Sign in / up

back to article Boffin seeks $300,000 to build eight-wheel 230mph EV

Plug-in hybrids, extended-range electric vehicles, pure electric roadsters - all well and good, but what we really want is an electric eight-wheel hyper-car that's good for 230mph on the open road. So that would be the Eliica - or the Electric LIthium-Ion Car - Satanic brainchild of Japanese boffin Dr Hiroshi Shimizu, a man …

COMMENTS

House rules Send corrections
This topic is closed for new posts.
  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another car it reminds me of...

    Is also not dissimilar in appearance to the Citroën DS.

    0 0
  2. Harry Sheppard

    It's just a Citroen DS

    Albeit with a few more wheels...

    0 0
  3. Ed

    Mmmmmm

    Thats almost sexy :P

    0 0
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Alien

    Pedant

    Which SPV? The Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle or the Spectrum Patrol Vehicle? Huh?

    0 0
  5. oxo
    Thumb Up

    Hmmm

    Looks like a Citroen DS to me.

    0 0
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    And with all those wheels

    it'll have no problem getting all that power to the ground!

    And as an electric car it should manage a staggaringly fast 0-60

    Bit expensive for me (current car cost.. ooh... £700) but still, looks quirky (as opposed to just crap like more EVs) and should really fly along!

    0 0
  7. Grant Mitchell
    Thumb Up

    Good Luck!

    I hope they succeed, if just to see Mr Clarkson having to report on it after the Beebs more than dodgy reporting on the Tesla! The fastest production car being an EV, he'd love that!

    0 0
  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Pedant

    SPV is "Spectrum Persuit Vehicle". The car is the SPC "Spectrum Patrol Car" or SSC "Spectrum Saloon Car".

    0 0
  9. Steve

    not 4 x 4 but....

    Technically speaking, is this an 8 x 8 x 8 ?

    0 0
  10. Rob
    Go

    Hmmm very Anderson

    I won't buy it unless it has weapons mounted and chairs that slide out sideways so people can get in, if they throw in an Angel it's definately value for money.

    0 0
  11. Edward Miles

    But the all important question...

    ...What's its range when driven at 230mph? Not that I'll ever afford one. My current car costs even less than the one owned by AC @ 12:23 (£550 since you ask, including a full tank of petrol!)

    0 0
  12. Ash
    Joke

    Reverse parking

    No comment; The icon says it all.

    0 0
  13. Elsnorff
    Thumb Up

    its so ugly.....

    but for some reason, i really want one!?!

    0 0
  14. Damn Yank
    Stop

    anybody notice the steering wheel?

    It's in the middle...

    0 0
  15. vic denwood
    Thumb Up

    With electric motors...

    it should be able to go just as fast in reverse and break the Caterham world record of 102+ mph

    0 0
  16. Wokstation
    Unhappy

    You could have had the decency...

    ...to photoshop the thing bright pink so we can see exactly how much it looks like The M'Lady M'Bile.

    Boo. Hiss. Oh yes, much heckling indeed.

    0 0
  17. Reg Reader

    André was 'ere

    Citroën DS, anyone?

    0 0
  18. Lyle
    Thumb Down

    Butt-Ugly

    Sure it might have performance (eventually) but I have to say that's one of *the* most butt-ugly cars I've seen in a long time.

    In fact, I'd even say it beats the Fiat Multipla...

    0 0
  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Also vaguely reminiscent...

    ...of a big pile of expensive crap.

    0 0
  20. Adam

    @And with all those wheels

    Indeed it does accelerate quickly! There's a vid on Youtube of the stickered-up "high speed" variant absolutely destroying a Mitsubishi Evo in a drag race.

    This prototype has been doing the rounds for a few years now, glad they're looking into production.

    0 0
  21. graeme leggett Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Loks good to me

    If I had the money, I'd buy one - in red!

    Failing that, I'd like to see Clarkson try it out.

    0 0
  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The side of me that's still a six year old...

    ...so wants one of these.

    Will 'Captain Scarlet' style backwards-facing seats be a build-to-order option?

    0 0
  23. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    FUGLY!!

    That car is absolutely fecking ugly! Impressive performance stats no doubt though. What is it with electric car manufacturers designing fugly cars (with a few exceptions like the Tesla).

    Paris, cos she is so much nicer on the eyes :)

    0 0
  24. Pavlovs well trained dog

    Bizzare love child

    Of a Citroen DS and the starship enterprise.

    0 0
  25. Psymon

    nice, but...

    as with all supercars, power is only the first part of the story.

    Handling is either going to be amazing, or staggeringly bad!

    The weight of the batteries required is going to be a major hinderance to handling, and there's a good chance the steering could be very heavy with twice the wheelage to turn.

    Either way, I can't wait to see the Stig take it for a spin!

    0 0
  26. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    less

    my car cost £400

    0 0
  27. NukEvil

    @ its so ugly.....

    Yeah, kinda reminds me of the pet that's so ugly, yet you just have to love it...

    Oh, and do they intend for both the driver and passenger to drive it simultaneously? The steering wheel seems to be in the middle of the console...

    0 0
  28. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    @Damn Yank

    I should worry with 8 wheels it doesn't matter where the steering wheel is, as it won't be able to get round corners anyway.

    0 0
  29. Jemma
    Go

    .. The first car to help deepen the gene pool? ...

    It does have cues from both the Citroens DS and SM.. and it is strangely graceful although someone should take a hammer to that front clip. My only worry is that Paris Hilton might find it sexy... and the thought of Ms. Hilton and high voltage electrics in close proximity worries me.... it almost reads like a Dr Who script..

    The design is strange though it is makes alot of sense... the more driven wheels the safer it is, and can you see the look on the sccoby fanbois faces as you fly past them dead silent while their blonde girlfriends make an instant resolution to dump them....

    See, Its good for the gene pool as well .... I say develop it and market it cheap... it may be a loss-leader but it might just help save the human race...

    0 1
  30. Terry
    Go

    @Damn Yank

    Erm, it looks to me like it's on the right hand side (where all good steering wheels live)

    0 0
  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Re: anybody notice the steering wheel?

    Yes, and no, it's not in the middle, it's on the right as you would expect of a Japanese car.

    0 0
  32. Stuart Halliday
    Alert

    So why?

    OK, why has it got so many wheels?

    0 0
  33. Colin Millar
    Go

    Is it crunchy on the outside

    ...and soft on the inside - cos it sure looks like an armadillo

    @ Damn Yank - the steering wheel is clearly on the right in the lower picture (which is where a steering wheel belongs)

    0 0
  34. Richard Brown
    Thumb Down

    Eight wheels?

    What benefit does eight wheels bring? More complex steering, more road noise, more weight, more rolling resistance, more tyres to replace. There is probably a good reason why 99.9% of cars designed over the last 100 years only have 4 wheels.

    0 0
  35. Ed

    LOL

    £400 Bah My car cost £234.25 (500 AUD)

    0 0
  36. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Ah but is it 8 wheels full time?

    "More complex steering, more road noise, more weight, more rolling resistance, more tyres to replace."

    Indeed so, which is why lots of multi-axle trucks and trailers these days have the technology to lift the un-nneded axles when they're not in use. So do the same here, I'm sure Ali G/Westwood and his mates on Pimp My Ride would fix it for them.

    0 0
  37. Stewart Haywood
    Boffin

    @Eight wheels

    Well, just a thought, 8 wheels 80hp each that is about 0.48 MegaWatts with a heavy right foot.

    That is going to be a rather heavy battery bank or two. I would imagine that the batteries are in two banks above the two sets of 4 wheels with the centre of mass between pairs of wheels.in each case. This would surely improve stability, especially under high acceleration. There may also be a problem with weight and wheel bearings.

    0 0
  38. Pierre

    Why 8 wheels?

    Because 8 motors then.

    0 0
  39. Damn Yank

    "where all/good steering wheels belong"

    If you are a Driver's Ed instructor, perhaps... ;-)

    I had rented a right-hand drive Versa in Ireland and I still wince at home many times I bashed my right elbow into the door when I went to shift on the first day...

    Anyway, I rescind my previous comment. The wheel is indeed on the right.

    0 0
  40. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    More wheels good?

    The Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler was a F1 racing car - they had their reasons...

    0 0
  41. Mike White

    6 wheels too many

    but that's a different matter ;o)

    Yup more than a hint of Citroën influence, just shows how far ahead they were :-)

    0 0
  42. Mr Larrington
    Paris Hilton

    P34

    They did indeed have their reasons, but they weren't terribly good ones. It needed non-standard front tyres and the standard size rears were still out in the airstream, so it had little less drag, and no more traction, than a four-wheeler. http://www.geocities.com/simontmallett/240march1.html shows one which might have worked better, had they been able to get the under-engineered transmission to work.

    0 0
  43. Lionel Baden

    Looks like

    A Good Old Citroen DS

    0 0
  44. bygjohn
    Thumb Up

    Want. Now!

    Combination of a DS and Lady P's Roller which goes seriously VooooM but silently? Mmmmmm. Want want want...

    0 0
  45. dave
    IT Angle

    fish for tea, therefore friday

    according to wikipedia,

    "The car has eight wheels enabling it to be closer to the ground for better traction".

    I think I follow this argument, (there's a couple of steps left out).

    But what advance in engineering has made this change a good idea? I suspect it's not the battery. Vista SP1, perhaps?

    0 0
This topic is closed for new posts.