Electric mobility reaches new heights

Elegant, sporty and with an extraordinary design highlighting the special character of a car which is the platform for a revolutionary new powertrain technology – the QUANT e-Sportlimousine which premiered at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

The initial idea was born in 2003 in sketches by the La Vecchia brothers for a pioneering, revolutionary car for the future. Its character was reflected in its unusual design and the first model was built in cooperation with a Swedish auto manufacturer in 2009 and presented at the Geneva Motor Show as the NLV Quant.

“When we created a four-seater sports car with a comfortable interior, I gave the designers a heart attack,” Nunzio La Vecchia, lead developer of the nanoFLOWCELL, said with a huge grin. a

The new QUANT e-Sportlimousine with its powertrain and energy storage concept – is a quantum leap in the development of electric mobility. The state-of-the-art extremely stable carbon monocoque body gives the car a flowing elegance. Two-metre long gull-wing doors give access to both front and back seats, while four electric motors, one per wheel, draw their power from a completely new battery system.

The nanoFLOWCELL energy storage system works on the proven principles of the redox flowcell, but the nanoFLOWCELL extends the technical characteristics and possibilities of this technology to new heights.

The work of Nunzio La Vecchia, and his team produced charge-carrier liquids significantly more concentrated than those used in conventional redox flow-cell systems. Whilst terrestrial redox flow-cells operate using electrolyte tanks that hold thousands of litres, a few hundred litres is enough to power the QUANT e-Sportlimousine on a long drive.

With its impressive length of more than 5.25 metres, a width of more than 2.2 metres and a height of 1.35 metres, the QUANT e-Sportlimousine makes a bold statement on terms of its dimensions and proportions.

The large, 1.7 metre wide side windows can be lowered completely. The team’s passion for the extraordinary shows in some interesting details: the side window lowers into the gull-wing door faster at the front than at the rear. The extremely curved rear windscreen and the unusually curved front windscreen with its raked a-pillar, combine with the short front bonnet to make for impressive optics. The roof line runs from the windscreen almost the entire length of the car to the wing-like, sculptured rear end.  Its 22 inch tyres also generously highlight the car’s sporting character.The goal was to give the car as much feeling of motion as possible.

“It was important to us that, despite its size and unusual dimensions, our four-seater QUANT e-Sportlimousine would be a sporty automobile. The front of the car is convincing, with its pronounced shoulders, self-confident look, and clear lines. Anyone who stands in front of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine will know exactly what I mean,” Nunzio La Vecchia commented in Geneva.

The new colour, known as “chrystal lake blue” developed exclusively for this vehicle, reflects the character of the powertrain: The blue represents water and the copper the flowing of electricity. “The design is flowing, like fresh river water running around a rock,” as development lead Nunzio La Vecchia describes the overarching concept of the design.

Wood, copper, and leather dominate the interior design of the new QUANT e-Sportlimousine. The team pushed every component to the limits of design and technical possibilities. A colossal, more than 1.25 metre front display showing important information about its charge state, flow cell data, driving range, and all infotainment system information. Combination instruments, head unit, and entertainment are integrated across the display into a unified whole. Flowing lines from front to rear also dominate here. The instruments are clearly demarcated in a horizontal arrangement that reflects the horizontally arranged interior. Classic dials are replaced by fresh looking segments of circles. A torque indicator replaces the tachometre you find in combustion-powered vehicles. It displays the torque values of all four electric motors as well as the complete functionality of the on board energy management system in real time.

Another distinctive feature of the new QUANT e-Sportlimousine are its wooden operating controls. The new sensorFLOW technology provides a visual highlight never seen before in an automobile control elements. At first glance, you only see the natural, smooth ash wood surfaces. Once the QUANT e-Sportlimousine is activated, the control elements become visible through the natural wood. The blue bands of light appear through the wood to represent the flow of the nanoFLOWCELL. “We’re making something completely new that will make others ask why no one has done this before,” La Vecchia explained.

Born in 1965 in Brugg, Switzerland, La Vecchia has overcome numerous obstacles in his life. His many years of research have, however, paid off and delivered positive results. He owns several companies, runs his own research facility, the nanoFLOWCELL DigiLab in Zurich, and has more than 60 patents in solar energy, plasma energy, digital technology and electronics.

Alongside his intensive research activities, the physicist and autodidact is also a musician with two successful albums to his name. In what little free time remains to him, he is a pilot and racing driver. These passions drive and inspire this visionary and help him to find success in pushing the envelope of the possible. Though the fruitful marriage of profession and hobbies may appear impossible to many, Nunzio La Vecchia achieves it through careful planning, iron discipline, and willpower. In all his work and creations over the years, Nunzio La Vecchia has been following a vision: The passionate physicist dreams of taking electric mobility to new heights.

Founded in late 2013, nanoFLOWCELL AG is an innovative Research and Development Centre based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The focus of nanoFLOWCELL AG’s research is on the advanced development of drive technology and the classification of flow-cell technology. The production of five more prototypes for research and development is planned for 2014. The small team at nanoFLOWCELL AG has big challenges ahead of it and is working with major partners to further optimise the technologies presented here. The challenges include bringing the current system to series-production readiness and thereby establishing it as the powertrain of the future.
Elegant, sporty and with an extraordinary design highlighting the special character of a car which is the platform for a revolutionary new powertrain technology – the QUANT e-Sportlimousine which premiered at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

The initial idea was born in 2003 in sketches by the La Vecchia brothers for a pioneering, revolutionary car for the future. Its character was reflected in its unusual design and the first model was built in cooperation with a Swedish auto manufacturer in 2009 and presented at the Geneva Motor Show as the NLV Quant.

“When we created a four-seater sports car with a comfortable interior, I gave the designers a heart attack,” Nunzio La Vecchia, lead developer of the nanoFLOWCELL, said with a huge grin. a

The new QUANT e-Sportlimousine with its power-train and energy storage concept – is a quantum leap in the development of electric mobility. The state-of-the-art extremely stable carbon monocoque body gives the car a flowing elegance. Two-metre long gull-wing doors give access to both front and back seats, while four electric motors, one per wheel, draw their power from a completely new battery system.

The nanoFLOWCELL energy storage system works on the proven principles of the redox flowcell, but the nanoFLOWCELL extends the technical characteristics and possibilities of this technology to new heights.

The work of Nunzio La Vecchia, and his team produced charge-carrier liquids significantly more concentrated than those used in conventional redox flow-cell systems. Whilst terrestrial redox flow-cells operate using electrolyte tanks that hold thousands of litres, a few hundred litres is enough to power the QUANT e-Sportlimousine on a long drive.

With its impressive length of more than 5.25 metres, a width of more than 2.2 metres and a height of 1.35 metres, the QUANT e-Sportlimousine makes a bold statement on terms of its dimensions and proportions.

The large, 1.7 metre wide side windows can be lowered completely. The team’s passion for the extraordinary shows in some interesting details: the side window lowers into the gull-wing door faster at the front than at the rear. The extremely curved rear windscreen and the unusually curved front windscreen with its raked a-pillar, combine with the short front bonnet to make for impressive optics. The roof line runs from the windscreen almost the entire length of the car to the wing-like, sculptured rear end.  Its 22 inch tyres also generously highlight the car’s sporting character.The goal was to give the car as much feeling of motion as possible.

“It was important to us that, despite its size and unusual dimensions, our four-seater QUANT e-Sportlimousine would be a sporty auto-mobile. The front of the car is convincing, with its pronounced shoulders, self-confident look, and clear lines. Anyone who stands in front of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine will know exactly what I mean,” Nunzio La Vecchia commented in Geneva.

The new colour, known as “chrystal lake blue” developed exclusively for this vehicle, reflects the character of the powertrain: The blue represents water and the copper the flowing of electricity. “The design is flowing, like fresh river water running around a rock,” as development lead Nunzio La Vecchia describes the overarching concept of the design.

Wood, copper, and leather dominate the interior design of the new QUANT e-Sportlimousine. The team pushed every component to the limits of design and technical possibilities. A colossal, more than 1.25 metre front display showing important information about its charge state, flow cell data, driving range, and all infotainment system information. Combination instruments, head unit, and entertainment are integrated across the display into a unified whole. Flowing lines from front to rear also dominate here. The instruments are clearly demarcated in a horizontal arrangement that reflects the horizontally arranged interior. Classic dials are replaced by fresh looking segments of circles. A torque indicator replaces the tachometre you find in combustion-powered vehicles. It displays the torque values of all four electric motors as well as the complete functionality of the on board energy management system in real time.

Another distinctive feature of the new QUANT e-Sportlimousine are its wooden operating controls. The new sensorFLOW technology provides a visual highlight never seen before in an automobile control elements. At first glance, you only see the natural, smooth ash wood surfaces. Once the QUANT e-Sportlimousine is activated, the control elements become visible through the natural wood. The blue bands of light appear through the wood to represent the flow of the nanoFLOWCELL. “We’re making something completely new that will make others ask why no one has done this before,” La Vecchia explained.

Born in 1965 in Brugg, Switzerland, La Vecchia has overcome numerous obstacles in his life. His many years of research have, however, paid off and delivered positive results. He owns several companies, runs his own research facility, the nanoFLOWCELL DigiLab in Zurich, and has more than 60 patents in solar energy, plasma energy, digital technology and electronics.

Alongside his intensive research activities, the physicist and autodidact is also a musician with two successful albums to his name. In what little free time remains to him, he is a pilot and racing driver. These passions drive and inspire this visionary and help him to find success in pushing the envelope of the possible. Though the fruitful marriage of profession and hobbies may appear impossible to many, Nunzio La Vecchia achieves it through careful planning, iron discipline, and willpower. In all his work and creations over the years, Nunzio La Vecchia has been following a vision: The passionate physicist dreams of taking electric mobility to new heights.

Founded in late 2013, nanoFLOWCELL AG is an innovative Research and Development Centre based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The focus of nanoFLOWCELL AG’s research is on the advanced development of drive technology and the classification of flow-cell technology. The production of five more prototypes for research and development is planned for 2014. The small team at nanoFLOWCELL AG has big challenges ahead of it and is working with major partners to further optimise the technologies presented here. The challenges include bringing the current system to series-production readiness and thereby establishing it as the power-train of the future.