Some time ago, many companies tried to challenge Tesla by starting to develop their own electric vehicles. The British manufacturer of household appliances Dyson was among them. After spending Β£500m developing an electric car, the company ultimately refused to release it, but the project could be useful to competitors.
The British company Dyson has yet abandoned the idea of ββmass production of an electric car coded N526. last year. As its founder Sir James Dyson explained in an interview , this vehicle would be capable of carrying seven people and would travel almost 960 km on a single charge. This is a record figure among passenger electric vehicles, not counting the promising second-generation Tesla Roadster, the debut of which is now delayed until 2022.
The secret to this autonomy of the Dyson electric car lies in its proprietary solid-state electrolyte batteries. The most interesting thing is that such a power reserve had to be ensured in conditions far from βgreenhouseβ - when traveling in the cold (by UK standards) season with the heater and multimedia system turned on, at an average speed of more than 110 km/h.
The prototype of the N526 electric car demonstrated by Dyson received an aluminum body, its curb weight reached 2,6 tons. This did not prevent the prototype from accelerating to 100 km/h in 4,8 seconds, as well as reaching a top speed of 200 km/h. The electric car was planned to be equipped with two electric motors with a power of 200 kW. The prototype was not a simple demonstration model; Dyson admitted in an interview that he carried out test rides on it in conditions of increased secrecy in a fenced area.
The founder of Dyson had to invest Β£500 million of his own money in the development of an electric car, but the market prospects for this product were shrouded in fog. The cost of one Dyson electric car at retail had to exceed $182 to break even, and for that kind of money hardly anyone would want to buy an unusual crossover, but not the most outstanding in terms of consumer qualities.
Sir Dyson himself does not give up on the idea of ββserial production of vehicles, he would simply like to do it for his own benefit. The development team is ready to offer the technology for manufacturing rechargeable batteries with solid-state electrolyte to interested contractors. Such batteries are not only superior to lithium-ion batteries in efficiency, but also much more compact.
Source: 3dnews.ru