British company in eco car X-Prize fight
Delta Motorsport is the only all-British company and the only European contender in a competition to find the most environmentally friendly car on the planet.
The Automotive X-PRIZE competition has a $10m prize fund courtesy of American car insurance company, Progressive Insurance, and consequently the criteria for successful vehicles are tough. Electric cars, such as the E-4 Coupe entered by Delta Motorsport, must be capable of 200 miles between charges and there will be tests of braking distances and usability. Crucially, the winning vehicle should be ready to be mass produced.
Delta Motorsport, based on the Silverstone Circuit Technology Park in Northamptonshire, has considerable experience in high technology engineering, motorsport and clean technology projects. It was founded in 2005 by Simon Dowson and Nick Carpenter – each of whom brought extensive automotive and motorsport design and engineering knowledge to the business.
Dowson says: "We became involved with the design of environmentally friendly vehicles because they share many of the engineering challenges associated with motorsport – maximum efficiency, light weight, good aerodynamics and so on. We worked with Oxford University on a lightweight, highly efficient electric motor and have completed several road haulage aerodynamic programmes to improve fuel efficiency."
With the E-4 Coupe, Delta Motorsport has applied innovative thinking to the design and manufacture of a zero emission four-seater road car. Unlike most other electric vehicles, the performance of the E-4 Coupe matches that of conventional cars. It accelerates from zero to 60mph in under five seconds (comparable to a Porsche 911 Turbo) and has a maximum speed well in excess of 100mph.
The first example will be completed in April and has been made possible by support from the East Midlands Development Agency with a grant for research and development of £235,000. When Delta Motorsport was invited to a reception at 10 Downing Street as one of 100 companies embracing the low carbon economy, Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, said: "Our transition to a low carbon economy will be a key driver of our future economic prosperity. Delta Motorsport is at the forefront of this transformation. Their innovation and expertise demonstrates why the UK is one of best places in the world for low carbon business."
As an indication of how tough the X-Prize competition is, none of the new generation of energy-efficient cars from major car manufacturers – such as the Ford Escape, Renault ZE or Nissan Leaf – will meet the criteria. This may explain why none of the original 41 teams and businesses entered are multi-nationals.
Nick Carpenter says: "Although there are some advantages in being part of a big company, there are many substantial disadvantages and large businesses just don't have the flexibility to get on and complete a project in a short timescale."
Indeed, Delta Motorsport will take the E-4 Coupe from CAD screen to production in just 3 months. The design judging rounds of the X-prize competition have taken place and the Delta Motorsport E-4 Coupe is one of the 28 entries which will take part in the safety inspections and dynamic evaluations at Michigan International Speedway at the end of April.
Further X-prize events will follow through the summer with entries being eliminated at each stage. The winners will be announced in September on the lawn of The White House, Washington D.C.
