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| Nunzio La Vecchia accepts the TÜV registration |
After
making a debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Quant e-Sportlimousine has
received approval from Germany's TÜV Süd. The car, which uses an electrolyte
flow cell power system, is now certified for use on German and European roads.
As I stood
around waiting for NanoFlowcell's Geneva Motor Show press conference in March,
my eyes bounced back and forth between the exotic curves of the concept car at
center dais, the oddly punctuated letters of the make and model and the
bubbling tanks of water that looked like they were ripped off the wall of an
after-hours lounge. Then Nunzio La Vecchia sauntered out, wearing his best jet
black pompadour, and made a bunch of bold claims about the 912-hp, gull-winged
2x2 and its bleeding-edge flow cell technology.
Everything
about the scene suggested that it might very well have been the last we heard
of the NanoFlowcell Quant e-Sportlimousine. Promises of a magic bullet of
energy storage, made by a three-month-old company, packaged with outlandish
numbers like 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 236 mph (380
km/h), hinted, rather strongly, that this car's technology and performance
would only exist on paper. Given that a similarly outlandish Quant car,
centered in a similar black-walled booth, introduced by a very different Nunzio
La Vecchia company, had vaporized years earlier, it seemed a responsible
assumption that the e-Sportlimousine would do the same.
Just a few
months after its debut, however, the car has resurfaced and taken a step
forward. After an in-depth inspection of the car, the German TÜV Süd in Munich
handed over the official registration plate this week. Now the company will be
able to test the car on public roads in Germany and Europe as it prepares it
for series production.
"We are
delighted as pioneers to be able to present an automobile driven by flow cell
technology on public roads, and one which achieves not only fantastic
performance values but also zero emissions," said Le Vecchia, tossing out
a slightly revised set of numbers, including "a projected top speed of
over 350 km/h (217.5 mph), acceleration from 0-100 in 2.8 seconds, a torque of
four times 2,900 Nm (2,139 lb-ft) and a range of more than 600 km (373
mi)."
The flow
cell system powering the Quant e-Sportlimousine's four electric motors develops
electricity from an electrochemical reaction created by two electrolyte
solutions. This electricity is forwarded to super capacitors where its stored
and distributed.
Beyond
fancy supercars, NanoFlowcell sees its technology taking on a variety of
applications. Presumably it will work its way down to more affordable cars, but
its perceived potential reaches far beyond the road's edge.
"We've
got major plans, and not just within the automobile industry," says
NanoFlowcell AG Chairman of the Board Prof. Jens-Peter Ellermann. "The
potential of the NanoFlowcell is much greater, especially in terms of domestic
energy supplies as well as in maritime, rail and aviation technology. The
NanoFlowcell offers a wide range of applications as a sustainable, low cost and
environmentally-friendly source of energy."
We'll wait
to see the Quant e-Sportlimousine live up to its billing before we get too
excited about that future expansion.
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