About The SPARC XEV Project:  A Sustainable Personal Aerodynamic Rechargeable Compact eXperimental Electric Vehicle Project

An early rendering of the SPARC Electric Vehicle Prototype

The SPARC is an experimental prototype for a new form of transportation.  The SPARC is being designed and built with an eye towards fulfilling the transportation needs of an individual in an era of ever rising energy costs.  The SPARC is a unique vehicle serving as a real world test bed for the technology and ideas we develop here at Xenopi.

For the latest updates on the SPARC XEV, click HERE to go to the SPARC XEV discussion forum.

Sustainable:  The key to sustainability is efficiency of energy use.  Unlike traditional (4 wheel, 4000 lb. internal combustion powered) vehicles that waste the vast majority of their energy in the form of friction and heat because of mechanical complexity, aerodynamic drag, and sheer mass, the SPARC is mechanically simple, ultra-aerodynamic, and extremely lightweight.  The end result: most of the energy used by the SPARC goes to actually moving the passengers, instead being wasted on the mass & air resistance of the vehicle itself.

Personal: According to various studies, between 60%-85% of commuter trips are made with only one person in a vehicle.  This means that the vast majority of people are traveling alone.  Yet the vast majority of these single passenger trips are done in vehicles designed to carry at least 4 people if not more.  According to the EPA, the average American car weighs in excess of 4,000 lbs.  That’s two tons of metal, glass, and petroleum products just to carry one person!  The result of this waste and inefficiency is a huge amount of energy expended, traffic congestion, lack of parking, and rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges.  The SPARC is designed to address these deficiencies.

Aerodynamic – Another key towards achieving ultimate efficiency is minimizing aerodynamic drag while maintaining sufficient aerodynamic stability.  Because the amount of energy used to overcome aerodynamic drag is an exponential function related to speed, energy used to overcome drag becomes dominant at speeds achieved on highways and other major thoroughfares.  Our goal is for SPARC to have one of the lowest Cd’s of any two passenger, highway capable, practical vehicle on the road today.

Rechargeable - The SPARC is designed as a 100% electric vehicle, so there will be zero emissions from the vehicle itself.  Just plug-it in when needed.  If your electricity is supplied by renewable resources (such as wind, solar, or hydro) then the emissions are truly zero.  Even if your electricity comes from natural gas or coal-fired electrical generation plants, the amount of pollution emitted per mile traveled is still far less than that of a typical fossil fueled automobile.

SPARC XEV Front View with both seats in position

Compact – The SPARC is compact in terms of both size and weight.  With the capability of carrying the driver and a passenger or groceries from the market, the SPARC itself is projected to the tip the scales at a feathery 700 lbs. The SPARC is less than 1/5th the weight of the average American car, and half the size of a compact car.   Two SPARCs will fit in a standard compact car parking spot.  On the highway, two SPARCs will be able to share the same lane.  Because it is so compact and lightweight, the SPARC can be transported in a truck with an 8 foot long bed, or an 10 foot long enclosed trailer.

SPARC XEV Current Configuration Technical Data

Configuration: 2F3T  (or 2F1R non-tilting) Tandem

Max # Passengers: 2

Overall Frame Length: ~114″ (actual vehicle length will be longer because of bodywork)

Wheelbase: ~90″

Track Width: ~44″

Tilting Mechanism: FTC (Free To Castor) with PHACS (Passive Hydraulic Automatic Counter Steer) enhancement

Suspension: Independent Coil-over gas shocks on all 3 wheels.

Braking: multi-pot Hydraulic Disc brakes on all 3 wheels

Frame Construction: Aircraft grade high strength Aluminum Tube with high strength Steel for critical components.  Integrated roll bar.

Body Construction: Composite with reinforced side impact beams.

Vehicle Total Weight (projected): ~700 lbs.

Target Cd: < 0.2

Drive Motor: AC-31 Induction with Regen running at 72V/84V (upgradable to 96V).

Motor Controller: Curtis AC Controller

Prototype Battery Pack: 7.68kWH LiFePO4 (240 x 3.2V 10AH cells)

Maximum Battery Pack Capacity: 10.24kWH LiFePO4 (320 x 3.2V 10AH cells)

Battery Monitoring System (BMS): eLithion Lithiumate distributed intelligent.

Charger: Delta-Q Quiq 72V 1KW LiFePO4 onboard charger.

Vehicle Systems Interface & Display: xenoDisplay intelligent wireless Display