I'd gestimate that it will have two to four motors, this is necessary to accommodate torque demand versus battery availability without the use of a gearbox for common and generic electric cars. An electric motor can give you the 1% - 100% of torque but this one coupled up into a closed loop system such as a vsd and encoder it can give 120% torque at Zero speed. Anyway when it comes to High performance cars things will need to crank up a bit more and you may find two or more motors coupled up to a common shaft, a gearbox with two input shafts permanently bound to each motor, a control unit allowing to control motors speed and torque in order to use two gears at the same time and shift gears without the aid of clutches.

A eDCT /Dual Clutchless Transmission could be used in place of the clutches and twin electric motors stop and start and connect with the motor1 or motor2 gearsets, respectively. Just as with a conventional DCT, when shifting from first to second gear the motor1 hands over to the motor2 one for a seamless transition between ratios.
As far as the transmission goes probably a 2 stage may be adequate (I'm not the engineer here, although Im electrical) not my design but I would gestimate a four gear transmission and have ample of time to use all yer rubber in them pits....

It might be direct drive.... Remember an electric motor has full torque at 1% through 100% of its power band. In fact, if it has any gearbox at all, it may be a set of reduction gears to keep it from ripping the tyres off the thing.

@Kevin

Of course, my very 1st thought was "can we get hammered off of the hydrogen?" :)

And CVT is a bad word! I know Porsche is working on a special PDK for the hybrid P1 car they are developing. Not sure if it could be adapted to a full-out electric car, but if I was Drayson, I'd want a Porsche gearbox in my car, especially since they already have vast knowledge of this technology. Not sure what is actually in the car though, and too lazy to look it up.

BTW Kev, my garage is plenty big enough to build a car. Just don't show up empty handed! I like vodka, and bourbon, and beer, and....

Might have some form of CVT?

Excuse my ignorance on this, but does that car shift at all? I never heard it do so. If not, that would be another thing that would not break. (Tranny that is). And less cost.

I for one would miss the sounds and smells of the good old internal combustion engine, but wouldn't mind seeing these cars run as well. I'm an old fart set in his ways, but not one to stop progress either.

Bob, if you didn't live thousands of miles away I would suggest we meet up and convert a car to run hydrogen just for shits and giggles.

ehhehhhh...
You guys have heard of Levitation Electric motors, dry cells and energy transfer by means of a transfer mat same as they use on the blackberry bbm, the electromagnetic fields of our nature are not to be missed lightly, Tesla 1rst diabolic magnetic field machine just pure evil those years it was!! You have also seen and probably by now traveled in these trains running at 300kmh without touching the rails. My friends.. we are in the impasse to a new electric industrial revolution without being totally conscious of it.. with a reason.. a marketing/gov and the ones of the 1% acting very fast, thinking out of their skulls to create a new order a first and utmost to capture advantage over the masses, so that when the plan is formulated.. you.. you will again just dance and play along to the newly create song.. a brand new salt mine there just for you.. you is we.. the great masses.
sorry got a bit digressed there.. just going back to the electrics yeah its a reality just as much as the laws of proportion.. you too will get used to the changes and end up loving it just as much as the old ones.. and the old ones will be there just to remind ourselves how primitive it was yet so lovely.. just like to our ancestors that still live of have already perished.. their times were just as good and too they can tell ya stories that will envy. But for sure think a little why the fossil industry is vital but yet there are alternatives!! so lets first exhaust the one at the maximum profit and then move on to the next, shall we, ahhahhh . . ..
That playplay Lola electric motor must have some great speakers... :-]

@ Mike

I hear ya man. I've owned some great cars too (1967 Dodge Coronet 440 Conv, 1974 Chevy Chevelle 350/400, 1991 Dodge Stealth RT Twin Turbo). But after working in the auto industry for 35 years now, cars just dont do it for me anymore. They really havent changed in those 35 years. I could care less what I drive now, the cheaper the better, because they are all pieces of shit! They all have the same issues (leaks, electrical, gearbox problems) no matter the manufacturer. I've seen them all torn down in a body shop too. They all look alike without their fancy paint and panels. Not to mention, you'd think after building these things for 100 years that they'd be perfected by now...

It's gonna take new technology like this Drayson car showcases to keep me interested in cars. I'd like to see a major series like IndyCar mandate new electric power. Once that happens, it will trickle down to the road car. Then, I will be satisfied. I actually can't wait to have to look up something other than a fuel pump, or ignition coil, or water pump. Bring on the electric pieces of shit! New problems and complaints, instead of the same old, same old. PLEASE!

Incredible numbers Marios. Thanks for posting the diagram.

I'm still interested in the endurance of the batteries... And how this 'Wireless Charging' system works.

0-100 come in just 3 seconds while 0-160 in 5.1 seconds. The car reach a top speed to stop of 322km/h. According to the manufacturer, Lola will form the basis for even better and faster model that will see the championship in 2013 FIA Formula «E». Finally, it is almost entirely made ??of carbon fiber so the weight can not exceed 1000 pounds. What else to say...

Of course, the electricity has to come from somewhere....

I never said I didn't enjoy the sensations of the petrol-powered race car.

I love the smell of petrol, oil, rubber and hot tarmac. I love the sound of a Trans-Am Corvette screaming down the back straight at Brainerd International at over 9,000 RPM. The angry buzz of a Formula Vee. And that satisfying hum-whoosh of a 911.

There's just something visceral and primal about those sounds, sights, and smells.

But I can also enjoy the sounds, sights, and smells of the future. And this Lola prototype is part of the future of motorsport.

You guys enjoy your toasters and dish washers then. I will continue to stimulate my hearing and other senses with my Porsche GT3 screaming at 8400 RPM.

Yeah, the smells and sounds will fade and be replaced by new smells and sounds. I don't know if any of you have ever been near a huge 300+ hp electric motor, but it's not quiet. (I know the one in this race car puts out more, but I'm making a point.)

As for the batteries, I'm sure some sort of quick-change system would be used. Probably a scaled-up version of an R/C enduro quick-change system. :)

As for petrol, yes, we're running out of it. There may be plenty now, but that's going to change soon as more and more people are buying cars. Either more renewable fuels need to be mass-produced ([m]ethanol and biodiesel) or we need to find a portable, easy-to-charge, sustainable electric system. And the research needs to ramp up NOW, not at the "oh-shit-it's-almost-too-late" stage.

Flipping this discussion (which I'm very pleased is happening at R2P of all places)...

I understand it's a relatively simple procedure to convert a standard gasoline engine to run as a hydrogen combustion engine. Note: NOT a hydrogen fuel celled car. There is still the same issue of much of the energy produced being wasted as heat but it is made slightly more palatable by the fact that the byproduct of hydrogen combustion is only dihydroxymonoxide (water lol).

Now in this instance, you still get the noise, there is relatively little expenditure on completely new technology, there is no bulk in the form of batteries and there is no carbon output from combustion. There is however a marked drop in performance because hydrogen has a lower "energy density" than gasoline. But this could spur further engine development as well as allow for more powerful use of KERS equipment.

For me, Hydrogen combustion engines would serve as a sensible stop-gap.