2010 Dodge Circuit EV Preview

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The 2010 Dodge Circuit EV is an Electric Vehicle concept that Dodge unveiled at the 2009 Detroit Car Show. Wearing a new coat of tangerine paint and a cute electrical double-entendre name (Charger, it seems, was already taken), the Circuit is obviously the EV's twin with a few technological tweaks. The most notable modification lies with the front fascia, where designers added the Dodge four-bar grille in an attempt to disguise the Circuit's Lotus origins. The remainder of the car headlamps included is carried over from Lotus' Europa, which keen-eyed sports car enthusiasts will certainly notice.

Besides the fact that it weighs 300 pounds more than a stock Lotus Europa, it will accelerate to a impressive speed. This is thanks to the 200 kW electric motor that produces an incredible 480 ft·lbf (650 N·m) of torque, the EV plows a quarter-mile in less than 13.0 seconds. Getting from 0-60 takes all of 5 seconds, according to preliminary tests.

Employing advanced lithium-ion battery technology, the Dodge EV has a continuous driving range of 150 to 200 miles which is more than triple the average daily commute of most consumers. Recharging the vehicle is a simple one-step process: plugging into a standard 110-volt household outlet for eight hours. The recharge time can be cut in half to four hours by using a typical 220-volt household appliance power outlet.

You don't have to slow down to keep the planet squeaky clean. And you'll never have to stop for another gas station. Dodge Circuit EV packages zero tailpipe emissions in the unlikely form of a bold, two-passenger rear-wheel-drive sports car with responsive, agile performance including an all-new design inside and out.

This all new electric vehicle is thirty percent likely to be put on the market as early as the end of 2010, the same time GM plans to start selling the 2011 Chevy Volt. Pricing on the EV has not yet been determined, but this state of the art technology does not come cheap. But with mass production of the battery that powers this car skyrocketing around 2012, the price will most likely come down a bit, making cars such as the Dodge EV more affordable.

Chrysler says all of its ENVI concepts - the Circuit included - are production intent and could reach dealers by 2013. That said, we wonder how much of a market exists for a low-volume, high-cost electric roadster built in part by Lotus.

Chrysler intends to bring advanced, electric-drive vehicles to market quickly, and in a broad range of choices for consumers from front-wheel drive platforms, to rear-wheel drive, to body-on-frame four-wheel drive. The advanced electric-drive technology will be packaged in three different vehicles one for each of its brands, Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge. These prototypes give a glimpse of the very near future.

Lou Rhodes, the man who is known to be a straight talking guru of electric vehicles for Chrysler said: "There has always been product that has turned Chrysler around in the past. We believe this is one of the products that will do it for the company in the future." After all his words were said it was time for some fun. Rhodes got behind the wheel of the Dodge EV and lined it up against a Dodge Challenger 6.1 Hemi that was said to be conveniently nearby. A drag strip was set up in the Rose Bowl parking lot. As people lined the strip to watch this high speed battle, Rhodes got ready to represent his car. On the first run, the 480 foot-pounds force (650 N·m) of electric torque on hand to the Dodge EV left the Challenger in its dust to be beaten at the finish line. All credit to the EV at the 800-foot (240 m) line. As Dan Neil said, "No matter the car, no matter the company, no matter the technology, it's never a good idea to show up the boss."

Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement
GE and Chrysler are working together pursuing a project with the United States Department of Energy to explore advanced energy-storage technology.

"Chrysler's partnership with General Electric combines the electric-drive technology demonstrated in the Chrysler Electric Vehicles, with GE's research and development of advanced energy storage systems," said Klegon. "Our collective goal working with the DOE is to develop a new, integrated energy-storage system to make electric vehicle battery packs smaller and significantly less expensive than current designs."

GE's unique technology will allow the two companies to develop and evaluate new dual-battery solutions.

"One of the challenges with electric vehicles is finding a battery with the correct balance between power for example, during vehicle acceleration and energy for long driving range," said Klegon. "We believe that combining two unique battery chemistries one biased toward power and the other toward energy into a single battery pack is very promising for a future Chrysler Electric Vehicle". View an article in the New York Times about the Circuit.

Chrysler has the right idea. A Car that can achieve amazingly fast acceleration AND fuel economy is definitely a step in a good direction. Hopefully their tests will be complete and the car will go into production around the same time as the Chevy Volt. It would be nice to get competitive pricing when these cars are released so that the average consumer would be able to afford this quite attractive sports car. For some more details, get the Circuit EV specifications here.