Drive eO
| Company type | Private limited company |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Ogresgala pagasts, Latvia |
| Website | www.driveeo.com |
Drive eO is an engineering company which operates from Latvia and specializes in development of electric and hybrid electric prototype vehicles for demanding applications. It was founded in 2011[1] to create the first ever hybrid electric rally car OSCar eO for the 2012 Dakar Rally.[2] Driven by Māris Saukāns and Andris Dambis, it successfully completed the rally.[3]
The company has also developed an all electric supercar eO PP01 for participation at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2013.[4]
OSCar eO
The car is based on the platform of all wheel drive OSCar O3 rally raid car manufactured by OSC. It features a series hybrid drivetrain. Drive eO gives the following vehicle specification:[5]
| Drive motor | PMSM with 2 power inverters, torque 440 Nm nominal / 800 Nm peak, power 150 kW nominal / 335 kW peak |
| Chassis controller | eO master controller |
| Battery pack | Winston Battery Li-ion with battery management system, nominal voltage 512 Vdc, total energy 51.2 kWh |
| Range extender | PMSM 1 power inverter, nominal output 80 kW, driven by Nissan VQ35DE IC engine, 240 litre safety fuel tank |
| Charger | 10 kW off-board battery balancer / charger |
| Autonomy | Up to 1000 km (terrain dependant) |
| Gearbox | 6-speed sequential dog-engagement gearbox |
| Gross weight | 2800 kg |
OSCar eO has participated at three international rally raids:
| Year | Rally | Route | Crew | Category result | Overall finish position | Cars at finish | Cars at start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Dakar Rally | Mar del Plata - Copiapo - Lima | Māris Saukāns / Andris Dambis | Runner-up in NRJ Challenge | 77 | 78 | 161 |
| 2012 | Silk Way Rally | Moscow - Gelendzhik | Andris Dambis / Māris Saukāns | Winner of Green Challenge | 21 | 60 | 81 |
| 2013 | Africa Eco Race | Saint Cyprien - Dakar | Māris Saukāns / Uldis Dzenis | Winner of Experimental Category | 8 | 33 | 39 |
eO PP01
The car features an all wheel drive electric drivetrain with one inboard mounted direct drive motor per wheel. It is based on a tubular spaceframe chassis with bodywork derived from Aquila CR1 racing car. Drive eO gives the following vehicle specification:[6]
| Drive motor | Four liquid cooled YASA-750 electric motors, total peak power 400 kW / peak torque 3000 Nm |
| Motor controller | Four liquid cooled SEVCON electric motor controllers |
| Chassis controller | eO master controller |
| Battery pack | eO 50 kWh custom battery pack with integrated BMS |
| Charger | eO 80 kW off-board DC charger |
| Total mass | 1050 kg |
The car was driven at the 2013 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb by Latvian and Baltic touring car champion Jānis Horeliks.[7] The adverse weather conditions had made the track surface slippery and he went off road after losing grip in a left hand corner at the Halfway Picnic Grounds.[8] A documentary called "Uzvaras cena" has been produced about the project and was first aired in September 2013 on LTV7 during motoring programme "Tavs auto".[9]
eO PP02
Based on a Tesla Roadster chasis Drive eO is returning to the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb in 2014. This will will be the first competition for the Tesla marque in a major world motorsport competition. While the eO car of 2014 resembles a Tesla Roadster from the outside, its insides have been completely replaced. Drive eO [10] rear wheel drive and the prototype itself is built to validate the new components ahead of scaling them up for successive electric supercar projects, according to the eO annoucements. Janis Horeliks, who piloted Drive eO's 2013 Pikes Peak entry, will also be returning to race the roadster up the 156 turn mountain course on race day, [11].[12]
| Drive motor | Liquid cooled YASA electric motor, total peak power 360 kW / peak torque 800 Nm |
| Chassis controller | eO master controller |
| Battery pack | eO 40 kWh custom battery pack with integrated BMS |
| Total mass | 1060 kg |
References
- ^ "eO, Sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību, 40103435150 - par uzņēmumu". lursoft.lv. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ^ "Latvian team aims to be first to contest Dakar rally with EV [w/video] - Autoblog". autoblog.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "articles/first-electric-vehicle-to-finish-the-dakar-rally-00004145". electricvehiclesresearch.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "(VIDEO) eO PP01, a new electric supercar to conquer Pikes Peak | Cars, motorbikes, bicycles, planes and boats, electric or hybrid". technologicvehicles.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Electric OSCar eO Off-road Rally Car — Drive eO". driveeo.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Electric eO PP01 Supercar for Pikes Peak Hill Climb — Drive eO". driveeo.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Jānis Horeliks - JH-Motorsport". jh-motorsport.lv. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "Pikes Peak electric race car crash | Autonet.ca". autonet.ca. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ "TVNET :: Motoru sports - "Tavs auto" dokumentālais stāsts par Pikes Peak sacīkstēm". tvnet.lv. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ 'Drive eO' Paikspīkā: ceļā uz Latvijas superauto http://www.delfi.lv/auto/motorusports/drive-eo-paikspika-cela-uz-latvijas-superauto.d?id=44604156
- ^ June 29th http://www.ppihc.com/2014-race/
- ^ "eO PP02 is our electric drive train research & development platform based on Tesla Roadster chassis — Drive eO". driveeo.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
- ^ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster