CMT-380 supercar watches Porsche in the rear view (via postie)
Capstone MicroTurbine gave a press release on the jaw-dropping CMT-380 concept car yesterday. The 380 is an unlikely supercar: It contains lithium ion batteries, a diesel-electric turbine and design work from Electronic Arts’ creative director Richard Hilleman. The 380 reaches sixty miles an hour in 3.9 seconds (faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo) and travels 80 miles from a full charge before the turbine starts generating power.
Once the turbine is running, though, an additional 420 miles of driving range come in to play. The diesel-turbine generator coupled to the electric motor is likely to be the most efficient drivetrain yet developed. Think of it as a Volt, with half the seats and twice the cool.
The Tesla Sport can beat the 380 to 60 miles an hour (by a fifth of a second). It is also commercially available, while the 380 is destined to be a showcase vehicle at the L.A. Auto Show, Dec 2-13. So what is exciting about a supercar you can’t buy?
In short, everything.
Turbines have been around a while. In the 1960s, Chrysler explored using them in automotive applications and found quite a few benefits. They can burn almost anything, are virtually maintenance-free, can easily be harnessed to generate electricity and burn efficiently. Gas turbine-electric locomotives burnt gasoline in turbine engines that powered enormous electric motors until they went out of style in the ‘73 gas crunch. The 380 can be seen as a marriage of these resurrected technologies, with a 21st century Lithium Ion child.
If the old-meets-new angle doesn’t do it for you, Capstone’s Jim Crouse sums it up nicely: “The sleek-looking, low to the ground, high-performance supercar definitely raises hybrid’s cool factor on several levels… The CMT-380’s design performance numbers speak for themselves: 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, 150 mph top speed, and an unheard-of driving range of up to 500 miles on a single tank of fuel, all with ultra-low exhaust emissions that rival any hybrid on the market today.”
Again, the CMT-380 won’t be mass produced. There will be a limited production sold to individuals with the money and interest. Mainly, though, it is proof of the diesel turbine’s ability to integrate into smaller scale automobiles, showing off the potential of this type of drivetrain. CMT has already sold its vehicle power systems to cities like Baltimore, New York, London and Paris. This technology is promising, it could be put in to a Volt-like vehicle with twice the range and far fewer emissions. Until then, we’ll all just have to admire the concept cars.
