powertrain.

SSC will display its AESP in the Ultimate Aero EV in order to prove that electric-powered vehicles will not only match but also provide more linear power (electric motors have 100% torque at 0 RPM) and overall performance than internal combustion cars. The Ultimate Aero EV utilizes a twin motor AESP producing an astounding 1,000 HP and 800 lb-ft of torque enabling it to rocket to 60 mph in a mere 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 208 mph. Not only does the Ultimate Aero EV have a range of 150-200 miles on a single charge, but SSC's "Charge on the RunTM" onboard charging system allows for 10 minute full battery recharges on a 220V service. SSC's 3-speed automatic transmission transfers the Ultimate Aero EV's power to its wheels and achieves electronically controlled shift times of .24 s. The entire AESP is liquid cooled allowing it to run for extended periods of time at peak performance with no overheating issues.

SSC's Green division, SSC Green, Inc., will provide packaged solutions of its AESP to a wide variety of applications ranging from 200 horsepower for economy and midsize cars, to 500 horsepower for light trucks and SUVs, and up to 1,200 horsepower for delivery trucks, heavy-duty equipment, buses and military vehicles.

SSC expects to roll out its first full-scale, pre-production Ultimate Aero EV in second quarter 2009. Ultimate Aero EV deliveries will start as early as fourth quarter 2009. SSC will pursue the title of "World's Fastest Production Electric Car" and conduct a marketing campaign consisting of international motor shows, magazine articles, TV appearances and live media events. Most importantly, SSC will conduct a live media event at one of America's superspeedways to prove its claims. During this event SSC Founder and Lead Designer, Jerod Shelby, and notable guests will drive laps at high speed pitting only to demonstrate the quick recharge times.

http://www.shelbysupercars.com/news-012209.php


http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/aero-ev-open-front-angle.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/aero-ev-profile.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/aero-ev-rear-open.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/01/aero-ev-under-the-hood.jpg


The most amazing thing to me is the 10 minute recharge, pretty damn hard to believe........................ :rolleyes:

[thepolecat]

W.........................

[thepolecat]

O...................

[thepolecat]

W........................

[apex2305]

i wonder if they are going to start putting charging stations outside gas stations and charge by the kw hour when this really catches on,

[apex2305]

anyone out there think the 10 minute recharge time is even possible?!?! I cant imagine and household outlet could possibly carry enough current to handle that............any thoughts?

[87 Turbo II]

Absolutely amazing! I like that they're selling their newly developed system to other manufacturers for public uses. 10 min recharge at stations with the 220V power source would be ok by me. Go into a QT get a few snacks and wait for a good charge. I like it!

[apex2305]

that would be bad ass, god you wouldn't be able to leave for like an hour though, can you imagine the crowd when you plug in something like that??

[Thighs]

thats awesome.

[Kaiser]

Yeah, SSC is certainly at the edge of their game. It's too bad that there isn't a single one of us with a high likelihood of ever seeing an SSC car. They really don't deserve to call themselves a "production carmaker." They make fewer cars than there will be GT-R V-Spec's.

[apex2305]

sucks they dont produce more, then again, produce more quality goes down, i cant even imagine how good their cars feel on the road

[MongolPup]

Can't wait until the oil companies shut this shit down too.

[Kaiser]

I'm not going to assume that SSC has "great feeling" cars considering with low production numbers also comes a distinct lack of real road testing. SSC is kindof an upstart company that came out of left field and showed up on the scene, with most people having never heard of them before their ultimate aero claim. They don't have the same kind of history that some handbuilts have. Aston (Which produces easily 10x what SSC does and makes some of the best "feeling" and highest quality cars in the planet).

[apex2305]

I'm not going to assume that SSC has "great feeling" cars considering with low production numbers also comes a distinct lack of real road testing. SSC is kindof an upstart company that came out of left field and showed up on the scene, with most people having never heard of them before their ultimate aero claim. They don't have the same kind of history that some handbuilts have. Aston (Which produces easily 10x what SSC does and makes some of the best "feeling" and highest quality cars in the planet).


thats very true, i wouldn't assume it to be very refined, i think i would like that though, something raw and beastly, shear torque and speed............i doubt this thing would be a track killer, or any ssc car right now, but hell getting out of the gates and getting popular might be pretty easy with the lineup they have now

[RedEj8]

That thing is pretty sweet.

[Kaiser]

thats very true, i wouldn't assume it to be very refined, i think i would like that though, something raw and beastly, shear torque and speed............i doubt this thing would be a track killer, or any ssc car right now, but hell getting out of the gates and getting popular might be pretty easy with the lineup they have now


Depends depends. I'm not a fan of SSC at the moment, but they have a pattern they can follow. Pagani is a new company too, people forget that. Pagani does not even build their own motors, they buy them from AMG/Mercedes. (Which is ten times funnier that the Italian Supercar maker that took up Lambo's OLD persona that died when Audi bought them and turned them into competition with Ferrari buys it's engines from Audi's competition!) And they've managed to latch on HARD...but Pagani did something brilliant, the Zonda looks ridiculous, is fast as hell (7.0+ Liter AMG V12 depending on which trim level Zonda you get) and is incredibly put together, good ride, good feeling, great interior, tons of passion, beautiful paint, and incredible handling, all in one package. If SSC can step that direction rather than trying to swing at Bugatti (Which has all of what Pagani has and some name recognition to boot) then I'll be head over heels.

[87 Turbo II]

Half of you are missing the big breakthrough here. Weather or not you like SCC or how heard of they are, or how we will probably never see an Ultimate Aero, etc.etc., it doesn't matter. Even the "You'd be at the gas station for an hour" part missed the big part of this story. Sure THIS car is great and all, but the 10 min recharge spans across the entire AESP electrical system they developed, and SCC is going to license the use of it in every day affordable production cars. THAT's what we should be looking at, this SCC Ultimate Aero is just a way to throw the new technology in one's face, and prove it works, but it is far from the actual significance of SCCs developments.

[ugacivic]

thats the twin turbo V8 in the pic...

[apex2305]

thats the twin turbo V8 in the pic...


picture comes straight from the website, so if it is.............who knows what the real one will look like.....................

and no trust me i didnt miss the breakthrough, i think its incredible, i was talkin more along the lines of people will not leave you alone if you drive this.........................i dont mind sitting anywhere for an hour for the benefit this thing has..............i really hope they can take it and roll with it and other people follow suit

[RedEj8]

Yea I was about to say..Looks like it has twin air-water intercoolers and still has the exhaust cutouts. I'd like to see the real electric version.

[Kaiser]

Half of you are missing the big breakthrough here. Weather or not you like SCC or how heard of they are, or how we will probably never see an Ultimate Aero, etc.etc., it doesn't matter. Even the "You'd be at the gas station for an hour" part missed the big part of this story. Sure THIS car is great and all, but the 10 min recharge spans across the entire AESP electrical system they developed, and SCC is going to license the use of it in every day affordable production cars. THAT's what we should be looking at, this SCC Ultimate Aero is just a way to throw the new technology in one's face, and prove it works, but it is far from the actual significance of SCCs developments.

Electric cars have been floundering for years for a reason. They DON'T SAVE ANYONE ANYTHING. The batteries are significantly worse for the environment than any amount of oil wasted by leaking old combustion engines and what's left over after an oil change is disposed and recycled. Gas emissions and diesel emissions can't even add up to the toxicity of that battery. Combined with a lifespan that's ridiculous (10 years, 100,000 miles. Most of the cars I work on every day are past one or both of those markers) and the absurdity of the fact that even though the CAR runs on electricity, the electricity comes 8 out of 10 times from fossil fuel sources that produce more pollution even after scrubbers and smoggers than the same car's worth of gasoline would produce. It's not a breakthrough that people put big batteries and big electric motors in a car with a very deadly high-amp charging system. What would be a breakthrough is an electric car that needed to be plugged in only to keep the battery fresh and that would generate electricity on it's own while coasting and braking to keep up with the demands of the car's motors. Don't expect this any time soon, since the generator/motor setups would mean the car would cost about as much as a bentley for your average civic sized car (And even then you'd have next to no trunk space between the batteries and motors).

The answer is not electric cars, and it never will be. People got pissed GM killed the electric car, but it was the right thing to do. It's a flawed idea. Now we've got plug-in hybrids that will cost people more to operate over the life of the car than buying two small fuel efficient 3 cylinder diesels ever would, all while the same small fuel efficient diesels are getting 80mpg over in europe.

[Master Shake]

seems very impressive, BUT is this car going to be affordable by the average person?
its like the lambo of electric cars. it would be good to have, but the price range of the car will out of reach for most people.