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About the Hypercar®
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The Hypercar is a breakthrough car design, which may come to market in the next few years. A basic design goal was to have zero emissions without sacrificing safety or the practicality that people expect. In order to do this, a couple of assumptions were made: start with a clean sheet of paper, a very lightweight design using advanced materials. A fuel cell was the best choice for the power train. As fuel cells will likely still be relatively expensive in the timeframe of 2010, the car was designed to compete with models like the Lexus RX300, Mercedes M320 and BMW X5 3.0, in terms of price and features. The car was initially pioneered by the in Colorado. A team of
over 45 engineers developed a prototype. It is based on a very light yet strong
frame and body, using advanced carbon-composites (similar to Kevlar used in
bulletproof vests). With a density one-fifth that of steel and a stiffness
significantly higher than light metals such as aluminum, an advanced-composite
structure can be made light, stiff and safe. With a lighter structure, lighter
suspension and power train components could be used. The result is a vehicle
that weighs about 1900 pounds, about half that of a conventional design. Using
the fuel cell system, the Hypercar should yield about a fivefold improvement in
fuel economy, over
regular designs, without sacrificing safety or performance. Hypercar, Inc. has received funding from investors to continue working to bring a vehicle to the market. Rather than build the vehicle, they would more likely license the design to one or more existing car manufacturers. Rather than improve a little here and a little there on existing designs, the Hypercar starts with a blank sheet of paper and totally rethinks "how do you make a car". The result is so revolutionary that the car manufacturers may feel they must use these design improvements before their competitors do. So even though this design at first may seem "too futuristic", it may really come to market within the next few years.
Learn more: a good audio interview on the Hypercar (click on the RealAudio or Windows Media links on the right side of the page)
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