AIWAYS-SERENERGY

THE FIRST METANOL-FED ELECTRIC CAR

Roland Gumpert's new project has left many people surprised. At the Beijing Salon 2018, the creator of Gumpert Apollo introduced a new sports car that features the first methanol fuel cell in history: RG Nathalie.The project was carried out by Chinese start-up Aiways, in which Roland Gumpert is the product director in collaboration with the Danish company Serenergy. The model is an attractive coupe of aggressive and forceful shapes that remembers, and much, the Gumpert Explosion presented at the Salon of Geneva 2014, that counted on a very similar architecture, that is to say, tubular chassis and body of carbon fiber. However, the most interesting is what hides under his body, because the motive scheme of this model is totally unheard of.

RG Nathalie (acronym of Roland Gumpert, in addition to the name of his own daughter) moves thanks to four small electric motors that are housed next to the wheels, and they feed of electricity through a pack of batteries that is situated in the ground of the vehicle (as in the Chevrolet Volt) and receives the electricity from a fuel cell that is in the front gap, but does not feed on hydrogen as usual, but on methanol.

According to the company, this system is much cheaper and more cost-effective than traditional fuel cells because it does not require the complex systems of hydrogen storage in the vehicle, and any fuel station can supply the methanol in a conventional pump, not having modify the current structure. According to Gumpert, the autonomy of the RG Nathalie with a single tank can reach up to 1,200 kilometers.

When methanol passes through the fuel cell, carbon dioxide and water are generated, but as in the creation of methanol CO2 is taken from the atmosphere, the brand states that "the end result is zero emissions."

The length of the model presented is 4.2 meters and the total weight of the set is less than 1,600 kilos, with a mass distribution of 45:55 front / rear respectively. The combined total power of the four engines is between 420 and 430 hp and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h in less than 2.5 seconds. RG Nathalie will be flown to the Nürburgring to look for some outstanding time, which Gumpert says will be less than the 7:11 achieved in 2009 by Gumpert Apollo.

Autonews