Work started in earnest on our wind powered car about 6 weeks ago. Were making good progress, close to plan and budget so far. Should be posting one of these a month now as we count down to the day we get this wind powered car on the road. Our first focus was the batteries - where to put them to keep the weight in the car in the right place in terms of centre of gravity and front/rear weight distribution. And how to house them so that we can keep them physically restrained but control their temperature during charging and discharging and protect them from the elements. Read the full blog post and comment: zerocarbonista.com

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Here's the second of our monthly video updates on the Wind car project. I'm off to Norfolk next week to take a look at the proposed body modifications and generally have a catch up with the team. Im looking fwd to it. Chassis has been lengthened, battery housing and transmission are now designed and under construction and were very slightly behind the estimated timeline, but still heading for Dec on the road. Meanwhile out in the world, where so much is changing lately - I hear Tesla are laying off staff and suffering some kind of financial difficulty raising doubts about their future. Read the full blog post and comment: zerocarbonista.com

ecotricity wind powered car turbines electric vehicle tesla zerocarbonista sports EV

Heres the third in our series of monthly wind car videos. You can see the body really starting to take shape here, and hear Peter talk about toughening up of the look, from his original. Weve placed all the parts within the car now and began machining/producing some of the bigger components, like the transmission. And the batteries have arrived. Crazy thing about that was, to travel by ship they needed to be in their own 40 foot container, for safety reasons - but it was OK to stick them in the hold of a Jumbo jet, as they are Not sure how that works! Hope you enjoy the vid. Full blog post here: zerocarbonista.com

ecotricity wind powered car turbines electric vehicle tesla zerocarbonista sports EV

Here it is then, the fourth episode of the making of our wind car. By the time we get to the sixth Im hoping itll be on the road. Good vid this one, all looks very industrial over there in Norfolk - and stuff is starting to come together. Im thinking its about time to come up with a name, and Ive come up with a short list. First thanks to everybody that sent suggestions, I enjoyed and appreciated them all, very much. The short list Ive come up with, and the reasons for each, are as follows: Zero - Short version of the Zero C suggestion, has a certain neatness about it and many interpretations. WW2 Japanese fighter of course. Also a typical car has a badge announcing its cubic capacity, valve and/or turbo numbers - Zero all of this in our case. And Zero combustion/carbon. And it has a nice ring to it. The Zero. Nemesis - Darker altogether and spawned from my traveller days when 2000 AD (the comic) was a cult read - anyone familiar with that will know the nemesis character. Pretty awesome. And Nemesis to the ICE car industry is exactly what EVs and WEVs are going to be, IMO. Like this one for the dark side. The Nemesis. Storm - Weather inspired (not X men :)), toyed with Tornado and Hurricane, both of which I like, but feel that Storm is more understated but still evocative. This is after all a weather driven car. The Storm. Id love to hear what you all think. Time to name the Wind Powered Car. Come and join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

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Hope you enjoy episode 5 of our video series, things are moving a pace now. Im off to Norfolk this week to hook up with the team and shoot the next episode. Expecting to see the batteries, motors and transmission all installed, have to say Im more than a little excited by that. To read the full post and to join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

ecotricity wind powered car turbines electric vehicle tesla zerocarbonista sports EV lotus exige

The first thing I should say here is that this isnt the last episode of our little video series it cant be - we just havent finished yet. So expect Episodes 7 and probably 8 of 6 before long :) Second thing to say is Ive got a new idea for a name. Im quite taken with it.... To read the full post and to join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

ecotricity wind powered car turbines electric vehicle tesla zerocarbonista sports EV lotus exige topgear

Heres the latest episode of our Wind Car series, clearly were running behind the original plan, with episode 7 of 6 :) But hey ho, I dont suppose the wheel was invented in a day - to mix metaphors a little. We hit a big milestone in this episode with the first turning of the wheels and John Vidal from the Guardian joining us. The car still looks a bit of a mess in some ways, a bit like road kill (no offence to the A-team) but the engineering fundamentals are in place now. Current best guess is first drive at the end of April To read the full post and to join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

ecotricity wind powered car turbines electric vehicle tesla zerocarbonista sports EV lotus exige topgear guardian john-vidal

Heres our latest video. The big focus of this episode is design and, as youll see, its definitely taking shape. Im off to Norfolk next week to meet the Sun, they love the idea BTW, and nail down a few questions on detail (with the A team). Couple more weeks after that I hope we might be having our first test drive, perhaps in episode 9 of 6 - but lets see. :) Some really cool names keep coming in. Though Im back to thinking maybe zero. But as somebody said here, I reckon Ill need to see the finished thing and drive it then Ill know its name.... If you want to read the full post and join the discussion, join us on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

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This months highlights are; Meeting the Suns environment correspondent yes seriously. They've not had one very long but they do have one and he is serious about it - and: That amazing machine at Leeds University - the one that looks like it belongs on a Sci Fi film, in fact Im sure Ive seen versions of it, recreating humans from DNA samples In our case we used to make a gear lever assembly. As youll see here were getting close to the end game now, in fact Im ready to predict that episode 10 of 6 will see me driving the Wind Car for the first time ! To read the full post and to join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

wind-car wind-powered-car ecotricity lotus EV electric car

Is it a Nemesis? It finally happened. Last Monday on a windswept old airfield in Norfolk, we got the wind car out of the workshop and took it for its first spin on tarmac. Not entirely without a little drama mind you the car barely being able to climb the transporter loading ramp at full throttle was a challenging start to the day :) but we quickly enough adjusted the bugs out of that and it flew, really flew. To read the full post and to join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

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Heres our latest, probably penultimate, video update of the wind car project. Ive had the Nemesis (yes it finally has a name) on the road for the last few weeks and its been a lot of fun (unless youre a hedge in my vicinity.:). Ill give the car back to the engineers in a couple more weeks, once the battery management system is ready to install and well enter the home straight then. Theres still quite a bit of finishing to do. Im hoping to have the car back (and finished) towards the end of Oct, but well see. Sorry not to have had the time yet to answer a number of questions posted here, hope to catch up soon. Enjoy. To read the full post and to join the discussion on the blog: zerocarbonista.com

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We're getting there.... There was a time when I thought we'd make this car in 12 episodes (actually there was a time when I thought we'd make it in 6)... :) But here we are, episode 12 of 6, and I think we're still a couple of episodes away from completion. Latest news is that the BMS and the ECUs are both now fitted and the car is back in Norfolk. All that's left is the pre track and road shakedown testing. We're looking mainly at battery temperatures throughout the 'stack' to make sure that under heavy load it stays consistent (across the stack) and within the operating range. For me battery temperature and the attendant risk of thermal run away is probably the big risk in the whole car. But so far so very good. To read the whole article or to join the discussion - check out the blog post for this video: zerocarbonista.com

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A day at Bruntingthorpe Two weeks ago now we took the Nemesis to Bruntingthorpe, for it's first real track day. We had two purposes, to test safety followed by speed. The safety aspect was about the stability of the car in the event that one of the motors or belts suddenly quit -- having separate rear drives means we have the potential for some considerable torque steer in the wrong circumstances. So our test pilot took the car down the track at increasing speeds, while the co pilot threw a switch -- to disable one motor. The car has a system that responds to the loss of drive on one wheel, we needed to know if it was responding fast enough. The results were good. In a straight line the impact of losing one motor, even at speeds well in excess of 100mph, was very slight (on the steering). To read the full article or to join the conversation, check out the blog post: zerocarbonista.com

electric cars nemesis ecotricity dale vince custom exige lotus

The wind turbine powered vehicle makes a close pass by the cameraman as it builds speed going upwind into a 5-10 kt breeze.

windmill car upwind directly into the wind closeup

Grabbed a moment to talk about the wind car with Jim, head of engineering at Ecotricity.

ev nemesis ecotricity environment wind power renewable

Despite our unpredictable weather, British motorists have a soft spot for open topped cars - this striking newcomer is the Renault Wind. The Wind must've spent time in its tunnel namesake. There's barely a straight line anywhere from the Twingo-esque front end, hockey stick window sills to the neatly rounded rump. This Pat Holliday's road test of the Renault Wind, the diminutive tin-top roadster from the French manufacturer. You can watch all the latest motoring news and car reviews at newcarnet.co.uk

Renault Wind Full Review tin top CC roadster coupe cabriolet Convertible cars automobiles Automobile

Ecotricity is working on a prototype Electric Car based on a Lotus Exige. From Dale's blog at zerocarbonista.com "I was in Norfolk yesterday meeting the team that are building the car for us. We've reached the end of the feasibility phase (the donor car is in absolute pieces). We shot some more film on the day and now have enough to make a short promo to tout to the TV companies, to see if any of them want to follow the project from here - the building and testing of the car. Here's a short clip to give an idea of where we're coming from."

Lotus Exige Electric Vehicle Ecotricity Wind powered car Zerocarbonista

de auto gaat rijden doordat het propellortje achterop zo hard draait dat de auto door wind gaat rijden

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A litlle wind propeled vehicle with a wind turbine, not with a sail. This mechanism enable to run in opposite wind direction (first prototype).

windcar vento turbina eólica

You can follow progress on the wind car at zerocarbonista.com

Dale Vince EV Ecotricity Wind Car Tesla Lotus

Sailing a wind car in desert beach in Alagoas' countryside - Brazil

wind car sail sport beach

The Crashing Couple goes to Hammondsport, NY for a MC rally at the Glenn Curtiss Museum. It may appear to have been a fol-de-rol but it wasn't. Beautiful day and a great ride

FJR 1300 Bonneville 750 sidecars wind car hit-and-miss engine Burgman 650 Executive Glenn Curtiss Hammondsport yt:stretch=16:9

A litlle wind propeled vehicle with a wind turbine, not with a sail. This mechanism enable to run in opposite wind direction (second prototype).

windcar vento turbina eólica

Some say that the laws of physics forbid this but seeing is believing. This idea works for boats as well as long as the wind turbine is driving a propeller. You can also use the wind power to drive a generator and use that power to drive an electric motor attached to the propeller of a boat or the wheels of a car as seen here. This example is a very rough model and uses a propeller as opposed to a turbine which would be more efficient. Also I am probable geared too high and the bearings and pulley are obviously not very efficient.

laws of physics wind power wind vehicle

Windcar Promotion Video made september 2004. Two Windcar began to run from small shopping streets in Sapporo.

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so zuera.... auhuiahuaaaa

wind car sereia no comando

Self made wind car in the beach - Capão da Canoa - Brazil

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wind car desenvolve 65km/h na maior praia do mundo em extensão CASSINO , com energia limpa .

windcar carro de vento Cassino

me and my freind build this wind car it it goes at least 30 to 40 mph when the time is right

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But you may be asking...Is this a real car? IT IS NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a science project about going green.

wind car fake commercial eco-friendly science

Essa equipe nasceu de um grupo de amigos que se reúnem uma vez a cada mês para brincar e se divertir com meio de transporte ECOLOGICAMENTE CORRETO onde o combustível para o deslocamento do carrinho a vela, se dá através do vento que chega atingir até 70 km/hora, com bom vento. Depois da brincadeira ao entardecer vamos aos preparos, para um belo churrasco ea contar das peripécias do dia.

CARRO VELA WIND CAR- EQ. VELOZES FURIOSOS

Forged Racing International drift star, Japan TOP female drift driver -Hiromi Kajikuma

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CARRO A VELA WIND CAR

carro vela wind car

Teste de windicar na praia de sassoitá Cedral-Ma, 8km de praia ideal à pratica desse esporte.

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Wind Car Xtreme (Carro a Vela) espejos en pista de carrovelismo de Aero Club Bell Ville (Córdoba).

Wind Car Windcar Carro Vela Carrovelismo Bell Ville

Ein selbstgebautes LEGO-Fahrzeug, das von alleine gegen den Wind fährt. Es ist KEIN Motor eingebaut! Wer das nicht glauben kann gerne mal googlen und fündig werden. LEGOs sind nicht gerade die reibungsfreisten Bauteile und somit auch ziemlich ungeeignet für sowas aber mit gewissen Fahrzeugen dieser Art kann man die doppelte Windgeschwindigkeit erreichen. Es werden sogar immer wieder Wettbewerbe mit solchen "Gegenwindfahrzeugen" abgehalten. Mehr dazu hier: fkpme246a.uni-duisburg.de --- A homemade LEGO-Vehicle, that drives on it's own... Against the wind! There is NO motor built-in! Anyone who can't believe this should google for about 10 minutes and you'll find plenty of resources. LEGOs are not the ideal things to build this with due to their friction, but it works. When building this in a better fashion speeds of twice the wind speed can be acchieved. There are also contests with vehicles of this kind. I didn't find an english site though.

Wind Gegenwind Wunder Fahrzeug LEGO