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Green Wheels: Varley evR450 Electric Vehicle

Varley evR450

The whole world is looking for either electric or hybrid materials. Therefore, this is not surprising to see the automakers hitting the same technology in making new vehicles. Going on the same way, Varley Electric Vehicles has produced a head turning electric vehicle, R450. The car is new, but the producers and engineers of the car are around in the market for around 125 years. Varley manufactures many kind of vehicles for airports and hospitals. If you live in Australia and you need a string and hard working tug for an airport or factory, you will call Varley. Now, if you want a stylish and sporty Maserati M12 like pluggable, you can call them for this too.

The Australian company unveiled their ev prototype in Brisbane at the third annual Australian Electric Vehicle Conference. This conference will manage the market introduction of this EV, their impact on the electric supply, role of EV in greener transportation and provision of charging infrastructures.

The green machine

Varley Electric Vehicles are known for making bulky industrial vehicles rather than high-end sports car, but the company is now looking to change its image by introducing the new $450. The zero emission machine is developed by the company only in nine months in collaboration of two local EV specialists, Tritium and Ultramotive. Overall, it has some impressive numbers and shows the electric car technology of Australia.

Green factor

The car moves on battery, so there will be zero carbon emission from the engine and it will not create any pollution. Varley has not confirmed yet, but the braking system of the car is built in such a way that whenever the brake is applied, it charges the battery.

The powertrain

Not everyone in Australia has V8 under the hood. R450 runs with two ultra motive carbon motors each with a peak power of 150kW/210 HP and 522 Nm of torque and offers continuous power supply of 58kW/122Nm. Weight of the motors is only 40kg (excluding inductors), the 300Kw/420 HP power will be moving a very light vehicle.

The electric car can sprint to 100km/h (62mph) from standstill in 3.8 seconds and has an electronically limited top speed of 200 km/h (125mph). It has a basic range of 150km (93.21 miles) that can be doubled using an additional lithium-ion battery pack. With these numbers, you will say that it is not the quickest electric racecar around, but look at the cost; it is much cheaper than other cars.

The coupe is painted in yellow but makes a statement about going green. The doors of the car swigs upwards, body is extra low and wide and it has a bubble-style cockpit canopy.

The company is still working on the power train and is not allowing anyone to drive or take the photos under the hood. While we wait for other details, you are free to comment on this post with your feeling about the car. If you are going to comment, please answer one question, is R450 is the replacement for Tesla Roadster?

The highs

It has an awesome power and the range can be extended to 300 km by using an additional lithium ion battery package. The exteriors are sporty as well as stylish and the car is less expensive. Above all, this is a green car, so owning it will add some style to you, not any emission to the environment.

The lows

There are no side mirrors in the car, which raises a question on safety. Apart from that, it will be too early to talk about any of the negative sides of the car. Let us wait for the release, and then we will know what the wrong parts of the green car are.

Cost and availability

Australia’s first locally designed and manufactured electric supercar will go on sale from January 2012 for less than $200, 000 (US $213, 000). Varley has not disclosed the exact price right now. Stay tuned for that.

The company is expecting high sales figure from the car because of the great power, range, top speed and other features. According to them, the production numbers are not decided yet, so if you have the money and inclination, you can hands on Australia’s first electric super car.

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