15.8.2012 Lola-Drayson electric racer at LCV 2012

One of the world's fastest electric racing cars – the 850 bhp Lola-Drayson B12/69EV – will be demonstrated at the fifth annual Cenex LCV 2012 event.

LCV 2012, now in its fifth year, is the UK's largest B2B low carbon vehicle show for manufacturers, technology providers and fleet operators, and is to be held at Millbrook Proving Ground. It will offer a rare opportunity to see the Lola-Drayson in action.

The demonstration of the Le Mans Prototype-style racer is part of a new collaboration between Cenex and the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA). The two organisations will co-present the showcase seminar, 'High Performance, Low Carbon', on the first day of the event, Wednesday 5 September.

The session will highlight the role companies within the sector can play to accelerate the transfer of low carbon technologies from motorsport into passenger and commercial vehicles, as an important stepping stone in driving down the carbon footprint of vehicles on UK roads.

Cenex Chief Executive Officer, Robert Evans commented: "The MIA plays a key role in promoting the rapid transfer of technologies from motorsport to the mainstream... The UK motorsport industry provides a hugely valuable test bed for a wide range of low carbon vehicle technologies. It is not only highly demanding, but is quick to generate results which filter down into passenger vehicle."

Lola-Drayson B12/69EV, unveiled at the start of the year at the UK's 2012 Low Carbon Racing Conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, uses four electric motors that deliver an impressive 850 bhp and a top speed just shy of 200 mph. Off the starting line, the electric racer can accelerate to 60 mph in just 3 seconds, and to 100 mph in 5.1 seconds.

The Lithium Nanophosphate batteries are charged using inductive wireless charging, and also uses regenerative braking to capture otherwise wasted energy during braking, however, at top speeds, in racing mode, the Lola-Drayson electric vehicle will only run for 15 minutes before running out of juice.

This is the fifth annual LCV2012 event, returning to Millbrook for the fourth time. Last year, LCV2011 attracted more than 2,300 delegates from the low carbon vehicle sector (up 32% on 2010). There were 110 exhibitors, including vehicle manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, Nissan and General Motors, as well as a host of technology and infrastructure suppliers.

LCV2012 is held in partnership with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Technology Strategy Board, UK Trade and Investment, the SMMT, Automotive Council and the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles.

Newspress