NLV Quant Concept review:

NLV Solar AG, a pioneer in photovoltaics and accumulator technology, have joined forces to create the Quant sport. The brainchild of this marriage of power and energy is a four-seater electric car - a breakthrough the market eagerly has been anticipating for years. A prototype is to be unveiled at the Motor Show Geneva 2010, with currently working to scale up for series production.

The NLV Quant is an exciting, revolutionary automotive project. Within the coming year, the NLV Quant will be fully engineered and ready for production. You can follow the last few stages. The design, drive system, range and photovoltaics of the Quant are already spectacular and record-breaking as individual components, and we believe that together they will mark a milestone in automotive history.

Technics

The NLV Quant is proof that cutting-edge supercars can combine speed, comfort and enjoyment with environmental integrity. It implents the mobile energy technology of the future. The NLV Quant has two different battery systems, a torque vectoring with 4 electric motors and a full carbon chassis. A thin-film coated photvoltaic car body supplies the operating electronics and also supports the battery. Gull-wing doors provide easy access to all four passengers.

Carbon Chassis

A reason for the car`s low weight is the utilisation of a carbon-fibre monotube backbone chassis, construction, which houses the FAES system safely inside the centreline of the car at the lowest possible position, bringing down the centre of gravity and central mass point.

Using tradition lay-up, the vacuum bag generates the pressure for consolidating the carbon plies. In RTM process there are two moulds and the pressure comes only from the resin pump. The design becomes quite critical as inner and outer skin has to be perfectly defines in order to have a designed volume matching exactly the tooling volume. The risk is to have voids generated by not precise fitting of the inner cores.

Thin Film

The NLV Quant is coated with a thin film made of pyrite, which converts light into electricity to supply the operating electronics and also support the battery. This innovative pyrite technology is cost-effective, efficient and ecological.

NLV Solar AG has developed an iron-sulphur composite semiconductor using digital prototyping, with very promising results. The research indicates:

an average photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 38%, depending on ambient conditions, and a peak performance of over 50%
the possibility of fine-tuning the material`s absorption characteristics by modification of its crystal lattice structure using ion implantation; stacked in a multilayer thin-film cell, it would be possible to tune each layer to a different target absorption frequency
as a thin-film cell, the material could be applied to substrates in a transparent, semi-transparent or tinted coating
the projected degradation coefficient is only 5-6% over 20 years
Electric Power

The NLV Quant allows for the modular installation of either a long-life metal-air battery or a rechargeable redox flow cell. These are both future-oriented, secure energy sources which help give the Quant exceptional power and range.

Speed

The projected curb weight of 1680 kg is very light considering that it is a battery-powered, four-seater, luxury performance car. This is partly due to the four-motor installation- a remarkable achievement which allows the NLV Quant to deliver 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and hit a top speed of 377 km/h.

Gullwing

The gull-wing doors set the NLV Quant apart from any other four-seaters on the market. As well as being a stylish feature, they also make entry to the car more ergonomic, thanks to the lack of B-pillars. They provide easy access to both the front and rear passenger seats. The unique split side-lite feature allows either passenger to open and close the front and rear side windows separately, despite the fact that there is only one door per side.

Preliminary Specs

Power: 600 kW ( 4x 150 kW), 800 bhp
Rotation speed 12`000 U/min
Torque: 1500 nm
0-100 km/h: 2,8 seconds
Top speed: 377 km/h
Curb weight: 1680 kg
Wheelbase 3102 mm
Track - Front: 1730 mm; rear: 1729 mm
Wheels/tyres ? front: 245/35 - 23; rear: 285/30 - 23 - low friction tyres
Width: 2016 mm incl. rear-view mirrors; length: 4879 mm; height: 1335 mm
Rear-wheel drive
Four-wheel brake regeneration
Minimum 4 airbags, ABS and ESP and torque vectoring
2 infotainment panels Adjustable rear seats
3 zone Climate Control system
Generous leg room in the rear
LED front and rear lights
Body covered in NLV photovoltaic thin film solar coating
Accumulator with cooling liquid (weight ca. 500kg)
Operating voltage 420 V
Inverter voltage 350 V
Price: TBD

Features

NLV Quant has two different battery systems: on the one hand, purely conventional accumulator technology with a transition metal and air mixture, and on the other hand, a pure redox flow cell
Thin-film photovoltaic coating of car body and windows
Torque vectoring with 4 electric motors for wheel-specific torque distribution to enhance the vehicle`s agility and stability
Full Carbon chassis and carbon body
Minimised running and manufacturing costs thanks to new technology
Optimised safety
Unique/functional design, vehicle comfort and loading capacityEnd of NLV Quant Concept review.