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Protoscar Lampo3

LAMPO3 is a battery powered electric demonstration sports car developed on the base of 30.000 km lessons learned with its predecessors LAMPO and LAMPO2

It features a purpose designed light weight chassis, a 2+2 coupé design and a fast charge option. The BRUSA powertrain (3 motors with a total output of 420 kW) guarantee extreme performances without compromises in terms of efficiency.

LAMPO3 has been developed by Protoscar (www.protoscar.com ), a Swiss company working for OEMs, power utilities and governments, and since 24 years specialized in the development of CleanCar projects. LAMPO3 has been unveiled the 11 May in the M-Way Shop in Zürich.

Purpose designed chassis
LAMPO3 is an electric sports car with purpose designed lightweight chassis that impressively shows un-compromised CleanCar design and engineering competences:
1) For the first time a pure electric 2+2 coupé features a chassis specifically built around the electric components, unlike most OEMs’ EV-chassis, which are adapted from internal combustion versions. LAMPO3 is the worldwide first pure electric sports car being a 2+2 seater and providing enough luggage space and optimized ergonomics.
2) The light weight chassis carries actively cooled batteries, optimally positioned in the central tunnel to improve drive dynamics, safety and pay load.
3) Three motors – of which two on the rear axle and one on the front axle – allow an improved dynamic behaviour of the car and an optimized torque vectoring, not only between front and rear axles, but also between the two rear wheels (the motors actively drive on different adapted RPMs for instance in curves, where the inner wheel turns slower than the outer wheel).

Technical description and top performances
LAMPO3 has three electric motors (in fact becoming a four-wheel drive with variable torque between front and rear axle for optimal handling, safety and efficiency) with a total output of 420 kW (equivalent to 550 HP), 900 Nm and 32 kWh of Lithium-Ion battery capacity. LAMPO3 features real sports-car performances: 4.5 seconds for accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h, 220 km/h of max. speed, and 200 km of range. More than enough energy for driving throughout the whole year is produced by a remote solar plant, allowing a real zero-emission drive.

As the first two LAMPO prototypes, LAMPO3 impressively demonstrates that from a pure performance point of view (acceleration, torque, overtaking, speed, efficiency) pure E-drive is THE solution not only for city cars, but for all other types of vehicles including premiumsegment cars (the only segment, through which new technologies have been introduced into the market successfully so far). The real performance of LAMPO3 will be demonstrated on different test-tracks during the year 2011 by the winner of the 2010 GT1 24 hours of LeMans, Mr Gabriele Gardel. Catch him … if you can!

For the first time a LAMPO concept could be produced in a micro-series for public customers such as companies involved in the EV development, entities dealing with the promotion of EVs and private enthusiasts.

Charging Modes
LAMPO3 is equipped with the new BRUSA on-board charger NLG6 allowing up to a 22kW of charging power. Therefore LAMPO3 can be charged with every kind of power actually on the market: from a standard single-phase 10 A plug, up to a three-phase 32A for charging at industrial plugs (fleet users). Moreover LAMPO3 has an interface for DC fast charging based on CHAdeMO standard (www.chademo.com). With LAMPO3 different infrastructure solutions will be tested and evaluated.

Home Charge Device
The Home Charge Device offers maximum safety to charge any compatible electric vehicle, because its hardware and software is personalized to a specific car brand, model, plug (Type 1 / 2 / 3 or CEEPlus Plug) and to a specific national grid.

Electric plugs are available everywhere, but not all of them can withstand the full power required by an electric vehicle charger. The HCD allows the automatic adapting according to the limitations of the available infrastructure.

The HCD is to be considered as “snow chains”: because it is personalized, it follows the specific car once the car changes to a second user. This is why the HCD is conceived as a mobile device, and can easily be hanged up on the wall (in the garage or outside, since the HCD is conceived both, for indoor and outdoor use). The marketing concept is to offer the possibility of ordering the HCD equipment device and its proper installation at the same time, including a relevant check of the existing electric domestic installation.

Fast Charge (in association with ABB)
The ABB DC fast charge station is conceived to dramatically decrease the charging time of electric vehicles. According to the battery type and its status, an additional range of up to 100 km can be achieved within 10 minutes of charging. This charging solution is mainly intended as a range extension, not as a recharge system for full charges, although this would be possible as well (at least between 20% and 80% DOD – according to the battery type and status).

The ABB DC fast charge follows the CHAdeMO standard. Two characteristics define this standard: protocol and connector compatibility – both will be made available by CHAdeMO, and no IP will limit the diffusion of such systems. Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Peugeot, Citroen, Think and Protoscar already support this standard from an OEM point of view.

Philosophy
Well to Wheel approach – Protoscar not just realises zero emission vehicles, but also cares about the energy needed to let them move. This takes into account the entire energy chain, focused on CO2 emissions – the so called “Well-to-Wheel” (www.optiresource.com). LAMPO3 is powered by
solar energy, produced by a remote 16 kWh photovoltaic plant located in Seggiano (Tuscany), Vitabella Palazzetto. The energy produced is put into the global grid and charges the LAMPOs around Europe when needed. The goal is to self-produce all the energy that we need for the car getting to counterbalance the entire consumption.

See: www.sunnyportal.com/Templates/PublicPageOverview.aspx?page=c07b1bc9-afdd-4ae9-
a489-8ffb4fbcea9d&plant=496a607f-3e95-44fe-bef5-4013639397a3&splang=it-IT

Innovative top-down approach
With LAMPO3 we clearly apply a top-down approach, instead of a bottom-up strategy. Traditionally the automobile sector initially shows trendy characteristics in exclusive, premium, vehicles. Unavoidably, at first the price of such products is very high but with growing production the prices decrease, allowing a large number of people to have access to the new technology (in other words the first buyers allow the technology to circulate).

However, in the electric vehicles market the strategy is often contrary based on a bottomup approach. This is the reason why electric vehicles are not always successful. In today’s market the majority of the EV promoters try to sell electric cars as a “rational vehicle” and forget the emotional aspects. But as a matter of fact, for most buyers a car is essentially an emotional object and not only a means of transport. The LAMPO3 as well as its predecessors LAMPO and LAMPO2 shall demonstrate that electric drivetrains can be perceived positively and totally accepted if placed and launched in a different way.

Vehicle‘s name and logo
LAMPO3 because it is not just the third car within the LAMPO project developed by Protoscar, but it is even more efficient than its predecessors and the purpose design chassis represents a huge step forward in terms of design and engineering of sporty Evs.

In the Italian language LAMPO means „lightning”. A lightning stands for power, especially for electric energy like the one propelling LAMPO3 ,Moreover a lightning is fast, intense . impressive and, last but not least, LAMPO3 is a product of nature. The edgy logo of LAMPO3 with its straight lines reminds the lightening and emphasizes the electric spirit of the car.

Vehicle’s design
The Design of LAMPO3 has been inspired from an oblique approach to car design, combined with an essential rule for an extremely advanced, performing and efficient vehicle: form follows function. We took inspiration from the American Le Mans and FIA GT1 series cars, where all the functional aspects of these high performance cars are presented in a stylish way.

The general layout of the vehicle, consisting in a shortened bonnet, front wheels close to the cabin, long wheelbase and short rear overhang, helps to give a very dynamic feel to the silhouette of the car. This combined with some “LAMPO DNA” design clues creates the mix that lead to the final design that wears LAMPO3 body.

Protoscar SA unveiled LAMPO – a full size sport cabriolet – at the Geneva Motor Show 2009 . LAMPO is powered by two BRUSA electric motors (one rear and one front), optimized for maximizing acceleration and regenerative braking respectively. They deliver a total output of 268 HP and a torque of over 440 Nm. The lightweight Lithium-Ion battery pack with a capacity of 32 kWh allows for a range of over 200 km. LAMPO shows that also a zero-emission electric vehicle can offer the same performance as a traditional sporty car.

The primary energy source used for charging the LAMPO has been in existence for more than 4.5 billion years and has demonstrated to be rather reliable: it’s the sun. The exploitation of solar energy for LAMPO is possible thanks to a 16 kWp photovoltaic plant located in Seggiano, Tuscany.

Never before a premium driving pleasure like the one of the LAMPO has been achieved at such an optimal level of overall “Well-to-Wheel” energy efficiency – and zero emissions. However, even if the LAMPO was “filled up” with today’s particularly clean Swiss electricity mix, the WtW CO2 emissions of this vehicle would only account for about 7 g/km! Considering the EU electricity mix projection scenario for 2020, elaborated by Eurelectric, the WtW CO2 emission would still be limited to about 40 g/km.

Through the showcar LAMPO, Protoscar and its partners aim to demonstrate new technologies which include absolute innovations such as „intelligent charging“ or interactive GPS-based „range estimator“ – and discuss potential applications together with car manufacturers, in order to implement these solutions into their plans for future CleanCars.

In depth Protoscar

Protoscar SA is a design company founded in 1987 specialized in CleanCars and based in Rovio (Ticino, Switzerland). It presently employs 14 specialists. We act like a “Minergie-architect”, but apply the efficiency-concepts to cars, mainly by introducing electrification.

Our unique experience and holistic approach allow us not only to develop forward looking strategies and outstanding vehicle concepts, but also to support the market introduction of CleanCars and the communication activity of these technologies.

We are proud to include worldwide companies like Daimler AG, GeneralMotors, Rinspeed- Esoro and Nissan among our faithful clients.

Vehicle‘s name and logo

LAMPO, in the Italian language means „lightning“. A lightning stands for power, especially for electric energy like the one propelling LAMPO. Moreover a lightning is fast, intense, impressive and, last but not least, LAMPO is a product of nature.

The edgy logo of LAMPO with its straight lines reminds the lightening and emphasizes the electric spirit of the car.

eQmotion and clean energy

eQmotion is a “philosophy”, made reality by a consortium of companies supporting and implementing EV-projects. Actually this pool is developing exciting innovative full electric vehicles.

The name eQmotion is an acronym composed by:

• electric
• Quotient (of electrification) / Quality
• motion

Our showcars shall have an eQ of 100: we want to drive 100% electrically, trying to overcome the “compromises” in terms of Well to Wheel emissions and efficiency.

Also, driving cars – and particularly electric vehicles – has a lot to do with e(Q)motions. We pursue a high vehicle and component Quality relying on most recent technical standards and innovations, in order to maximize emotional driving pleasure.

The label eQmotion has been created by BRUSA Elektronik AG and Protoscar SA and will be used on different EV-projects. The first two showcars realized under this label are Spyder and LAMPO.

The eQmotion philosophy integrates of course energetic considerations. We are not just realizing zero emission vehicles, but we care about the energy needed to let them move. In other words we look at the entire energy chain that a vehicle requires: this is the so called “Well-to-Wheel”. On the entire energy chain the attention is focused on the reduction of CO2 emissions. The energy used by these vehicles comes from 100% renewable energy sources (solar energy in LAMPO’s case).

The exploitation of solar power has been possible thanks to a remote 16 kWh photovoltaic plant located in Seggiano (Tuscany) in the facility of the farmhouse of Vitabella Palazzetto. The energy produced by this system is put into the global grid and charged into LAMPO’s batteries not perforce where the photovoltaic plant is located. The goal is to self-produce all the energy that we need for the car getting to counterbalance the entire consumption. Never before a premium driving pleasure like the one of the LAMPO has been possible at such a level of overall “Well-to-Wheel” energy efficiency.

Innovative top-down approach

With LAMPO we clearly apply a top-down approach, instead of a bottom-up strategy. In fact, the automobile sector is normally based on this approach which consists in initially showing trendy characteristics in exclusive, premium, vehicles. Unavoidably, at first the price of such products is very high but with growing production the prices decrease, allowing a large number of people to have access to the new technology (in other words the first buyers allow the technology to circulate). In the electric vehicles market the approach – still very often – is viceversa based on a bottom-up approach. This is the reason why electric vehicles are not always very successful. In today’s market the majority of the EV promoters try to sell electric cars as a “rational vehicle” and forget the emotional aspects. But as a matter of fact, for most buyers a car is essentially an emotional object and not only a means of transport. The LAMPO shall demonstrate that electric drivetrains can be perceived positively and totally accepted if placed and launched in a different way.

Unique features

The research and practical presentation of new, more efficient energy features is carried out in cooperation with various partners and relates to several areas:

Intelligent charging system

Some charging parameters like the earliest charging time/last charging stop, max. charging yield and charging status to be achieved by the end of charging, will regulate the onboard chargers.

The user of the vehicle is able to choose and set – directly in the vehicle – some charging parameters which will control the onboard battery charger, e.g.

- Earliest charging time/ latest charging stop
- Maximum charging yield
- Charging status to be achieved by end of the charging

Accelerated charge (for public and private charging points)
With today’s European energy supply standard (typically 240V and 10 to 16Amps) the charging time for an EV vehicle like the LAMPO is around 12 hours (considering a 16Amps plug): the typical available overnight time. In fact, with a small extra-investment, this time could be half: with very small adaptations (basically 2,5 mm2 cable instead of 1,5 mm2 connections, and a little on/off electronic switch avoiding current-flow during the plug-in action) a 16Amps plug easily can be upgraded to deliver 32Amps, meaning a power of 7 kW. The resulting charging time will then still not be as fast as for liquid fuels, but interesting enough for significantly recharging the batteries over lunch or shopping time, and allowing a shifting of the charging time – during nights – into periods where energy is available over-abundantly. Such energy supply optimizations are studied and developed in association with Alpiq, the Swiss energy leader.

Public charging & payment system

Several highly sophisticated public charging stations, including power metering and billing per chip cards or other techniques, have been proposed recently, yet their relatively high investment cost – causing also high cost per kWh delivered – does not facilitate their widespread application.

In order to avoid high cost of metering and billing the “Park & Charge” concept has been created. It is a very simple system, and it is based on a lump-sum payment, combining low investment cost with low operation cost – exactly like it happens with the well known yearly “sticker” allowing to pay for the use of Swiss highways. This service is offered by the Swiss Electric Vehicle Association (ECS) and has been in operation for over 10 years, counting 600 charging points all over Switzerland. At the moment, in EU, there are 1346 public charging points: over 100 of them are “Park and Charge”. A detailed list of public charging points in Switzerland and Europe is available at: www.lemnet.org.

EVA Range estimator

For a battery-driven vehicle the accuracy of the possible autonomy is absolutely important, and with a simple 0 -100% indicator, it is impossible to determine. This depends on several highly variable factors, e.g. topography (upward/downward slopes) or environmental temperature. These variances should be included in the residual autonomy indication – but they are not considered in today’s EVs. Thanks to an interactive advanced navigation system, a LAMPO driver is provided with the following information:- “radar graph” of the residual range integrated with standard navigation capabilities- charging station location – advanced long-distance trip planning which incorporates charging time and recommended locations.

The EVA system is being developed in cooperation with Virve, W&B.

All wheel drive for max. regenerative braking & safety

When accelerating, the load is shifted to the rear axle while in braking it moves to the front axle. More load is on an axle, more successfully the traction can be transferred to the wheels. If the two electric motors can have differential tasks (primarily to pull or primarily to regenerate) the total efficiency of the vehicle can be considerably increased. This is exactly what we will demonstrate and – thanks to axles which can be singularly disconnected – also tested for comparison.

This optimized traction system has been conceived, developed and implemented together with the company BRUSA.