Introducing the Brabus High Voltage Car

September 23, 2009 by Lin Edwards

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Brabus Ultimate High Voltage

(PhysOrg.com) -- The Ultimate High Voltage Concept electric car has been unveiled by Brabus at the Frankfurt Motor show in Germany. The sporty little car is a new model incorporating the Brabus Smart ED (Electric Drive) concept.

The Smart Fortwo car features lithium ion batteries and a rear electric motor, both of which were developed by Tesla Motors, a partner of Daimler. The state of the batteries is displayed on a monitor mounted in the center of the console. The batteries are recharged from a standard power outlet and are 80% recharged after three hours and fully recharged after eight.

The car can reach 60 mph (100 kmh) in under 10 seconds. It delivers 82 horsepower and 207 pound-feet (280 Nm) of torque, and is a near-production development of the Electric Drive concept that the tuning company Brabus introduced at the Geneva Auto Show earlier this year.

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Brabus Ultimate High Voltage

The car's features include aerodynamic wheels with clear plexiglass covers, and wide side skirts and wheel arches. The interior of the model unveiled at the show had white leather seats, and the car is convertible, with a white soft top.

Other features are LED running lights for increased visibility in the daytime, and a sound generator that allows the driver to make the silent electric motor sound like a V8 car. This feature may be a response to complaints of blind people that they cannot hear silent electric cars coming, but the fact that it can mimic the noise made by a racing car or even a space ship suggests it's really there for the fun of it.

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Brabus Ultimate High Voltage

The car is still in the concept stage and its release depends on when the consumer version of the Smart ED is released. It is not clear when that will be, but it may not be too far away.

Enlarge

Brabus Ultimate High Voltage

Enlarge

Brabus Ultimate High Voltage

Enlarge

Brabus Ultimate High Voltage

© 2009 PhysOrg.com

• lengould100 - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (1)
  Terrific. And the "sounds like a V-8" might even get some of the street rodders and pickup crowd (not).
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• Milou - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
  I like it. Hopefully it will be reasonably priced. I am not keen on a sound machine (V8 or jet engine). What do we do for deaf and blind people?
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• Royale - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 4.5 / 5 (4)
  As soon as they become the price of a standard car (or at least close) i'll be picking one up. Anything to avoid combustion and the inherent 90% energy lost to heat.
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• holoman - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 2.3 / 5 (3)
  Only have to wait 3 to 8 hours before you can
  go anywhere..............
  
  This will give a new meaning to stranded in the middle of nowhere.
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• RayCherry - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
  Does anybody know what range this vehicle would have on a full charge?
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• winthrom - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 2 / 5 (1)
  "Middle of nowhere"
  
  I suppose you could mount a turbine motor generator plus alcohol tank on the roof in a metal carrier and make it a hybrid.
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• jselin - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 2.7 / 5 (3)

  Only have to wait 3 to 8 hours before you can
  go anywhere..............
  
  This will give a new meaning to stranded in the middle of nowhere.

  
  
  Good time to invest in roadside motels :)
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• tk1 - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)
  Why are these cars always so freaking ugly? I know it is a small car but why can't they make them more sporty?
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• Milou - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 2.3 / 5 (3)
  If Tonto wants to got to Kansas from California with this, then hitch a small trailer equipped with a small generator and gas tank. I don't see a problem? Does anyone have another possible solution?
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• Mauricio - Sep 23, 2009
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (1)
  some people equal smart with ugly...
  
  totally the opposite, but it is an idea hard to sell some of the car industry managers.
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• acarrilho - Sep 24, 2009
  • Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)

  Why are these cars always so freaking ugly? I know it is a small car but why can't they make them more sporty?

  
  
  A car that small will never be "sporty" regardless of what you do to it.
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• jsa09 - Sep 24, 2009
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  You might me able to stick a small generator in the back and charge it up as you are driving along, when you are going on a long trip. Then you only have to stop every now and then to top up the generator.
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• Royale - Sep 24, 2009
  • Rank: 4 / 5 (2)
  It would be even better to not take a trip with it. The main point of these cars are to not burn gas. (I don't say have NO carbon emissions because more than likely you'd be using a coal plant to charge it up. (Hopefully gasification works well). It seems a bit silly to use a fully electric car by hooking up a combustion generator. (Maybe that's just me but it's a bit comical). Just a couple thoughts above, not attacks.
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• sender - Sep 24, 2009
  • Rank: 4.5 / 5 (2)
  great concept, but not nearly as cool as having maglev roads that fuel cars, it's a good way of moving the economy forward for jobs and infrastructure, last time we did major overhaul of highway systems was during the industrial revolution about time we move forward again
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• RobertKLR - Sep 24, 2009
  • Rank: 1 / 5 (3)
  The west Texas wind would blow that thing right off the road. A bug impact would crush it.
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• david_42 - Sep 26, 2009
  • Rank: 4.7 / 5 (3)
  The 115 km range would certainly cover 90% of my trips, but I'd need a 4x4 to get up my driveway in the winter.
  
  For the detractors, Smart cars are certainly ugly, but they are far more crash-worth than one would think (or not think, if that's your policy).
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• antialias_physorg - Sep 26, 2009
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (3)
  I drive a smart (albeit the roadster).
  
  I have driven the fortwo once. It's a nice car to drive but it is not a car for 'cross country road-trips'. This is a commuter/shopping car. And for this it performs exceptionally well (and here the E-model would fuilfill all needs, too).
  
  Parking spaces? No problem.
  High fuel consumption? No (not even the roadster where I get 43MPG on average with a mix of city and Autobahn traffic)
  Beautiful? I think even the fortwo turns more heads than an american tin can (which even get the rarity bonus over here).
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• antialias_physorg - Sep 26, 2009
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)
  If you want to see a car that size that looks sporty then google the smart roadster (unfortunately they are not being produced anymore)
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• KBK - Sep 26, 2009
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (2)

  Why are these cars always so freaking ugly? I know it is a small car but why can't they make them more sporty?

  
  
  A car that small will never be "sporty" regardless of what you do to it.

  
  
  See this car when transformed with a Suzuki Hayabusa supercharged motor installed.
  
  Think 400 WHP and 13,000 rpm. It is truly insane.
  
  Hit the youtube and check it out. It's like they are driving on sheer ice.
  
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• Koen - Sep 28, 2009
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  High voltage? 20000 Volts or so? The higher the voltage, the lower the charge/discharge currents, the lower the resistance energy losses (in cables etc ...).
  
  So how high is the voltage of the (3 phase AC?) electric motor and battery configuration?
  
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