SIM-Drive in Japan, a coalition of 34 different companies tasked with creating a Japanese, all-electric prototype vehicle, announced recently it was now on the third iteration of its vision.
First it was the SIM-Lei back in 2011, followed the next year by SIM-Wil, a car reputed to go 218 miles on a single charge. Now comes SIM-Cel (Cool Energy Link), marching the company one step closer to a 2015 mass vehicle production goal.
SIM-Cel builds upon the successes of the first two prototypes, according to SIM-Drive, and continues at a range of over 200 miles per charge. The vehicle is noted for a 0 to 100 km acceleration of just 4.2 seconds, with maximum torque on the electric motor being expanded to 850 Nm.
The electric car is also said to have a higher level of power efficiency, made possible in part by the “idling stop system,” a technique by which inverter output is stopped when the vehicle is stationary. The aerodynamic design has been improved as well.
Features of note from this design include four electric motors (one in each wheel), a weight of 3483 pounds, a top speed of 111 miles per hour and a fast charge time to the lithium ion battery of just 1 hour for an 80 percent charge. One notable difference in the SIM-Cel from previous models is the car now just sits two people – the SIM-Wil, by comparison, seated five passengers. It is not clear if the final production version will be a two or five seater, or if perhaps we will see versions of both.
One other cool thing as well with this vehicle, according to Green Car Reports, is that the headlights use laser technology for 50 percent extra vision at night. That is definitely slick, but we hope as well the final SIM-Drive design looks a little easier on the eye than the current prototypes.
