Mercedes-Benz breaks electric car laptime record at Nürburgring with production electric sports car

Another automaker has broken the electric car laptime at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.  This is the famed huge track in Germany, the north loop (the Nordschleife) of which is 20 kilometers long (12 miles).  The new laptime, announced a week ago, was set by Mercedes-Benz with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive.

This is a series production electric sports car, the first such electric sports car, as well as the first electric car to circle the Nordschleife in under 8 minutes. Not only is it (apparently) the fastest electric car in existence, it's also available for sale.  At a price meant for the 1%.

“Mercedes-AMG impressively shows the potential of the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive with the new record on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Mercedes-AMG is the first vehicle manufacturer which makes it possible to circle the Nordschleife in under eight minutes with an electrically-powered series production vehicle. This record run is another proof for our constant innovative vigour“, according to Ola Källenius, Chairman of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

“For the first time, an electrically-powered series production vehicle circles the Nürburgring Nordscheife in under eight minutes. The record for the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive in 7:56.234 minutes on the Nordschleife shows the special position of our innovative and unique drive solution. With the extremely efficient battery technology deriving from Formula 1, four electric motors positioned close to the wheels, the individual wheel torques “AMG Torque Dynamics”, the SLS eSound and our ambitious "AMG Lightweight Performance" design strategy, the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive generates a breathtaking sensation unlike any other model out on the road”, according to Tobias Moers, Head of Overall Vehicle Development and member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.

The  SLS AMG Coupé Electric has an electric drive train with four motors totalling 552 kilowatts of power (721 horsepower) and over 1000 Nm of torque.  Additionally it as a 0-100 km/hr (0-60 miles/hr) time of 3.9 seconds, and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/hr.

An overview of the most important data:

	SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive
Max. output	552 kW (751 hp)
Torque	1000 Nm
0-100 km/h	3.9 s
Top speed	250 km/h*
Range	250 km (according to NEDC)
Battery energy content	60 kWh
Battery voltage	400 volts
CO2 emissions	0 g/km

*Electronically limited

The four electric motors are connected one motor per wheel, and the Mercedes Benz designers used this fact to create a permanent all-wheel-drive system.  The system assures optimum traction to each wheel in all conditions.

According to the developers, the term "AMG Torque Dynamics" refers to individual control of the electric motors, something which enables completely new levels of freedom to be achieved. The AMG Torque Dynamics feature is permanently active and allows for selective distribution of power to each individual wheel. The intelligent distribution of drive torque has a beneficial effect on driving dynamics, handling, driving safety and ride comfort. Each individual wheel can be both electrically driven and electrically braked in accordance with the specific driving situation, thus helping to

• optimise the vehicle's cornering properties,
• reduce the tendency to oversteer/understeer,
• increase the yaw damping of the basic vehicle,
• reduce the steering effort and steering angle required,
• increase traction,
• and minimise ESP® and ASR intervention. 

Manufaktur hand finishing at company headquarters in Affalterbach

 

Mercedes-AMG has installed a dedicated Manufaktur hand-finishing section for electric vehicles at its headquarters in Affalterbach for final assembly of the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive. The electrically powered gullwing model is assembled and readied for operation at a total of seven different stations. The entire logistics process is based in Affalterbach, too. 

 

Production of parts such as the exterior and interior initially takes place at the Mercedes-Benz production facility in Sindelfingen. In Affalterbach, highly trained workers take charge of assembling the axles, electric motors, transmissions and cooling system components. Particular care is taken with the installation of all high-voltage components, such as the liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery, the accompanying cables, inverter and control units, and the onboard charger. Needless to say, the utmost standards of safety are applied during all work on high-voltage components. The operational check and extensive final inspection at the end ensure that the manufacturing and product quality offered by the SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive is of the very highest order.

 

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive celebrates its sales launch in June 2013. The purchase price for Germany (incl. 19% VAT):

 

SLS AMG Coupé Electric Drive: 416,500 euros

Formula E signs up Williams Engineering to provide electric race car battery packs

The Formula E technology subsidiary, Spark Racing Technology, announced the other day another partnership with a technology provider.  The new deal is with Williams Advanced Engineering, who will design and assemble the battery packs for the SRT 01E. 

This is the electric race car that will be used in the Formula E 2014 season.  SPARK is slated to build 42 electric race cars for use by the teams.

Williams Advanced Engineering is part of the Williams group which includes the Williams F1 Team. That team is one of the pioneers of hybrid systems and their innovative technologies have been extremely successful on the international scene.

The consortium that SPARK has built includes McLaren, Renault and Dallara.  McLaren Electronic Systems will supply the transmission, electronics and powertrain for the car, while Technical Partner Renault SAS will use its vast technological expertise to optimize the electric and electronic layout and performance of the powertrain. Meanwhile, leading Italian firm Dallara will produce the chassis with tyres being supplied by Tyre Partner Michelin.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Spark Racing Technology to introduce our battery technology into their cars for next year’s FIA Formula E Championship,” said Kirsty Andrew, Head of Commercial Operations, Williams Advanced Engineering. “This is an exciting new racing series that will play a key role in highlighting the growing relevance of technologies originally developed for motorsport to the wider world. Energy efficiency is an important issue for Williams and whilst our work in this field is now spanning a number of market sectors beyond racing, motorsport will always be the ultimate proving ground for our technologies. Electric vehicles are becoming an increasingly important part of the automotive industry and Formula E is the perfect opportunity for Williams to validate the latest developments in battery technology.”

Frédéric Vasseur President of Spark Racing Technology added: “I am delighted to welcome Williams into our new project. The vast experience from Williams and especially from Williams Advanced Engineering in the field of hybrid systems and electric engine power, guarantees quality. Spark Racing Technology is extremely proud to bring together some of the biggest names in motorsport and expects no less from Williams as they accompany us in the highest level of the first championship for electric cars.”

Lightning's Carlin Dunne beats gas bike racers in Pikes Peak testing round

The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is coming up, and Lightning Motorcycles is already on site, testing their race bike with rider Carlin Dunne, and setting history by turning in practice times that beat the gas bike racers.  Specifically, in the very first practice round for the 2013 Pikes Peak Hill Climb, Dunne posted the fastest times over all other competitors, not just electric, including the long dominant gas bike racers as well.

He was riding the Lightning Motorcycles electric race bike, earlier versions of which won many races and titles in the TTXGP, FIM e-Power, and land speed racing venues.   "This is the first time in history that an electric bike has beaten top gas bike competitors on the same level playing field," said Richard Hatfield, CEO and Founder of Lightning Motorcycles.

Of course the important result is what occurs on race day, a bit over a week from now.  The result came during a practice round and it's common for results to vary during practice rounds until the race event.  Still, this is a most interesting result and marks a threshold that electric motorcycles are beginning to cross - speed parity or exceeding the speed of the top gas bikes.

I don't have time to track down the results to see what actually happened.  I want to know the actual results, I want to report the results here, but ... sorry ... - the Pikes Peak event is a time trial, meaning that Dunne will have made it to the top of Pikes Peak in less time than the gas bike racers.

The primary takeaway in understanding this information is that the Pikes Peak event draws top competitors from around the world.  When Hatfield says "this is the first time" we have to understand the context is "beaten top gas bike competitors."  There are earlier instances where electric motorcycle racers have entered races against gas bike racers, in a sanctioned race, where the electric racers were racing for points and standing, and beat the gas bike racers.  However, all the instances I know of occurred in club racing.  The first of those is when Team Moto Electra (Brian Richardson team owner, Thad Wolff rider) raced in an AHRMA race and won.  The second is when Chip Yates raced in a WERA race event in Jan. 2011, and won.  This year Brammo has raced in a couple AFM events in Northern California, which I haven't had time to report on, and I don't know the results but I think they placed well or even won.

In other words, there are instances of electric bike racers wining against gas bike racers.  But because those were in club racing events it's not the same as a win in the competitive field at Pikes Peak. 

The result came during the "Tire Testing Weekend."  This is a critical test for the teams, but practice time is limited because the event does take place on public roads which are closed for only short periods.

2013 TT ZERO sector results shows a clue to MotoCzysz' strategy

The Isle of Man folk have posted sector-by-sector results from the 2013 and they give a little bit of insight into why the race ended as it did. 

On almost every sector Michael Rutter took the sector a few seconds slower than did John McGuinness.  After the Bungalow sector that changed, and Rutter took the next two sectors faster.

This matches McGuinness' report that Rutter disappeared off into the distance after the Bungalow.  It also matches Mark Miller's description of the team strategy.

Meaning, that Rutter was holding back on the juice until the end, to make a sprint and go for the win.

Mark Miller's story about not finishing the 2013 TT ZERO

In today's TT ZERO, Mark Miller pulled out of the race at Ballaugh Bridge while team-mate Mike Rutter went on to win the race.  I was going to let it go as one of those details that we'd never hear about, but Mark Miller made a long posting on Facebook describing his day at the TT.

Team MotoCzysz

In case the posting isn't publicly visible - here's my summary of what he said.  By all means click through to Facebook to read the real thing if you prefer.

Their strategy was for Miller to drop back and let McGuinness in front of him, and for Miller to draft McGuinness.  This way Miller would save a lot of energy that he could use in a sprint after the Bungalow, beating McGuinness and maybe even snagging first place. 

That idea was working fairly well, and they were even catching up with Mike Rutter.  If you read the race report, McGuiness was ahead of Rutter by as much as 9 seconds during the race, meaning they did almost catch up with Rutter.

At Ballaugh Bridge John McGuiness hit the juice hard and took lots of air.  Miller took it differently, and when he landed something in the gearbox broke ending the race for him. 

Mark Miller went on to discuss the relative size and such of the two teams.

First, he repeated the claim that apparently was going around that Mugen had spend $4 million on the 2013 bike.  Some proof was Mugen had 12 engineers on staff testing everything to the nth degree, and doing daily tests at a local track.  With all that they couldn't beat MotoCzysz, who had 1 engineer, one "manager type" and Michael Czysz' father "who can do everything well."  Oh, and Michael was on call while back in Oregon undergoing treatments.  A small team going against everything Honda, er, Mugen, could throw into it, and the Oregon boys still won.

Oh, and as for whether Mugen === Honda ... Miller said that Mr. Honda was there in person.  Big hint.

Miller described his instructions as to "create a thermal meltdown" just as the bikes cross the finish line, then lean the bike against the pit wall and let it burn.  He said that Rutter ended the race having consumed 1% more energy than the battery pack is rated for .. meaning that the bike was beyond empty.  That's what it really took to win against Hon..er..Mugen.  Being willing to let the bike burn to the ground on the other side of the finish line.

I'll close this by noting that at the 2012 TTXGP at Portland International Raceway, one of the MotoCzysz riders did exactly that .. ride the bike hard enough to create a thermal meltdown.  What Michael Czysz told me at the time is that the bike had just returned from the 2012 TT ZERO on Friday, and Saturday they took it to PIR for the TTXGP, and they hadn't had time to switch from the Isle of Man pack to the TTXGP pack.  The difference is that for the Isle of Man they need distance, hence more kilowatt-hour capacity, and for a TTXGP they need speed, hence delivery of more raw power.  With the wrong pack on the bike it went into thermal problems and almost caught on fire.  But.. if Miller is correctly reporting the instructions ... maybe their rider in Oregon took it a little too literally.

MotoCzysz makes dramatic win over Mugen in 2013 TT ZERO, both hit 109 miles/hr lap speed

John McGuiness during practice on Friday

The 110 miles/hr lap speed goal did not quite fall at the 2013 TT ZERO, and in its place we had a tense close race between MotoCzysz and Mugen Shinden.  In a surprise finish, MotoCzysz' Mike Rutter came in 1st with an unofficial 109.675 miles/hr lap speed, beating Mugen's John McGuiness by 1.67 seconds, and a 109.527 miles/hr lap speed.  MotoCzysz' other entry, Mark Miller, retired halfway through the race allowing Rob Barber, riding for the Ohio State University Buckeye team, to come in 3rd with a 90.403 miles/hr lap speed.

Before the race Rutter sounded resigned to coming in 2nd to John McGuiness, and he even said so during a Manx Radio interview right after crossing the finish line.  He was surprised and ecstatic at having won against the odds that McGuiness and Mugen's money would win the race.  Apparently a rumor was running around the TT ZERO pits that Mugen had spend $4.3 million on developing the 2013 bike, and aiming to win.  For his part, John McGuiness, in the post race interview with Manx Radio, was "grumpy" and didn't know what to say, that he was "sore" and felt like he deserved to win.  What he did say is that after the Bungalow timing point, Mike Rutter just disappeared into the distance.

The 1.67 second difference could boil down to having missed a corner or two, and the finish was one of the closest ever in the TT.  

Early in the race (the Glen Helen timing point) McGuiness was ahead of Rutter by 9 seconds, and arrived at that timing point neck-and-neck with Miller.  The way this works, it is a time trial race with riders leaving individually.  McGuiness left 3rd meaning that to be neck-and-neck with Miller he had gained about 10 seconds.  Rutter had a 109 miles/hr speed at that point, McGuiness had 112 miles/hr speed, Miller a 108 miles/hr speed, and George Spence a 90.766 miles/hr speed.

At the Sulby Speed Trap, Manx Radio reported Rutter hitting 142 miles/hr, and McGuiness hitting 131 miles/hr.

By the Ramsey Hairpin, McGuiness had a 5 seconds lead over Rutter, and by the Bungalow McGuiness increased the lead to 8.9 seconds.

Mark Miller retired from the race at Ballaugh Bridge.

Finishing data - unofficial, and reported by Manx Radio over the air .. will update this when official results are posted.  Mistakes in transcribing could have been made.

#1 Mike Rutter - MotoCzysz - 20:38.461 .. 109.675 miles/hr.  Fantastic feeling, especially glad to win it for Michael Czysz who is back at home.  He never thought he'd win the race, and the bike went perfectly.

#2 John McGuiness - Mugen Shinden - 20:40.133 .. 109.527 miles/hr - 1.67 seconds behind Rutter.  Supposedly his bike faded a bit at the end.

#3 Rob Barber - Buckeye, The Ohio State University - 25:02.467 seconds .. 90.403 miles/hr - 4:22 behind #2

#4 George Spence - Kingston - 25:41.822 .. 88.096 miles/hr - 39.355 seconds behind #3

#5 Chris Mcgahan -  - 26:59.755 .. 83.857 miles/hr

#6 Ian Lougher - - 27:46.300 .. 81.515 miles/hr

#7 Dave Madsden-Mygdal - -31:26.933 .. 71.983 miles/hr .. this is his 98th finish of a TT race.

#8 Paul Owen - - 31:33.387 ..  71.738 miles/hr

Fastest lap speeds for 2013 TT ZERO qualifying rounds posted

The pre-race data dump from the TT ZERO Clerk of the Course also includes the "Fastest Laps" list, in addition to the starting positions for the race.  The information on this list just makes me more confused about how the starting positions are decided:

For example, John McGuiness with the fastest lap (109.038 miles/hr) is starting in 3rd position, and Robert Barber with the 4th fastest lap (91.768 miles/hr) is starting in 10th position.  Obviously the selection process doesn't really reflect the fastest lap times and I haven't a clue how they select the starting list.

In any case we see in this data that there are two separate races.  The top three bikes, MotoCzysz and Mugen Shinden, are showing speeds much faster than the rest of the pack. 

This is similar to what I was observing last year in the TTXGP.  Not every team can afford to build a top of the line electric superbike.  That meant the TTXGP ended up with a few ultra fast bikes, and a larger pack of bikes that aren't so fast.