Engineering On The Edge

We’ll soon see the debut of a “green” race car built from composites and running on an all-electric engine.

Drayson Racing Technologies and The Lola Group designed the electric car, which they plan to enter into competition next year. The companies built a prototype all-electric racing car, the Lola-Drayson B12/69EV, using flax reinforced composites and recycled composites.

The Lola-Drayson car will compete in the FIA Formula E World Championship Series for electric vehicles in 2013.

Composites company Umeco partnered with ELG Carbon Fibre and WMG at the University of Warwick to develop the recycled composites for the vehicle. ELG reclaimed carbon fibers from MTM49 epoxy prepreg. Umeco’s epoxy resin was then re-impregnated into the material. Tests confirmed that the properties of the new material were comparable with the original virgin prepregs with minimal loss of strength.

Umeco, Composites Evolution and WMG developed the flax-reinforced composites using woven flax material and Umeco’s epoxy resins. Why flax? The fibers have mechanical properties comparable to glass fibers, but with less environmental impact.

The car will be powered by Lithium Nanophosphate battery cells. The four electric motors provide 850 horsepower and a top speed of 200 mph.

The “green” race car also includes regenerative damping, composite battery power, inductive charging and moveable aerodynamics.

You can view a video of the car’s assembly below:

Source: Composites World