News

KAIST has developed a battery that can be charged in seconds

At a time when car manufacturers are struggling with production costs as well as battery quality, many of them are trying to find the best solution. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most used on the market, but a new type of battery that is much more efficient has been talked about for a long time. These are sodium batteries that are more cost-effective and more sustainable because they can be produced almost entirely without rare metals. However, scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a hybrid battery that can be charged in a few seconds.

The journal Energy Storage Materials published an article about a new type of battery that can be fully charged and discharged in just a few seconds. This was achieved thanks to the use of materials used for supercapacitors (a type of an electrochemical energy storage systems which have great power density and specific capacitance), known for high charging speeds, but they can only store a very small amount of energy.

It is believed that the combination of the best properties of the sodium battery and the supercapacitor could be an advantage in the production of batteries that, in addition to the enormous charging speed, would have a longer range than the current ones. Thanks to the high power density, the vehicles could also use significantly more powerful electric motors.

Sodium batteries are already in use, but they do not provide a short range (250 km). JAC Yiwei EV is the first car equipped with sodium-ion batteries.

Source: Energy Storage Materials

Tuning

Keyvany Kytoro based on Lamborghini Revuelto

Lamborghini Revuelto is one of the most powerful cars of the Italian manufacturer, with outstanding aerodynamics and impressive performance. However, there are always those who think they can make this super powerful car better. One of them is the German company Keyvany, which presented the Kytoro project based on the Lamborghini Revuelto.

Kytoro brings a new front bumper, a new bonnet, additional air vents, wings and creases, as well as a double splitter. There are also new openings on the fenders, new housings for the side mirrors and different wings on the door sills. At the rear, there are additional ventilation openings on a massive diffuser and a fixed rear wing. All components are made of carbon fiber. The car is painted in Arencio Borealis and some components are made of exposed carbon.

So far, the Keytoro package exists only in digital form, but the company is already accepting orders. The price has not been publicly announced.

Under the bonnet is still the 6.5-L L545 naturally aspirated V12 engine combined with an electric motor with a total output of 1,001 hp (746 kW) 783 lb-ft (1,062 Nm) of torque. Power is sent to all wheels via an 8-speed Graziano dual-clutch automatic transmission. It reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in 2.5 seconds with a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph).

Source: Keyvany

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Keyvany Kytoro based on Lamborghini Revuelto
Auctions

Queen Elizabeth’s 2001 Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB is for sale

Her Highness Queen Elizabeth II was the longest reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom. She passed away in 2022 at the age of 96. Everything related to her and the royal family is considered collectible. She has owned several cars and one of them, a 2001 Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB is for sale.

At the end of 2023, a 2004 Range Rover from the collection of Queen Elizabeth II was sold at auction, and now the Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB is looking for a new owner. The car was used as the Queen’s personal transport between 2001 and 2006. It is finished in British Racing Green and is in excellent condition, which is no surprise since it was kept in a temperature-controlled garage as part of their impressive private collection. It should be noted that there is part of the red pinstriping missing and that there is a small dent on the front passenger door and rear wing.

The luxurious interior is decorated with catkin beige leather with the green stitching combined with green carpet, wooden fold down picnic tables on the backs of the front seats, lambs wool mats, and a Jaguar/Motorola car phone in the arm rest. In the place where the ashtray would have been, there are now a James Bondesque bank of control buttons for the flashing blue strobe lights, alternating flashing headlights and special blue identification lights below the rear view mirror. British Racing Green leather also covers the dashboard, and there is a silver plaque stating that the car was specially built for HH Queen Elizabeth II.

This Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB is powered by a 4.0-L V8 engine with 280 bhp, paired with a 5-speed automatic gearbox. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in around 7 seconds with a top speed of 149 mph (240 km/h). The odometer shows 26,000 kilometers.

The auction ends on April 29 and the highest bid at the time of writing was £40,250 GBP.

Source: Bonhams

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Queen Elizabeth's 2001 Jaguar Daimler V8 Super LWB is for sale

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