2012 Exagon Furtive-eGT
|
Price |
-- |
Production |
-- | ||
|
Engine |
electric |
Weight |
3527 lbs | ||
|
Aspiration |
-- |
Torque |
354 lb-ft | ||
|
HP |
340 hp |
HP/Weight |
10.4 lbs per hp | ||
|
HP/Liter |
-- |
1/4 mile |
-- | ||
|
0-62 mph |
3.6 seconds |
Top Speed |
155 mph (electronically limited) |
(from Exagon Press Release) An electrifying idea
In 2010, electric power promises to herald a new era in mobility. To live up to this promise without upsetting the expectations of millions of drivers, the electric car must now show its mettle. Engineers have been carrying out extensive research in laboratories, but competition remains the unavoidable stage in testing new products. There is no cheating in racing, it never lies.
Very few manufacturers have any experience in competitive racing with electric sports cars. But one company stands out from the crowd: Exagon Engineering. Under the leadership of Luc Marchetti, Exagon Engineering has built up unparalleled expertise in designing and developing electric sports cars. For several years its electric cars have been facing each other in stiff competition with renowned drivers at the wheel. Its teams have relentlessly striven to achieve the optimum balance between performance, reliability and autonomy. Year after year, Exagon Engineering has been making headway and improving the performance and reliability of this new technology.
Now, on the back of this unrivalled experience, Luc Marchetti and his teams have decided to go one step further, creating a top-of-the-range electric GT car.
Picture yourself an electric GT car which makes for a thrilling and unparalleled driving experience; an electric GT car which does not sacrifice performance to eco-friendliness; an electric GT car which can cover Paris-Nice comfortably but also burn rubber on the race track; an electric GT car which brings the “French flair” back into prestige automobiles; an electric GT car which is as modern as it is timeless, as rare as it is desirable.
This brand new type of electric GT car exists. Its name is Furtive-eGT. It is a unique new product created by Exagon Motors TM .
Born of the demands of electric competition
Luc Marchetti and his teams are neither idealists nor dreamers. They have created the Furtive-eGT and are unveiling it at the Paris Motor Show on the back of their cutting-edge expertise and technology, which puts them streets ahead of the competition in the growing market of electric sports cars.
Luc Marchetti’s teams built up their experience in electric
propulsion by competing under Exagon Engineering for the Andros
Electric Trophy. Exagon Engineering is a company specialised in
manufacturing and operating high-performance cars, and over
the past 6 years it has been winning trophies in various automotive
competitions. In 2008, the organisers of the Andros Trophy
launched the first ever electric competition and commissioned Exagon
Engineering to produce 8 electric sports cars.
Although he was sceptical at first, Luc Marchetti decided to take up
this challenge. The aim was to design a race car that ran on
electric power alone while providing the same level of performance
as a combustion-engine car. To power this new kind of racing
car, Exagon Engineering worked in close cooperation with Siemens
Corporate Technology, who provided the engines, and Saft,
the worldwide leader in high-performance batteries. The result was
remarkable. The concept won over the most demanding of
drivers: Olivier Panis, Alain and Nicolas Prost and Franck Lagorce
all had words of praise for the technological achievement and
competitive performance of the Andros Electric cars.
The pressure of racing against the clock, the gruelling conditions
of the Andros Electric Trophy, abrupt variations in temperature,
extreme cold, intensive use under high levels of humidity, constant
changes of pace, collisions; all of these challenges enabled
Exagon Engineering to unlock the secret to electric performance,
reliability and safety. With the help of its partners, Exagon
Engineering
has developed a command of technology which puts it several years
ahead of competition.
Exagon Engineering paired up with the biggest names in the field of
electric power: Siemens Corporate Technology for the
engines, Siemens NX for the design, simulation and calculation
software and Saft for the high-performance batteries. Through
regular contact with those partners, Luc Marchetti understood that
their combined expertise could break down the last barriers
to high-performance electric propulsion.
In the autumn of 2009, a conversation proved to be a turning point.
A sports car enthusiast told Luc Marchetti he did not believe
there was a future in electric GT cars, mainly due to their limited
autonomy and poor performance on the road. The head
of Exagon Engineering knew this was the time to prove him wrong – he
had the solution to those problems thanks to Saft and
Siemens Corporate Technology, who were granting him full licence to
use their latest technology. This was a rare and exclusive
partnership, built on trust acquired in the delicate process of
developing the first high-performance race car series fully powered
by electricity. With the backing of French industrialists in the
private sector, Luc Marchetti founded Exagon MotorsTM, which was
soon to give birth to the first ever French electric GT car, the
Furtive-eGT.
A new experience for the senses on the road
The Furtive-eGT is no run-of-the-mill GT car. It represents a new approach to grand touring, a new experience on the road, a new sports car driving concept with added comfort.
Electric propulsion offers entirely new sensations, in part thanks to immediate torque availability. With a constant torque of 480 Nm from 0 to 5,000 rpm, the Furtive-eGT has a phenomenal capacity for acceleration – 0 to 100 km/h in 3.6 s – and can hit 287 km/h on the race track (maximum speed is otherwise limited electronically to 250 km/h). Such high performance is achieved in near-silence, with only the air flow to be heard, heightening the sensations experienced while driving. This is more than just impressive figures, it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Designed by Exagon MotorsTM, the Furtive-eGT proudly displays its
classical and timeless beauty. It is a modern prestige automobile
with a distinctly French touch, free from passing trends. Measuring
4.50 m in length, with extremely short front and rear
overhangs, the design is both sleek and dynamic, with aerodynamic
efficiency a clear priority. The smooth, no-frills design combined
with distinct features such as the double-bubble roof, the front
headlight signature and the aerated rear posts, ensure the
Furtive-eGT stands out from the crowd.
The Furtive-eGT may have fully embraced the digital age of the
automobile, but it has not lost touch with its roots in the
distinguished
history of top-of-the-range GT cars. It is a long-distance traveller,
a genuine 2+2 which can easily fit 4 passengers and
their luggage in its leather interior. The Furtive-eGT has been
designed with versatility in mind; it combines the behaviour and
performance of a leading sports car with the comfort of an executive
car.
Unlike its competitors, the Furtive-eGT was designed from the outset
to accommodate an electric power train. The chassis was
developed with a view to achieving optimum mass distribution
depending on the size and weight of the batteries, which themselves
make up the entire car floor, ensuring sound and well-balanced
driveability.
The Furtive-eGT is powered by two latest-generation engines created
by Siemens Corporate Technology, each providing an
output of 125 kW, i.e. total power equivalent to 340 hp at 5,000 to
10,000 rpm. These are currently the lightest and most compact
engines available on the market. They have a liquid cooling system
and their efficiency is outstanding.
The lithium-ion batteries manufactured by worldwide specialist Saft
are the beating heart of the Furtive-eGT. These state-of-theart
VL 4 batteries provide 150 kWh (50,000 watt-hours). They have a life
cycle of approximately ten years, can undergo 3,000
charging cycles and are recyclable. Their autonomy is astounding:
197 to 406 km in electric-only mode, depending on usage
conditions. An optional range extender brings the autonomy up to 807
km.
The Furtive-eGT will be the first ever electric car equipped with a
revolutionary sound system, the “Hopman Sound TransferTM”.
The system transforms various materials in the car into
loudspeakers. It transmits the vibratory energy to the materials
which in
turn transmit the acoustic energy.
The “Hopman Sound TransferTM” patented technology provides a well-balanced sound quality without requiring bulky conventional speakers. The ideal listening point is expanded to the entire volume. The «Hopman Sound TransferTM» can be considered a speaker and functions in the same way. It can be plugged into the loudspeaker sockets of any amplifier and can transmit all known acoustic sources. No structural changes are required. It can be assembled within 2 minutes.
Performance reconciled with autonomy
It is a secret to no one that the main challenge facing electric propulsion is battery autonomy. Considering batteries in terms of autonomy alone is simplistic, as capacity is greatly influenced by conditions of use. Speed, acceleration and energy consumption by on-board equipment (air-conditioning, radio, etc.) are all factors which affect the available energy, i.e. the available autonomy. One should therefore speak in terms of “autonomies”, taking into account the chosen driving mode.
Thanks to Saft’s batteries, the Furtive-eGT is without doubt one of the most autonomous electric cars in all-electric mode.
100% electric, the Furtive-eGT can cover Paris-Nice thanks to its
optional range extender.
The Furtive-eGT is the first ever electric GT to guarantee several
average autonomies in all-electric mode, calculated according
to European standards and energy use cycles.
Urban cycle (ECE15 standard) : 161 watts/hour/km
Motorway cycle (EUDC standard) : 186 watts/hour/km
Mixed cycle : 173 watts/hour/km
Autonomy at 50 km/h: 402 km
Autonomy at 90 km/h: 288 km
Autonomy at 110 km/h: 241 km
Autonomy at 130 km/h: 197 km
The Furtive-eGT can be fitted with a range extender: a small petrol
engine with a low cylinder capacity which charges the batteries
when they have reached the limit of their autonomy. This engine has
no effect on the wheels; it simply acts as a generator.
It therefore has very low fuel consumption and it functions at a
constant rate, ensuring optimum fuel consumption. The range
extender brings the Furtive-eGT’s total autonomy to 807 km with 25 l
of fuel under the ECE15 standard cycle, or 734 km with 25 l
of fuel under the standard mixed cycle.
Thanks to the optional range extender, Furtive-eGT drivers no longer
have to worry about finding the next charging station.
They can enjoy complete freedom of movement, which is what truly
defines automobiles: the freedom to come and go as you
please.
French sensuality at the France Pavilion in Shanghai
The France Pavilion, the country’s showcase at the Shanghai World Expo, exclusively hosted the Furtive-eGT to shoot the corporate film for the brand.
The initiative was met with enthusiasm on the part of José Fr•ches, President of COFRES (the French company managing the France Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo), who stated that the Exagon MotorsTM Furtive-eGT was a great example of France’s dynamic, innovative and cutting-edge mobility industry : « I am delighted and extremely proud to host the Furtive-eGT at the France Pavilion in Shanghai, the showcase of what France does best. »
Under to the main theme of the World Expo, “Better city, better
life”, every country was to choose a specific theme relating to its
culture, ideas and vision of the future. France went for the Sensual
City. It lays particular emphasis on man, perceptions of the
city, and the overall objective of using technology to serve
humanity.
Jacques Ferrier and Paul Marchetti, the architects of the France Pavillon in Shanghai, reported discovering the Furtive-EGT :
“It is a dream brought to life. The electric car will soon become
part of the urban landscape. In our project for a sensual city,
movement
is no longer merely infrastructure with a function; it is a sixth
sense, part and parcel of living the city life. Getting about
town loses its rigidity; freedom, discretion and curiosity are the
watchwords. Transport modes complement each other and blend
into the city; technology improves to the point of passing
unnoticed.”
An exceptional showcase for luxury à la française, the France Pavilion had already received more than 8 million visitors.
The next stages
After its unveiling at the Paris Motor Show, the Furtive-eGT will go through a final validation procedure before entering the market by late 2012.
Exagon MotorsTM aims to produce the Furtive-eGT in a small series, with an annual output of around a hundred cars. For the two upcoming years, Exagon MotorsTM will keep the press and media up-to-date on progress made in the Furtive-eGT’s entry into production.
The first test runs for the press are due to start in June 2011.
Technical features
(tyres for the Motor Show)
(tyres for the Motor Show)
- FRONT: 398 mm
- REAR: 360 mm
Propulsion with a mechanical automatic locking differential
(*due to the wide operating range of electric engines)
of rotation (speed limited electronically)
Turning cycle : 11.50 m
Charger fitted into the car*
(*internal to the SIEMENS Inverters)
At stabilised speed in all-electric mode
Range extender (option):
The figures indicated are for information purposes only. They have no contractual value.