[ti:‘Supercars’ Try to Make Electric Transition] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Car makers like Porsche, Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz [00:04.32]are known for their fast and light "supercars." [00:09.88]Most are powered by gasoline engines. [00:13.76]The companies want to create [00:16.64]electric versions of their famous cars [00:20.40]before policies go into effect [00:23.84]that restrict engines powered by gas. [00:28.08]As governments around the world [00:30.20]get more serious about climate change, [00:33.36]car makers are updating many of their standard vehicles [00:38.80]so they can be powered by energy stored in batteries. [00:44.28]However, the batteries currently used by electric cars [00:49.88]are too heavy to be used in most supercars. [00:54.80]The weight of the batteries would keep drivers [00:58.92]from being able to reach very high speeds. [01:03.76]In addition, if the cars go too fast, [01:07.96]the engines used in electric cars overheat. [01:13.60]If the car makers, which also include Rimac from Croatia, [01:19.40]Lotus from Great Britain and Koenigsegg from Sweden, [01:24.40]want to keep making vehicles [01:26.64]that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, [01:30.08]they will need to develop better engines and batteries. [01:35.20]That is why they are working with new companies, [01:38.20]such as Britain's YASA, which makes engines [01:42.32]that weigh just 23 kilograms for use in electric cars. [01:50.60]Traditional engines for supercars [01:53.64]can weigh as much as 300 kilograms. [01:59.00]YASA uses engine technology known as axial flux. [02:04.84]Another company called Saietta [02:08.16]is working on axial flux electric engines for motorcycles. [02:14.56]It says it can make a larger version for supercars. [02:21.04]The axial flux engines have been around for a long time, [02:25.04]but they are only recently seen as a solution for car makers [02:31.00]because they can produce a good amount of power for their weight. [02:37.08]Graham Lenden works for Saietta. [02:41.20]He said the traditional auto companies [02:44.84]are "looking for someone to hold their hand" [02:47.96]during the change to electric cars. [02:52.48]The Reuters news agency suggests the change [02:56.32]to electric supercars will require the car makers to risk [03:01.68]billions of dollars without knowing if the investment will pay off. [03:08.08]Daimler is the company that makes Mercedes-Benz. [03:11.80]It recently purchased YASA so it would have a source [03:16.88]for high-powered electric vehicle engines. [03:22.08]Tim Woolmer started YASA in 2009. [03:26.96]He said his motor is cooled by oil, [03:30.48]and car companies do not need to worry about it overheating. [03:35.96]In addition, since the axial flux engines [03:39.92]are smaller and lighter than traditional engines, [03:43.68]the cars are lighter overall [03:46.28]and can go longer distances between charges. [03:51.56]While the cost for the supercar companies is high, [03:55.40]they stand to gain over the long run. [04:00.20]The market for supercars is small, but profitable. [04:06.20]A consumer research company said about 150,000 supercars [04:12.20]that cost between $130,000 and $13 million [04:19.04]will be sold this year. [04:23.00]By 2026, the number could rise to about 220,000. [04:30.96]When Daimler purchased YASA, [04:33.60]Woolmer said it asked the company [04:35.92]to work on making a small, light engine. [04:40.32]He said the new technology often appears on the costliest cars first. [04:47.40]Chris Harris leads YASA. [04:50.16]He said companies other than Daimler, such as Ferrari, [04:55.20]will be able to use its engines. [04:59.60]"They want us to continue working with our supercar customers [05:04.64]because that's the leading edge," he said. [05:09.36]Mate Rimac leads the Croatian company Rimac. [05:15.12]It makes "hyper" cars, which are one step above "super" cars. [05:22.76]Rimac is now working with Volkswagen's top two brands [05:27.40]– Bugatti and Porsche – to make super-fast electric cars. [05:34.96]The British brand Lotus, now owned by companies in China and Malaysia, [05:40.80]plans to release a fully electric supercar in 2026. [05:47.80]Lotus said it already has a new base for electric cars [05:52.96]that is 37 percent lighter than its current supercars. [05:59.20]Another company, known as Silk-FAW [06:02.56]is owned by companies in China and the U.S. [06:07.60]It will build electric cars in Italy inspired by the aerospace industry. [06:15.52]It says some parts will weigh 20 percent less than traditional car parts. [06:24.72]Roberto Fedeli, a Silk-FAW vice president, [06:29.36]said saving weight is more important than increasing power. [06:35.52]Once the car parts, engines and batteries are lighter [06:40.32]and able to create the same amount of power as [06:43.92]traditional supercars, one challenge will remain: [06:49.08]how often will the batteries need to be charged? [06:53.92]For people who just want to take their cars [06:56.68]to a race track and drive fast, it may not be a problem. [07:02.32]However, for those who want to take their supercars on long trips, [07:07.44]there could be a wait for even better technology. [07:12.64]"Unless batteries go through a massive revolution, [07:16.40]you're never going to carry the amount of energy [07:19.92]that a fuel tank will carry," said YASA's Woolmer. [07:25.76]I'm Dan Friedell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM