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VOA慢速英语2021--“超级跑车”试图实现电力转换

时间:2021-10-12 03:00来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

‘Supercars’ Try to Make Electric Transition

Car makers1 like Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz are known for their fast and light "supercars." Most are powered by gasoline engines.

The companies want to create electric versions of their famous cars before policies go into effect that restrict engines powered by gas.

As governments around the world get more serious about climate change, car makers are updating many of their standard vehicles so they can be powered by energy stored in batteries.

However, the batteries currently used by electric cars are too heavy to be used in most supercars. The weight of the batteries would keep drivers from being able to reach very high speeds. In addition, if the cars go too fast, the engines used in electric cars overheat.

If the car makers, which also include Rimac from Croatia, Lotus from Great Britain and Koenigsegg from Sweden, want to keep making vehicles that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, they will need to develop better engines and batteries.

That is why they are working with new companies, such as Britain's YASA, which makes engines that weigh just 23 kilograms for use in electric cars. Traditional engines for supercars can weigh as much as 300 kilograms.

YASA uses engine technology known as axial flux2. Another company called Saietta is working on axial flux electric engines for motorcycles. It says it can make a larger version for supercars.

The axial flux engines have been around for a long time, but they are only recently seen as a solution for car makers because they can produce a good amount of power for their weight.

Graham Lenden works for Saietta. He said the traditional auto3 companies are "looking for someone to hold their hand" during the change to electric cars.

The Reuters news agency suggests the change to electric supercars will require the car makers to risk billions of dollars without knowing if the investment will pay off.

Daimler is the company that makes Mercedes-Benz. It recently purchased YASA so it would have a source for high-powered electric vehicle engines.

Tim Woolmer started YASA in 2009. He said his motor is cooled by oil, and car companies do not need to worry about it overheating. In addition, since the axial flux engines are smaller and lighter4 than traditional engines, the cars are lighter overall and can go longer distances between charges.

While the cost for the supercar companies is high, they stand to gain over the long run. The market for supercars is small, but profitable. A consumer research company said about 150,000 supercars that cost between $130,000 and $13 million will be sold this year. By 2026, the number could rise to about 220,000.

When Daimler purchased YASA, Woolmer said it asked the company to work on making a small, light engine.

He said the new technology often appears on the costliest5 cars first.

Chris Harris leads YASA. He said companies other than Daimler, such as Ferrari, will be able to use its engines. "They want us to continue working with our supercar customers because that's the leading edge," he said.

Mate Rimac leads the Croatian company Rimac. It makes "hyper" cars, which are one step above "super" cars. Rimac is now working with Volkswagen's top two brands – Bugatti and Porsche – to make super-fast electric cars.

The British brand Lotus, now owned by companies in China and Malaysia, plans to release a fully6 electric supercar in 2026. Lotus said it already has a new base for electric cars that is 37 percent lighter than its current supercars.

Another company, known as Silk-FAW is owned by companies in China and the U.S. It will build electric cars in Italy inspired by the aerospace7 industry. It says some parts will weigh 20 percent less than traditional car parts.

Roberto Fedeli, a Silk-FAW vice8 president, said saving weight is more important than increasing power.

Once the car parts, engines and batteries are lighter and able to create the same amount of power as traditional supercars, one challenge will remain: how often will the batteries need to be charged?

For people who just want to take their cars to a race track and drive fast, it may not be a problem. However, for those who want to take their supercars on long trips, there could be a wait for even better technology.

"Unless batteries go through a massive revolution, you're never going to carry the amount of energy that a fuel tank will carry," said YASA's Woolmer.

Words in This Story

battery – n. a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electricity

motorcycle – n. a vehicle with two wheels that is powered by a motor and that can carry one or two people

inspire – v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

aerospace – n. an industry that deals with travel in and above the Earth's atmosphere and with the production of vehicles used in such travel

massive – adj. large in amount or degree


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 makers 22a4efff03ac42c1785d09a48313d352     
n.制造者,制造商(maker的复数形式)
参考例句:
  • The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
  • The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 flux sg4zJ     
n.流动;不断的改变
参考例句:
  • The market is in a constant state of flux.市场行情在不断变化。
  • In most reactors,there is a significant flux of fast neutrons.在大部分反应堆中都有一定强度的快中子流。
3 auto ZOnyW     
n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车
参考例句:
  • Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
  • The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。
4 lighter 5pPzPR     
n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
参考例句:
  • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
  • The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
5 costliest 72fb0b90632e34d78a38994b0f302c1a     
adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 );代价高的;引起困难的;造成损失的
参考例句:
  • At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失,是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
  • Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰?克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网
6 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
7 aerospace CK2yf     
adj.航空的,宇宙航行的
参考例句:
  • The world's entire aerospace industry is feeling the chill winds of recession.全世界的航空航天工业都感受到了经济衰退的寒意。
  • Edward Murphy was an aerospace engineer for the US Army.爱德华·墨菲是一名美军的航宇工程师。
8 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
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