Silex Power, a small firm from the island nation of Malta, has cooked up a rather unique upper-market electric vehicle concept which, if it actually hits production in 2015, could rival the likes of Tesla Motors for performance and range.
Dubbed the Chreos, a limited run of 300 models are planned according to Technologic Vehicles, so one can expect this car to be rather expensive.
Figures on the Chreos, as far as Silex spins them anyhow [PDF], are very impressive. Driven by four electric motors, one in each wheel, the car is capable of 640bhp of power and 4400Nm of torque.
The vehicle goes from 0 to 100km/h, or 60 MPH, in less than 2.9 seconds and it can motor along the roads at an electronically limited 300km/h, or 186 MPH. A next generation battery pack gives the EV range to cover an astounding distance of 1000km on a single charge, or 620 miles, speeding along the motorway at a speed of 125km/h, or 77 MPH.
Charging time for this miracle battery pack, using what Silex describes as its Hypercharge technology, is less than 10 minutes for a full recharge. The vehicle comes with two electric charging ports – one for its tech and one for regular charging – and notes the Hypercharge offering requires high voltage (10-15,000 volts) to the port that will deliver the massive amounts of power required to charge up the batteries utilizing a low current, and thus standard copper wires.
Silex hopes that this revolutionary approach to rapid car charging will bring a spur in the installation of such charging points alongside fuel pumps that will serve to charge up Chreos and vehicles from other manufacturers that will embark on the fast charging lane.
The battery itself, meanwhile, is described as being “a Lithium battery variant, which has a modified cathode that allows rapid charging. The batteries have a power density that is higher than that used on other mainstream electric vehicles (circa 400Wh/kg compared to the 200-250Wh/kg). The batteries will be specially manufactured for Chreos and other future Silex vehicles by an existing battery manufacturer and be very expensive at first.”
Like other electric cars on the market already, the Chreos will sport a variety of driving modes to help adjust to driver demand for performance versus energy savings.
