The General Motors Ultralite was a 1992 low emission vehicle concept car intended to demonstrate the benefits of advanced materials and low fuel consumption.
| General Motors Ultralite | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | General Motors |
| Production | 1992 |
| Designer | Burt Rutan |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Concept car |
| Doors | Gullwing |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.5 L two-stroke, three cylinder |
| Dimensions | |
| Curb weight | 635 kg (1,400 lb) |
Fuel consumption
editDesign
editThe carbon fiber shell was fabricated by Scaled Composites and it weighed only 420 pounds (191 kg). The total weight of the car was 1,400 pounds (635 kg). The car had gull-wing doors and no B-pillar.[3] The drag coefficient, Cd, was 0.19, significantly lower than that of production cars of the decade.
The shape was reminiscent to the Ford Probe concept, and the Ultralite presaged the production General Motors EV1 electric vehicle and other production models.
Specification
editThe three-cylinder 1.5 L two-stroke engine could produce 111 hp (83 kW), which made a speed of 135 mph (217 km/h) possible. The car could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in less than eight seconds.[4]
In popular culture
editDue to the unusual design, the Ultralite has been featured in several science fiction productions, most prominently among them was in the 1993 film Demolition Man as the squad cars used by the fictional SAPD (San Angeles Police Department). They also appeared in the second episode of the second season of seaQuest DSV, and in the 1999 movie Bicentennial Man.
References
edit- ↑ Hemmings Daily, "Cars of Futures Past – GM Ultralite concept"
- ↑ NY Times news article, "GM to show a high mileage experimental car"
- ↑ "GM Ultralite Show Car". Scaled Composites. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004.
- ↑ 1992 GM Ultralite running concept car
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