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Kaz Eliica
The Kaz Eliica limousine is definitely bizarre and
outside-the-box. The Kaz Eliica is a future-thinking sedan with
powerful drive and impressive environmental credentials. The easy-to-remember
name stands for Electric Lithium-Ion Car, which summarily describes
the powerful technology behind it.
Designed by 40 students and faculty members at the Keio University
in Japan, the Kaz Eliica is an eight-wheeled, electric-powered limousine
with engine credentials impressive enough to put many gasoline-guzzlers
to shame.
The vehicle's development was led by Hiroshi Shimizu, an engineering
professor at the Japanese school. The Kaz Eliica is a successor
to the equally innovative Kaz Electric Car (also known as the Keio
Advanced Zero-Emission Vehicle,) also developed at the same university.
The design team's goal is to beat the top speed of the Bugatti
Veyron and build a limited production run spanning around 200 units,
allowing it to hold the record as the world's fastest production
vehicle. This will allow them to break people's perception of electric
car technology being too slow and too heavy and perhaps make a serious
dent in the automotive industry.
At the rate it's going now, they may realize it soon, as the Eliica
outclasses the speed and acceleration of many current supercars.
Early test drives praise the car's excellent handling with almost
no body roll, no squat during acceleration and no nosedives when
the brakes are applied.
Features
The Kaz Eliica's body is shaped like a bullet and certainly travels
like one. The Eliica is powered by eight in-wheel 55 kW electric
motors and a bank of lithium-ion batteries. It runs faster than
any other concept in its class and reaches top speeds of an unbelievable
220 mph, which it registered at the Nardo test Facility in Italy
in 2004. It boasts a 0 to 60 mph acceleration of only 4.1 seconds,
faster than numerous engine-powered vehicles of its size and some
high-profile sports coupes as well.
The Kaz Eliica prototype provides limited cabin space with minimal
headroom. Despite measuring limousine-like dimensions at 15-feet
long by 6-feet wide, the vehicle only seats four people. It weighs
a hefty 5,291 lbs.
The Kaz Eliica comes in two basic models. One model is for regular
road driving and the other is for top speedster performance. The
first type limits driving speed at 115 mph but allows a range of
200 miles before recharging.
The second prototype is a full-on speed demon, listed to be capable
of up to 240 mph speeds but only allows a traveling distance of
120 miles between charges. Power is pumped into the vehicle by charging
into the main electricity unit for 10 hours to create a full load.
The Kaz Eliica is priced at approximately $320,000 per prototype
and will probably sell in the $400,000 range once production is
actually realized.
Driving Force
The true driving force behind the Eliica is environmental concern.
The team behind it believes that the increasing awareness of environmental
damage caused by fuel emissions will make the Kaz Eliica very popular
in the future.
According to Professor Hiroshi Shimizu, "If we continue producing
current levels of CO2, we will face a global-warming crisis well
before 2040, a long time before fossil fuel reserves run out. We
need to halve these emissions now."
The Kaz Eliica would be perfect for eco-celebrities with a need
for speed. Can you say Keanu Reeves?
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