Auto X Prize Finalist: OptaMotive E-Rex

The OptaMotive E-Rex electric vehicle has advanced in the Progressive Auto X Prize contest, passing the latest expert review and moving forward to the spring 2010 technical qualifiers. The E-Rex is an electrified version of the Campagna T-Rex, an open-air vehicle derived from a Yamaha motorcycle chassis and powered by a 1,400 cc bike engine. The prototype model on display at the Classic Car Club in Manhattan this week revealed a work in progress that promises to deliver both fun and efficiency in equal measures.
 
For this application, the big bike engine is replaced by an all-electric drivetrain energized by Thunder Sky lithium-ferrous batteries, selected in part for packaging reasons. The three-wheeler uses 96 batteries, each providing 40 amp/hrs. The company estimates a 100-mile range, with a mile per gallon equivalent (MPGe) rating of about 150.
 
Clearly, there isn’t much car to the E-Rex. It is essentially a dressed-up roll cage. The cockpit was more Spartan than other competitors’ vehicles on hand at the recent event. Like all entries, it is a work in progress, and a company representative said the instrument panel is still under development.
 
Ultimately, the open-air design helps keep weight under 2,000 pounds. The upside is that with more than 100 horsepower on direct tap, achieving acceleration of 0-60 mph under 10 seconds may prove to be an easy goal. The configuration also means that it is classified as a motorcycle, thereby sidestepping some federal regulations that can prove costly to meet and verify, as with the Zap Alias.
 
The T-Rex with its dino-juice-drinking internal combustion engine retails for about $50,000. Right now, OptaMotive estimates the pricing for an E-Rex could carry just a slight price premium above the T-Rex.

 —Jeff Bartlett

Learn more about the Automotive X Prize competition. And find out more about driving green in the Consumer Reports special fuel economy section.