October, 2011

Chetan Maini: life with

Mahindra and the new NXR

Breaking records with Bluebird

Winter Tyres: do they make a difference?

Available Now – the definitive guide to the REVA / G-Wiz

electric car. Available from Amazon and Waterstones or

available to order at any bookshop on request. ISBN 978-1-907670-05-3.

£7.99

The REVA Club Newsletter is

published on an adhoc basis

by Greenstream Publishing on

behalf of the G-Wiz Owners’

Club and REVA Car Club, and

distributed to approximately

1,500 members online via e-

mail and across the Internet.

The newsletter is Copyright

©2011 by the G-Wiz Owners

Club. Individual articles and

pieces are copyrighted by the

individual authors and may

not be reproduced without

permission.

For more information about

the G-Wiz Owners’ Club and

REVA Car Club, visit either

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main site at

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Greenstream Publishing

12 Poplar Grove

Ryton on Dunsmore

Warwickshire

CV8 3QE.

October, 2011

Welcome 3

Should EV quadricycles be banned? 4

Talking with Chetan 6

Keep Moving this Winter 8

News from GoinGreen 10

Grow your own provides new growth for successError! Bookmark not

defined.

Reaching the skies 12

Welcome Welcome to another edition of our club newsletter. There has been lots going on in

the electric car world over the past few months, and activity at REVA and with the

G-Wiz is no exception.

It may not be the most newsworthy car out there today, but the REVA G-Wiz

is still the most affordable electric car available today. Despite the combined

marketing efforts of Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot and Citroen – all of whom have

electric cars on sale now – there are still more G-Wiz’s on the roads of many

countries than all of these other manufacturer’s cars combined.

Interest in electric cars in general remains high, as I have seen from sales of

my electric car books this year. Yet people are frightened off by the high purchase

price: people will only buy an electric car when they perceive them to be good

value for money.

So the opportunities for Mahindra REVAs new NXR remain good. Last month

I spoke with Chetan Maini, the founder and Chief Technical Officer at Mahindra

REVA, to find out what has been going on behind the scenes at the company over

the past eighteen months and to find out the latest news on the NXR. You’ll find my

full report inside.

We also have an insightful article on quadricycle safety, written by Keith

Johnston, former REVA European President of Operations, an article on winter

tyres and news about a new 500 mile per hour (800km/h) electric land speed car

being built to break the wheel-powered land speed record.

So there is plenty to enjoy in this edition. I hope you enjoy it!

Michael Boxwell Club Administrator

Should EV quadricycles be

banned? After the first fatal accident in a G-Wiz, some members of the British

media were calling for the G-Wiz to be banned from sale. Keith

Johnston, former managing director of GoinGreen, believes that

quadricycles may be the road ahead and suggests that now is the time

for the current quadricycle legislation to be overhauled.

The British media were reporting at the inquest into

the sad death in her G-Wiz EV of Dr Judit Nadal, a

successful and much loved biochemist who worked at

Imperial College, London. A verdict of accidental

death was recorded following the news that she was

on her mobile phone and not wearing a seat belt and

had made a fatal error in turning into an oncoming

car's path at a known traffic black spot in London.

Dr Nadal's G-Wiz was struck by a larger and

heavier Skoda Octavia and a few

journalists have raised concerns

that the G-Wiz is an unsafe

vehicle because as a quadricycle

it lacks the safety levels present

in conventional M1 cars. What

was not reported (and in order to

to provide a context for

consideration of the safety issue)

is that this tragic event was the

first known fatality or serious

injury in a G-Wiz over a ten year

period in more than 180 million

km of customer driving in 20

countries; or that quadricycles

(the G-Wiz is classified as a L7e

quadricycle and not a full M1 conventional car and

not subject to the same safety requirements) have a

superior accident record to conventional cars,

because of the limited speeds of the vehicles and the

slower urban roads on which they are driven.

Quadricycles, also known as microcars, exist in

a continuum of vehicles. They offer customers a

vehicle that is safer than a motorbike or scooter and

in the case of electric quadricycles, more affordable

than a conventional electric car (the G-Wiz is one third

of the price of a Mitsubishi iMiEV, for example). In

addition to being zero emission at the tailpipe and

extremely low cost to operate, the G-Wiz is small,

lightweight and nimble and so is easy to drive and to

park. In traffic congested central London, where the

average speeds are about 10 to 15 mph and most

speed limits 30 mph, there are approximately 1,000

G-Wiz used on a daily basis

resulting in a small but loyal

following. G-Wiz drivers are

fully aware that they are driving

a vehicle in which they are less

protected than if driving a

conventional car.

Quadricycles are quite a

common sight in some

European cities, with

approximately 400,000 on the

streets of Western Europe,

particularly in France and Italy.

If anything, the category is

about to become more popular

because automakers see it as a

potential growth segment. Renault are launching the

Twizy quadricycle in 2012, whilst VW and Audi are

showcasing single and two seat urban EV concepts at

the recent motor shows.

The last government announced an intention to

review quadricycles on the grounds of safety,

following a government crash test of a G-Wiz to M1

safety standards (which it failed, unsurprisingly, and

Quadricycles... have a

superior accident record

to conventional cars,

because of the limited

speeds of the vehicles

and the slower urban

roads on which they are

driven.

which led to the development of an improved safety

cage for the current model). There were calls then

from Labour politicians to ban quadricycles, leading to

an equally vociferous defence from now London

Mayor, Boris Johnson. My own position is that I

support any constructive review of safety - but I do

not see the point of a witch hunt to ban quadricycles

which does not consider all the facts.

The existing L7e quadricycle regulations limit

the vehicle weight to 450 kg excluding batteries,

which effectively limits the safety level that can be

achieved in the vehicle. One option might be to

increase the existing 450 kg limit to say 650 kg

excluding batteries, which would enable additional

safety features to be incorporated into the vehicle

and using the latest technologies, to achieve a target

NCAP safety level of 4*. I am not alone in calling for

such a move - Professor Gordon Murray of Gordon

Murray Design has called for a new

category of 'Urban M1', which would

focus automakers on small,

lightweight, safe and energy efficient

vehicles suitable for everyday

commuting.

Our challenge is to ensure that

vehicle safety is optimised whatever

the category. We must design the

regulations correctly to enable and

ensure that manufacturers build

vehicles with appropriate levels of

safety given the state of technology at

any given time and with due regard to

usage and affordability. In other words,

let's reform the quadricycle regulations

by all means, but let's approach such a

move without the mass of emotion

swirling around a single event.

As the former Managing Director

of GoinGreen, I launched the G-Wiz

and was almost certainly head of the

company when Dr Nadal purchased

hers. Her death has touched everyone

involved in the business past and

present. I hope that any debate can be

constructive and undertaken with the

aim of creating a category of safe,

energy efficient and affordable electric vehicles.

Let us also remember that it is heavy, large,

energy wasteful cars marketed for their excessive

speed or size and which perpetuate dangerous or

careless driving, that are the real problem here.

Keith Johnston is the former managing director of

GoinGreen and previously the President of

Operations for REVA across Europe. He blogs on the

subject of electric cars at connevted.blogspot.com

Above: Like the current REVA i, the 2012 Renault Twizy is a quadricycle

and is exempt from M1 safety testing. Peugeot are also considering

launching an electric quadricycle in 2013, whilst VW and Audi have both

been showing electric quadricycle concepts over the past few months

.

Below: After the UK Government’s crash test of an early model G-Wiz,

REVA developed an improved safety cell for the REVA i, which was

independently crash tested by ARAI.

Talking with Chetan Chetan Maini is the founder of REVA. Under his direction, he grew

REVA into the largest independent electric car manufacturer in the

world. Now as part of the Mahindra & Mahindra empire, he talks to the

club about life with Mahindra, new vehicles and how the new enlarged

company can compete – and beat – mainstream manufacturers. /

What has been happening REVA since Mahindra &

Mahindra have invested into it?

We have been working on improving our existing

product line. An updated Reva i has been developed

with lithium-ion batteries, providing a 100km range.

These are being shipped to Europe now.

In India, we have been focused on improving

distribution, opening 24 outlets across India, which

will grow to fifty by the end of this year.

The Mahindra and Mahindra Group have a

number of other vehicle ranges that they produce. A

lot of work has been carried out in evaluating the

electrification of a number of different platforms and

a number of different prototypes have been

produced.

A new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant has

been built in Bangalore and this is now being fitted

out and prepared.

There was a lot of positive feedback following

the Frankfurt motor show in 2009. Since then, the car

has undergone a number of upgrades, in particular

with an improved interior design. Significant amount

of time has been spent in additional testing, with

winter testing in Europe, summer and monsoon

testing in India. Production will commence at the end

of this year.

When will we now see the REVA NXR and NXG

models?

The NXR will be available in India during Q1 of 2012.

Europe will follow during the second half of 2012.

The NXG will arrive, but the timeframe for

releasing this car has not been finalised. We see a

great opportunity for this car but since the original

announcement of the car in September 2009, many

other companies have been announcing electric cars

and we need to further define our market segment

for this car.

A new state-of-the-art manufacturing plant has been built in

Bangalore. This is the car assembly building under construction.

What are the plans for Mahindra REVA in Europe?

We have a number of excellent distributors already in

Europe. Mahindra and Mahindra also has a presence

in a number of European countries. Furthermore, the

group acquired Ssang Yong earlier this year, who have

in the region of 700 dealers across Europe.

This means that there are number of

opportunities for REVA in Europe and we are working

on an improved distribution model for Europe, which

we hope to have in place by the end of this year.

In the past few months, major car manufacturers have

been launching their own electric cars, and have

achieved notable success: Nissan winning 'World Car

of the Year' with the LEAF, Mitsubishi winning some

significant sales (they are the best selling small car in

Norway with an overall 2% market share). Can

Mahindra REVA compete in the market now the larger

manufacturers are selling electric cars, and if so, what

is the unique selling feature of Mahindra REVA cars?

In the early years, we expect a lot of co-operation

between different companies – working together

rather than competing directly. The industry needs to

create a category and an awareness for electric

vehicles and in the first two to three years, we see

little one-to-one competition between different

products and companies.

Mahindra REVA are focused on creating

affordable city vehicles, which is a major challenge for

the whole industry right now. We are driven by new

technologies. Vehicle telematics is going to be a big

area for electric vehicles and this is an area where we

have real specialist knowledge.

One of our benefits is that we have a very

flexible architecture, with lots of power options that

we can offer to the consumer. So, for instance, if you

have a customer who only needs to travel 20 or 30

miles each day, it does not make sense for him to

have a car that can do 100 miles.

What are your aspirations for Mahindra REVA?

We are now part of a $12bn automotive group and

this is providing the financial muscle that we need to

grow our business. Our aspirations remain to be ‘The

Earth’s Favourite Electric Vehicle Company’, building

vehicles in an environmentally responsible way,

building cars that put smiles on people’s faces and we

are confident that we can achieve all of that in the

next three to five years.

The G-Wiz is no stranger to snowy weather. But winter tyres makes it safer. Photo: Markus Lieb.

Keep Moving this Winter Summer is over, winter is coming and for UK drivers at least, memories

of the treacherously icy roads last winter are near the surface once

more. Many people are asking whether this year they should be

switching to winter tyres, and if so, when they should be doing it?

Michael Boxwell investigates.

Here in the UK, we may have had an unseasonably

warm autumn so far, yet winter is just around the

corner. You don’t need a long memory to remember

how bad the driving conditions of the past two

winters have been. Driving conditions were perilous

and images of cars stuck in snow and sliding on the ice

made front page news. So it is not surprising that tyre

manufacturers have been stocking up on cold weather

tyres to help keep people moving when the snow and

ice finally hit us.

“We’re bringing in twice the number of cold

weather tyres into the United Kingdom this year

compared to last,” says Paul Cordle at Michelin.

“Demand for cold weather tyres is higher than it ever

has been and we are recommending that our

customers fit cold weather tyres for increased safety

throughout the winter for all road conditions.”

The contact area of a typical tyre – the area in

contact with the ground – is surprisingly small. At

around 23 square inches it is a similar in size to the

palm of your hand. In fact, the contact area of all four

tyres of a typical small car is comparable to the

contact area of a pair of men’s running shoes. It’s not

surprising therefore that when conditions turn icy,

normal road tyres start to lose grip.

The answer, according to Michelin is to fit cold

weather tyres to your car when the temperatures

drop to below 7°c and keep them on all winter. “Cold

weather tyres have a special rubber compound,

special tread pattern and deeper groves. They give ten

times the grip of conventional tyres, biting deeper

into the road surface for greater adhesion,” claims

Cordle. “At all speeds, stopping distances in ice, snow

and rain are virtually halved by using cold weather

tyres.”

In the UK, cold weather tyres are perceived as

only being useful in the snow. They have the

perception of being noisy, chunky, giving a poor ride

and damaging the road. Not so, claims Cordle.

“Winter tyres can be as fuel efficient and long lasting

as summer tyres. They have low noise levels and

excellent grip on snow, ice and on cold, wet winter

roads.”

To prove the point, Michelin and the Society of

Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recently

held a cold weather tyre testing event on the

Silverstone handling course. Twenty-five journalists

were invited to try driving in simulated snow, ice and

heavy rain, first using a car fitted with conventional

tyres, then trying an identical car fitted with cold

weather tyres.

The Silverstone handling course includes a

driving route designed to simulate driving in heavy

snow, an ice hill, designed to accurately simulate

sheet ice on a steep incline, and an aquaplaning track

with powerful jets of water designed to push a car out

of control. The circuit is used by many top car

manufacturers when testing and setting up their cars

prior to launch.

My first test was to drive a Ford Focus on a

snow handling circuit. Driven with conventional tyres,

the car very quickly lost adhesion and left me sliding

out of control. Corners became perilous at low speeds

and I managed to slide the car off the road around a

roundabout at little more than walking pace. Touching

the brakes even gently activated the ABS and easily

induced slides.

Switching to the same car on winter tyres

transformed the car. The car gripped around the

corners, responded to steering corrections and could

stop quickly. Had I not driven the car on conventional

tyres just moments before, I would not have believed

the difference the tyres made.

Driving a VW Golf across the aquaplaning circuit

was a similar experience. Instead of spinning entirely

out of control on conventional tyres, I was able to

correct the slide and safely stop the car on cold

weather tyres. Tyre noise, ride and handling on all

other surfaces were comparable to conventional

tyres.

Driving up and down the ice hill in a Toyota

Yaris was another eye-opening experience. On

conventional tyres, the car could not gain enough

traction to pull away up the hill covered in sheet ice.

Braking and turning downhill put the car into an

uncontrollable slide, resulting in me running off the

circuit. Using cold weather tyres, not only could I pull

away and accelerate up the hill, but I could turn and

brake downhill at high speed, rapidly changing

directions and come to an emergency stop at the foot

of the hill.

According to the SMMT, a set of winter tyres

should not be viewed as a cost, but an investment. By

swapping from summer to winter rubber for up to

half of the year, both sets will wear half as much,

lasting twice as long as a single set of tyres. “With

temperatures starting to drop and the wetter seasons

approaching, motorists should make sure they have

the best tyres for the road and climate conditions,”

said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive.

Had I not seen the difference for myself, I

would have taken those claims with a pinch of salt.

Yet having tested them, I’m convinced. Winter tyres?

You’d be crazy not to.

Five Top Tips for driving

safely this winter The G-Wiz is often better than other cars

when driving on packed snow or ice. It’s

light weight, narrow tyres and low power

means the G-Wiz can often get through

where a bigger, heavier car will struggle.

But that does not make it infallible. Here

are five top tips for driving safely this

winter:

1. Snow may be perceived as the

biggest issue, but actually ice

causes more accidents than snow.

Watch out for ice whenever the

temperature is below 5°c.

2. Give yourself time to react: don’t

drive faster than you feel

comfortable, and leave plenty of

space between you and the car in

front.

3. If you’re driving your G-Wiz,

you’re at an advantage. The

regenerative braking can actually

aid smooth braking. Brake early

and gently: not only is it safer, it

improves your economy and

range as well.

4. Keep it smooth: accelerate gently,

slow down gently, steer gently. If

your car feels balanced when you

are driving it around the corner,

you’re not unsettling it. That

means you’re less likely to slip.

5. Make sure you have the right

tyres on your car, and make sure

they are inflated to the right

levels. Cold weather tyres will give

you much more grip, but all tyres

will grip better if they are inflated

correctly.

News from

GoinGreen GoinGreen are now offering Pay As

You Go servicing packages for all G-

Wiz DC-drive, AC-drive and i models

for just £250.

They are also offering £250 off new

battery packs installed by the end of

the year, bringing the total installed

price down to £1950 inclusive.

Contrary to the rumours earlier in the

year, GoinGreen are still supplying

brand new cars: both the G-Wiz i and

G-Wiz L-ion remain available.

For more information on these offers,

contact Philip Maria at GoinGreen

on pm@goingreen.co.uk

Smiles AG, REVA’s German distributors have a number

of Dynex battery sets available on sale at a special price.

They are available for €1,000 a set plus shipping.

They are also offering a lithium-ion upgrade for existing

REVA G-Wiz owners, extending the range to around 80

miles (130km).

For more information, please e-mail Sebastian Sauerbrey

at Smiles AG on Sauerbrey@Smiles-world.de.

www.Smiles-World.de

Bluebird, here seen travelling at approximately 125mph (200km/h), accelerating on its way to the measured mile.

Reaching the skies This summer, the historic Bluebird land speed racing team took to the

sands once again to break a land speed record. Sadly, the new Electric

Bluebird didn’t manage it on this occasion, but they’ll be back, and this

time they’re going for a new world record – 500mph in an electric car. Words and pictures: Michael Boxwell

Think ‘Bluebird’ and you think speed. One of

the most iconic names in both Land and Water Speed

record breaking, Bluebird vehicles won fame first at

the hands of Malcolm Campbell, then his nephew

Donald Campbell, and then Donald’s daughter, Gina

Campbell, as they piloted cars and boats to ever faster

and faster speeds. Since the first Blue Bird car in 1912,

the Campbell family have amassed over 30 speed

records on land and water.

It is a tradition that continues to this very day.

With the exception of the 1970s, the Campbell family

have been breaking speed records on land and water

with Bluebird in every decade since the 1920s.

The current two members of the Campbell

family to be racing Bluebird cars are Don Wales, and

his son Joe. Don is the grandson of Malcolm Campbell

and has been breaking land speed records since the

mid-1990s. This year, Don, Joe and the Bluebird team

returned to the historic Pendine Sands in Wales, in

search of new land speed records in the latest

electric-powered Bluebird land speed car.

Pendine Sands has a long history of record

breaking. Back in the 1920s, the sands were used by

both Malcolm Campbell and his rival John Parry-

Thomas to break the World Land Speed Record on no

less than six occasions between 1924 and 1927. It is

also the location chosen by the

Bluebird team in 2000, when the

previous Electric Bluebird racer

broke the European Land Speed

Record at a speed of 137.15mph

(220km/h).

At the beginning of 2011,

the Bluebird team announced

their plans to build a series of

new speed record challengers:

an electric car, an electric boat

and then a new, even faster

electric car. The plan was to

break the UK Land Speed

electric car record in 2011; go

for the world electric boat water speed record in 2012

and then develop a new electric car, using the

knowledge gained with the first two speed record

attempts to build a car capable of breaking the

500mph barrier, and establishing a new record for the

fastest wheel-powered car in the world.

“Our first target was simply to get past 150-

160mph on land in the UK,” explains Martin Rees,

Project Director at Bluebird Speed Records. “That

would have increased our current UK electric vehicle

record. We would then use the knowledge learned

from that attempt to improve the vehicle further with

the aim of getting closer to 200mph (320km/h).”

“The current car is a test

and development vehicle that

we have been using to try

different battery technologies

and drive units,” said Rees. “This

will allow us to evaluate and

develop the right package to

take the project forward towards

our long term goal of 500mph

(800km/h)”

Sadly, for this year at least,

no Land Speed Records were

broken by the team. Delays due

to late supply of parts meant the

first run was postponed, whilst

bad weather and poor sand conditions meant the

team struggled on the first rescheduled date. Then on

the second day of running, the speed attempt nearly

ended in disaster when driver Joe Wales lost control

of the car after veering off the course at over

120mph.

Two generations of the Campbell dynasty: 19 year old Joe Wales is the great

grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell and the fourth generation of the family to

attempt to break speed records in Bluebird. His father, Don, is an experienced

speed racer and the current holder of the UK Electric Car land speed record.

“If we can get an

electric car to beat a

combustion engine

car, that makes a hell

of a statement for the

future of our

motoring”

The incident occurred shortly after the car left

the east-side of the beach travelling towards the

measured mile. “Visibility was poor (due to water

spray) and the beach surface was very soft in places”,

said lead driver Don Wales. “Due to the vibration and

the visibility, Joe came off the marked circuit and hit a

pothole at over 120mph and came to an abrupt halt.

As a consequence, the car suffered suspension

damage and we had to abort all further runs.”

Thankfully, damage to the car was subsequently

found to be remarkably light. “The real fear in these

circumstances is the vehicle can roll”, explained Chief

Designer, Paul Sparrow. “The car did its job and

protected the driver and I am very pleased with the

way the car performed.”

Whilst it was a frustrating end to the first speed

attempt, Don Wales remained philosophical: “Joe is

healthy and well... we live to win another day. That is

the story of record breaking.”

“I broke the European electric car land speed

record over ten years ago. Nobody has since broken it.

So now was the right time to get back out as a team

and start a new campaign. What we aimed to do in

2011 was a good start, but eventually, we aim to have

a Bluebird electric car travelling at over 500mph.”

The significance of breaking the 500mph barrier

is huge. Not only would it make Bluebird the fastest

electric car on earth, it would be almost 50mph faster

than any combustion engine car. “If we can get an

electric car to beat a combustion engine car, that

makes a hell of a statement for the future of our

motoring,” says Don.

Meanwhile, work is progressing on another

Bluebird speed vehicle: an electric hydrofoil, which

the team hope to race in 2012, with the aim of

breaking the electric boat world water speed record.

Featuring ground effect aerodynamics to help

the boat skim over the water at speeds of up to

150mph, and looking more like a Formula One racing

car than a boat, the prototype caused a sensation

when it was recently unveiled in Birmingham.

“The design allows the boat to skim over the

Is it a plane? Is it a car? No, it’s a boat. The unique design of the Bluebird water speed record challenge

enables it to skate over the water at speeds of up to 150mph.The team plans to race it in 2012.

Thousands of people came to spectate at Pendine

Sands. Bluebird was widely covered in the media,

reported on all the major television news programmes

and attracted huge public interest.

water on a cushion of air,” explains Rees. “Not only is

this faster, but it is safer and more stable than trying

to push the boat through water. Its radical looks come

purely from optimising everything for performance.”

In 2012, Bluebird celebrates its centenary year.

Over the past 100 years, Bluebird has inspired, excited

and thrilled generations of fans. In 2012, there will be

Bluebird celebrations with a large party in the centre

of London, with many of the Bluebird record breaking

vehicles on display. But the team isn’t looking back.

With its focus on electric powered racers, it’s clear

Bluebird has an eye to the future, to inspire, excite

and thrill the next generation of fans, and push the

boundaries of the possible, all over again.

Bluebird Speed Records is currently looking for

sponsors for the 2012 season. Sponsorship packages

start from under £5,000. For more details, visit

www.BluebirdSpeedRecords.com.

Joe was on target to break a Land Speed Record when the accident happened. It was a frustrating end of the

day for the young driver, but he emerged unscathed and the car had remarkably minor damage, despite the

impact speed of around 120 miles per hour. As father Don says, “We live to win another day. That is the story of

record breaking.”