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A jewel of a Joule

Behind the scenes with CAR and Optimal Energy

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CAR magazine - 15 Mar 11

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Local company Optimal Energy has been hard at work on an all-South African electric vehicle – the Joule. The company recently invited CAR to test the prototype versions, making our staff the first journalists in the world to have actually driven the vehicle. Most of the team agreed that for a car that is still four years from possible production, the Joule is surprisingly well-sorted.

CAR editor Hannes Oosthuizen chats to Optimal Energy personnel about the various development stages of the Joule.

The Joule has certainly come a long way... The initial skeleton (second from the left) was the first driveable "Joule". The version to the left of that car is the vehicle that was unveiled at last year’s Geneva Show.

Hannes looks for the socket that the recharge cable gets plugged into.

The Joule needs only a regular power outlet to be recharged. A complete recharge of a depleted battery takes between seven and eight hours.

The CAR team signs indemnity forms before the evaluation drive. Afterwards, the team was able to give its feedback to Optimal Energy, which could be considered when design changes are made for production.

Optimal Energy takes the CAR team through the steps of driving the Joule. For many members of the team, it was their first time behind the wheel of an electric car.

CAR’s Jake Venter gets acquainted with the Joule. Being technically minded and always hungry to find out about new technologies or new ways to use it, Jake had a lot of questions for the company.

Finishes in and around the Joule are extremely impressive for a prototype. The same goes for overall packaging too. Luggage space is ample. The rear section of the roof and hatch will be redesigned for the production vehicle.

Some borrowed switchgear is obvious, but understandable... the vehicle is still under development. Surprisingly for a vehicle with as much unconventional technology as the Joule, it doesn’t take long for the driver to become accustomed to the settings and layout of the various functions. The Alfa Romeo-sourced DNA switch is for the transmission and can select drive, neutral and reverse. The lever just below that is for the electric park brake.

All that’s really needed to make this vehicle a success is sufficient funding. There is interest from overseas, but Optimal Energy wants to keep the Joule as local as possible.

CAR's Ian McLaren climbs into the driver's seat for his chance behind the wheel of the Joule.

Hannes takes some passengers along for his drive to get an idea of what the cabin space is like.

Designed by SA-born, ex-Jaguar designer Keith Helfet, the Joule shows that not all electric vehicles have to look like small boxes.

The centre console flows from the facia to the centre armrest. It's slylish in its current form, but most of the interior is likely to be redesigned for the production version and be more minimalist, iPod-like.

On the road the Joule is something of a revelation. The immediate nature of the torque delivery makes it feel surprisingly powerful. Ride and handling are good, too, considering this is a hand-built prototype. Production versions will obviously feature ESP and ABS.

The window treatment is a much talked about feature of the Joule and will be slightly toned down for production.

For a full report on Optimal Energy and its Joule electric vehicle (EV), get the April issue of CAR magazine – on sale March 22.

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CAR magazine - 15 Mar 11

Topics In This Article

Company:	Optimal Energy
Industry Term:	EV
Product:	Joule

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