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Sports Cars 101: Eco friendly cars that are fun to drive
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The Ronn Motor Co. Scorpion, is a hydrogen assisted supercar with 450 hp, 0 to 60 times of 3.5 seconds, and a top speed of 200 mph. This two-seater swoopy shape gets 40 mpg by adding a small amount of hydrogen to the intake air/fuel mixture, that allows the engine to operate with less fossil fuel. Here's a video of the car and Ron Maxwell, the CEO, talking about it.
The Scorpion produces hydrogen on board and injects it into the fuel stream to get the benefits of increased fuel economy and reduced emissions without having to add anything at non-existent hydrogen refueling stations. Ronn Motors claims a boost in mileage of 20 to 30% and a substantial drop in C02 and NOx output.
The hydrogen assisted internal combustion engine uses gaseous hydrogen produced through electrolysis of water, using the power generated by the Scorpion's electrical system. This proprietary H2GO hydrogen injection system blends hydrogen and gasoline in 40%/60% proportion; the hydrogen is supplied from an onboard water tank that holds 3 gallons and only needs refilling every 1000 miles of driving. The generation of hydrogen is linked to the accelerator, “(It generates) more at higher rpms and less at lower rpms”, said Adrian Pylypec, VP for Sales and Marketing at Ronn Motor Company to World Car Fans.
This strategy of generating hydrogen through electrolysis on demand, avoids the problems of other sorts of hydrogen powered cars which need a heavy high pressure tank to hold the gas, and raise questions about safety.
The base engine for the Scorpion is an Acura dual overhead cam aluminum/magnesium block, 3.5 liter, V-Tech, V-6 engine. Twin turbos are added to produce the 450 hp that drives the car. A lightweight clutch and flywheel and Ronn design refrigerated inter-coolers are also added. The engine sits amidships for best weight balance and the whole car weighs about 2200 lbs, a carbon fibre body on a chrome-moly chassis.
Autoblog drove an early version of the Scorpion, and said, "The concept we drove is a solid first step, and judging by Ronn's resolve and the production partnership his company has forged with Southern California-based Metalcrafters – the same fabrication gurus responsible for building the concept as well as dozens of others for big-name automakers – we're far less skeptical about the Scorpion's future."
The Ronn Scorpion, joins the market with the Tesla Roadster, the Dodge Circuit, and others I will be exploring in future articles, as eco friendly cars that are actually fun to drive.
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